What Horses & Riders Need to Know

<p>This episode is episode 5 (sorry about the error on the audio, in which we identified it as episode 4) and an On the Fence segment – a show in which Jec and I discuss something that’s been on our collective and virtual desk, asking to be checked off.</p> <p>Here we visit about what horses and humans need to know. By that we mean the skills and the knowledge that horse and rider need to have in order to, as we say as part of our podcast mission, feel safe and have fun.</p> <p>I hope you all bear in mind that this ain’t dogma coming down from above. We could be wrong. Our work with horses is constantly evolving and we build on experience, on successes as well as mistakes. As we acknowledge, this is tip of the iceberg stuff. We hope you’ll write in to give us your tip of the iceberg stuff. Some lean towards principles while other ideas are more technical. In the best mix, they meet at a place which emphasizes SAFETY and GOOD RELATIONS with the horse. </p> <p>Some things horses should know:</p> <ul> <li>To load easily into a trailer</li> <li>To remain tied for decently long periods of time without getting overly stressed</li> <li>To pick up feet easily</li> <li>To stand when mounted and not walk off</li> <li>To yield to pressure</li> <li>To accept new stimuli without ‘losing it’</li> </ul> <p>Some things riders should know:</p> <ul> <li>To take vital signs (respiration and heart rate, temperatures, and to know signs of dehydration) and to be able to do basic doctoring</li> <li>To mount from the ground</li> <li>To be fit enough to ride confidently (and to call yourself an athlete!)</li> <li>To recognize how our energy and actions impact our horses</li> </ul> <p>There are many videos and pages to consider around these topics. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzJgV0Gslfsy1_hYpfrnoEw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Check out Amy Skinner's YouTube channel</a>. </p> <p><a href="https://besthorsepractices.com/ownership/" target= "_blank" rel="noopener">Read about Ownership here.</a></p> <p>We thank <a href="http