Friday, July 19, 2024

Action Plan for Building a Foundation of Leadership

-Rebuilding your confidence-


In these stages, you are not just working on the horse; you are working on yourself. Your job is to become the clearest, most concise, and consistent communicator possible. 



-P1

Don’t crowd me

Insist that he stands away from you on your long leadline.  Using a training flag in one hand and the end of the lead in the other, have him stand at a distance of 10 to 12 ft.  Stand calmly in a passive stance, with passive body language. Point a shoulder at the horse rather than squared shoulders.  Pay close attention to his feet.  If he begins to leak toward you, begin lifting your flag arm and line arm in an alternating up-down motion, as if beating on a drum.  Remain calm, but apply whatever level of pressure necessary to repel him back to his spot.  As soon as he stops and steps back, stop the motion immediately. Be very calm and peaceful when you give release.  Once he finds it more convenient to give respectful space, love on him for a moment and repeat the process a few times.


Pay attention

Insist that he remains focused on you.  Create an environment that makes him want to keep an eye on you to avoid surprises.  Lead him with random and quick turns, sudden stops, and changes.  Keep him on his toes.  Walk briskly and suddenly turn and stop him with a light wave in the lead line.  This will be a little startling at first, which will encourage him to focus on you to avoid such surprises.  If he begins to look away or send his attention elsewhere, move him briskly, bringing his mind back to you.  Once he remains focused on you, reward him, then reclaim your personal space. 


Let me lead

Lead him calmly.  Demand that he waits for you and does not try to walk ahead of you or cut corners when you turn, but that he waits for you to pass through and follows you through whatever direction you decide.  




-P2

Wait on me

Hone his ability to trust you enough to wait patiently on you while you walk away, and help him be very light to the back up cue.  This utilizes and builds off of P1.   


Establish a solid mastery of the back up  

Ask him to back up with a side-to-side wiggle of the line.  Focus on his front feet; any movement backward should be met with an immediate release of all pressure. If he does not yield to the back cue, greatly widen your side-to-side swing of the line to make the cue bigger and release at the slightest rearward movement of the front hooves.  Do not release for side-to-side movement of his feet, only backing, regardless of how minimal.  REWARD THE TRY.




Do not let him leak (Move toward you) 

Next, be very specific on this demand.  Put his feet right back where you originally put them in the first place.  If he leaked 2 steps, back up 2 steps.  Be very consistent in this demand.  Help him get good at staying put. 


Focus on me, trust me, and wait on me

Next, demand that he allow you to walk out to the end of the lead line and stop without moving.  Back him into a spot. Expect him to remain there until you ask otherwise. If he tries to follow or leak, apply pressure and put him back exactly where you set him to begin with. This is a good opportunity to be consistent.  Make it more comfortable for him to remain in place and thereby see the reward of respecting and trusting you.  When he will stand and wait, reward him.  Reward the small victories.  Encourage success by not tempting failure too much at first.





-P3

Focus, Follow, Respect

Using a long leadline, lead him from the end of your line.  Make him stay 8 to 10 feet behind you as you walk out at the end of the lead line.  If he shortens the gap between you, quickly turn and give the back up cue, putting him back in the position you requested, and continue.  

Pay close attention to the leadline as you walk.  If it touches the ground because he has narrowed the space between you, quickly back him up before he gets closer.  Be watchful and proactive, correcting before the issue becomes worse.  Expect and demand that he follow you at a distance.  This exercise supports and is supported by P1 and P2.


Practice P1 and P2 building blocks

Revisit, improve, and reward the previous foundational blocks.




-P4

Build the skill of yielding

Practice all forms of yielding.  Make it a game that brings reward and pleasure.

Disengage the hind quarters

Lateral flexion

Verticle flexion

Back up

Any others you can think up.

Make it a point to help your horse become well-practiced and light-weighted in yielding to your pressure and cues.

You might even consider this a play period at some point. Offer treats for good, willing, and light responses. Make him want to spend time with you. Make it a game.



