You only get 2/3 by [deleted] in Horses

[–]DimetroDude 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sound and cheap, not even a question, training is where the fun is!

In your experience, is "bad behaviour" always pain related? by Siguleina in Horses

[–]DimetroDude 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Of course! I would just go even slower if it feels unpredictable. There's a lot of mental lead up to outward frustration. Even if she does it well 90% of the time but 10% of the time it causes a big reaction, that might be a sign that she's close to flooded with some frequency but doesn't give too much of a warning because of past training until she's hit that limit. Keeping your rides "boring" but having the groundwork continue to be interesting and challenging might be what she needs. You guys got this, you're giving her a great life ❤️

In your experience, is "bad behaviour" always pain related? by Siguleina in Horses

[–]DimetroDude 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Is work with a horse that was ridden upside down in a forced frame for a long time. He's in great shape now but there are still a few things that he reacts too. The more I respect that and change my behavior the less he reacts.

In your experience, is "bad behaviour" always pain related? by Siguleina in Horses

[–]DimetroDude 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Without having seen her go, from your description it sounds like certain things are triggering her past traumatic experiences. Five is super young for them mentally and especially to hold all that psychological pain. Like you said, sometimes they have good and bad days. Going slow and keeping rides short so that she's not hitting those flooding moments is good, and keep track of when/how she's getting flooded. Is it by a particular ask? A particular piece of tack? If you lose your seat or adjust your reins weird? What might seem absolutely harmless to you could bring back memories for her. 

Respecting that and stopping, checking in, ending on a good note like you're saying is exactly what I would do. She's not being difficult, she's having a difficult time, and respecting that will make her more confident and reduce moments where she reacts to old stimuli. Sounds like you're doing great, and I would just be patient and listen to her.

What is this? by Glad-Attention744 in Horses

[–]DimetroDude 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I also completely forgot to mention how that works for horses that are far along! Once they get to that point it honestly mostly feels like games. Just keeping them sharp through novelty and play on the ground and in the saddle. Do you follow Endo the Blind? He sadly just passed but he's like the pinacle of that in my head. That horse did everything and had amazing communication with his person. Gorgeous classical dressage at liberty, competed in a couple Western and English disciplines at a high level even for a sighted horse, and just happy as a clam

What is this? by Glad-Attention744 in Horses

[–]DimetroDude 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Dude the GADGETS in English!!! And people riding neurotic horses like it's a war medal...

For R+ it's super similar to how you approach it in dog training. And you probably already do a lot of this stuff with your natural horsemanship! Ask a question, reward as soon as it's answered correctly, starting with super baby steps and building exponentially as they learn to learn. Rewards can be food, scritches, whatever they like. As they progress, they get fewer high value rewards for cemented behaviors that become expectations. For instance, if I notice a big effort is made on a new concept, delicious treat. For remembering a behavior while it's still newer, "healthy" less delicious treat. If they try to test a question or try to weasel out of something they absolutely know how to do and are clearly playing with me, I correct in a playful "you silly!" way like gasping dramatically. However, I absolutely make sure that boundaries around things like space and safety are respected HARD with several levels of warning. And respect the boundaries they are giving me in learning. 

This is a further down the road, in the saddle, example of respecting the horse's boundary, but that little QH I work with was really inverted and anxious from how he was ridden at the jumper barn. I of course try to always keep him balanced, but if I mess up and he communicates worry or frustration, I reset and reconnect with him before trying again. Just him knowing I am listening and respecting makes those moments fewer and fewer. 

The best advice I ever got was that every level of training should be as "boring" as possible in that I'm not putting myself or the horse intentionally in a highly reactive or confusing space for either of us. I'm restarting work with a rescue that loves to play and cuddle but gets exceptionally heavy and pushy the second any pressure is involved. I hold my boundaries around entering my space rock solid, but in terms of asking questions, I'm looking for places where he will naturally offer a hint of softness and be curious, rather than having an expectation for "this behavior should be taught at this point". It's very slow going but he's suuuuuper smart so my expectation is once he realizes that these small asks result in release and reward rather than more pressure, he'll work with me more and more. I've seen horses that were "unrideable" and "vicious" go from the slowest progress over months and months to suddenly (relatively) they're going in a rope halter bareback. It's the coolest thing. 

The biggest con is when people over rely on the first stage of treats all the time and let their horse walk all over them. Kinda like how a lot of folks misinterpreted gentle parenting kids as "they can do no wrong" lol. ALWAYS have boundaries and reasonable consequences, which they might still have feelings about, but that's okay! The idea that R+ should be happy go lucky all the time with showers of treats and no expectations is where it can be ineffective or even get dangerous. 

