Day 4 – Hanging Out With Your Horse
Day Four
Hanging Out With Your Horse
Today you get to start putting some of your knowledge into action or start to work on the 3rd stage of learning – Transformation!
Watch the videos in this lesson and then you will be instructed on what to do with your horse today.
PS. Warwick mentions in this video about the type of horse that you might not need to do this with (he mentions it might be detrimental), however, if you have that type of horse, we are just going to do it outside of their pen. In this case, we will just be focusing on you and your ability to go out and hang out without any intention or expectation.
Remember how to navigate this course? Just click on the topics below under Lesson Content. Then at the bottom of each topic, there will be a button to move you to the next topic. If you click on Next Lesson at the bottom of this page without going through all the topics, you will feel lost! LESSONS = DAYS and the TOPICS = What we want you to learn about that day.
I am already confused. I have been watching days 1 – 3 which seems like information, all good stuff. However now on day 4, creating connection by hanging out I understand but the video has you already with a haltered horse. Also you refer to play lists but I don’t see videos to watch. Have I already missed a step?
Theres no halter in the creating connection by hanging out video. There are haltered hoprses in the Rituals of connection video, which shows ways to keep connection later on. What play lists can you not find?
Reading the alchemy of lightness to valor under the stars :)
creating connection with my youngster is going well – I want to get a telescoping flag. I’ve been using a scarf tied on to a dressage crop
Working with our 8 year old paint mare who is lacking confidence/trust and communicating her stress/tension through pushy behaviour and nipping/biting, especially with my 13 yr old daughter who is her primary handler. We are going back to foundations with her and starting with connection. We were planning on hanging out with her on the outside of the fence to begin with…just want to clarify….as I hear you saying that this exercise could be detrimental with a pushy horse.
We had planned on starting by using a round pen to hang out as she is in a large herd and the weather has been both wet and muddy and then quick freezing creating poor footing…a definite deterrent to walking over to the fence.
Thoughts?
“We had planned on starting by using a round pen to hang out”
yes, just stand on the outside.
I started hanging out with my horse in the field. After a few minutes he walks up to me, I put my hand out and he puts his muzzle in my hand. After a few scratches, he turns and takes off bucking a squealing. He will then come back and repeat the same behavior. Is this “normal”? How should these hang out session “end”? Should I walk away before he does or leave his pasture after he runs off?
“After a few minutes he walks up to me, I put my hand out ”
That is not hanging out, that is asking for something. What does he do if you don’t try to initiate an interaction, but instead just hang with him?
I have been watching a lot of your videos on you tube and just recently joined your club. I got my horse about 3 summers ago. I have known since I got her home she’s not as well trained as I thought but being in a hurry to keep up with my trail riding buddy’s we just went onward. I was told she was a cold back horse and generally just needed to be warmed up. Last fall it seemed like her cold back was more present then before with the fall cool weather moving on. So this winter I decided enough is enough. This horse has a horrible foundation on her and needs to be fixed. I watched all your videos in the archives on a buck in horse. And yes I think she is just scared of things. Mostly things that touch her. For three summers I have not been able to tie my coat on the back of the saddle .j just quit doing things that scared her. I knew better .so we have had a nice mild winter this year and perfect time to fix these things I am following you as closely as I can. I love your methods and am learning every day how to be more more present and trying to let her know I get it. Thanks there is so much to learn.
Starting this process with my mare and I’m ready to fully commit to it. I started out today just sitting in the field she is in with her 2 other pals. I was reading and listening to your podcast. Is it ok that there are other horses out there too? I don’t really want to grab her and separate her, because this leads to some anxiety, and then I’m still going out into the field and asking her for something. I feel safe in the field with the three horses, but want to be sure I don’t have to separate her first.
Yes, that’s perfect, great work!
I have a 7 year old green broke AQHA mare. I have had her for about 6 months. We haven’t done a lot of riding and I have focused on ground work since I felt there were some holes and she had a rushed start. She wasn’t started until almost 5 years old. She lacks trust and confidence. In the beginning she didn’t engage with me much but lately she willingly comes to me to smell me or engage with me without food. While she eats hay if I’m sitting near she will occasionally come over and sniff me. Would you say we have built connection? I am going to start working on the synchronized steps while she eats grass next. I’m also practicing the breath work!
Yes, that sounds great!
I have just purchased a 23 yr old retired show jumper, thoroughbred/warmblood mare. (I’m old too, she’s the perfect age!). I’ve only had her about a month, and want to establish a good connection. She is a gentle horse, well trained, has only had 2 other owners before me, but she does seem a bit shut down.
