By Jay O’Jay with Bronwen Belenkie

It’s been a busy summer and fall! The most recent addition to our barn has been keeping me particularly busy. I thought you might be interested in this two-year-old sorrel filly’s story.

The journey begins: wild mustang meets helicopter

This is the chronicle of a wild mustang mare who found her way to a horse sale in central Alberta, Canada. She was rounded up by helicopter in the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada and herded into a boxed-in canyon, where all the wild mustangs were crammed in like sardines. They were then put individually into squeeze shoots to be identified with collars.

On her way up north the tips of her ears got frostbitten in the stock trailer – now they bend over. Once in Canada, some cowboys snubbed her up to a post and nobody really knows what happened during that time. My client Matthew spotted her at the horse sale and – what can I say – it was love at first sight.

Buying this wild Nevada mustang was only the start of a journey that would eventually lead Matthew to my doorstep. Simply put, Matthew has no experience when it comes to starting young horses and, as he quickly discovered, knowledgeable advice is not very easy to come by.

Wild and wary horse

All I can tell you is, I am now working with the most frightened horse I’ve ever met. Becoming the leader of this fearful mare will definitely be a priority, but just as importantly, I will need to prove to her that she can trust me. Earning her trust will take a special amount of patience and understanding; the kind of patience a person has to dig deep within to find. I have a saying and it rings dead true – slower is faster with horses – and this is exactly the approach I will take with this mustang, whose survival instincts are dialed-in and on high alert.

I have agreed to work with Matthew and his wild mustang only because of the keen desire Matthew has to learn. The three of us are sharing a journey together and it will be a long one - especially considering that both mare and Matthew have a great deal to learn.

Confidence and learning

A wild horse’s instincts are more acute than any horse raised in captivity. I caution anyone, who isn’t experienced, when buying a wild or green horse of any kind. Without professional help, people with the best intentions (and most romantic notions) often bite off more than they can chew.

Building this mare’s self-confidence is another goal of mine. I do this through encouragement and reward for the slightest try, not through disappointment and frustration. I never want any horse to become worried or fret about doing something wrong. After all, horses learn best from their mistakes. Let them make mistakes and then calmly fix them. Work under the umbrella of emotional control and let the confidence grow!

Our personalities, our movements and our actions speak very loudly, and our horses are a reflection of who we are. You see, “communication is the seed, and it’s confidence and trust that grows”.

First steps

I’ve been slowly working with the mustang for about 8 sessions now. All I ever wanted from our first few sessions was to be able to go up to this trembling and frightened horse and touch her on both sides. It sounds simple, but to a wild horse that’s hyper-sensitive to movements, especially our body movements, this was no easy task.

Survival demands that horses run for their lives when they get frightened or spooked. This “right brain” reaction is exactly like a built-in time bomb that’s ready to explode at the drop of a hat.

Moving predictably in what I call “nature’s rhythm” and working under the umbrella of emotional control is powerful medicine – it subdues fear and replaces it with trust. This is how I was able to first approach and touch this mustang on both sides. Not only that, I was also able to put the halter on and do some very basic leading exercises.

Consistent repetition forms a habit that we call training. It’s also another key ingredient to gaining trust and building confidence.

Groundwork is preparation for saddle work. We all want a safe horse, a horse that gives us confidence and a horse we can enjoy when working or playing – a partner! Earning respect and gaining control on the ground are the prerequisites for success. Groundwork allows us to build the solid foundation that we so desperately need for our saddle work.

A less wild mustang: building a connection

The following is a list of some of our accomplishments to date:

• Slowly gaining more trust
• Building more confidence
• Making a connection and bond that is still growing
• Picking up all four feet
• Starting to lead in hand
• Accepting a saddle pad/saddle – the cinch was tricky
• Side passing up to the fence with me half way on her
• Starting my exercises for respect and control
• Desensitizing her to foreign objects such as plastic bags etc.
• Lowering her head in preparation for a bridle
• I’ll be sure to let you know how the journey with this mustang unfolds in upcoming entries.

Jay O’Jay update
Our family has been busy getting the second Stoddart Creek Stables equestrian facility up and running in Calgary. Also, I’ve been shooting my latest DVD entitled Earn Respect & Gain Control, (soon available online, contact me if you’re interested in learning more), attending a successful Mane Event in Chilliwack, (thanks to all who stopped by our booth and watched my demonstrations), and now, settling in, getting our Invermere facility ready for the winter. And riding of course!

Until the next entry, Happy Holidays and remember, “Success with horses starts with us”!

