Senior Project Refelction

1)   I think I'm most proud of how much I learned through senior project. I never used to read many of the articles in horse magazines, just looked at the pictures, but now that I've read them and tried their reasoning, I've experienced and learned so much. I've learned things that helped me in training my horse and have helped me in bettering myself as a rider.

2)   a.   I felt really confident about my presentation, and everyone seem interested. My activities seemed to be enjoyable, and a lot of the juniors came up to me and said I did a really good job and it was really interesting. I loved answering their questions about horses! Thus, I would give myself an AE. Not to sound too confident or anything, but because I worked really hard and put a lot of time and effort into it.

     b.   On my overall senior project, I'd have to say at least a P, if not a P/AE. I put in a lot of hours for service learning, which wasn't easy as my service learner isn't the most effective communicator. I devoted a lot of time to research, which taught me a lot about not only training horses, but gave me insight into their world and being. I was able to change my horse into a well rounded competitor, and will continue to work and making him better, and bettering myself by continuing to research and study horse training.

3)   I'd have to say that research worked the best for me. I was able to find a lot of good research, and learned a ton from it. There are so many informational TV shows about training horses that I didn't get a chance to completely watch, but I definitely will in the future because my research has made me really interested in training horses and getting to know how they function.

4)   Really, everything tended to work well for me. There were some speed bumps though, like when my horse would be a total jerk and put limits on our work. Such as him being gate sour, or not breaking his tack. It did help me become a better horsewoman though, as I learned to work through the problems and correct his behavior. My service learner was also occasionally uncommunicative, but it all worked out in the end as I was able to get my service learning done, and even got some extra hours.

5)   Senior project has helped me so much for the future. I've gotten a head start on the experience of training horses, and have made a lot of connections. I've even been offered a job at the WK Kellogg Arabian Horse Center in the fall! My horse experience is much needed there, as a lot of their current workers are graduating this year. I know I'll be able to use my research for the rest of my life.

2 Hour Presentation

My lesson plan can be found on the right hand side of my blog.

Service Learning

Literal:
On right hand side of blog.

Interpretive: 
I've gained so much from my service learning, I'm not sure how I can just choose one to consider the most important. So, I'd have to say that time devotion is probably the overall most important thing service learning has taught me. Training a horse takes a lot of time, as you can't just go twice a week and ride the horse for twenty minutes. You must work with the horse every day, and develop a schedule that includes both riding and groundwork, with maybe one of those days counting as a day off. Your work must also have a purpose, which can consume a lot of time seeing as some horses need lots of repetition to learn/improve a skill. Time and consistency can also make a horse well trained, as the more patience given and time spent on training a horse will give you a well rounded, well adjusted horse.
On top of training horses, a trainer must make time to train their clients. Lessons take up a large amount of time, seeing as a prime lesson lasts for an hour. For example, my trainer and service learner Kris devotes Wednesdays and Fridays to lessons. Starting at 8am and finishing at around 7pm, she gives lessons to her variety of students that range from beginners to advanced, jumping to reining. One must really be devoted to be a trainer.

Applied:
My service learning helped answer my essential question of "what is most important to becoming a successful western horse trainer?" by allowing me to analyze first hand what a horse trainer does each day, the different horses and clients they deal with, different problematic situations (such as loosing a shoe on a horse, ect.), and training techniques and methods. I've been able to apply everything I've learned in service learning to my senior project, and have gained a lot of experience and tools I can use in the future.
I've also been able to make some connections, and have hopefully landed the task of gentling and breaking a two year old Quarter Horse colt my friend owns, my first training job! This will allow me to test my findings, and see if I have what it takes to make it to a successful western horse trainer.


Service Learning Contact Info:
J. Kristen Keeler, head of JKK Performance Horses. 
Phone #: (951)201-7110

Independent Componet 2

LITERAL:
a)   I, Shannon Malally, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
b)   For my independent component, I worked on training my horse Leroy all by myself. In training him, I reinforced our trust, and learned how to read his body language like a book. By reading my articles, I have improved his sliding stop so that he actually gets his bum underneath him and slides a bit farther. Are spins have also gotten better, increasing and speed and Leroy now being able to plant a hind leg and pivot on it. His ground manners have also improved greatly, he is now a total gentleman. 


INTERPRETIVE:
I worked with Leroy almost every day, whether it was for 10 minutes, or in the case of our horse show, 7 hours. Working with horses in training is important to do everyday, because consistency, patience, and receptiveness is key to getting positive results. Leroy was a fast learner and easy to work with, plus he has had previous training, so a lot of our work was reinforcement to previously learned commands. However, he has improved on all of those commands, as can be seen in the video. At the beginning, when we are spinning, he is really slow and locked up; that was my old way of trying to get him to spin. In the next clip, he has planted a hind foot and is spinning faster, that is my new way to get him to spin. 