She is at a boarding stable since I don’t have property to keep her, it’s where she has been staying all along, I didn’t move her when I bought her. She spends a lot of time in a paddock with 3 other mares.
I was doing the hang-out in the paddock with her, just standing around (it’s dirt, not grass, and kind of muddy to sit) and I was trying to match steps as she moved around the paddock, from a distance of maybe 6 feet or so. This seemed to trouble her; she would put another horse between us if she could, and at one point she began trotting! Was I being too pushy somehow? I laughed because it was almost as if she was saying, “just try to match my steps now, you short-legged human!”
She’s very good about being approached and caught if you just walk up and put the halter on her. Could I be misinterpreting her and she’s actually being playful? She has probably never had a human just come hang out in the paddock, any person she’s known would just come in and catch her. What do you think?
If you are gouing to do that, do it from a much greater distance, she may have felt like you were chasing her
I have 5 year old warmblood clydesdale cross who is growing, approaching 18 hands. I’ve had him for 3 months, told by previous owner “don’t let him walk all over you” Soft eye, very smart, patient. But lately he is getting pushy on the ground and is pushing me over while leading, going behind me to my other side. I got stepped on and that gave me PTSD for a week. I know how important it is that I address personal space now. I have noticed he has gone from low on the totem pole to being dominant with his pasture mate. He comes to me in the paddock but he’s started mouthing the halter and being body pushy there. I feel that could become dangerous. I halter him sometimes almost blind as his head is way up there naturally, not throwing it up higher, but I do feel like that is dangerous. He will put his head down sometimes or I will stand there while figuring out how to put his massive halter on. But I end up standing infront of him during haltering to see what’s going on. He’s very patient, but haltering that way is still dangerous. Should I go to halter, then take it away technique? (there is his pasture mate right on top of us though) I did a sit down outside the paddock. He immediately wanted to see when I came over and he was way off in the field grazing. I had given him a week off, I noticed the energy level and immediately planted myself on the grass for an hour outside the paddock. He eventually wanted to engage when I sat outside the paddock, but mostly he did ignore me. We were batting eyelashes at each other every so often. Should I start working with him? Do I stay outside sitting more? I’ve already tried the technique you did with the pushy Friesian and it works so I feel confident I won’t get stepped on and I can get him over to the arena. Can I use the horse I have today approach to decide what we should do?
You just have to find a good (and safe) starting point for the horse that you have.Is he interested in you?
is he too interested in you?
Which of those do you think he is?
When my horses are let out to graze they are out in a larger pasture with my goats and chickens. I am out there most days just putzing around or cleaning pastures and pens. During this time I often approach and pet and walk away. Sometimes one of the horses will come to see what I’m doing say hi then leave. -Short Question: Is this considered hanging out?
Longer Question: I have minimal issue catching a horse if ever (one mare likes to think about walking away if she thinks she hasn’t had enough time to graze) No one is pushy either. I think I have 50/50 and one 60/40. I have two minis one that was born here and a miniature donkey we got as a baby. they are well mannered as far as boundaries and halter and lead well (donkey can be a donkey sometimes and not want to move forward if she thinks she is going somewhere unfun) The goal is eventually have the minis be ridable OR drive trained. I’m following this program to learn how to do ground work and get them as unfearful of things as possible. All the training they have had is based on work I have done with large breed goats and a child hood on a horse farm with a barrel racing mom. IT was a good foundation using basic common sense methods when dealing with larger breed livestock. lots of early handling, lots of boundaries and respecting of space. Is this program going to work for horses that I myself will never ride persay or will be trained to pull carts someday?
Yes, it will work fine for that.
I have an approximate 13 y/o gelding, who I think is very shut down. He is super forgiving of me (novice) but truly shows no outward emotions. When I go in his stall he will usually turn away from me.
I started sitting in his stall and 98% of the time he will just stand and eat his hay while I am there. The other 2% he will look over at me but doesn’t really come over. He did nose my foot this last time. Which made me ecstatic.
Do I keep going with just hanging out? Or should I accept the turning to look at me as something?
Last night, I tried the matching steps just for something different but he will not walk away from me when he’s on a lead and since I board, I don’t really have anywhere I can take him off lead. The pasture isn’t conducive for this.
” but truly shows no outward emotions.”
You said this, but then you said this “When I go in his stall he will usually turn away from me”. That is some very clear communication of how he feels.
“The pasture isn’t conducive for this.”
Why not?
Warwick Schiller (Administrator)
September 10, 2024 at 3:01 pm
” but truly shows no outward emotions.”
