There Are No Bad Whorls

By Neversummer March 11, 2024 Horse Whorls No Comments
“Hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I had an experience where someone walked away from an amazing horse because of the whorls.” And because of that one experience she is sure whorls don’t ‘work’ to tell us anything about horses. I think all of us have run into one of these people.
Are they wrong?
Not necessarily. But that doesn’t mean they are right either.
Lots of people look at whorls and come up with conclusions I would disagree with completely. There are old superstitions calling some whorls bad luck, others death wishes, and of course all double whorls are awful. If people are going by those superstitions and pass up a horse because of them then, yes, the whorls aren’t telling anything and are very much causing them to miss out on some very possibly great horses.
On the other hand, if you say that to me and tell me that I am doing horses a disservice by studying whorls, then obviously you don’t know me at all.
There are no bad whorls, just different temperaments that need different treatment. That is my motto that I spend an amazing amount of time repeating. If we actually study whorls we know that double whorl horses are wonderful, for the people who love them. Single whorls are uncomplicated and easier to deal with, sometimes. That people have a type and do best with that type, except when they don’t. Whorls are so much more complicated than a simple good or bad.
Before dismissing the study of whorls based on one person giving poor opinions about them, or a lack of knowledge of the science supporting them, take the time to see what is actually going on with them. Come on over to the whorl side and give it a try. 

Cows, And A Few Horses

By Neversummer February 14, 2024 Ghost, Harvey, Rusty, Sunshine No Comments

It’s been busy with cows lately. Getting them moved and sorted and general stuff done getting ready to ship calves and start calving. Unfortunately the work has been mostly done on foot or fourwheeler.

Rusty came up foot sore after the cold spell in early January. I didn’t work with him while it was cold, because it was cold! Then with his feet hurting again he continued to be out of work. The farrier came and put some shoes on him. Hopefully the shoes will help keep him from stretching those toes out and prevent further damage. Rusty has found yet another way to be difficult by enjoying bouts of winter laminates. That means he founders in a dry lot, on grass hay, in the middle of winter 🙄

It’s been awhile since he;s done this and his feet were getting to be in really good shape. So of course he had to go and ruin that.

Sunshine has been getting big and pretty. Starting to look like a grown up, so I’ve been spending the time with him instead. Working on getting him ready to ride, maybe this summer.

I got the best Christmas gift and have been meaning to say something about it ever since. Just haven’t quite gotten to it.

A dear friend of mine in CA sent me two framed photos. One of Harvey, who we lost a year ago, and one of me and Ghost with our Guinness World Record plaque. The frames were beautiful, hand made, and thoughtful. As much as I loved them, they still couldn’t hold a candle to the note she sent with them. That meant more to me than anything else could. There are so many truly great people out there. Social media gets it’s fair share of rightfully deserved complaints. It can also do a world of good. It’s all in how you use it. I love getting to know wonderful people, people I will only ever meet online. Does that somehow lessen out relationships? I don’t believe it in any way does. Without all this ‘evil’ social media I would never get to know people like her and I am grateful.

That note was one of the best Christmas presents I’ve ever gotten.

