Dolly and I have been working on our teamwork for about a year now, off and on.  Obviously, I don’t have as much time at the end of the day as I would like to groom, prep, and ride. So we generally go once a week, better some weeks, worse others. Last week was the tail end of several missed opportunities to ride, and Kirsten and I, perhaps a month ago, had decided that we needed some time doing a more formal lesson in the round pen and the arena rather than my typical clean, tack, check brakes, and try stuff. Boy, did my eyes get opened to the bad positioning and misunderstanding of the basic forms of cues I had accrued  through early lessons dimly past. Its not that I was way off. I could move the horse off all points succesfully, get on, and in a general way, communicate my intentions, and barring any major desire for grain, barn, or grass, she was generally cooperative.  Sometimes, she was less so. It’s not that she didn’t like me, it was an issue of respect.

After correcting my little mistakes… body angle here,  clearer cues there… on the ground… I was back to having a full, crisp response. Almost soldierly. Which is amazing with an 1800 pound draft horse. After a trip around the round pen bareback and getting a new feel for her motion and biomechanics with a little bit more exposure under my belt, we put the saddle on and worked in the arena. What a remarkable difference 20 minutes can make when used wisely, and with a competent teacher! To anyone who wishes to really learn horsemanship and thinks they might not be able to afford a trainer… the rapid results, the clear and effective lessons, and the return on your investment is well worth the reasonable price of admission.

Happy Riding!

Mark

The length of the saddle flap from the stirrup bar to the bottom of the flap: 15″

Gullet Width:

This saddle has been well used and well cared for. It shows the wear and underside colorations typical of a used saddle. All marks are cosmetic and consistent with the saddle being used.

The leather is in good repair and the stitching is sound. The billets were replaced by the previous owner. The one exception is the right sweat flap has come away from the saddle flap, as shown in the photo. This is not a stress point and doesn’t affect the use of the saddle. This has happened with just about every Crosby I have come across.

The Crosby Pris des Nations is well balanced and gives an amazingly close feel of your horse, making it ideal for English natural horsemanship and jumping. It’s the next best thing to bareback…with the benefits of stirrups! It has set the standard in the show ring for decades.

If you are the kind of horseman who hates all the knee rolls and padding that have become so popular, and enjoy freedom, balance and closeness with your horse, this classic saddle is for you!  Make it yours at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&item=260314389017

I love all the posts that include training with treats! Do you know they actually funded a study in France which “scientifically proved” that horses learn faster when they receive food rewards? Hahaha, horsemen since the dawn of time could have told them that!

My tip brings even more impact to the power of treats. When a new horse first comes to the farm, we teach them a “bridge signal.” They learn to associate a clicking sound with a treat. More importantly they learn that whatever they are doing at the exact moment of the click is what they are getting rewarded for. This way, we can reward them “in the moment” no matter how far out of carrot range they are (great for liberty training or speed work.)

This has infinite applications! We have taught a horse who hated having his feet handled to stand in a bucket of warm water and epsom salts to soak out an abcess. We have taught rowdy youngster to quietly hold their hooves on a hoof stand so one person can trim their feet without needing a second handler. We made horses who refused to be dewormed look forward to the dewormer. We have taught flying lead changes to an off the track TB who would only take one lead, and curiosity and courage to a “chicken-heart” who spooked at anything and everything. The list is endless!

The photo shows a recent– and FUN–success. The mare in the photo is an off the track TB. We brought her to a medieval equestrian reenactment. In no time she accepted the flowing, jingling costumes, the swords and lances swinging around her head, the loud cracks of impact and flying targets–all through the power of associating the click for the right behavior with the treat that says “well done!”

 Check out the contest and vote for our tip!

He lay dozing his first morning here as “Uncle” Pete, the wise Appaloosa, kept watch. Diego watched me slowly approach, but remained reclining, relaxed in his trust in humans.

As I cuddled with him, I looked down:

I consider that four-leaf clover a good sign

Diego settled right in. He is now out with the geldings learning about life and appropriate horse behavior from the herd. He will grow strong running our rolling pastures. He’ll learn partnership with humans through natural horsemanship principles. Eventually he’ll be started with classical dressage and go on to eventing, medieval reenacting, and horse shows… with lots of trail riding thrown in!

We can’t wait to share his development… naturally!

We just discovered this trip cost calculator.  How cool!  Our F350 didn’t show up in their automatic fields, but they allow you to enter your own information.

Before you hitch up your horse trailer and load your tack and your horse for a clinic, horse show, or trail ride, plug in your stats. You’ll find out how much fuel you’ll use, how much it’ll cost, and even where to find cheap gas and diesel along the way!

What’s big horsey adventures are YOU planning?  Share your plans in our comments!

We’ve thought about hosting free classified ads for the natural horsemanship community here at Horses…Naturally! I’m always reluctant to feature anything I haven’t seen “with my own eyes,” and this includes thousands of strangers’ horses!

On the other hand, it could be a valuable resource to connect natural horsemen and women with their equine partners-to-be, and to help good horses find homes fluent in natural horsemanship.

So, dear readers, sound off! Would you like to see a corner of our site dedicated to naturally trained horses for sale? We could We love to hear your opinions!