Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Spring check list for horse and rider

    Finally, spring is here in Southern Ontario and we can start to ramp up our outdoor riding activities. After a long winter and not much riding you are eager to get out there and hit the trail but before you do there are a few things you need to check.

   The first thing is make sure your horse is in good health. Look for cuts, scraps, runny noses, leaky eyes and all vaccinations are up to date (UTD). You don't want to put a sick or unhealthy horse back to work if he isn't up for it. Remember start back slow, stretching, flexing, lots of walking and asking for a response: stop, back up, move of the leg, collect, etc.

  Second make sure you are in shape, hopefully you have been doing your stretches and exercises throughout the winter, if you haven't stretch before you get in the saddle and start back slow. Nothing can take the fun out of riding then waking up with sore stiff muscles from the ride the day before.

   Make sure all your tack is in good working order, I suggest taking care of repairs in the winter but give it another once over to make sure nothing is going to break or rub the wrong way.

   If you have a trailer you should have it given the once over, have bearings repacked, check the brakes, the floor and lights. There is nothing worse then having a tripped all planned and the trailer isn't in operating order when you need it.

   Plan your events now and write them in a calendar. It will be summer before you know it and campgrounds and shows will fill up quickly, decide which events you want to do and book it. I find if I wait I either miss out on the space, get too busy with other things or you just plain forget.

   Set a goal for you and your horse, maybe it is to teach him to load himself in a trailer, perfect the flying lead change or get him to ride out on his own. If you have something to work for it keeps things fresh and interesting for you and your horse and motivates you to get out and ride.

Hope to see you out on the trail.

Steve Wawryk

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Can Am All Breed Show A Great Success

I would like to thank everyone that stopped by the HorseLife booth this past weekend at the Can Am All Breed show in London Ontario.  It was great seeing a bunch of familiar faces and meeting a lot of new ones.  I would like to give a special thanks to all those who purchased some products and took in one of my seminars; without your support I could not be doing what I love and would be back at a "Real Job"; thanks.

A special congratulations to all the Wind Rider Challenge competitors, in particular to Camilla Willings who took the championship with her beautiful freestyle performance on her Paso Fino Stallion; (some great riding Camilla)
I should also mention the Winner of the Leather Bitless Bridle draw was Skye Pomainville of Timmins Ontario.
I look forward to meeting with many of you again at horse events throughout the season.
Thanks
Steve

Friday, March 12, 2010

Can Am all Breed show March 19-21 Western Fairgrounds London Ontario

This isn't so much a blog today but a shameless plug.  I will be lecturing at the Can Am All Breed Show in London Ontario at the Western fairgrounds Agriplex Mar 19-21, 2010.  I will be speaking about the benefits and features of bitless and treeless riding.  So if you are interested in hearing some no nonsense, concise, unbiased, facts about this riding style; take in one of my lectures or auditorium seminars were I will be saddling and bridling a horse in a treeless saddle and bitless bridle.
Be sure to drop by the HorseLife booth G5 and enter your name in a draw for some great prizes or take advantage of some show specials on a variety of great products  (Free Candy Too!). 
The schedule of lecture times seems to be changing by the minute so check out the http://www.canamequine.ca/  schedule for times and room numbers closer to the show.  Be sure to take in a Windrider Challenge were riders compete in a multifaceted discipline competition for great prizes. First place is an Orthoflex saddle second and third prize is a horselife treeless saddle.




OWNER, CREATOR of HORSELIFE

STEVE WAWRYK

Steve Wawryk's lifelong love and passion for horses is what led him to pursue a career in the horse industry and helped him in creating his multifaceted company Horselife.

Drawing on his 16 years of interest and participation in a wide variety of equestrian disciplines, Steve has created a brand of tack, most notably his Horselife bitless bridles and treeless saddles. He offers clinics and seminars to small groups interested in learning more about bitless and treeless riding. Steve can answer all your questions and provide hands on instruction to help you get started riding in this exciting discipline. The Horselife "free saddle trial" program is a great way to insure that treeless riding is right for both you and your horse.

When Steve is not busy running his tack business he is writing his daily blog on all things related to horses. Want to improve your riding? Steve offers horse training and private riding lessons to people interested in learning a no nonsense safe approach to "real life riding". In a very short time Steve can have you and your horse working in harmony. In his spare time, Steve enjoys camping or traveling with his wife and two sons. On any given weekend Steve can be found playing polo, roping cattle, fox hunting or participating in some other horseback pursuit. If you ever thought about trying bitless or treeless riding be sure to take in Steve's seminar, you won't want to miss it. For more information, visit http://www.horselife.ca/
Thanks hope to see you there.
Steve

Monday, March 1, 2010

A little trick for calming an excited horse.

We have all been there, you are out at the barn ready to load your horse on the trailer or go for a ride and your horse is wired for sound. They could be fired up for any sort of reason but all you know is your horse is prancing, head held high, jumpy and showing the whites of his eyes. It is obvious your horse is nervous or scared so how do you calm him down so you can handle him in a safe calm manner. I have a trick I use to help settle a nervous horse. I am not sure where I picked this trick up; it may have been from another horseman, an article I read or the internet. I don't really know the science or magic behind this technique, (I think it works on pressure points and endorphin release) but I do know it has worked for me.

Let me explain; the first thing I do is keep calm, it is impossible to settle an animal when you are stressed so I take a couple of deep breathes and relax. When I feel the tension leave I talk to my horse in a calm cool manner in a soothing soft voice.

Once I can approach the horse I start by scratching and petting around the withers. Hopefully the horse will stand still and lower his head enough so I can rub him between the eyes. Once I have rubbed and petted on his head him I apply a little pressure to the indentations above the horse’s eyes. I use my pinkie and my thumb (like the hang loose symbol) and apply light steady pressure to this area.

At first your horse may not know what to expect and start to move around and try to raise his head, stay with it. In a very short time the horses head will begin to drop and his eye lids will grow very heavy. After 30 seconds to a minute of this the horse will become very calm and relaxed, some become so relaxed that they try to lie down and almost fall asleep. I believe this is a good practice to get into before every ride, particularly for those of you who are mounting a nervous high strung horse. What I like about this trick is it performs three purposes, one it can help settle the horse and two it forces you to calm yourself down before mounting and three helps to build the bond between you and your horse. Keep this up for a few weeks and in no time your horse will learn to look forward to it. I can hear the sceptics already and I know it sounds crazy and a little flakey but it works for me.