Left Brain Extrovert

By Neversummer February 11, 2024 Horse Whorls No Comments
Today’s post is by guest rider Tammie Ellingson. She translated horse for me until I was able to hear them speak for myself.
What is a left brain extrovert horse like?
We have had one, Smoke. An orphan, he was brought up away from other horses. He did not learn to be a ‘horse’. This may have contributed to his disrespect for humans, but as a true left brained horse, he was always sure he was smarter than humans and required proof that people were good enough to tell him what to do.
Smoke became ours by the time he was a yearling. This, not because we wanted him, but only because our gelding had taken him under his wing and cared for Smoke. No matter what silly jokes Smoke played on Skip, Skip forgave him. Smoke was good at thinking of jokes, whether it was causing Skips knee to collapse by biting the back of it, or grabbing Skips tail. Smoke was always thinking of funny things to do.
When he was old enough to start riding, he was sent to a trainer who said he was the most difficult horse she had trained. She felt perhaps we should find a different horse. But no, we wanted Smoke. He was a fun horse for our family.
As time went by he played his tricks on anyone we rode next to. Grabbing their reins and refusing to let go, or reaching out and nipping a horses back leg if he could get close enough. Smoke had a great sense of humor. He started life with little respect for people and that lack of respect stayed with him forever.
He seemed to know who could really ride and who just thought they could ride. Woe to those who only thought they knew how to ride, he had a way of showing them they were not as smart as they thought. But if someone really did not know how, he was careful and trustworthy, although he might just go find some grass and refuse to move. For those of us who had some how been judged worthy, Smoke was a great ride. Never afraid, willing to go anywhere, able to learn pretty much anything.
Left brain extroverts are smart, funny, and great companions. I’d say, if you want a funny, smart aleck who is not afraid to let you know how he feels and is capable of giving you his all, a left brain horse is the one for you! Just make sure you get their approval first.

Sunshiny Weather

By Neversummer February 5, 2024 Sunshine No Comments
It’s been a sunshiny couple of days.
Rusty’s feet are ouchie after the cold spell. He’s feeling better, but is still not working, no matter how much he begs.
Sunshine is getting big!
Which has been reminding me that I need to work on getting him ready to ride! He’s going to be old enough for a light start this coming summer. I need some beautiful tack for him…
His tail is dragging in the mud, so it got braided. He’s loosing baby teeth! One of those bottom front teeth fell out in just the last couple of days. It was there last time I looked. He is learning to fetch, but only the curry comb handle. The dang cat was determined to be underfoot. So I put him on my shoulder to ‘help’ so he didn’t get run over. Sunshine took his second saddling, with a real saddle, very well! Even with the wind and cat. 🤦🏼‍♀️ He’s doing very nicely.
We’re working on giving to pressure, from reins and on his sides. As well as just getting used to the saddle.

Triple Whorls

By Neversummer January 29, 2024 Horse Whorls, Uncategorized No Comments
This post on triple whorls is brought to you by very talented guest rider, Jillian McGinnis. You can find her on facebook at Y Knot Performance Horses.
Hello to all! I’m here to give a little post on my experience with the triple swirl(whorl) horses!
I have had several of these horses and truly enjoy them! They tend to be friendly, but independent. They are big time thinkers, and almost human in how they process. I have found them to be very gentle, but also sensitive and potentially reactive if they’re handled a certain way.
The ones I have had have been sort of “born broke” and took immediately to riding and loved to have a purpose. I would say that they are not for beginning or tentative riders, or even for the riders who are experienced but maybe expect a horse to do only as they’re told.
The triple whorl horses are independent thinkers and work best if they are gently guided but also patiently allowed to work and process at their pace. Which is generally a faster pace than most if handled well. I am a fan of multiple whorl horses, they suit me very well as they are usually higher spirited and more driven.

Walking

By Neversummer January 11, 2024 Sunshine No Comments
We had a beautiful last couple of days. Nothing like the eastern part of the state that has been buried in snow. I got outside as much as I could. Starting today the weather is going to be miserable for the next week or two.
Sunshine and I did a little actual work. The main part of our session was a nice long walk around the yard.
We need to get out more. He is a high strung little guy and gets worked up in new places. He wants desperately to please, just can’t quite control all those emotions yet.
The walk gave him a chance to get used to new places and things. He started out bouncing around quite a bit. After plenty of rewards each time he checked himself in a spook or came back to check in with me when he got worried, he was starting to calm down.
He reached a point where the leadrope was staying loose most of the time. Until we headed towards home. He did some trotting. We both did some circling. He got rewarded for staying at my shoulder. We ended the walk at a nice walk, with the lead loose again. And finished up with some tricks done in our very scary yard.
Just going for a walk may not seem like an in depth lesson but it is exactly what he is needing right now. Once we start getting highs above zero again we will take many more walks together.

