By: Nancy Nellis
Training Tip:
There's only so much space between his ears.
Any horse that has not been trained by human beings only knows how to use the reactive side of his brain. The reactive side of the horse's brain is what has kept him alive for millions of years. Mother Nature says, "Don't think - run!" So horses are naturally born with a big reactive side and a small thinking side to their brains. On the other hand, well-trained horses have a big thinking side and a very small reactive side. How did the well-trained horse get a big thinking side? Because somebody moved his feet forwards, backwards, left and right and always rewarded the slightest try. The more you move the horse's feet and reward the slightest try, the bigger the thinking side of his brain grows. As the thinking side gets bigger, the reactive side gets smaller. There's only so much space between the horse's ears, so as one side grows, the other side shrinks.
Whenever you want to change directions, turn your horse or guide him in general, always use the Look, Leg, Rein approach. You want to be able to use the smallest/lightest cue possible to get your horse to respond correctly. When it comes to steering, that's your look. Look up and focus on where you want the horse to go. If he chooses to ignore you and doesn't follow your focus, then you'll step up to the next level of pressure and insist that he follows your focus by applying pressure to his side with your outside leg. If he still ignores you, you'll enforce your request by picking up on the inside rein and steering him in the direction you want him to go. Always start with the smallest/lightest cue first, and if the horse doesn't respond correctly, increase the pressure until he does. As long as you always start gently and finish gently, eventually that's all you'll have to do.
When you're working with your horse, remember that you're not trying to perfect every single lesson everyday; you're just trying to improve each one a little bit. If the horse is doing better today than yesterday, quit - you've done your job. It's time to move on to a new exercise. The worst thing you can do to a horse is keep drilling on the same exercise until he absolutely hates it and gets a bad attitude. Work on the exercise, make it better than yesterday and then quit.
Build The Passive Solar Tank
By Mother Earth News
The livestock waterer is built around a standard galvanized metal stock tank, which is surrounded by a well-insulated enclosure. The south wall of the enclosure is a double-glazed solar collector. Using two layers of corrugated plastic (double glazing) reduces overnight heat loss from the tank. The metal tank wall is just behind the collector glazing and
acts as the collector absorber. The sun shines through the glazing onto the tank wall, which heats up the tank wall and the water. The tank wall is painted black to absorb heat from the sun efficiently. The waterer has a lid with an opening just large enough for animals to drink through, and this limits the heat loss from the water surface.
While this design is simple, it's also efficient.
- It's well-insulated. Heat loss is far less than from a bare metal or plastic tank.
- The solar collector adds heat on sunny days, and the double glazing reduces heat loss from the collector.
- Solar collectors are more efficient if they operate at a low temperature. The water only needs to be heated to just above 32 degrees Fahrenheit. This allows the absorber (tank wall) to run cool, which reduces heat loss out of the glazing. If the tank wall needed to be hot for the system to work, a lower percentage of the heat collected
would be transferred to the water. - The water provides thermal mass so all of the available sun energy can be effectively stored.
- The lid further reduces heat loss from the water surface.
We measured the energy consumption of an electric heater in the old tank (a bare, galvanized tank) at 8.5 kilowatt hours per full day during mild winter weather, with low night temperatures about 15 to 30 degrees and daytime highs about 25 to 40 degrees. We estimate the energy use for "real" winter weather is about 30 kilowatt hours per day, which would cost about $3 and result in about 50 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per day!
The solar-heated livestock waterer rarely requires an electric heater. If you get a little ice on the water overnight, it will usually melt later in the day.
The horses seemed to take the new tank in stride. We thought they might have a problem putting their heads into the fairly small opening, but they took to it with no problems.
Solar Stock Tank Materials
The tank we used for this project was 6 feet long by 2 feet wide by 2 feet high, with round ends. (See diagram in the Image Gallery.) These tanks cost about $100, but you probably already have one if you have livestock. The prices below are estimates for new materials. If you have a scrap pile, much of them could be free. You could also check your local
Habitat for Humanity ReStore for inexpensive materials.
If you would be spending $3 per day for an electric tank heater, the solar-heated tank will pay for itself in just two months! The total cost of the solar stock tank was about $183.
3 sheets 3/4-inch exterior plywood, $75
6 8-foot 2-by-4 studs, $14
40 square feet 1 1/2-inch rigid insulation board, $28
2 sheets polycarbonate glazing, $42
Glazing closure strips, $5
Black and mis-mixed paint, $5
1 can polyurethane foam insulation, $4
Caulk, glue and screws, $10
I have found a way to relieve pain without pills or supplements, the product is self-demonstrating and works within minutes, not days.
To see and hear testimonials of dogs and horses, go to: http://budurl.com/HearItSeeIt
To learn more about this, please go to: www.911wand.com and listen to the recording, then go to: www.911wand.net and click on "Continue the Tour", and watch the Live Blood Analysis video. It absolutely works!! Self-Care is Here!
Colic Product: $85.00 plus PRIORITY shipping of
$5.00 (USA Only), Unlimited Bottles, MSRP $90/bottle
Happy Trails! Ride Safe & Stay Warm!
Nancy
