{"id":30718,"date":"2021-12-03T07:03:10","date_gmt":"2021-12-03T07:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teddiezieglerhorsemanship.com\/academy\/course\/marks-journey-6-3\/"},"modified":"2022-10-21T07:25:35","modified_gmt":"2022-10-21T07:25:35","slug":"bo2-03-07","status":"publish","type":"tva_lesson","link":"https:\/\/teddiezieglerhorsemanship.com\/academy\/course\/bo2-03-07\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark\u2019s Journey \u2013 #6"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>How to Give Treats and Connect<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Now that Mark is feeling more comfortable being next to the horses, I want the horses to get more comfortable around him. &nbsp;Remember, this is about building a relationship that goes two ways. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>So, just as Mark needs to be relaxed, comfortable and happy to be around the horses, the horses need to be the same around Mark in order to even start their lessons together.&nbsp;Relationships are cultivated, not forced, by working together one step at a time.<\/p>\n<p>What you don\u2019t see in the video is teaching Mark how to hold the carrots to feed the horse treats. &nbsp;Even small things like how to feed treats can be a relationship builder.<\/p>\n<p>Basics for feeding treats:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Make sure you hold the treat in your hand and that your fingers are out of the way. If the treat is small, give it to your horse with an open hand. If the treat is a carrot, allow your horse to bite a piece off (with fingers out of the way) or take the whole carrot from you and eat the whole thing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" width=\"249\" data-init-width=\"300\" height=\"187\" data-init-height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/teddiezieglerhorsemanship.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Marks-Journey\u20136.jpg\" data-width=\"249\" data-height=\"187\"><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t overfeed \u2013 one carrot after another \u2013 without letting your horse finish the first carrot. This could be a choking risk.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure that you are \u201cgiving\u201d your horse the treats and that he is not \u201ctaking\u201d them from you. We don\u2019t want to develop a food aggressive horse or a one-way relationship.<\/li>\n<li>If your horse becomes aggressive, pushy, or anxious then walk away and stop feeding treats. Wait a little while and try again.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you watch your horse\u2019s body language, especially his ears, you will spot how he feels about the treats and how you are presenting the interaction you are sharing with him.<\/p>\n<p><span><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" width=\"249\" data-init-width=\"300\" height=\"187\" data-init-height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/teddiezieglerhorsemanship.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Marks-Journey\u20136-2.jpg\" data-width=\"249\" data-height=\"187\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>You can tell a lot from your horse\u2019s ears positions and his body language. &nbsp;Even though there are many, many different situations and reasons for each ear position depending on your horse\u2019s personality, here are a few general guidelines for most horses.<\/p>\n<p><strong>General Guidelines for Ears:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Ears Forward: Happy, Interested, Watching something that they are not afraid of.<\/li>\n<li>Ears Straight Up, facing forward: Listening ahead, Paying Attention to something in front of him, Not Afraid.<\/li>\n<li>Ears Straight Up, both facing back or one facing back and one facing forward: Listening and Paying Attention to the rider and something in front of them, or interested in what\u2019s going on in front of them and in back of them, Not Afraid or Angry, Curious.<\/li>\n<li>Ears Pinned Back or Flat: Upset, Uneasy, Unhappy, Angry (depending on how far back or flat they are).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Body language will also give you a hint of how happy or unhappy your horse is. &nbsp;If the ears are twitching back and forth and your horse moves his head quickly up high or away from you, then something you did spooked him or is making him uneasy. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>If he backs up or pins his ears, then he is even more upset and possibly angry. &nbsp;If he is close, relaxed, gentle, and his ears are going forward and backward then he is happy but curious and just not 100% sure.<\/p>\n<p>Once you start noticing the ears, then the body with the ears, then the eyes, and the herd behaviors, it will make your communication instinctual and natural like a horse with another horse. &nbsp;It just takes time, patience, and practice.<\/p>\n<p>This attention to your horse\u2019s body language and what he is telling you is constant\u2026even when you are giving your horse scratches, petting, and lots of love and hugs.<\/p>\n<p><span><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" width=\"249\" data-init-width=\"300\" height=\"187\" data-init-height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/teddiezieglerhorsemanship.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Marks-Journey\u20136-3.jpg\" data-width=\"249\" data-height=\"187\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>When you are with your horse, there is always a conversation of sorts going on and it is our responsibility to the relationship to listen. &nbsp;While you are giving your horse love, watch his body language and \u2018listen\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>If your horse is talking to you, why would you ignore him? &nbsp;You wouldn\u2019t do that to a good friend, so why do it to your horse? &nbsp;You wouldn\u2019t! &nbsp;You both just need to learn how to communicate better and how to listen to each other. &nbsp;This makes a good relationship even better. &nbsp;What a dream!<\/p>\n<p><span><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" width=\"249\" data-init-width=\"300\" height=\"187\" data-init-height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/teddiezieglerhorsemanship.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Marks-Journey\u20136-4.jpg\" data-width=\"249\" data-height=\"187\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>After you have watched this video once for the general message, watch it a few more times just to watch Apollo\u2019s body language and his ears as a reaction to Mark\u2019s actions. &nbsp;You can tell that Apollo is trying to talk to Mark, but Mark hasn\u2019t learned how to hear him yet. &nbsp;But they are both working on better communication together. &nbsp;Our horses are so patient with us.<\/p>\n<p>I hope you enjoy watching Mark\u2019s journey with horses and are learning how important the little things are to you and your horse\u2019s relationship. &nbsp;This is a new adventure for both Mark and the horses. &nbsp;Fun for all of them!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-30718","tva_lesson","type-tva_lesson","status-publish","hentry","tva_courses-bo2","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teddiezieglerhorsemanship.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tva_lesson\/30718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teddiezieglerhorsemanship.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tva_lesson"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teddiezieglerhorsemanship.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/tva_lesson"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teddiezieglerhorsemanship.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}