Cheek Whorls

By Neversummer January 11, 2024 Horse Whorls No Comments
Whorls on a horse’s cheeks are said to be a sign of debt and ruin.
Superstitions are fascinating to me. Some of them are so out of the blue it’s hard to figure out where they could have come from.
Others are so painfully easy to see, looking back with a modern knowledge of dentistry and veterinary practices.
With whorls on a horse’s cheek we have the perfect storm. The whorls are placed directly over nerves connected to the TMJ (temporomandibular joint). This is the joint where the jaw bone connects to the skull. It is an extraordinarily important spot in the horse. Issues here affect everything from chewing to soundness throughout the entire body. Especially if there is only a whorl on one side. This exacerbates everything through unevenness.
The whorl over these nerves seems to cause tightness and tension on the TMJ. This in turn can cause tightness and tension through the entire body. Try to relax while clinching your jaw if you are curious as to how this works. Then open your mouth and move your jaw around to see how much more relaxed that makes you feel.
We can help our horses relax in the same manner with some simple body work. A very useful practice if they have a cheek whorl. You can find all sorts of examples and techniques online.
This same tension can also lead to irregular chewing. In some, fortunately rare, cases there will even be teeth missing or malformed in the location under the whorls. Either of which cause the teeth to wear unevenly. Which causes pain and pain related ‘bad’ behavior if the teeth aren’t checked and problems resolved.
Now think about unrecognized pain behavior in horses before good, regular dental care came about. You have horses who act in a dangerous and unpredictable manner, seemingly without cause.
If you depend on your horse to make a living and they have a tendency to suddenly explode out of the blue, or are unable to hold condition because they aren’t able to eat properly, your living will be strongly affected. You wont be able to work. You will lose money. All leading to debt and ruin. This superstition is so fascinating to me. We can see the cause clear as day. If only they were all so easy to see, and fix.

We are still here!

By Neversummer January 8, 2024 Sunshine No Comments
Sometime I wonder about that myself. With the kids home over Christmas break it’s been hard to work horses and impossible to get any video ready to share.
Sunshine has been doing great. I sneak out and get a couple of minutes with him once in awhile. In those quick little sessions we’ve been working on Spanish walk.
He’s a natural with those high stepping Morgan legs.
Trying to encourage him to keep the hind legs up underneath himself. And to walk next to me instead of behind me. That’s the hard, and rather dangerous part.
We’ve also been doing a bit of beginning cutting lessons, in the very beginning of the video. Getting him focused on and following me, while also setting back and turning on those hind quarters. Not something we achieved here. 😆

By Neversummer January 2, 2024 Rusty No Comments
I was walking home after feeding the other day when I looked across the pen and saw Rusty hanging out with a flock of birds.
Can you see them? I had to zoom in quite a bit to get him clear across the corral.
Then I didn’t think any more about it.
Until I brought him in to work with him. He was COVERED! The huge flocks of birds look pretty swooping and diving, but do they really HAVE to spend so much time hanging out with my horse? 🤣

Oops

By Neversummer November 29, 2023 Sunshine No Comments

I had THE best session with Sunshine today.

I threw a blanket over his back, at liberty, and he was fine with it. We worked on that for 3 lessons? way back in August. He’s so brave.

We got a few steps of Spanish walk. In a row. Not with him aiming for the bridge with those big stepping feet. He even added a few forward steps to it!

He stayed very nicely on the bridge. Long enough for me to walk all the way around him even, without trying to follow.

Such a good smart boy.

Then I went to shut off the camera. Only to find I hadn’t turned it back on after he started out the session by trying to eat it. Then, while I cleaned snow off the GoPro, trying to stand on the flimsy plastic tub I was using to set the it on.

Somehow after all of that I forgot to turn it back on.   🤦🏼‍♀️😭😭😭