“Thoughts from an Equine Expo”

Jay’s friend Bronwen Fry shares her thoughts from the Pacific Agriculture Show Equine Expo in Abbotsford, BC

Here we are at the 8th Annual Pacific Agriculture Show Equine Expo at the Tradex Centre in Abbotsford, BC. Jay’s about to begin a three hour colt-starting demonstration in the round pen comprised of two 90-minute sessions. The rubber footing is a little tricky for the lofty three-year-old Selle Francais filly. She’s is trotting inside the pen’s parameter – high-headed and wide-eyed. It’s her first time away from home and her first real training session. She’s busy looking out at the surrounding spectators, tractors and booths. Welcoming bleats come from a lamb at the nearby petting zoo, followed by an empathetic snort from the pot-bellied pig.

Jay’s getting himself organized and letting her take it all in. We were a little anxious earlier this year when Jay took a fall on the ice at home at Stoddart Creek Stables. He strained the rotator cuff of his right shoulder. This has limited the movement of his right arm. With Jay’s wife Caroline expanding their operation into SW Calgary, training the babies Cocoa and Cisco (who are coming along beautifully) and working on Jay O’Jay Horsemanship, we weren’t sure if Jay would find the time to properly rest and recoup. He’s looking great today though. I know he’s been anxious to get back into the ring.

The filly is still snorting and looking around but Jay soon has her more settled and focused on the task at hand. Moving her forward around the ring, she slowly starts to lower her head and lick her lips. Jay is soon able to rub her down with his lariat, whip, flag and saddle blanket. He teaches her to lead, back up, stay respectfully out of his personal space (unless invited in), and control her feet. Crucial groundwork for any riding discipline is molding this young horse’s mind. And so ends Session One.

I never get tired of watching Jay work with horses. He is a sculpture. If you’ve ever watched glassblowing, I liken Jay’s skill to that of a master glassblower. Watching the artist spin the blow pipe round and round can be mesmerizing. The glass takes on a mind its own. Then it flowers – seemingly effortlessly – into the shape of a bowl or vase with just subtle manipulations and a quiet pressure. Catching the parallels here? I’ll move on then…

Jay’s arm seems to be holding up well but he’s decides to bring in a helper for Session Two. Jay’s friend Brook Hanson has helped him start many young horses. She assists Jay today and they demonstrate the safety benefits of having a second person on the ground – something Jay strongly believes and preaches at home.

Jay takes the time to first recap what he covered in the first session. The filly’s tail is relaxed and she’s still mouthing. Jay introduces the saddle next and the filly humps a little when Jay sends her around the roundpen solo. She soon gets used to the feel of the cinch and turns to nibble on the stirrups. Jay demonstrates to the crowd how to teach your horse to sidepass up to the fence, and, with Brook’s help, be mounted and walked around the pen. He leaves the session on a good note, with some last thoughts. It takes a lifetime to become a great horseperson, no matter what discipline you do, (I’m told it theoretically takes 25 years to become a master glass blower). And so, as Jay is fond of saying, “Success With Horses Starts With Us!”

Thanks to everyone who came out to see Jay and support him at this event. There was a great turnout. We love it when you stop in to say hello at our booth and tell us about your own horses.

Here’s to an exciting 2006 season and happy trails!

“My Point of View”

When Ron Barker, the promoter of “The Mane Event” discussed details of the Trainer’s Challenge with me, I was excited. His priority was the welfare of the horse and to accommodate this concern he allotted an extra hour of round penning for each horse. The other thing that impressed me was that he wanted the very core or essence of the Trainer’s Challenge to be “educational”.

I accepted the Trainer’s Challenge based on these priorities!

For each and every step of the way, I put the horse first; there would be no over exposing the horse in order to win! I put my integrity on the line, demonstrating professionalism and respect for my peers. I was also honest with myself, my fellow competitors and to my horse.

Allow me to share some of my personal experiences, challenges and rewards.

The Horse

My wife Caroline had been asking me for months if I was nervous about doing the Trainer’s Challenge. I kept saying no, but this didn’t stop her from asking me several more times. Finally, minutes before walking into the round pen at the Mane Event, Caroline asks me one more time – are you nervous?

I told her that my worst fear was drawing a horse that lacked forward impulsion. I related that in my career with horses, some of the most difficult horses I worked with were those that did not want to go forward. It’s not that you can’t teach these horses to respond obediently to your go forward cue; it’s just that it takes a lot of time and patience. Point being, since I only had four round penning sessions to work with, time would not be on my side.