-P5


Turn the yield into a connection

This exercise focuses on yielding the front shoulder and the true connection between you and your horse.   Ask for a yield of the front shoulder using the lead line offer supported by the flag if needed to get him moving around you.  The correct answer here is to yield the front shoulder away in the correct direction.  Reward at the yield.  Do this in both directions.  


Short lounge-The magic is in the transition

After he is good at the shoulder yield, ask for full circles and discover how to change direction on the fly.  This will require you both to get on the same page and read each other's body cues.  Think of it as a dance between you.  You need each other to make this happen.


Remember that you are not just working on the horse in these five stages; you are working on yourself. Your job is to become the clearest, most concise, and consistent communicator possible.  



-P6

Taking the relationship to the next level

In this stage, we build your confidence and reset your horse’s expectation of what saddle time means.


Do not set demands on yourself or your horse. This is social and connection time. Saddle your horse and engage it with pleasure, maybe treats, light-yielding requests, and playful and rewarding interaction (with the saddle on).


Sit on and with your horse. Find shade, sit still, and enjoy each other's company. It might be best to have someone else do the same or similar with you so that you can relax and socialize with both your four-legged and two-legged companions. 


Do not pressure yourself or your horse to perform or accomplish anything. If you feel like asking for movement, great. If not, fine. This is about relaxing together, making you both more comfortable in this setting, and building your relationship.


This step will build confidence in yourself and your horse.  As you do this, you will likely want to move a little more each session.  Take a season of redefining what being ridden means to your horse and what riding means to you.  We can have a lot of anxiety when it comes to riding.  This is how I lost mine and enhanced my horse's experience, too.

 

Sunday, July 7, 2024

Farm Ranch Homestead Fencing Service Liberty Hill, Texas

 Double Spur Ranch offers rural livestock #fence construction services in Liberty Hill, Texas, and surrounding areas like Bertram, Burnet, Georgetown, Salado, Lampasas, Leander, Briggs, Killen, and more. 

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Goat and sheep fences

Cattle fence

All ranch fencing

Visit the fencing and ranch services page at www.DoubleSpurRanch.com to get an estimate of fencing costs.

Call 512-815-5684 or email steveshots42@gmail.com    



Field fencing

Welded wire

Barbed wire

Barbless wire

No Climb Horse Fence

Gates

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Weekend Stuff- The Market at Indian Mound Ranch

The best-kept secret of the Hill Country

The Market at Indian Mound Ranch is located in Liberty Hill, TX on HWY 29 just West of the intersection of HWY 183 and HWY 29, aka Seward Junction.  You will find farm fresh, organic produce, skillfully crafted art and jewelry, amazing food and more!  
Indian Mound Ranch has deep historical roots.  The family has been on this hallowed ground since post-Civil War late 1800's.  The ranch is owned and operated by a true daughter of the original Republic of Texas, Susan Jones Anderson and her family.  
Every Saturday you will find locally sourced and grown produce, meat, honey, arts, adornments, food and spices from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. 

What You Can Expect 

Fresh eggs, meat and produce grown organically and produced free of hormones.
Locally produced honey from Jackass Honey Farms.
Organic, grass-fed beef
Hickory smoked sea salt and seasonings from HillBilly Mojo- www.HillBillyMojo.com
Great food- stop in for lunch!
Fresh salsa and sauces
Pickled goods and so much more.  
It's worth it to stop in every weekend as there are new things to try from week to week.  


One of the most refreshing things about the Market at Indian Mound Ranch is its lack of pretentiousness.  The vendors and owner are welcoming and down to earth.  This quality is most enjoyed by vendors.  The booth fees and commitment requirements are structured with common sense and practicality.  IMR is by far the least expensive market for vendors and the lack of pretentiousness in the application process is most refreshing.  See the Facebook page here.



