46/ DECEMBER 2012 THE RIDER


maneuvers with a hot horse before going out on the trail because both will help to get the horse’s focus on you.


Building A Partnership with Your Young Horse


Training Outside the Box, Part 10 By Lynn Palm


Trail training prob- lems may arise when you are dealing with a “hot” horse. By a “hot” horse, I mean one that is nervous, tense, and moves quickly. A hot horse may toss his head, jump around, rear, and perhaps even buck. A hot horse may also be a spooky horse, but not all


spooky horses are hot. A hot horse is one that could be out of control at any moment. Your goal as a rider is to prevent that from happening.


When dealing with a hot horse, it is important that the rider does his/her warm-up exercises both on the ground and under sad- dle in order to be physical- ly prepared for riding. It is


equally important to warm up the horse by longeing him to allow him to release his inner energy. (The sec- tion of my visual series Longevity Training, “The Art of Longeing,” will give you all the longeing skills necessary to prepare your hot horse for riding.) It is also a good idea to do some in-hand ground work exer- cises and under saddle


Be prepared before going out on the trail! Check the weather. Do not go out if it is windy or if a storm in approaching. These conditions will only make the nervous horse more anxious and less likely to focus on you. When tacking up for a trail ride, place a halter over the bridle and bring a soft, flat cotton longe line along on the ride. I will explain how and when to use these items later. Plan to go on the trail ride with one other horse and rider and not a group! Ask a friend who has a quiet, experienced trail horse to accompany you. If the hot horse begins to get nervous, the experienced horse will give him confidence and can be used to pony him.


for a short distance, and then remount. The idea is to do many dif- ferent things in order to help keep the hot horse’s focus, slow down his thinking, and direct his attention to you and not on getting nervous. Keep the trail ride short. The shorter the better so the hot horse has a chance to experience a quiet time without the chance of being dis- turbed. As you and your horse progress to taking longer rides, make sure to stay with the same routine.


Three Ways to Deal Positively with a Horse that Gets “Hot” on the Trail:


Select a trail where the terrain is simple and easy to negotiate. Let the hot horse take the lead for a while, and then ask the experienced horse to ride alongside if possible. Continue down the trail side-by-side for awhile, and then shift the hot horse behind the experienced partner. Dur- ing the periods when the horses are traveling single file, mix in some lat- eral work, yielding left and right. Do simple transitions from walk to slow trot and back to walk. Stop several times. Dismount and lead the horses


1. The best thing to do is have the friend who is riding the experienced horse pony you and the hot horse. Take out the longe line you packed and thread it through the hot horse’s halter so it is over his nose and snapped to the opposite side of the halter. While you stay centered and relaxed on the horse, ask your friend to control him by ponying him from the experienced horse. Because you will not be pulling on the reins and his mouth, the hot horse will have a good chance to settle down. (See my Longevity Training Tape or Disc 4— “Ponying.”)


dency to jump on top of you. Use the “move away” command and toss the longe line towards him so he moves away from you. Let him settle down while you stay on the ground. 3. Remain mounted, but mentally patient, relaxed, and positive. Keep your body relaxed and as centered on the horse as possible. Continue to ride as if the horse is nice and calm. The horse should settle down in a short time. If he does not, and you feel unsafe, get off and proceed with one of the above methods.


You can calm the nervous or hot horse with training, but you can never change his personality or tem- perament. A hot horse is not for you if this type of horse frightens or wor- ries you, or if he makes you feel less confident or nervous!


Mentally anticipate your horse’s reactions to outdoor situations. The better prepared you are for any situa- tion, the better the outcome will be. Also, the more positive and confi- dent you are the more confident your horse will be.


2. Get off the hot horse and attach the longe line to his halter as I described above. When a horse is nervous or upset, he will have a ten-


The Love of Winter Thyme


Submitted by Lucie Sereda The pony was going to be Lauren Sereda’s eleventh birthday and her family had been looking for over a year. There were many horses available for sale but to find a well trained pony with a pleas- ing attitude was not an easy task. Lauren had been rid- ing her mom, Lucie’s quar- ter horse since she was three years old, but Star- buck was still a young horse and about 16HH. He was being trained in dres- sage but Lauren needed a “master” to help her devel- op her riding skills.


