Sage Horsemanship is an outgrowth of my years of hanging around horses and "horse" people. For a long time I thought the buckaroo/vaquero style I learned was just how most folks got things done with horses because most folks around me did them that way and they made sense to me. I have slowly (whether from being slow or just being a little shy) come to realize that what I believe about the horse and what I am able to do with horses is actually different than what is often thought about horses and done with or to them. While I continue to learn and grow in my own right, I would like to share my experience with others.
The growth of interest in this "style" of horsemanship, this "natural" horsemanship idea, is proof that the recreationally-oriented horse owner is realizing that something is missing. The feeling that there is more to this deal for human and horse than they have been able to achieve so far is spreading and that is good for both human and horse. With this it seems there is an equally growing need to get this stuff out to more people. I would like to do just that, sharing what this is all about for me and the horse.
Many times I have been asked to ride a "problem" horse for someone, a bucker, a headtosser, a runoff, again only to find not a problem horse but rather a problem relationship or a problem human.
Now a problem human is not necessarily a "bad" thing and it is certainly a "curable" affliction. Most often it is just a person who never really stopped to think about things and why they are as they are. They just assumed the advice a lot of folks gave them is true (Why would anyone tell you something about a horse if it were not so?) and extended those assumptions to all horses, as if they are all the same and their horse is always the same. The "broke" or "trained" horse mindset lets us think of horses as some kind of machine. Yeah, he is a broke horse, as if that really says anything at all about a particular animal at a particular point in time. We forget he is a living, thinking, feeling animal with an instinct to be safe. If there was a surcharge to my bill for every time I heard comments from horsefolk based on incorrect assumptions about the horse's nature I would have retired long ago.
In over fifteen years as a farrier, I have been kicked exactly once. It was during my first few months as a full time shoer, and it was an easy reminder of how to get a horse's foot off the ground properly while protecting myself. I was very thankful for a lesson well-learned and always remembered - a sore muscle for a few days was the only physical result, but the little horse that did it left me a great and lasting mental gift! The method I have used for all those years, which has kept me safe from injury, was taught to me by a man named Clois Earles, and the only people I have seen use the technique were taught by him. I have been told that the farriers of Britain use this and it is outlined in the British Pony Society Handbook. I have read that description and it is not close to what I describe here. It rather goes for the pastern as most people I have observed will do. British farriers may well use it, Clois was active in the American Farrier's Association and judged competitions on the international level. The British and Irish champs visited the school Clois ran while I was there. He may have learned it from them. This method is not foolproof but has served me well. It is a logical method, that has proven itself safe to me as well as being very effective in training young horses.
The method doesn't employ the usual approach of 'pinching', 'holding', 'picking up', grabbing or otherwise stimulating the pastern joint in any way. In fact, you do not bend over nearly that far and you do not 'pick up' the horse's foot at all - you ask the horse to lift it. All horses are quite capable, though not always willing at first, of this simple task. Greater success is to be achieved by asking rather than demanding - as is the case in all facets of horse work. If there is a problem, the position of the handler keeps them aware of the horse's motion and in a safe position to react or respond. When you teach the horse this method, you do not tie him - just leave the lead rope looped over a hitching rail or the crook of your forearm. You can also work with his head free in a stall or in a round pen.
For the purposes of explanation, we'll ask the horse to pick up his left side front and back feet (At different times, of course). You simply reverse the procedure for the other side.
Front foot:
Stand beside the horse facing his tail, a fraction back from his foreleg. With your left hand you reach down, and with index finger and thumb find the tendons that run behind his knee joint. Give them a little tickle, it is like a 'funny bone' shot to him, but not severe and not painful. If you find the nerves that run behind the knee, he will 'give' with his knee a little or maybe even lift his leg. If this doesn't happen, you've either missed the spot or you need to 'tickle' a little harder. Just be patient and feel around the area to establish the right position and pressure. When he does lift his leg, cup your hand around the cannon bone from the inside, with your fingertips to the outside of the leg. The closer to the pastern joint you hold the leg, the more leverage you have. Resist the temptation to reach down and grab or tickle his fetlock or pastern and lift. Let him lift his leg because you are asking, and keep working the nerves to the extent that you need. After a while the horse will learn to lift his leg for you when you get to his knee with your hand. The advantage in this is you don't have to bend over so far as you do when stimulating the pastern - you can keep your head up and watch his rear leg. This means you are in a much better position to move out of the way if you need to - and sometimes, with some horses, this is necessary!
Hind foot:
This is a little more complicated than the front feet, but still easily learned. Stand approximately even with the horse's hip, close to his body, facing him - if you are too far forward, you are in a position to be cowkicked. Remember you are standing close, so be aware of his feet. Place your left hand on his hipbone - you will use this to push away if the horse moves suddenly, or kicks out. Having your hand there also helps you to feel what the horse is likely to do - whether he is relaxed or tensing his muscles getting ready to move.
With your right hand, starting high on the buttocks, work your hand down to the back of the hock. Again there are nerves and tendons on the inside of the hock that you can stimulate with your fingers. When you find them, he will lift the leg and you will slide your hand on under his cannon bone, fingers of the right hand to the inside or underside of the horse, cradling the leg.
Now you swing your left leg under him and slowly shuffle out behind the horse to stretch his leg out. Your shoulders are square to him and you are looking the same direction his tail points. Then you can reach down with your left hand and cup your fingers around the end of his toe. Keeping his fetlock flexed until you are in a position to rest his leg across your left hip in between your legs will help to control his leg.
You should keep the horse's hips level by squatting with your knees (don't bend over at the waist as this causes stress and strain on your back), and you should have his leg positioned out straight behind him. This is a safe position to work from, because if he pulls his leg back from this position, he will actually shoot you out from under him to safety. If you pull his leg out to the side and he wants it back, he will pull you back underneath him. A helper I had once didn't believe this and learned his lesson the hard way from a stout horse tap-dancing on his ribs! Be sure to get the horse's hips level across the top, because if you hold his leg too high he will tire and want to put it down. If you hold a horse's leg properly, at the right height, he can stand a very long time, quite comfortably, on one hind leg.