APPLIED: 
My independent component 2 helped me answer my EQ because I was able to see how important communication, trust, proper tack, time, patience, and effort really are. I was also able to try out my own training methods, and through trial and error, I got to see how they worked and didn't work. It really helped me answer my EQ.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gEtw_gg0bxuKFHUMT9Cq-n324xQoMxqN063FmiLMXsA/edit

Proof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpzoRgFJZj0

Helping 2013

Interviewee 1: Taylor McRorey
April 20, 2012 at 12:40pm.

1) I wanna do something about the medical field, that is all I know so far. I have already been looking at my options such as nursing and anesthesiology. Past that, I really have to think about what I wanna do or more like narrow it all down to one or two selections then make my final choice.
    Suggestions: When thinking about your idea, try to think a head to who you might interview and do service learning with. You are required to do 4 interviews, but can interview your service learner twice. It's good to know ahead of time so that you don't have to rush around looking for someone a day before the interview is due, like most seniors do. ;]

2) I'm planning on getting my service hours at Kaiser Permanente at their volunteer learning program. This way I can get community service hours as well as hours or learning service. I will be working with nurses and doctors in aiding them with basic activities.
    Suggestions: Really, just make sure your service learner is credible and will be able to supply you with the 60 hours you're going to need.However, seems like you already got this covered, Kaiser would be a great place for service learning.

3) I was kinda expecting them to be a little boring mostly because they are like 2 hours long which is crazy. However, I'm sure I will pick up on some good ideas and look for the things and activities that stand out so I can come up with good ones for myself!
    Suggestions: Yeah, senior presentations can be super boring. However, it's important to watch so that you can get ideas for your senior presentation and start to craft it. Especially look at the activities, because that will help you come up with your own activities. You want them to be engaging!

4) To be honest...i really don't have any questions for you right now, but, thank you!
    Suggestions: Ok, well if you come up with any, I'd be happy to answer them. :)




Interviewee 2: Alyssa Soberano
April 26th, 2012 at 12:50pm.

1) I have two topics I'm considering, a labor and delivering nurse or nutrition and dieting. A labor and delivering nurse because I was in the room after my aunt gave birth, and just thought it was really interesting. Nutrition and dieting because I previously did a lot of my own research on it and lost thirty pounds.
    Suggestions: It's great that you already have two solid answers, and even greater that you already have some research on nutrition and dieting. Now all you have to do is decide which topic you want to pursue. I'd think about which one offers more choices for service learning and interviews.

2) I plan to do my service learning at a Kaiser hospital, since both of my possible topics are medical related.
    Suggestions: A Kaiser hospital is a great choice, as it can count for both your service learning and independent components if you sign up for their volunteer program.

3) I expect to be involved in the presentations. I don't want to just sit there and watch.
    Suggestions: Yeah, some of the presentations will prove unbearable to sit through, but a lot of people set their goal on making them engaging. If you don't feel like you're being engaged, I would try asking some questions. Questions could benefit the presenter as well, maybe open them up a bit more.

4) I don't really have any questions, my sister graduated last year, so she has already answered all of my questions.
    Suggestions: Alright, well if you have any questions, feel free to ask. :)

Answer #3

EQ: What is most important to becoming a western horse trainer?

Answer 3: A basic knowledge of horse care, consisting of grooming, tack, basic veterinarian medicine, haltering, leading, trailering, and shoeing.

Evidence: Knowing the basics will allow you and anyone else to progress forward. Basic veterinarian medicine can help you in a situation where the horse has a scrape on a hind leg. What do you do? You administer neosporn, wrap it in vet wrap, and if neccessary, wrap it in a pillow wrap. Knowing the proper tack that fits a horse will save you from having an unhappy horse, and is also a safety percaution as tack that doesn't fit can result in injury to both horse and rider. Knowing how to hook up a trailer and load horses into and out of one will help in case of emergency, say there's a fire and you need to get out urgently, you'll know how to act.

Source:
- Interview 4 with Janelle Nichols, horse trainer for JKK Performance Horses
- Larry Trocha, horsemanship trainer
- Melinda Freckleton, DVM

3-Column Chart

My 3-Column Chart can be found on the right hand side of my blog with my working bibliography and my towers.

Room Creativity

1)   In terms of room creativity, I actually plan on holding my whole presentation outside. I'm hoping to acquire the arena at the Arabian Horse Center, but if that is not possible, then I was hoping that a grass area by the small gym would be of use. I plan on bringing my horse Leroy to actually demonstrate what goes into training a horse. If I can get my hands on some hay bales, I would like to bring those and use them as either chairs or decoration.

2)   For my answer 1 activity, which is a method that communicates with the horse, I was thinking about having the students break into groups and create stick horses using materials given. They would just need to glue their selected pieces onto the stick horse head. I'm not sure if I'm really going to do that, but it's all I have at the moment.

Answer 2

EQ: What is most important to becoming a successful western horse trainer?

Answer 2: A basic knowledge of groundwork and the equipment used to partake in it is one of the most important aspects to becoming a successful western horse trainer.

Evidence:

• Groundwork is the basis of all training.
• It establishes trust, leadership, and enforces the rules of space and respect.
• Allows a horse to think and really refine his responses, suppleness, and flexion.

Sources:

•  Groundwork, a book by Buck Brannaman
• Ride the Journey, a book by Chris Cox
• Kris Keeler, my service learner.

