Tara Maxwell

Cassie

tara — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:26:07 +0000

The next phase of being prepared for a rider to be in the saddle is mounting. In doing this I take a mounting block (or a muck bucket) and jump up and down on it on both sides of the horse – as many jumps it will take. I want the horse to look as if it’s so bored of me jumping up and down that they don’t mind at all if I step my foot in the saddle and proceed to ride them.
As you can see in the picture, Cassie is very braced and trying to move away from me as I jump up and down on my bucket. So, I will proceed to jump as many times it will take to get her calm and see that she’s not bothered with me doing this.
I do believe the more time we take on the ground, the better my ride will be in the saddle. I don’t want to just ride Cassie, I want her to understand what’s being asked of her and I want her to enjoy it.
Cassie is a great example of — you have to take each horse, their personality, their fears, and work with them however long it takes to get them ready for the next step in training. When you take the time on the ground to assure them that everything is going to be just fine – you’ll have a nice ride. Safety, understanding, and enjoyment is the key to a ‘partner’.
So, I’m going to jump on that bucket 2,000 times, if that’s what it takes, to convince her that everything is going to be just fine.

Cassie

tara — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:06:07 +0000

We’ve been doing tons of desensitizing with Cassie and she’s much better with things. But, something inside me tells me we’ve not quite convinced her that her new world is greater than where she’s been. I take this feeling with caution, but I do feel like it’s time to move forward. Cassie is a very smart horse and I do think she’s up for the challenge if presented in the right way. Cassie has a lot of fear in her and I want so much to help her to understand and enjoy what’s being asked of her. I don’t know that we will understand where her fear comes from. It’s horses like her that I have this fantasy of them becoming human one day and sharing a cup of coffee with me and letting me into THEIR world – what it’s like for them, where they’ve been, humans that have crossed their path and what they think of each one………. Maybe in Heaven, I’ll get that day..
OK, back to reality…. Cassie is one those horses that makes a trainer look off in a direction, take a deep breath, then scratch their head wondering – “what am I supposed to do now” —. I did this – a number of times – and something hit me that’s it’s just time to give her a new challenge.
So after desensitizing, comes the saddle and bridle. Have to say that she took to me saddling her just fine. Her owner says that she’s been ridden before. So she shouldn’t have a problem with this. I still, when I saddle my horses for the first time, like to take the halter off, turn them loose and see what happens. I then proceed to change their direction on cue and get them to walk, trot, and canter at liberty with saddle on.
Cassie took to saddling. When I turned her loose, she never bucked, just ran like a cougar was on her back. So, I spent the time needed to get her to walk, trot, and canter at liberty when asked.

Downtown In Diamonds

tara — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:15:53 +0000

Diamonds is a beautiful sorrel mare. She has a fantastic, eager to please temperament. Diamonds has great ground manners and is a pleasure to ride. This sweet mare loves the trails and would be a perfect match for any rider.

Cassie

tara — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:35:59 +0000

Big day desensitizing! Cassie’s owner, Karen, was able to take a big part in building her relationship with Cassie and gain her trust. Karen spent the day rubbing ‘scary’ objects such as sacks, bags filled with cans, and flags (all that made a lot of noise) all over Cassie’s body to help Cassie realize that what Karen was asking for was not going to harm her. At the end of the day Cassie stood still for whatever she was approached with. What a great exercise! It was a big step for the both of them and also a great advance for their relationship.

Cassie

tara — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:23:46 +0000

This week has been a big week for Cassie. We are spending a lot of time building her confidence working her from another horse and with desensitizing. Even though Cassie is doing much better with her ground exercises she still acts like she just doesn’t know what to do with herself. She still acts like she wants to jump out of her skin with the change of routine and something new. The nervousness seems to take over her ‘thinking for herself’ and she’s always looking for the comfort of another horse. I am taking advantage of ‘the other horse’ security blanket and using that to help build her confidence and at the same time teaching her social skills with other horses. In doing this, I worked her from my saddle horse, Duck. I’m always amazed at the results of working a horse from another horse. It sounds crazy, but it’s like the horses have a silent language between each other that they speak that helps each other with what’s being asked of them. I plan on more work like this with Cassie. Check back soon to see the progress!

