Your Horse's Advocate™

A membership site for horse owners to help the horse live in a human world.

Where Has Horsemanship Gone?

An in-depth discussion of what this Horse’s Advocate site is all about.

The song is the connection you have with all the horses you come into contact with. Horsemanship though is not the song but the singing. A beautiful song can be ruined with poor singing. A beautiful connection between you and a horse can be lost with poor horsemanship.- Doc T

This is a frank and open discussion of a simple question. Has horsemanship really disappeared or has it morphed into something unrecognizable to our forefathers? Let’s start with some assumptions.

First, the horse and the human evolved for tens of thousands of years without each other’s help.
Second, the horse was put into use by humans without the consent of the horse (the horse saw what humans did with cows and decided to go along with the riding and pulling a cart idea).
Third, my definition of horsemanship describes the art of adapting the horse to the human world.

From the time when the idea of using horses to improve the life of the human became popular to the time Henry Ford developed the assembly line production of cars, the art of caring for the horse evolved into something that seemed to work. Whether the techniques used were in the best interest of the horse can be questioned, but all in all, people and horses existed in a mutually beneficial way. For example, 150 years ago I would be riding my horse to town and you would pass me on the road and stop to say, “Nice looking horse you have there.” I would reply “Thanks, and he can run fast too.” You then would say, “You haven’t seen fast till you see my horse go.” The wager would be set and we would agree to meet in the valley on Sunday after church to determine who had the fastest horse.

You can bet that we wouldn’t race that horse beyond his means because he needed to be able to go back to work on Monday. You can also bet that the horse was in shape because he was used, not kept in a stall for 23 hours a day.

It is estimated that about 90% of all Equids (horses, asses, mules etc) on Earth are still used as beasts of burden. Not so in America where most horses are recreational. In both the working horse world and the recreational horse world, horse owners desire the same thing – the best for their horse. However, with little free time, most owners just guess how to care for them.

Whether it is to protect the investment of a year’s earnings to buy the donkey to pull the cart in the Caribbean Islands or to get the most out of the sport horse you are investing your limited free time and money to train, every person becoming a Horse’s Advocate wants to do what is in the best interest of the horse. Some have a good understanding of horses and horse care but want to know of a group of like minded horse owners just to validate they are on the right track. Other owners have been given false or misleading information that has set them back or made their life miserable in the barn or at worst, has caused the death of their horse. Some people just feel stupid because no one has explained things in a way they can understand. This site is for all of you. Become A Member

Why Join Me?

I developed this web site for the horse owner looking for TRUSTED information that makes sense. Many of you will say, “Why hasn’t anyone explained it to me that way before?” I believe that making the fundamentals easy to understand, you will become Your Horse’s Advocate and help the horse live in a human world.

Raising And Keeping Horses: Why has it become so complicated?

“Horsemanship”

What I am noticing in people today is that they rarely use the brain they were given to think. In an age where we are spoon fed everything from what food we should eat, what we should look like, or who our friends should be, few people take the time to think. This site is dedicated to giving information about horses in a way that horse owners can understand the basic concept and therefore understand the reason behind everything they do with horses. “In a nutshell” is my style of simple and easy to understand concepts often based in stories. I have used this for decades in communicating with horse owners. I also like to ask questions that make you think. This is the best way to break a paradigm – to destroy the engrained thought and replace it with something that is simple and logical. For example, in the discussion on parasite control in horses, I always ask the owner how often they deworm themselves or their children. There is no better way to understand the concept of parasite control.

Simply Horsemanship is not about how to ride a horse. It is about the space between the horse and the person that needs to be connected before anything, including riding, can occur. It includes not just communicating with horses, but disease prevention, how to talk about hay and grain, how to prevent injuries on the farm, how to get the horse from conception through birth and onto a sound individual used for its’ intended purpose and how to help the geriatric horse.

“Horsemanship” is an art form like singing. There are some born with natural talent who win recording contracts and earn millions but there are plenty who should not sing outside of the shower. However, I truly believe that there are plenty of good singers that with training can sing better as long as they receive good coaching and work every day to become better. That is what this site is about. It is not a site for your horse to learn more about humans. It is a site for you to learn more about yourself and for you to grow and become a better horseman.

Every one of you that becomes a member and works at it can become good horsemen and will start doing things in the best interest of the horse. Your singing will fill the barn with willing and respectful partners that are healthy and happy. The relationships you have with other horse owners and the professionals you surround yourself with will become more meaningful. You will become Your Horse’s Advocate. Become A Member

HORSE OWNERS HAVE LIMITED TIME

Easy To Understand
Based On Common Sense
Find what you want quickly and easily
Understand your professionals

Most horse owners use their limited time to go to work, raise their families, and clean the barn. Any spare time is spent riding or competing. GREAT NEWS! This web site is designed for you – for that millisecond you have to look up something or the cold rainy day on the weekend when you want to dig deeper.

It is not a site for your horse to learn more about humans. It is a site for you to learn more about yourself and for you to grow and become a better horseman.Geoff Tucker, DVM

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I would like to invite you to join this group of Horse Advocates but this is not an easy life. Simple yes, but it requires some practice. Once you become an Advocate, you will need to work at this daily. Through the webinars I will coach you through the simple steps to practice that will allow you to connect with any horse you meet. You will learn to think through the fundamentals to avoid injuries, to prevent disease, to communicate with professionals, to get excited about your horse and to become a horseman using only your talents.

It is the goal set for the rest of my life to reach as many people who own horses to share with them what they have taught me. I believe that becoming Your Horse’s Advocate is a life long investment and a commitment to do what is in the best interest of the horse.

Simply Horsemanship – it’s just common sense horsemanship (courtesy, respect, communication). Doc T

Please take some time to check things out. There is a lot here and more topics and webinars on the way every month.

I really enjoy teaching what I have learned over the decades with horses and I believe that what you learn here will be accurate and easy to understand. Once you have learned the principles behind the topic, you will become Your Horse’s Advocate™.- Doc T

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A Horseman Plus A Veterinarian

I started with horses when I was maybe 8 years old when I rode “Patches” at a dude ranch in Texas in 1961. Years have passed and the lessons I’ve learned working with tens of thousands of different horses has molded me into a horseman that has learned from the best teacher – the horse himself.

I have mucked thousands of stalls, rode a few horses, introduced a fair share of them to a saddle, witnessed several hundred take their first breath – and that was before I decided to go to vet school. Many years at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York taught me how to use my brain to combine what theories they thought were important with the experiences I had working with Thoroughbreds for years. The result is this web site where I bring 4 decades with horses and 3 decades as an equine veterinarian into one place for you.

I had my own general equine practice from 1984 until 1998 in Freeville, New York. After that I limited my practice to horsemanship based equine dentistry. I now care for almost 3000 horses around the east coast of the US not only performing dentistry on horses but also answering everyones’ questions and helping people understand basic horse management as well as understanding medical issues with their horses.

I love the way horse owners around the world can now connect with other horse owners creating a huge group. This membership not only distributes knowledge with integrity, but it gives everyone a sense of being connected to a group of people who care, who want to be the bridge between the horse and the human, and who want to be Your Horse’s Advocate™.- Doc T

Visitors please read this first then click the blue “Explore The Site” button below.

The information contained in the blog or web site here is for information only and is the opinion of Geoff Tucker, DVM. It is not intended to replace your relationship with your veterinarian nor is it to be considered an attempt to diagnose or treat your animal. You need to discuss any and all medical conditions with your veterinarian who has established a relationship with you and your horse.

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