Posts Tagged ‘green’

You know that in EcoLicious Equestrian we’re all about grooming. And it’s not just about products. Did you know that grooming time is a great way to establish a tone for things to come? I am very excited to share with you the below guest  post by Horse Listening. I’ve been enjoying this insightful blog for a while now and highly recommend it, so make sure to stop by and check it out.

Here we go:

Are You Training Your Horse While Grooming or Is He Training You?

Well, of course you are! The real question to pose might be: do you KNOW that you are training your horse while grooming?

We all look forward to grooming our horses; there is no better feeling than having a thousand-pound muscle package wriggle and writhe under your ministrations, roll his eyes, sigh in contentment and offer his mutual-grooming nose in return. It is a time of pleasure for both you and your horse, a time to connect and a chance to put your worries of the day on the back burner and simply “be” with your horse.

However, underneath that feel-good moment, there is a constantly pervasive conversation going on between you and your horse that you may not even be aware of. Horses are physical animals and most of their interactions happen in the physical realm. As humans, we are used to verbal communication and are not as “tuned in” to the physical language of horses as we can be.

Do you know what your horse is saying to you while you whisk away the grime and dirt to reveal the glossy sheen of healthy coat underneath?

HorseSpeak 101 (while grooming)

1. Stepping side-to-side/backwards-forwards: Hurry up and get over with it! He has many more important things to do other than stand around and wait for you to do you “thing”.

2. Pushing you lovingly with his nose: Well, maybe it’s not as loving as you think! He wants to get you to step out of his personal space.

3. Perky-eared cute face presented in anticipation of a treat: He is the herd leader and is demanding that you surrender your feed stuff to him.

4. Pawing on the ground: Similar to #1. He really has no time for you!

5. Tail swish/pinned ears/”the look”: Stop whatever you are doing as it is making him uncomfortable. Beware! There may be a kick or bite coming next. (Note: Horses “think” about biting or kicking many, many times before they actually go through with it; be aware and pick up on the hints before it gets to the point where someone has to get hurt.)

6. Forward pinned ears looking at an object of interest/fear: Watch out! He may jump any second, either on your lap or in the opposite direction. The only thing he is NOT thinking about is you!

What should you do?

In all of the above cases, your goal should be to assert your leadership to your horse. For the sake of your safety and those around you (the horse is, after all, at least 8 times heavier than the average human), you need to firmly explain the boundaries to your horse.

Any pushiness should be met with your insistence that he steps away from you. You may need to push back on his shoulder or hip, or hold him by the halter and swing his hind end away. If he steps in your direction, gently push him away. If he nuzzles up to you (expecting a treat?), tell him your space belongs to you. In all cases, your space is your space and he may not infringe into that area for any reason (not even to snuggle). As a herd leader, you should be the one stepping into his space, not the other way around!

For the horse that paws, move him in such a way that his weight shifts to the pawing foot. If he has to put the foot down, he won’t be able to paw!

For the horse that is giving you a warning: first, identify the source of the problem. If the horse is truly being hurt or irritated by what you are doing, then back off and desensitize him first. Be lighter, quicker, or gentler. Work up to the strength level that you want to use. On the other hand, if the horse is being truly aggressive, then he needs a quick reprimand. Push him away, again asserting your rights to your personal space.

Correctly interpreting your horse’s communications will allow you to have a much deeper and meaningful connection with your horse. If you can act as a calm but assertive leader, your horse will know he is safe with you and will happily hand over the responsibilities that come with being herd boss. He will be less likely to test (although some horses continue to test regularly) and he will be more content overall.

P.S. If you follow the above guidelines, you can set the tone for your upcoming ride while you groom, but that will be a topic for another day!

Ride Green!
The EcoLicious Equestrian

Check out our full line of delicious, natural and green horse care products &  horse grooming products at www.ecoliciousequestrian.com.

It’s here. Free Shipping on all orders over $75 throughout the month of December. Give a gift of green and show stopping results to a horse lover on your list. Ships the next day. Shipping time 5 – 7 business days, so make sure to place your order now. And if you include FREE HANDS ON in the Notes section during check out, we will include a FREE Hands On Barn Hand Repair Cream.

Ride Green!
The EcoLicious Equestrian

Check out our full line of delicious, natural horse grooming products at www.ecoliciousequestrian.com

FREE Shipping  throughout December!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your furry friends!

Let’s celebrate with a contest. If you’re a Canuck,  Canadian Thanksgiving is long gone, but I’m sure you still have a lot to be thankful for and you can still win FREE stuff.  If you’re answer is drawn, you’ll get a FREE De-Stress Intensive Mane & Tail Treatment The winner will be drawn on Friday- the 25th of November 2011 at noon CST.

