{"id":30719,"date":"2021-12-03T07:03:12","date_gmt":"2021-12-03T07:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teddiezieglerhorsemanship.com\/academy\/course\/marks-journey-7-3\/"},"modified":"2022-10-21T07:26:02","modified_gmt":"2022-10-21T07:26:02","slug":"bo2-03-08","status":"publish","type":"tva_lesson","link":"https:\/\/teddiezieglerhorsemanship.com\/academy\/course\/bo2-03-08\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark\u2019s Journey \u2013 #7"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hanging with the Herd for the First Time<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Here we go\u2026  Now that Mark is familiar with the basics of horsemanship and I feel that he can keep himself safe, with me by his side for the moment, he is ready to start the next segment of his training.<\/p>\n

The question I get more than any is, \u201cI have more than one horse so should I do your program with one horse at a time or the whole herd?\u201d  The answer is both!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Today we are going to start hanging out with the whole herd.  This way Mark has time to get more conformable around horses in general without having to deal with learning more basic horsemanship skills.  He\u2019s doing great so far and I want him to practice his newfound skills.<\/p>\n

Being around the herd also helps the horses get used to Mark in a safe manner.  All the horses being together makes them feel safe because they trust each other and understand what to do as a herd.  Being around a new person isn\u2019t so scary when they all are together and Mark isn\u2019t approaching them.<\/p>\n

While being with the Herd:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Let the horses out first. Allow them time to get comfortable and get to their \u201csafe spot\u201d (where they are the most comfortable).<\/li>\n
  2. Then slowly, calmly walk into the pasture or arena and go to a different area then your horse.<\/li>\n
  3. Try to ignore your horse, but keep an eye on what they\u2019re doing and where they are to keep yourself safe. But you are just being a part of the herd and doing your own thing, just like another horse.<\/li>\n
  4. If a horse comes up to you, let him sniff and be close to you (as long as he doesn\u2019t bite you). However, don\u2019t touch them at first or interact if you can. You just want to do nothing but be together.<\/li>\n
  5. You can walk around slowly, stand in one spot, or lean against a fence. Just don\u2019t call attention to yourself or call your horses over.<\/li>\n
  6. Pay attention not only to your horses, but any dangers around, anything that makes noise and can spook your horse, all the nature around you, the beautiful sounds, and the beauty and gracefulness of your horses.<\/li>\n
  7. Enjoy just spending time with your herd.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I want you to watch the video once for the lesson and then watch it a second time and this time watch the horses.  You will see how the horses are watching us, how one is more curious and needs to check us out.  He is the leader of the herd and wants to make sure who we are, what we want, and why we are there.  Once he figures out that we are not a threat, we don\u2019t want anything, and we are just a part of the herd\u2026he leaves us alone.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/span>\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

    I love to videotape my horses and then watch how they react, what their body language tells me and what their facial expressions are when I\u2019m not looking. ????  It tells me a lot.<\/p>\n

    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.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-30719","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\/30719","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=30719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}