Silverhand Ranch

11/10/2024

This little escape artist is finally secure.

06/21/2024

Happy Summer Solstice!

05/27/2024

So good to be back in the saddle. This warm weather brings a bit of hope and energy that is greatly needed. Hope you all are enjoying the weather!

04/13/2023

Spring is here!

04/09/2023

02/15/2023

This is old news to a lot of people who have educated themselves about the anatomy of the hoof, but it's a great reminder. As long as the hoof is in the proper shape, it should be able to withstand most work. When shoes are needed, there are plenty of temporary hoof protection options like boots, which are becoming increasingly popular for good reason.

The tough part for a lot of horses is getting that hoof to the proper, balanced shape. There are many kinds of hoof distortions that can be seen with the naked eye and we like to educate horse owners about what to look for in a healthy hoof. Unfortunately, we see a lot of work by trimmers and farriers that is less than desirable. That's why we started searching out an education in problems of the hoof and how to help them by manipulating the hoof so the horse walks itself into the proper hoof shape.

For more information, email us at [email protected]!

Preliminary results of a research project studying the movements and forces of shod and unshod horses find that “traditional iron shoes change the hoof’s ability to expand and contract across tracts, as well as the tracts’ ability to move up and down in relation to each other.”

10/30/2022

When you are training their brains, are you also training their body? A horse's posture can either be beneficial or detrimental to their overall health and comfort. And as we know, the more discomfort a horse feels, the less engaged their brain is!

08/28/2022

I'm very happy to announce that after almost a year of studying, practicing, attending clinics and spending countless hours on case studies, I have just finished Block 1 of the Masterson Method certification course. It has taken a lot of sweat and a few tears (luckily no blood) to get here.

I started this for a client of ours - a beautiful red roan mare named Queenie. Despite being healthy and young, Queenie was so reactive that it was clear she was in extreme discomfort. Unfortunately, I could strongly relate to this personally and I wanted to do anything I could to help her. Enter the Masterson Method.

The basics of this modality are so simple and gentle, that anyone with patience and ability to read a horse can do it, without any risk to the horse. As I built my skills and confidence, I used them to help Queenie, who is doing so well now. I continued on to help our horse, as well as many others. I can see the difference this work has made and it's beyond rewarding.

I'm looking forward to the next steps of the journey and thank everyone, horses included, who have helped to support and instruct me so far!

- Alysabeth

08/06/2022

Working up to a good release!

08/06/2022

This woman has the patience of a Saint. No, more patience than a saint (when it comes to horses 😉)

06/26/2022

This is one of the many reasons why training and educating both you and your horse go hand in hand with equine body work!

Did you know:

"The jaw of the horse is a reflection of the pelvis. If the jaw is stuck, the horses pelvis will be too."

This is a great read!

• What does a noseband do?

• Do riders know WHY they use them?

• More importantly, is the desired outcome truely being achieved by the action of using them?

I have found all cases of horses nashing, opening the mouth, being inconsistent or heavy in the contact, head tilting, hollowing, etc, is about having the correct bit that the horse finds comfortable. It is also about the riders hands & the way they use them to communicate via the horses mouth. These are the two things that need correction/attention & NOT the addition of a noseband.

So to correct a horses ‘mouth’ you shouldn't try to ‘stop’ an undesirable trait with restriction (i.e.: tighten the noseband, or worse still, tighten a secondary strap below the bit) - this would cause further discomfort & resistance for something the horse is already expressing is not comfortable, therefore it cannot accept it with a quiet mouth.

And a quiet mouth is NOT a ‘shut mouth’. No living mammal on earth goes around with it’s jaw closed & teeth together - it must remain relaxed & open. Optimum performance cannot happen any other way.

Therefore the conclusion is simple - the noseband really should be a fashion piece, treated like a browband - it serves no purpose/benefit to be ‘used’ to do anything, as any tightness or restriction from a noseband simply makes peak performance impossible. Any horses ‘winning’ with this gear…. imagine how amazing they would truely be WITH A LOOSE NOSEBAND! & here is why:

Did you know:

– On an equine dissection (yes, like an autopsy) any pressure applied in the horses mouth or to the jaw (which causes the hyoid bone at the base of the tongue to move up and/or back in the jaw) renders the hind legs restricted (difficult to move by a human) with effects also evident in the hips, yet the leg can be freely moved when the jaw is released (when the hyoid bone is allow to sit lower & forward in the jaw/mouth). This is fact.

– The job of the jaw is to act like a pendulum to give the horse correct balance & allows the horse to have awareness of limb placement. This relies on the TMJ (temporomandibular joint) of the jaw to be pain & pressure free.

– The jaw of the horse is a reflection of the pelvis. If the jaw is stuck, the horses pelvis will be too. This is seen in the obvious evasion of head tilting to allow the pelvis to move if the jaw cannot.

– closing the mouth & closing the gullet (over-bent) when riding causes the hyoid bone of the tongue to become blocked, which is directly connected to & tightens the muscles at the base of the neck through to the chest. This also makes it hard for the horse to swallow - causing excessive saliva/foam to pour from the horses mouth.

So in light of these facts - here is the positive side of having a loose, caveson noseband (or none at all!):

+ The horses mouth becomes a reflection of it’s acceptance of the reins aids & how much they understand the communication of their rider

+ The horse has nothing to resist against - as there is no restriction.

+ A calm yet mobile mouth means they are light on the reins & relaxed through the neck so they can easily swallow

+ Freedom to the jaw will allow freedom in the pelvis & hind legs

+ Your horse has 100% chance of giving you it’s best performance!

It’s time we all stopped just using items of gear, because that’s what they sell in the shops ~ but really think about how we are trying to train our horses to understand us & give them the best chance of producing what we really want ~ HARMONY

© Love Your Horse