You said this, but then you said this “When I go in his stall he will usually turn away from me”. That is some very clear communication of how he feels.
“The pasture isn’t conducive for this.”
Why not?
Thank you!
Well, now that you put it that way, yes it most definitely is clear communication!
The pasture where I board is extremely difficult for me to walk in due to how uneven and muddy. The other horses who he is pastures with are not necessarily the nicest, it’s just not somewhere I feel comfortable being.
I try to use the limited indoor area when I am able to.
I’ve been working on our connection every day and I do believe I am starting to see some positive results!
What do you do when he turns away from you in the stall?
Warwick Schiller (Administrator)
September 10, 2024 at 6:52 pm
What do you do when he turns away from you in the stall?
Since working on your program with connection, I just sit with him and either read or I have started working on the breathing exercises to center myself. No expectations.
I’d say, if you step tyowards him, and he turns away, I’d step back. Then approach again, and step back every time he turns away. If it’s only once, I’d probably approach and doing scratching for connection.
Thank you very much for this content!😌
I bought a horse a few months ago. He is not new to me, I know him for a couple of years. However, when I bought him, I started spending way more time with him (hanging around, brushing him, riding, teaching him from the ground, walking in the forest). I am not sure why but in a past two months he started behaving a bit anxious when I ride him. Every session something happens. For example, he is not responding when I ask for galloping. When he does, at the beginning he jumps couple of times. He saw a person coming out of the car and he spooked. Then I felt down. Next time I was riding him, he was spooking all the time. I thought maybe he simple does not feel safe with me. So I started doing this hanging out. I was surprised to see that after the second time of hanging out, he was coming to me and grazing next to me.
Another thing what I was thinking is maybe he feels that I don’t feel safe? Because now I started to be a bit afraid myself.
Maybe I ask too much from him? Because before most of riders had 0 experience and suddenly I started asking a lot.
I truly love this horse. He is very special to me. We do not do any competitions or anything, I bought him just because I like his company. I really want to do my best to make him feel good just sometimes I don’t know what to think. My coach says that he is simple testing me because he feels that I am now the only one riding him.
I would really appreciate your opinion and some tips on what to do 🙏
“Because before most of riders had 0 experience and suddenly I started asking a lot.”
What do you consider “a lot”?
What have you been asking him to do?
I think that “a lot” for Ražis (this is his name) is something what no one asked him before. I ask him to keep the rhythm (not a very fast one but stable rythm) in all allures when I ride him, I ask him to lower the head from the ground with a treat, turn his back legs to one side and another, turn around, walk back, and walk together without a leash, I ask him to stand still for a few seconds.
I do 3 riding sessions with him a week (walk, trot, and gallop). Sometimes I use cavalettes. Then I also do 1 day a week of ground work (walk, trot, gallop). Then I do 1 day a week of teaching something. For example, walk next to me and stop when I stop. And then I do 1 day of hanging out. I sit in a paddock watching your videos, meditating or reading a book. Then sometimes we go riding in the forest.
Ok. Id just cease all of that and just follow the 30 day program
I have a 20 month old pony filly I recently bought who has been well-handled. She’s pushy and doesn’t respect boundaries. I’ve spent three days sitting outside her paddock until she loses interest in me and goes off to graze, repeating this two or three times throughout the day. She’s now at a point where she’ll come to the fence or gate to see if it’s feed time, but won’t hang around longer than a minute or two when she’s sure nobody is getting fed. I thought it might be time to try going into the paddock and, when she enters my personal space, walk directly alongside and away from her as you demonstrated in one of your videos. But it’s like her nose is tied to me, and as soon as I’m alongside her neck her nose is following me and I can’t get her to peel off of me. I tried for about 10 minutes and then she started to get a bit bossy and was putting her ears back, so I had to use more energy than I wanted to to get her out of my space. She showed no respect for my boundaries. I’m going to go back to sitting outside the paddock again and perhaps do it a little more throughout the day this weekend until she has zero interest in my appearance, but is there anything else you would suggest for such a pushy pony when I go into her paddock again?
“. But it’s like her nose is tied to me,”
It sounds like you may be walking in an arc, in which case their nose CAN follow you. If you walk directly down beside them, (their nose cant bend to their hip) it shou;d work better. if that doesnt work, Id love to see a short video of you doing this.
My now 3 year old mule was born in our barn, then spent her first few months with free access to two stalls open to the outdoors but also connected with fence panels via the breezeway of the barn. She still thinks of that area as hers. Today I was rearranging the tack room, so I left a double door open to her paddock. She came in and hung out with me while I was cleaning. At one point she picked up the old straw broom by the bristles, carried it over to the tack room door and dropped it. I just kept folding horse blankets. She looked in at me, then kept doing her thing in the barn aisle.