Then the moment came – there I was in the round pen, and as I tossed my lariat out at the hindquarter to ask for movement - my horse just stood there! Could this be true? Did I have a horse that lacked forward impulsion? Was my worst fear truly becoming a reality?

Still in denial, once again I tossed out my lariat, and then again, but my horse barely moved. My heart sank as I stood there in the round pen at the Mane Event.

My horse was telling me, I will not move forward for you - I only do what I want, when I want and nobody can make me do anything different. However, because I am not afraid of you I will be friendly and rub my nose all over your shirt, walk on top of you and use you as a scratching post if I get itchy. So, go ahead and shower me with pets and murmur words of sweet nothing into my ear as I totally ignore you. I will do all these things because I am dominant! I have no respect for you and if you even so much as think about challenging me in any way, I will resist and fight you.

Being aware of this, I was careful not to put too much pressure on my horse in order to re-enforce my go forward cue. But, even though I did not raise my pressure above three or four - on a scale from one to ten - my horse immediately got resistant and started to kick out at me with both hind feet. He was warning me that if I continued to challenge his dominance, those back feet would connect with me next time. Bottom line, my horse not only lacked forward impulsion, but he was also very dominant and ready to fight.

Force and intimidation does not work on any horse! And, this is especially true with horses that already have built-in resistance. In fact, I have seen these types of horses get so willful, stubborn and oblivious to pain, that all the pressure in the whole world couldn’t get them to move. Instead, with each stroke of pressure they just became more and more resentful, defiant and tuned out. If you were to continue adding pressure, this horse would eventually have a mental break down, become totally enraged, and then fight back with nothing less than pure survival. To say this horse could be dangerous - would be an understatement!

I needed to earn some respect and I needed to do it in a way that was non-confrontational and safe. This is when I turned to the audience and said – If what you’re doing isn’t working, try something different. That is exactly what I did.

The Audience

Stage fright is real!

I really don’t think there is any cure for stage fright, however, a receptive audience can do wonder’s for a person’s confidence. I should know - the audience at the Mane Event proved this to me.

I was rewarded with encouragement and appreciation for the slightest try - this made my confidence soar like an eagle. Enthusiasm out-powered doubt and I begin to perform with zest.
Isn’t that interesting - this is no different for a horse!

The audience truly did allow me to get into “the zone”! This is a mental and emotional headspace that allowed me to get focused and have some “serious fun”! And I truly did get serious about the physical, mental and emotional condition of my horse, but at the same time, I got serious about having fun with both my horse and the audience.

As I looked out into the audience it was encouraging to see so many of my friends who had made a special trip, just to come out and support me. To all of them, I say thank you!

Naturally, there were also a lot of people in the audience that I didn’t know, but to my surprise, a staggering amount of these people knew about me! I had numerous people saying they “religiously” read all of my articles in Pacific Prairie and Horse Journal and that they even cut the articles out and saved them or sent them to friends who didn’t have access to the magazine. I had other people tell me that they had heard about me from a friend or from a friend of a friend.

A steady stream of positive feedback was flowing my way! So many people believed in my training program and the way I worked with my horse in the Trainer’s Challenge. They knew I had a sticky horse and they saw first hand how I got results without force or intimidation - they saw a better way and they liked it.

An all in the Family Adventure

My pride and joy has always been my family, and as a family we have worked hard to become better horsemen/women, riders and trainers. We chase our goals by being dedicated horse people with an open-minded attitude towards all aspects of horsemanship. It is for these reasons that my journey to The Mane Event in Chilliwack BC was nothing less than incredible.

On the morning of October 19th my wife Caroline and I excitedly loaded up the horse trailer and headed out for what would be an “all in the family” adventure. Yes, we were off to The Mane Event where I would be participating in the Trainer’s Challenge with Chris Irwin and Doug Mills.

But hold on - there is more! Our daughter Erin would be flying out to meet us in Chilliwack; making the family unit complete. We were hauling out a registered Canadian Warm Blood by the name of “Lucci” for Erin to ride. Lucci is a talented five year-old Holsteiner Thoroughbred that I started under saddle for my wife as a three year-old. From this solid foundation Caroline has trained Lucci to be the special horse he is today.

Imagine how excited we were to see Erin riding him in the Beth Underhill clinic? Being one of the featured trainers at the Mane Event, Beth Underhill is an international show jumping rider who has been a member of the Canadian Equestrian Team since 1990. What an honor it was to have our daughter riding for her on a horse Caroline and I have trained. Erin and Lucci demonstrated their individual talents and professionalism at all levels as they worked together in harmony. Needless to say, they managed to catch a lot of attention from both Beth and the audience.

