Roger Sundet horsemanship

07/01/2026

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089662263710

Ranch Life | Vi er din westernbutikk med kvalitetsprodukter til cowboys & cowgirls🤠| Westernutstyr til din hest 🐴 | Westerninteriør fra USA🇺🇸

01/01/2026

01/01/2026

Godt Nytt år alle sammen. 🎊 Takker for et utrolig innholdsrikt år, og at jeg har fått muligheten til å bli kjent med så mange mennesker og hester.🐎 Nå står 2026 for døren og nye muligheter. Vær tidlig ute folkens og bestill privattimer, foredrag eller kurs. Reiser over hele Norden så gå gjerne sammen med noen og bestill.
Om du er nybegynner eller erfaren har ikke noen betydning, det er bare å ta kontakt. 🤠
Mvh. Roger
Tlf. +47 41326662
se også youtube Roger Sundet horsemanship https://www.youtube.com/.Sundet.Horsemanship

DEL GJERNE. 🤠

30/12/2025

Fornuftige ord fra min gode venn Hawk 🤠

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«Det er ikke greit å slå en hest.»
Jeg hører denne setningen ofte. Den høres riktig ut. Den føles riktig.
Men, faglig sett er den for enkel.
Dette innlegget handler ikke om å forsvare det å slå hester. Det handler heller ikke om å oppfordre til hardhendt trening. Det handler om å rydde i begreper, fordi uklare moralske slagord ofte gjør mer skade enn nytte for hesten.
Mange vil si:
«Det går an å trene hester mye mildere enn dette.»
«Det finnes bedre måter.»
«Jeg har aldri trengt å slå en hest for å få til noe.»
«Slike metoder burde være unødvendige i 2025.»
Og det kan alt sammen være sant. For noen hester. I noen situasjoner. Med noen ferdigheter.
Men, disse utsagnene sier fortsatt ingenting om hva som faktisk er etisk korrekt trening.
For etikk i hestetrening avgjøres ikke av hvor voldsomt noe ser ut, men av hvordan det oppleves av hesten.
Hva er egentlig voldsomt?
Et raskt, presist fysisk signal som opphører umiddelbart ved korrekt respons?
Eller konstante trykk, jenstenger i munnen, dunking med sjenkler eller hjelpere som aldri slipper, men som ser rolige ut utenfra?
Alt dette kan være mildt. Alt dette kan også være belastende. Forskjellen ligger ikke i formen, men i funksjonen.
Fra et nevrobiologisk perspektiv er det ikke typen stimulus som er avgjørende, men:
• om hesten forstår hva som forventes
• om signalene er tydelige og konsistente
• om styrkegraden er tilpasset individet
• om hesten har en reell utvei gjennom korrekt respons
Langvarig, uforståelig påvirkning uten utvei er langt mer belastende for nervesystemet enn kort, tydelig stimulus med korrekt timing og umiddelbart opphør.
Dette er grunnen til at diskusjonen om «å slå eller ikke slå» ofte bommer. Den tar utgangspunkt i menneskelig moral og menneskelige assosiasjoner, ikke i hvordan hester faktisk lærer.
Hester er ikke små mennesker. De resonerer ikke. De forhandler ikke. De forstår ikke intensjoner. De lærer gjennom erfaring, sammenheng og konsekvens.
Å ta vare på en hest er å ta på seg et ansvar for å gi den et liv den ikke er rustet til å regulere selv. Det ansvaret ligger hos oss, enten vi liker det eller ikke.
Derfor må vi tåle å stille de vanskelige spørsmålene.
Ikke for å peke finger.
Ikke for å forsvare hardhet.
Men, for å bli bedre for hesten.
Etikk i hestetrening handler ikke om å fremstå mild.
Den handler om å være forståelig, rettferdig og forutsigbar.
Disse refleksjonene kommer fra en som selv har erfart vold, og som derfor vet at det ikke er det fysiske i seg selv som er mest skadelig, men urettferdighet, uforutsigbarhet og manglende utvei.
Og med disse tankene vil vi ønske alle et godt nytt år; forhåpentligvis et mer etisk år for hesten. Et år forankret i kunnskap, ansvar og vilje til å se hesten for det den faktisk er.
Med vennlig hilsen
Hawk Christensen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs5iWT1Z1Z0

