Teaching relaxation

[Barlow]

Help please! I recently had an interesting session with Robert Pring, and relaxation training (teaching my horse how to relax in stressful situations) was one of the suggestions to come out of it.

I want to be able to teach my horse to relax so that he can “bring himself down” in stressful situations on the ground. Has anyone heard of this before/has anyone taught their horse how to relax themselves?

 

[DirectorFury]

Have you looked at the TRT Method?

 

[Hallo2012]

i use the TRT work on my 4yo and it really helps being him back to me

 

[Barlow]

Have you looked at the TRT Method?

I haven’t looked at anything! I don’t even know where to start, that’s why I posted! But it looks as though TRT could be something to Google!

 

[Trouper]

Can Robert Pring not suggest where you might find such guidance if the idea came from one of his sessions?

 

[Barlow]

Can Robert Pring not suggest where you might find such guidance if the idea came from one of his sessions?

He didn’t strike me as the type of person to be strongly welded to one recommendation / school of thought over another. He said there were several different ways of doing it and I might like to look into them. From the responses it seems as though there’s one method that is popular

 

[smolmaus]

Miri Hackett I think does similar work, just for an alternative source, I think she does zoom consultations etc and maybe being from the UK might be more accessible.

 

[SpeedyPony]

I haven't got a recommendation for a particular method- but something I try to establish is whether a horse needs movement to settle or needs a moment to stand and process. Some will get themselves into a froth being asked to stand but burn off the adrenaline walking around while others will just get more wound up by being asked to move (I have both- it took a while to get my head around switching between the two!)

 

[Carrottom]

TRT, Warwick Schiller and a few others have a common theme of putting a bend in your horse's body, it seems to be effective on the horses I've tried.

 

[iknowmyvalue]

Miri Hackett I think does similar work, just for an alternative source, I think she does zoom consultations etc and maybe being from the UK might be more accessible.

FWIW I find the Hackett equine videos far easier to follow than the TRT method ones. They’re pretty much exactly the same technique from what I can tell. I had trt membership a while back, but got really frustrated never quite understanding the techniques.

 

[SpotsandBays]

FWIW I find the Hackett equine videos far easier to follow than the TRT method ones. They’re pretty much exactly the same technique from what I can tell. I had trt membership a while back, but got really frustrated never quite understanding the techniques.

Is this the videos in her online training package on patreon? It seems a lot more affordable than the TRT method so I might check it out!

 

[iknowmyvalue]

Is this the videos in her online training package on patreon? It seems a lot more affordable than the TRT method so I might check it out!

Yes. I’ve not had it very long but so far so good, and I’m getting far less frustrated than when I tried TRT.

 

[SpotsandBays]

Yes. I’ve not had it very long but so far so good, and I’m getting far less frustrated than when I tried TRT.

Thanks, I’ll definitely check it out! I had a look through a friends TRT and it’s does seem abit hard to digest. Also the price is eeek!

 

[Hackback]

Sorry just resurrecting this thread after searching for thr TRT method (getting sucked in by FB ads again).

I just had a look at Hackett equine videos but I can't quite work out exactly what she teaches you. I'm probably being stupid and looking at the wrong page, but although I can see references to videos and podcasts I can't see what topics they cover or if there's any structure.

Do you know if she does anything on 'leading hot horses to the field'? Or getting young horses to relax at shows etc? I have an excitable baby - he's good as gold in his comfort zone, but gets very stressed and excited by new things. I was drawn to the TRT method because he makes a big thing about teaching the horse to relax and cope with the world around him, which sounds like a miracle for both horse and handler. It's a lot of money though!

 

[SpotsandBays]

Sorry just resurrecting this thread after searching for thr TRT method (getting sucked in by FB ads again).

I just had a look at Hackett equine videos but I can't quite work out exactly what she teaches you. I'm probably being stupid and looking at the wrong page, but although I can see references to videos and podcasts I can't see what topics they cover or if there's any structure.

Do you know if she does anything on 'leading hot horses to the field'? Or getting young horses to relax at shows etc? I have an excitable baby - he's good as gold in his comfort zone, but gets very stressed and excited by new things. I was drawn to the TRT method because he makes a big thing about teaching the horse to relax and cope with the world around him, which sounds like a miracle for both horse and handler. It's a lot of money though!

Hackett equines videos are a really similar structure to the TRT. Whilst I don’t think there’s any videos specifically on what you’re looking for, the stuff she teaches will be able to assist with both of those things. Also by signing up you can pop her over a message and she can give you some more information. It’s only £6 a month so worth checking out!

 

[Hackback]

Hackett equines videos are a really similar structure to the TRT. Whilst I don’t think there’s any videos specifically on what you’re looking for, the stuff she teaches will be able to assist with both of those things. Also by signing up you can pop her over a message and she can give you some more information. It’s only £6 a month so worth checking out!

Thanks. You're right, I may as well give it a try at that price ?

 

[Lady Jane]

@Barlow Where do you live roughly? There are a few people who teach TRT type methods, Miri is just round the corner from me although I am actually getting help from her friend Millie McBride Dressage (also round the corner) who also teaches people to train with that approach. I have found it really useful to have a couple of 1-2-1 sessions

 

[SpotsandBays]

Thanks. You're right, I may as well give it a try at that price ?

You can always cancel if it’s not for you! ?

 

[AntiPuck]

I recently bought a book called 'Relax that Stomach' and the whole thing is about teaching horses how to consciously relax, it's quite different to TRT etc.

I haven't got very far with it yet and so can't comment personally, but it's very interesting, and I bought it on the strength of strong reviews, might be worth a look https://onehorselife.com/product/relaxthatstomachbook/

 

[paddy555]

Sorry just resurrecting this thread after searching for thr TRT method (getting sucked in by FB ads again).

I just had a look at Hackett equine videos but I can't quite work out exactly what she teaches you. I'm probably being stupid and looking at the wrong page, but although I can see references to videos and podcasts I can't see what topics they cover or if there's any structure.

Do you know if she does anything on 'leading hot horses to the field'? Or getting young horses to relax at shows etc? I have an excitable baby - he's good as gold in his comfort zone, but gets very stressed and excited by new things. I was drawn to the TRT method because he makes a big thing about teaching the horse to relax and cope with the world around him, which sounds like a miracle for both horse and handler. It's a lot of money though!

just about everything you need from the TRT method for getting the horse to relax is in the foundation module. I seem to remember that there certainly used to be 7 day free trial to the method. That trial gives you access to the foundation module which is the total start of the method. So if that is still the case then you could give that a try,

As for the rest of coping on the TRT stuff ie getting a difficult horse to the field, getting a pushy horse calmly into the stable and that sort of stuff each module basically starts with going back to the foundation course and revisiting that work until you can do it calmly/stress free and then getting to the field etc.

I can't speak for the other methods but the TRT is very effective to get the stressed horse calm and relaxed.