Cassie

tara — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:51:19 +0000

Cassie is a Paso Fino mare that has arrived for training. She’s around 10 yrs old. She’s a very sweet and smart girl. However, she doesn’t seem to have a lot of confidence in herself. She constantly looks for other horses and does not want to be by herself and seems to have a lot of nervous energy. There are different things I plan to do with Cassie to help build her confidence, but first and foremost thing is basic ground exercises.
I have started teaching Cassie my ground exercises which include sending, disengaging hindquarters, front quarters, backing, and side pass. When I first started working with Cassie, I realized very quickly that she just needs to slow down. She will now walk off instead of trot when I send her. I’m working on slowing her hindquarter disengagement down so that she will really start thinking about where she’s placing her feet and give a nice long cross over with her hind legs. The slower I can get her feet at this point tells me where her comfort level is. She did not want to move her front quarters over when asked at first, but now has become very light on the lead rope and responds well. She backs well, but still needs to work on standing and staying in place until given her next cue.
I’ve also started teaching Cassie how to drive on the halter and lead rope. I’ve found that this exercise really helps a horse get in tune with what you’re asking and teaches them to be patient in waiting on the next step you may ask from them. She’s doing well, we still need to slow her feet down a bit but with patience and persistence, she will learn to focus on her job.

“Horse South” Feature

admin — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:39:54 +0000

“Horse South” Feature

View more documents from taramaxwell.

Problem Solving

admin — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:02:09 +0000

There are many problems people encounter with their horses. When solving problems between horse and owner it is very important to identify the ‘true souce’ of conflict. With safety of both horse and rider being top priority, Tara uses gentle, quiet methods to build the horse’s confidence and achieve a higher level of communication.

Colt Starting

admin — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:00:58 +0000

Every horse needs a good, solid foundation to begin their relationship with their human companion. Tara’s priorities in training are safety of the rider, safety of the horse, and building the horse’s confidence to prepare it for any discipline he or she may be used for. With a solid foundation and teaching the rider how to effectively communicate with their horse, a long enduring relationship will be started.

Jennifer Becton

admin — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:24:15 +0000

My horse Darcy and I reached a plateau in our relationship. Our rides weren’t terrible, but I wasn’t exactly sure how to attain my goals. We were doing a lot of arena riding and had some basic skills, but both Darcy and I lacked the confidence and the tools to ride calmly on trails alone or in company. So it was Tara to the rescue! Tara’s training program is truly wonderful. Rather than just sending Darcy away for thirty days, Tara made sure that I was involved in the entire process. She worked with Darcy, and then I would come once or twice a week to take lessons. Darcy and I were able to learn together. Tara gave me plenty of time to practice my new skills, she talked us through a scary ride in spooky weather, and she even reminded me to keep hydrated. The most important tool that Tara gave us is the hindquarter. It is the basis of her training program and with good reason. It is the foundation of hind-end control, shoulder control, and lateral movements, but more importantly, it is the answer in every emergency situation. At first, I was skeptical. But the more I used the hindquarter, the more I realized how it calmed Darcy and helped her refocus on me. Now, if we encounter something scary, I know exactly what to do! I hindquarter, and soon Darcy is calm and relaxed. Another important aspect of Tara’s program is her focus on riding the horse outside the round pen. Darcy was very emotional, and I was too scared to tackle her antics myself. Tara took things slow with her and always gave her time to think and understand what was being asked of her. The result is a much calmer, happier horse. With my new found confidence thanks to the hindquarter, I am now able to ride my horse on trails, near cars, around dogs, and even across bridges.