26/12/2025

Here’s a little horse science to kick off your Boxing Day, folks 🧠🐴
I know a lot of people spend what feels like a million bucks on gadgets, gear, and the next best thing, but none of that really matters if you don’t understand that your horse is engaging with you through the emotional and survival part of the brain.
It’s not about equipment, training, or techniques. It’s about understanding that your horse is meeting you through the limbic system, the part of the brain that governs connection, emotion, and safety.
This is called Limbic Resonance.
Limbic resonance is the deep, non verbal emotional and physiological syncing that happens between individuals through the brain’s limbic system. In humans, this is how empathy, bonding, and emotional understanding develop. It’s that feeling of being on the same wavelength, where one person’s inner state naturally influences another’s.
We see this everywhere. A calm person can settle someone who feels anxious. A baby relaxes in the arms of someone who feels safe. Dogs will often choose to sit near certain people or lean into them, while reacting nervously around others. None of this relies on words or deliberate behaviour. It’s about how that person feels on the inside.
This is limbic resonance at work.
So what does limbic resonance actually look like in the body?
Inside the brain is a group of structures called the limbic system. This system is responsible for emotions, memory, bonding, and survival responses. It is constantly scanning the environment for information about safety, danger, and connection.
The limbic system does not work on its own. It is directly linked to the central nervous system, which carries electrical impulses throughout the body. These impulses influence breathing, heart rate, muscle tone, posture, facial expression, and subtle movement. Together, they create your internal state.
And that internal state is not private.
We are constantly broadcasting it outward in several ways at once. Through our body signals like posture, tension, breath, and rhythm. Through chemical signals such as scent and pheromones. And through electrical impulses moving through the nervous system. Other mammals pick this up automatically, without thinking about it.
This is limbic resonance in action. It is nervous system to nervous system communication. No words needed.
Horses excel at this.
As prey animals that have survived for over 55 million years, horses have developed this system to an extraordinary level. Their survival has always depended on being able to sense and respond to subtle changes in others. They are masters of limbic resonance.
Within a herd, horses are constantly reading each other’s emotional and physical states. This silent communication keeps them safe. It is their primary language.
When we spend time with horses, we step into that system.
Horses do not tune into our words first. They sense how we feel, how present we are, and what we are carrying inside. Long before we act or speak, they already know whether we feel calm, unsure, confident, or unsettled.
Your internal dialogue plays a big role here.
And to be fair, it is completely understandable that you might feel uneasy when you see something worrying ahead, especially when you are out riding. A flapping tarp, a banging gate, or something unfamiliar in the distance can easily trigger a moment of tension. That does not make you a bad rider or handler. It makes you human.
If you are standing there thinking, oh no, he’s going to freak out, your nervous system is already broadcasting tension. Your horse feels that immediately, often before anything actually happens, and that is very often the moment that actually sets him off and makes him freak out.
If instead you can gently train yourself to pause, breathe, and think, it’s fine, nothing to worry about, I’ve got this and I’ve got you, that provides him with a sense of reassurance and safety that often keeps him calm.
You do not need to say it out loud. When your thoughts, breathing, and body line up, your horse can feel that steadiness and borrow it. If you see something as just a thing, your horse is far more likely to see it the same way.
This is why breathing matters so much.
Slow, steady breathing slows the heart rate and settles the nervous system. When your nervous system settles, you are not pretending to be calm, you actually are calm. That genuine calmness then flows naturally through your body, your chemistry, and your nervous system.
Horses pick this up instantly.
When a horse feels that real steadiness, they feel safer. And when a horse feels safe, they are more likely to want to be near you, connect with you, and stay relaxed. Not because you asked them to, but because your presence feels good to be around.
And no, you do not need to be a Tibetan monk sitting on a mountain to do this.
Simply slowing your breathing, softening your body, and being present is enough. Even a few conscious breaths can change what you are broadcasting.
Horses do not need perfection. They just need you to be real.
In humans, limbic resonance builds connection and understanding. In horses, it is about safety and survival.
When you understand this, working with horses becomes less about trying harder and more about slowing down, breathing, and being present.
And honestly, that probably is the most valuable Boxing Day gift you can give your horse.
Se oversettelse

11/12/2025

05/12/2025

Henger trening av en meget hyggelig hest I Råde. 🤠 er det noen som trenger litt hjelp før Jul ? Så bare kontakt meg. Ellers ha en riktig god førjul☃️

27/11/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1VoMSpK7n3/

Blanketing is not just about adding warmth. Horses heat themselves very differently than we do and understanding that helps us support them instead of accidentally making them colder.

Horses heat themselves from the inside out. Their digestive system ferments fibre all day which creates steady internal heat. Their winter coat traps this heat when the hair can lift and fluff, a process called piloerection. This creates a layer of warm air close to the skin and acts as the horse’s main insulation system.

A thin blanket can interrupt this system. It presses the coat flat which removes the natural insulation. If the blanket does not provide enough fill to replace what was lost the horse can become COLDER in a light layer than with no blanket at all.

Healthy horses are also built to stay dry where it matters. The outer coat can look wet while the skin stays warm and dry. That dry base is the insulation. When we put a blanket on and flatten the coat, the fill must replace that lost insulation.

Problems begin when moisture reaches the skin. Wetness at the base of the coat flattens the hair and stops the coat from trapping heat. This can happen in freezing rain, heavy wet snow, or when a horse sweats under an inappropriate blanket.

Checking the base of the coat tells you far more than looking at the surface. Slide your fingers down to the skin behind the shoulder and along the ribs. Dry and warm means the horse is coping well. Cool or damp means the horse has lost insulation and needs support.

Horses also show clear body language when they are cold. Look for tension through the neck, shorter and stiffer movement, standing tightly tucked, avoiding resting a hind leg, clustering in sheltered areas, a hunched topline, withdrawn social behaviour, and increased hay intake paired with tension. Shivering is a clear sign but it appears later in the discomfort curve.

Ears can give extra information but they are not reliable on their own. Cold ears with a relaxed body are normal, but cold ears paired with tension, stillness, or a cool or damp base of the coat can suggest the horse is losing heat. Always look at the whole picture instead of using one single check.

If you choose to blanket, pick a fill that REPLACES what you are removing. Sheets and very light layers often make horses colder in winter weather. A blanket that compresses the coat needs enough fill to replace the trapped warm air the coat would have created on its own.

Blanketing is a tool, not a default. Healthy adult horses with full winter coats often regulate extremely well on their own as long as they are dry, sheltered from strong wind, and have consistent access to forage. Horses who are clipped, older, thin, recovering, or living in harsh wind and wet conditions will likely need more support and blanketing. The individual horse always matters.

It would be easier if a single number worked for every horse. But in my own herd I have horses who stay comfortable naked in minus thirty and others who need three hundred and fifty grams (+) in that same weather. That range is normal. It is exactly why no one chart can ever work for every horse, and why watching the individual horse will always be more accurate than any temperature guide.

Thermoregulation is individual. Charts cannot tell you what your horse needs. Your horse can. Watch the body, check the skin, and blanket the individual in front of you.

15/11/2025