Here’s the scoop. We’ve got so much to be thankful for.  And our horses belong to the thankful-for-category big time.  We’re so blessed to have such amazing animals in our lives, so let’s express our thanks. Post your thank you  (short or long are welcomed) along  with a photo of your dear friend on our EcoLicious Facebook Page for a chance to win EcoLicious swag. And most importantly – make sure to whisper the thank you  into your horses ear (an apple and carrot will be a nice touch).

Here are my Thank Yous:

Thank you Cadence for being  such a spirited horse. You challenge me every day, you teach me perseverance, patience and empathy.You teach me how to breathe, observe and stay in the moment. Thank you for showing  me how to be non-judgmental, how to accept and work with whatever life throws at you (in your case a buck, spook or just plain old opinionated  ”I’d rather
not”) lol. Thank you for being you!

Thank You Cadence!

Thank you Durango for reminding me that life’s just not about work. We gotta have fun!  Thank you for being my snuggle-to-horse when I’m down. Thank you for always being there for me when I need someone to listen to me. Thank you for forgiving me my mistakes and imperfections – and there’s plenty.

Thank you Durango!

I love you guys from the bottom of my heart!

Ride Green!
The EcoLicious Equestrian

Check out our full line of delicious, natural and green equine care & grooming products at www.ecoliciousequestrian.com

Horse Illustrated Feb 2011

Barn Buzz Section of Horse Illustrated

Ride Green!
The EcoLicious Equestrian

Check out our full line of delicious, natural and green equine care & grooming products at www.ecoliciousequestrian.com

I’d like to share with you a latest testimonial from one our customers – Shauntelle from the Harding Heights Ranch in Trail, BC. Here we go:

“My Mom and I run Harding Heights Ranch Ltd. and we strive to provide the most natural/holistic care possible for our herd of 15 horses.  I came upon EcoLicious Equestrian while reading my online subscription of Holistic Horse.  I was immediately captured by the fact that they were a Canadian company but more so that they were All Natural.  So, I decided to try them and I ordered a couple of their products.  The De-Stress Intensive  Mane & Tail Treatment quickly became my favorite!  Not only did it work and smell wonderful, it lasted!!  Yay.  I had been struggling with other products that did a good job at first but after awhile the manes were far worse than they had ever been!  Ugg.  I try not to touch my horses manes too often but every once in awhile they do need to be managed… this for me happens about once a year.” 

Harding Heights Herd - courtesy Harding Heights Ranch Ltd.

“I was so in love with the smell of the products and so were my horses!  My Stallion, Rowan, who is a Suffield Horse from the Suffield Military Block in Alberta and came from wild stock is a fussy creature who would rather flee, while at liberty, then see me coming at him with a bottle in my hand!!  So, armed with my newest product, Comfort Me Healing Balm, I approached him to tend to a surface wound on his neck only to have him bolt away to the other end of his paddock.  What a brat!  So I quickly put some Comfort Me on my fingers and tucked the bottle away in my pocket and proceeded after him with caution!  I gently approached, keeping my distance with my fingers extended for him to smell.  He stretched his head out to sniff my hand.  As he sniffed his eyes started to calm and his body relaxed as he stepped towards me with his head down!!  Wow, I was so excited!!  He loved it!  Yay again!!  I proceeded to fix his scratches and did everything I could find searching up and down his legs to find any excuse to use the product.”

“I now have the Hoof Therapy Serum which will be a great tool for all of our barefoot horses.  I am very excited about its antibacterial and anti-fungal properties and once again it smells amazing!  I was spoiled at Christmas as one of my very thoughtful friends bought me and two of our other horse friends the Hands On which is amazing and so silky.  And all because I had been raving so much about the EcoLicious line!”

“I love the products so much that I gave it as a Christmas gift to another one of my dear friends who is also an all-natural girl with her herd of horses.  I wanted her to see what awesome products they were and I knew that she would be just as thrilled with them as I am. She now has all the products that I do!  I have added EcoLicious to my favorite web links on my website as well as continuing to promote you on my Facebook page.”

“I have dealt with the customer care team twice now, once on the phone and once via email and they were so polite and helpful that it makes me want to support them even more!!”

“Thanks for developing such amazing products that work for all of us green horse people!   I am looking forward to getting and trying the Leave Me Be this spring.”

Cheers,

Shauntelle (Harding) LeRose

Harding Heights Ranch Ltd. (Trail, BC)

Thank you for sharing with us your EcoLicious experience Shauntelle! We are excited to be part of the holistic horsekeeping approach on your ranch.

Ride Green!
The EcoLicious Equestrian

Check out our full line of delicious, natural and green equine care & grooming products at www.ecoliciousequestrian.com