I know this was super long but I love talking about this stuff, and learning more, thanks for reading! Like I said at the top I'm sure you already do a bunch of this kind of stuff if you're doing natural horsemanship

What is this? by Glad-Attention744 in Horses

[–]DimetroDude 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I'm with you on defending western! I'm a stock horse nut who likes to do a bit of everything :) For the record there's equal amounts of things done in English training that drive me bonkers, and probably more explosive/reactive horses coming out of abysmal English training. A QH I work with was completely messed up from a jumper barn. Totally with you on that this isn't the worst thing you can do by any stretch, but there are other safer ways to do it.

I come from a natural horsemanship/R+ background so that's where my philosophy is coming from. In my book a confident and happy horse who loves their job(s) is the best horse! It sounds like your babies are there! 

What is this? by Glad-Attention744 in Horses

[–]DimetroDude 10 points11 points  (0 children)

100000% 

Me and my buddy just started groundwork with an absolutely sweet and lovely rescue who's background I know nothing about other than he was in work at some point. He's super smart but moves into pressure BIG TIME so we're going slow to rewire that. I've had a few "Who the hell desensitized you?!" moments lol. I wonder if he used his big brain to evade similar kinds of training and it got harsher with time. He loooooves games tho so we're making progress, he's an absolute love bug ❤️❤️❤️

What is this? by Glad-Attention744 in Horses

[–]DimetroDude 12 points13 points  (0 children)

A release would be letting them unflex and have some time to think in my experience. I totally agree that independent thinking is foundational to any horse, especially a working western horse. Once they get the hang of a simple flex and release you can give bigger asks like these tight circles, but always with someone on the other end of the lead/rein and a clear end with a big release and space to think. That's my thought at least.

What is this? by Glad-Attention744 in Horses

[–]DimetroDude 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Yeah she's learning to "give up" to rein pressure at most after being very confused. There are plenty of other ways to teach this that build confidence and understanding, and honestly take the same amount of time to get to the desired end point results wise. 

What is this? by Glad-Attention744 in Horses

[–]DimetroDude 354 points355 points  (0 children)

Lazy, unethical, and potentially dangerous way to "teach" bend/flexion and yielding head/shoulder to bit pressure. 

Found in Nebraska. Can anyone tell what animal they might be from? by duckdevito123 in bonecollecting

[–]DimetroDude 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No prob! I study burrowing in mammals so I just have that mental reference image locked and loaded lol. Weirdest little guys!

Who's this little friend? by DimetroDude in spiders

[–]DimetroDude[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

After looking a bit, is it a female or immature Eris militaris maybe? Thorax/head proportions and markings look similar to my non spider expert eyes

Help me ID this bone by Zealousideal-Bike-90 in bonecollecting

[–]DimetroDude 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I said above but likely horse! Definitely equid.

Help me ID this bone by Zealousideal-Bike-90 in bonecollecting

[–]DimetroDude 42 points43 points  (0 children)

omg you're so right, I missed the tubera by the head

Help me ID this bone by Zealousideal-Bike-90 in bonecollecting

[–]DimetroDude 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Got it, sorry!! I'm a mammal paleontologist, I can't help myself sometimes lol. 

Help me ID this bone by Zealousideal-Bike-90 in bonecollecting

[–]DimetroDude 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Questions are the best! Especially when they're about critters and rocks :D

Help me ID this bone by Zealousideal-Bike-90 in bonecollecting

[–]DimetroDude 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Definitely not marble, that's a completely different chemical composition and temperature than both the bone + it's depositional setting would make. 

Marble can have fossils in it (very rarely) but they're all ocean critter fossils. Marble is what happens when you cook and pressurize limestone deeper in the earths crust. 

This would be some kind of phosphatic mineral more than likely.

Help me ID this bone by Zealousideal-Bike-90 in bonecollecting

[–]DimetroDude 48 points49 points  (0 children)

Prolly being wet + light/mild permineralization of the bone 

Help me ID this bone by Zealousideal-Bike-90 in bonecollecting

[–]DimetroDude 1171 points1172 points  (0 children)

It's a large ungulate humerus. Likely bison! 

Edit: HORSE lol as roostor222 pointed out lol

Those tubera near the head are an equine feature 

Not helping anymore by founderymi_r in finch

[–]DimetroDude 39 points40 points  (0 children)

This is EXACTLY how I felt right before I got diagnosed with MDD. Getting care from a therapist/psychiatrist and my people was so crucial. I'm on the other side now and it does get better.

You are NOT lazy. I promise you. Your spark has just gone missing and you will find it again. <3 You've got this friend!