I am happy to say that our “all in the family” adventure did not end here. Once the excitement of the Trainer’s Challenge, and the positive experience Erin had riding for Beth Underhill was all over, Caroline and I took some much deserved time off. Located on the outskirts of historic Fort Langley. We had made plans to hang out at “Time Out Farms” with our friends Diane Hanson, Willy Wright and Elizabeth Wride. Of course they spoiled us beyond belief — to have such good friends is truly a privilege!

To further compliment our adventure, Caroline and I were now on a bit of a holiday with our personal horses Lucci and Coco. What an opportunity it was for the both of us, to spend time together, ride together, talk together and enjoy our horses together. This is where I brag about Coco — he is beautiful — not only in the physical sense of the word, but also in temperament with a desire to please. Each day I look forward to spending quality time together. Our bond is growing!

Besides finding, vetting and finally purchasing a new horse for one of Caroline’s clients we had yet another reason for staying longer on the West Coast. Thunderbird Showpark in Langley was hosting a Canadian National Coaching Symposium with George Morris, Leslie Law and Geoff Teall. Missing out on this opportunity with all of its learning benefits was something Caroline was not going to let happen. I should mention Caroline is currently working towards a personal goal of becoming a Certified Level Three, Jump Canada Equestrian Coach. By attending this symposium Caroline was awarded an official “Certificate of Attendance”, which now compliments her portfolio. Yet one more step towards becoming a certified level three jumping coach.

When we arrived home on the evening of Nov 3rd, all of the horses and the two dogs were very happy to see us, after all, as a couple, we have never been away so long together. In closing, I must say that I am proud of my wife and my daughter for the dedication they have put into their horsemanship and for being professional with the people they meet and the horses they work with. Through it all, they have raised the bar within themselves, not only with their riding skills, teaching abilities and training techniques, but also with their individual horse savvy. What an incredible journey we have had together — an “ all in the family” adventure!

Remember, “Success with horses, starts with us”!

What a success story!

For the months of April, May and June/05, Pacific & Prairie Horse Journal ran a “Horse with No Name Contest”.

The contest was to find names for my two new horses and if you want to talk about an overwhelming success story - this is the one! It all started back in late May/05 with the arrival of my two new horses - who desperately needed “barn” names.

I had now been looking for a new horse for over two years, and I was beginning to question the reality of ever finding one that would fit into my life. For one reason or another, a consistent “line-up” of disappointments and let downs were all that I had to look forward to. Was I chasing a hopeless dream? Were my standards or expectations too high? Was there really a horse out there for me?

All of these questions were answered this spring with the “discovery” of my two new horses. Just when I had given up hope of ever finding “one” horse, Lord and Behold - I ended up with “two”! A yearling Paint colt with a solid black body, four white socks and a big white face, and a two-year-old Quarter Horse gelding that has a big soft eye and a real sweet disposition.

Even though my two horses are considered “average”, when it comes to pricing and pedigree, to me, they are my pride and joy. I have become deeply attached to the both of them, and it is my goal to keep you up-dated with their training, their struggles, their accomplishments, and for that matter, their life with an active industry horseman. I will be sharing all of this information with you through my monthly articles with Pacific & Prairie Horse Journal, my public appearances and of course my web site.

Also, it will be my goal to prove that you can take your “average” horse and train it to become even more than average! In fact, with the knowledge, patience and confidence building programs that are offered throughout Jay O’Jay Horsemanship, you too can learn how to train your horse to be the very best he can be - Your Champion!

The “Horse with No Name Contest” was an extreme success in more ways than one. Firstly, because of the unbelievable amount of names that were submitted, it proved or echoed the reality that my two horses had indeed captured an enormous amount of public awareness. Secondly, after running the contest for three long months, my two horses were finally being awarded with their very own “barn” names - Coco and Cisco!

“Coco”, being the name of my two-year-old Quarter Horse gelding and “Cisco” being the name of my yearling Paint colt. The winners for the contest were announced in the July issue of Pacific & Prairie Horse Journal along with an itemized breakdown of the prize list, one of which prizes was a Jay O’Jay Horsemanship DVD, entitled “Journey to Connection”.

If I were allowed only one request, it would be to have you come back again for another visit and let me share even more information on the daily ups and downs there are within a progressive step-by-step training program.

Remember to “tune-in” for another “catch-up” session with Coco, Cisco and Jay O.