Cari Swanson

Feeding Garlic to Horses

I believe in treating all of my animals holistically and naturally whenever possible. It is much more efficient to allow the body to heal from within, allowing for optimum health. I do not like to treat ailments and illness with drugs that mask the symptoms. As we enter Spring and Summer, the fly and tick season is upon us. To help our horses combat these annoying pests, I recommend adding a garlic powder supplement to your feeding program.

Garlic is one of most effective natural healing substances in the world. It is an anit-oxidant, anti-cancer, antibacterial, anti-infection, anti-parasitic, anti inflammatory, anti viral, anti fungal, tonic, high in sulfure, richin aminao acids and will not harm friendly intestinal bacteria.

A horse needs between half an ounce to 2 ounces per day depending on the size. You can feed it in powder form as a supplement in your daily feed routine. This will not only build his immune system, but it will also help defend him against flies and ticks. You can purchase this supplement from Equilite.com.

Natural Horsemanship

Natural Horsemanship
By Cari Swanson Swanson

Looking back, I realize that my grandmother trained horses using natural horsemanship techniques without knowing that is what she was doing. She taught me how horses think, how they have to learn from four sides, the front, back, left and right. She explained to me that the secret to training is moving the horses feet. If my horse stopped, or reared, or got stuck, she would tell me to move the feet, either laterally or forward or backward to unlock the blocking. It was all about finding a way to make the horse respond to us.

I believe in these techniques because they are innate in my way of working with horses.
My entire approach is holistic; one must consider the mind body and spirit. By nature, horses want to please us. They do there best to communicate to us what is going on. Trouble begins when the trainer does not listen to the horse.

As I began working with different horses I came to understand each one is an individual and needs to be considered as such. Of course there are basics and a training scale to follow, but often a particular horse would break the rules and teach me something new. This is when I recognized that the greatest teacher is the horse.

Over the years I have met many natural horse trainers. After trying to find someone to help me with a seemingly impossible flighty filly, I was introduced to Buck Brannaman at a clinic. He worked with her and taught me many things, the most important lesson is to be patient.

I have always been fascinated by true horseman, people who seek to understand the mind of the horse. Somehow I am drawn to horses no matter where I travel. While living in Luxembourg for my junior year abroad, I discovered dressage at a local farm. A great master taught me the training scale which I learned is founded on relaxation and rhythm. Whenever a problem arose, he insisted on returning to a relaxed gait. No matter where I am horses seem introduce me to interesting people and places.

When traveling in South America I was introduced to an unusually talented horse trainer, Ruben Morales who was incredible at understanding and communicating with horses. I watched him break wild stallions, tame yearlings, and fix complicated behavioral problems using his system. I invited him to visit my farm for a year so that we could share our knowledge and different worlds of the horse.

Through studying the higher movements of dressage, I have met and trained with Tony Mason. He learned from the masters of the old school of classical riding in Austria and Germany. His deep understanding and clear communication of both the rider and the horses biomechanics have helped me trememdously. Tony is instrumental in helping me understand the power of the mind while working with horses and how destructive anger or frustration can be. Horses are very sensitive by nature and pick up any negative energy. I have seen horses refuse to move and yet dance when they see Tony.

Recently I met Rex Petersen, a reknown horse trainer who trains trick horses for Hollywood films. If you are shooting a film and need a horse to jump through a window, or lay down and play dead, or rear up and fight, he is the guy to call. Rex studied with the great Glen Randall for years and admits to knowing a fraction of what his teacher knew. He helped me understand that many times we learn how to convince a horse to do something by mistake. Each horse has different buttons that trigger a response. You should always be open to experimenting and feeling your way to solve a problem.

All of these people agree that the most important lesson is to continue to be open to learning and discussing new ways of understanding the horse. There are many books to read and learn valuable information about understanding the nature of horses. We must never stop learning and always remember that the horse is our greatest teacher.

How I came to work with Horses

Recently I was asked how I came to work with horses. At first it seemed like a strange question because horses have always been in my life and it seems natural to work with them.

My grandparents were avid horsemen, they were married at the local hunt club, oats were showered upon them celebrating their marriage, and I grew up at family outings on horseback. My grandmother was barely five feet tall, yet she handled enormous horses both on the ground and under saddle. She could lay her hand on a horses shoulder to calm them down or encourage them to do whatever she asked. I imagine I learned from her example through instinct. My sister and I spent hours in the barn taking care of every aspect of the horses, we were responsible for feed, turnout, vet care, grooming, cleaning…everything accept driving the tractor.

My first pony was a black Shetland, the most ornery creature you every met, he found great pleasure in dropping his shoulder to dislodge me from his back. We were not allowed to ride in a saddle until we mastered riding bareback. Almost every year or two I was given a new project horse, while my previous mount was handed down to my sister until I graduated to a very talented, athletic and spirited Appendix Quarter Horse, called Fella, who gave me the confidence to jump anything. He was bold and light on his feet, galloping over any obstacle– picnic tables which my brothers were seated at or my Uncles red MG. Needless to say, we were scolded for endangering family members, but it was too much fun. And it was great practice for competitions where we won many championships. He lived with me until he died when he was nearly 100 in human years, he was a great friend and teacher.