Sunday, February 25, 2018

Smith Ranch Info & Photos

The Ranch

LOCATION:
Located on HWY 377 between Rocksprings, TX and Del Rio, TX. It's on the J.S. Murray Ranch Road in an area called the Pinion Ranch. This property is in Phase 1 Lot 15. It's about 15 miles from Lake Amistad. The ranch road turnoff is about 5 miles south of Carta Valley on 377.

The land is located in both Edwards and Val Verde counties.  It is not currently Ag exempt and taxes are about $1100 (+/-)

The terrain is rocky canyon with amazing views.  Many species of Cacti inhabit the landscape.  The spring is actually very colorful and changes as different plants come into bloom and others go out.

Oak, Cedar, Pinion Pine and Texas Mountain Laurel are the most common trees.  The Mountain Laurel trees are plentiful and beautiful.

Wildlife includes White-Tailed Deer,  hogs, Aoudad, an occasional Axis, Quail, Rio Grande Turkey, rabbit/squirrel, bobcat, fox and an abundance of birds.

Birds:  Hawks, many smaller and very colorful birds that come up from Mexico, buzzards etc.  There is a small variety of bird that likes to build its nests on the front and back porch of the cabin.

Location:  Between Rocksprings and Del Rio, TX on HWY 377.  The turnoff to the land s J.S. Murray Ranch Road.  It's 5 miles up J.S. Murray to the locked gate and then another 2 miles up the private road to the cabin.  

The views are amazing.  This is looking across the canyon from behind the cabin.

This is one of the better "Subdivision" properties and this definitely one of the better properties in the subdivision setting.  

This property is set on the high ground and remotely nestled above the canyon and behind a locked gate.  This property, unlike some of the others in the area, is not accessible by other property owners or people who might drive along the main ranch road.  Also, it's out of the way for illegals.  I have enjoyed this land for over 10 years and have had not one issue with theft, break-ins or vandalism.  The plat location in Edwards and Val Verde counties is Pinion Ranch- Phase 1 Lot 15.


ACCESS:

The land is not easy for others to access.  You can enjoy the solitude and quiet and the assurance that your property will be free of unwanted guests due to its remote setting.  As mentioned earlier, I have encountered no problems since 2005 when I bought the land.

The road to the property is sometimes rough.  It can take 30 minutes or more to travel the 7 miles up the rugged canyon terrain.  Breathtaking views and wildlife make the trip quite enjoyable.  

The red wood burning stove is a great centerpiece of gathering and comfort in the rustic cabin.  It was brought in from an old home stead and has many stories to tell and many more special fireside moments to offer. 


The cabin was hand built with few power tools.  We had no electricity and used mostly hand tools as well as small battery operated tools.  We stayed in a makeshift tent during the construction.  




The back deck is some of the best living on the pace.  It's spacious and the canyon breezes along with the shade from the roof make this a wonderful place to enjoy the views and have dinner.

There are stands and feeders on the place.







The land has well beaten game trails.

There is a rainwater collection system designed to hold up to 500 gallons.  This is easily expanded.




Aoudad rams come to the feeders and are spotted from the back porch pretty regularly.

We have hogs



This buck was taken from the back porch of the cabin.  It's my stand.



The Guzzler. 













 We built this a couple of years ago to provide renewable water for wildlife.  It collects rainwater in the tank and drains into the water trough.  We installed a float valve at the trough that shuts the flow of water off when the trough is full.   




















The cabin is actually pretty cool.  I have never felt like pictures do it justice.  It's rustic, sturdy, has a solar power system and is completely wired with outlets, fixtures and switches. It has a small bedroom, a kitchen and wood burning stove.  The front and back doors are lined up perfectly so that when you open them a perfect breeze blows in from the canyon winds.  The best living is on the back porch and the views are amazing.


The cabin is rustic and has a wood burning stove.  Its perched on the edge of the canyon, which is inside the property.

Hickory Smoked Sea Salt & Seasonings by HillBilly Mojo- It's what rustic elegance taste like. 

See Hickory Smoked goodness here!