The family eventually heard from their coach about a particularly “talent- ed” pony with a big per- sonality that he had seen at an FEI dressage competi- tion in Blainville. The pony, named Winter Thyme was a thirteen year old 13.1 HH welsh cross gelding showing FEI pony class. Winter Thyme was owned and ridden by, then


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sonal comments from the vet like “pony has a won- derful attitude and is very easy to work around”. There was no question; this was the pony that the Sere- da’s were looking for and in August 2004, they made the eight hour drive with truck and trailer to Mer- rickville, Ontario to bring him home. Perfect timing for Lauren’s birthday. Brianna was only two years older than Lauren.


plished and still improving. She needed a more suitable mount and the time had come. Letting Winter go was one of the hardest things Brianna ever had to do, but she was comforted in knowing that Winter was going to such a loving fam- ily.


twelve year old, Brianna McMillan and was being coached and trained by Suzanne Dutt-Roth. Video’s of the pony clearly showed a talented, spirited pony with flowing gates and the veterinary pre-pur- chase exam included per-


Brianna and Winter Thyme had been together since they were both ten years old, and she had loved this kind and patient equine for three years. Brianna had been a beginner with only two years experience and now was more accom-


Lauren took to Winter right away and they made a great team. She and her new pony progressed quickly and placed many firsts in shows until Lauren had out- grown her beloved Winter. In 2008, it was time to pass him to her younger sister Jacqueline, but it was difficult for Lauren. Lauren began riding a talented warmblood mare with Pan Am potential and for the next three years she trained in Toronto, Germany and Florida. When she came home though, she would still ride and train Winter. Jacqueline was the next little girl to love Winter as both girls played games with Starbuck and Winter, went on trail rides together. Jacque- line and Winter Thyme even made it to a few clin- ics with Christilot Boylen.


By the fall of 2011, Winter had been out grown again. For eight years Brian- na had never stopped think- ing about Winter Thyme and as the years passed, she became more worried that something may have hap- pened to him. Finally in August of this year, her mother, Pamela, contacted Lucie and was so relieved to hear the pony was still alive and well. The McMil- lan’s made a special trip to visit him over the summer. Brianna was overjoyed to be reunited with Winter and he had stayed on her mind ever since.


Although it was very emotional for the family, especially Lauren, the deci- sion was made a few months later that the time had come. When the word came that Winter was again ready to move on, Brianna was eager to take him back home. So, as Lucie explains “The little girl


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he does remember her!” Starbuck and Winter Thyme were best buddies and horses, just like horsey girls, can form strong bonds resulting in sepa- ration anxiety and depression for both horses and horse and girl. So, one last good bye from the farri- er, the vet, the sta- ble hand, Star- buck and the Sereda family and Winter Thyme was transported by the Sere- da’s back to Ottawa this last October. “We wanted


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who thought she lost him eight years ago was the right woman to give him a loving productive life... and


to make the transition as easy as possible for everyone”. Lauren has been unavailable to say goodbye yet…but it appears her “goodbye” has turned into “see you later”. She has plans to visit Winter Thyme and Brianna in Ottawa this Decem- ber as the love of Winter Thyme has created a unique bond and friendship between Brianna and


Lauren.


Brianna has a dream of creating an animal thera-


py program and hopes Winter Thyme will one day join her in her future career helping people gain confi-


life. Thank you to all who have made this possible.” So the cycle begins again for Winter Thyme. There is a little girl named Maddie who has been com- ing to Brianna’s barn almost daily to “see the horses”. Now, thanks to Brianna and Winter, Mad- die will learn how to ride. “He’s an amazing teacher and friend - and she’s a very lucky little girl,” Lau- ren tearfully describes her horse and the fourth little girl to love Winter Thyme.


1/ Brianna and Lauren connected through the love of Winter Thyme 2/ A tearful reunion, L to Rt: Pamela and Brian- na McMillan,Winter Thyme, Lauren and Lucie Sereda. 3/ Maddie is the 4th little girl to love Winter Thyme. (girl in glasses)


4/ Winter loves Jacqueline too. 5/ Best buddies, Starbuck and


dence around horses. She says “I am so grateful to have Winter back in my


Winter Thyme


In the next article, we will leave the topic of possible trail problems and talk about one of the fun things to do on a trail ride—have a picnic. My E-Book, Training Outside the Box, is available online at www.lynnpalm.com along with other valuable training products. You also may contact us at 800-503-2824.


Don’t forget take Photos of your Stallion now for the upcoming Season’s Advertising


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