My entire family rides, some better than others. My sister is a western cutting champion as well as an avid fox hunter. One brother was a wrangler and will always be a cowboy at heart, the other rides on occasion but prefers his Cessna Cub. It seems natural that I am surrounded by horses.

Now I train horses and riders as well as selling horses. I find it very rewarding to find the perfect horse for someone to learn and grow with. In teaching, it has become a challenge to describe what I feel naturally to new riders and explain how to communicate with the horse. I encourage riders to leave the ring and enjoy a ride across the countryside, viewing the landscape from vantage points they would never see by the road. Leaving the ring also allows the riders to feel the horse and stop focusing so much on the technique. They naturally, they will adjust their balance going up and down hills without overthinking the details. The most important thing I try to teach is that learning to ride is like life, it is a constant journey, every day is different and you have to learn to relax and enjoy the moment.

Balance in Movement

I am always fascinated and inspired to meet people passionate about their lives, especially when they are well into their ninth decade, and beginning new projects.

One such person is an icon in the equestrian world, Sally Swift, the founder and teacher of the centered riding movement. She is currently working on many new projects. Accumulating the knowledge to create her unique approach to riding came as a bi-product of dealing with her own anatomical demons. She was diagnosed with a spinal disorder, forcing her to learn how to contend with her weakness. Riding was encouraged as an exercise to help balance and strengthen her misaligned spine. She began teaching friends her techniques with great success. Her teachings began to spread by word of mouth, culminating today with several books, a video series and entire business devoted to her training ideas.

Recently I had the honor to meet Sally at a Dressage Judges Symposium. She is a gifted, energetic and delightful person, open to learning about everything in life. Sally is totally uninhibited in her efforts to make things seem as real and entertaining to others as they are to her. She uses incredible images to help people let go of their bodies and allow the movement of the horse to be felt. There are elephant wheels and there are mouse wheels, or ride as if you have stumps for legs, or think of an imaginary ball in your chest that drops down through your body and into your pelvis with a thunk as though into deep mud. This imagery actually does helps you find your center and feel the horse.

If you think about it, consider a horizontal horse, as a shock wave machine —- you put on top of him a vertical rider who must become a shock-absorbing machine. Sally’s lessons teach you to understand that the body can actually adapt to the concussion of the subtle movements to absorb and dissipate this shock.

A friend recently remarked, watching dressage is like watching paint dry. Watching someone improve in dressage is like watching oil paint vs. latex paint dry, the subtleties are minute.

Riding is a balance game of horse and rider. Two living beings seeking to find a common balance so that it appears to the observer as if they are as one. Even an uneducated eye will recognize a good rider when they see this harmony.

The problem is that as soon as the rider decides to work hard, they stiffen up and become a rigid robot. Breathing becomes shallow; tension seeps into all the limbs and the horse cannot perform correctly. Imagine a dance partner who is stiff and does not follow your rhythm or timing. It would be incredibly awkward.

Sally has managed to successfully explain to anyone how to ride in harmony with her powerful imagery. She is not only an inspiration for equestrians, but she is one of those rare people who lift you up when you are in her orbit. You are better for having spent time with her. That is an amazing gift.

Horses in Art

Horses in Art

Last week I took a day off from riding to take my working student into Manhattan for a cultural diversion. Maja is from Germany and is curious to explore New York beyond the farm.

Although we thought we were escaping the horse world for a day, we were reminded that horses have been with man since the beginning of time. They appear evrywhere in art throughout the ages. The Metropolitan Museum is enormous, so Maja chose several areas of special interest to explore.

Our first stop was on the second floor in the gallery of Nineteenth Century European paintin and sculture. We were mesmerized by “The Horse Fair”, a large painting depicting a scene from the horse market in Paris around 1853. This could easily have been a scene at the Dutchess County Fair years ago. The artist, Rosa Bonheur, visited the market daily for nearly 2 years, dressed as a man to avoid attention. Her study takes you to the fair where you can almost hear the horses breathing and the sound of their hoofbeats on the boulevard.

Directly behind Rosa’s painting was a beautiful bronze Hippogriff—half horse, half dragon sculpted by Antoine Louise Barye. He was among many artists at the time who depicted horses of all breeds in their work—from workhorses to racehorses.

Now it became a challenge to see if we could pass through a room without finding a horse…

As we worked our way over to the Asian wing, we passed a 5th century stone from Pakistan which was the fragment of a lid depicting a Hunting Scene with several horses chasing something….it could have been the Millbrook Hunt chasing a fox across my corn field.

The next room Maja found a Terracotta rhyton, or libation vessel in the form of a horse from Archaic Art in Cyprus

Finally passing into the Buddhist temple,–our destination– we passed a Majestic figure of a Horse from the Tang Dynasty, late 7th century..

The museum was closing and as we walked out, we ran into a friend who boards a horse at my farm. She was surprised to see us in the city. We told her about our adventure and how it was impossible to avoid horses. She agreed, and told us about childhood memory, some 50 years ago, when she would go out to the barn and bury her head in her ponies mane to escape the world. As she closed her eyes, she said she could still smell Bessie.

We laughed and resolved that it was fun to get away from the farm, but it is impossible to avoid horses.