Yesterday I gave this a try and hung out in the field with my gelding, following the advice of whenever he took a step, following the movement and position he took with his feet. We did this as he grazed and I did essentially a walking (or in this case, grazing) meditation. I stayed about 6 weeks away besides him, which seemed like a comfortable space for both of us. After awhile, he paused to take a nap while standing. And then he lay down and took a nap on the ground. I stood peacefully nearby. This continued despite rifle firing for target practice going on at an adjacent farm. After about 10 minutes, a horse who was quite anxious was turned out in the neighboring field and took off galloping up the hill as soon as the halter came off. This woke up my gelding, who got up and took off up the hill as well, but he maybe was a bit more relaxed and nonchalant about the running off after the other horse thing than he would have been otherwise. (Ahead of time I had seen the situation arising with the other horse, so I made sure that I was not in the trajectory that my horse would go.) After the energy calmed down (which was quite quickly), I walked up the hill to where he was, offered my hand, which he sniffed, and then he gave a lick and chew. I thanked him for the lovely time together, and I walked back to the barn.
I am not sure what exactly happened in this experience (particularly my horse feeling okay to nap on the ground near me), but it was profound. I think that it was all good, but what just happened here? Any thoughts?
You are strating to develop trust.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! It’s very helpful.
I am still awestruck by the experience…
Hey Warwick, I’m just starting with your videos and trying to work out where to start with my mare. I’ll do the hanging out stuff with her in the field as she isn’t as bothered about me there. However when I come to ride her (under saddle is our major issues, but I know it starts before then) I pop her in a stable. In the stable she is very bothered about me. When she sees me she shouts and is very switched on and attached. Which videos will help lessen this draw? She isn’t pushy physically in or around the stable. Bt obviously her connection and focus is very high in this environment. And I think this is a starting area where our ride is going wrong, it won’t suprise you when I say she is anxious under saddle.
I’m working through your 30 day course.
Thanks for any advice. Hannah
“However when I come to ride her (under saddle is our major issues, but I know it starts before then) I pop her in a stable.
Why?
What does being in the stable have to do with riding. A big part of thyis process is not creating issues. (I can give advice on how to solve it as well, but for now Im trying to get you to not create issues).
I pop her in a stable to be groomed and tacked up. She lives outside 24/7. We can keep her away from the stable if that would help. Bt it’s an area where I know she is hyper focused on me and I thought I could reduce that. Get her more towards the leaving rather than the draw side of the balance it would work in our favor under saddle.
I always saddle horse where they are most comforatble to start with, otherwise you are saddling a horse thats already anxious.
Thanks for that. I’ll keep working through the course and when we get to saddling and riding I’ll keep that in mind.
New horse arrived 5 days ago. She is a 7yo, 15h TB mare, who came from a horse stud via a friend after failing to get in foal (she was at friend’s place for less than a month). Ex racehorse, may have been tired (and failed) at polo, then to a horse stud. She has been quite anxious since arriving, not surprisingly, and – what is surprising for a bottom of the herd mare – is quite dominant with my 16.3 clydie x gelding. All I have done so far is feed her, clean up manure and a couple of short connection activities. She will walk up to me sometimes now, but has a tendency to get too close – probably because my friend does not set any boundaries with her horses (they are her friends). Sometimes she is pushy but most of the time it is clingy behaviour.
My plan is to give her more time to settle in, do the routine care and spend time hanging out over the fence. Is this reasonable or should I do anything more?
Id do this when she gets too close
https://videos.warwickschiller.com/connection/general-connection-videos/what-to-do-when-you-horse-wants-to-engage-too-much/
Well, guess I’ll skip this step, LOL. Both of the horses that I’m doing this with are super human friendly. One does get pushy and nippy. So onto the next step!
“One does get pushy and nippy.”
A part of hanging out is meeting their bids for connection, which is what you are interpreting as nipping.
Here are some videos on the subject.
https://videos.warwickschiller.com/groundwork/standing-still-and-present/engaging-with-the-muzzle/?playlist=2661
https://videos.warwickschiller.com/groundwork/standing-still-and-present/21379-2/?playlist=2661
https://videos.warwickschiller.com/groundwork/standing-still-and-present/engage_with_muzzle/?playlist=2661
This one is good for the pushiness
https://videos.warwickschiller.com/connection/general-connection-videos/what-to-do-when-you-horse-wants-to-engage-too-much/