The Product

Achieved multiple, effective ways to train and manage a horse. For example, I learned through my Horse Illustrated Magazine research how to correct common problems, such as the emergency take off brake, sidepassing, and jigging. I've been able to apply my learned methods to my horse and others, and have gotten results. I've also learned, through videos, how to improve a horse's performance in reining. By correcting my seat in the saddle and switching from a snaffle bit to a curb bit, I've gotten my horse to do correct sliding stops.

Fourth Interview Questions

1)   What does a successful horse trainer mean to you? In other words, define success.

2)   Do you find yourself often working with people that have horse problems or horses that have people problems?

3)   What are some important qualities one should have when dealing with horses?

4)   What are some important qualities one should have when dealing with people?

5)   Would you consider showing someone's horse for them a part of training?

6)   When training a horse, what do you look for in the owner?

7)   Do you often find yourself administering basic veterinary care to the horses under your watch?

8)   Have there been any recent breakthroughs in technology that have helped and/or shown problematic in the horse training industry?

9)   At the moment, horse training has proven to of taken a blow from the terrible economy. Do you think the industry will improve in the next five years?

10)   Do you work alone, or do you like to have a partner(s) that help you with the training?

11)   Does equipment play a big role in training a horse?

12)   How would you define a 'green' horse?

13)   What sort of bit do you generally like to use when training a young or green horse?

14)   Do you see any similarities in the young horses you train?

15)   Do you have a distinct line between your professional life and your personal life? Or does training horses naturally fall into your personal life?

16)   There are many well known horse trainers around the globe. If you could pick one to train/work with, who would it be and why?

17)   Why did you choose to become a horse trainer?

18)   How long does it take, on average, to break a young horse?

19)   What is your main goal when it comes to training a horse?

20)   How do you determine the pricing of training someone's horse?

Independent Component 2 Plan Approval

1)   For my second independent component, I plan on applying training skills that I've learned through my research on my horse without any assistance. This will give me the chance to test what I've learned, and find/improve on any mistakes that may come up. Since my horse Leroy is already trained in the basics, I will focus on refining his skills, and possibly teach him new skills.

2)   My plan will meet 30 hours because I go to visit Leroy everyday, and plan on working on training skills with him at least four days out of the week. Working with him will consist of riding, lunging, and groundwork, which would give me at least 30 minutes of work to look forward to on every work day.

3)   My independent component 2 plan relates to my EQ of "What is most important to becoming a successful western horse trainer?" because it will let me experience first hand how to apply aids and techniques without assistance. I will also learn how to handle certain situations that may arise, such as the horse spooking or miss behaving.

Independent Componet 1

Link to Independent Component Log.
Link to pictures/videos showing proof.


Literal:
- I, Shannon Malally, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
- For my independent component, I took riding lessons with J. Kristen Keeler of JKK Performance Horses at Sycamore Canyon Equestrian Center. Each lesson was from 30 minutes to an hour and a half long. I rode my own horse, Leroy, and together we learned how to better ourselves in both the western and English disciplines. We focused on the western sport of reining, and have been able to improve our skills a lot over the past 3 or so months. We also attended and competed in shows with Kris Keeler, competing in reining, trail trials, western pleasure, and English pleasure.

Interpretive:
During the lessons, we focused on tuning up Leroy's reaction to commands, and also taught him a few new skills. I have also been improving my riding, having gotten a lot of critique from my trainer, Kris Keeler. With Leroy, we worked on rollbacks, spins, sliding stops, lead changes, the jog, sidepassing, opening gates, crossing tarps, crossing bridges, jumping crossrails, jumping 2ft, jumping 2'3", and basic dressage exercises. Kris focused on my riding, and gave my critique on how to hold the reins, how to ask for a sliding stop, perfecting spins, using and rolling spurs, improving the speed of rollbacks, correct jumping two-point posture, when to ask for lead changes, memorizing both reining and jumping course, and basic show preparation tips. Each show and lesson I attended took a great amount of time, as it is essential to warm-up a horse before starting the task of asking for specific commands. Hour long lessons were usual, as it's a good exercise for the horse and rider.

Applied:
Taking lessons helped me answer my EQ of "What is most important to becoming a successful western horse trainer?" because my trainer was able to share her knowledge of horses and riding with me, and I was able to practice techniques under a professional. Kris Keeler gave me important tips that should always be applied when riding any horse, such as keeping your heels down and toes up. I've also learned how to correctly apply aids to the horse, as Kris was able to tell me what I was doing correctly and incorrectly. I learned the value of patience and persistence, and experienced first hand the outcomes of specific training aids.

Presentation 2 Rough Draft

Link to Rough Draft

Answer 1

1)   One of my answers to my EQ is "A method that communicates with the horse and instills trust."

2)   Evidence of this can be found in many articles I have read, one mainly being "Ride the Journey" by Chris Cox. He explains how horses need to have trust in one before they can learn to accept ones methods. With trust, a horse can be successfully and wonderfully trained.

3)   Sources: "How to Think Like a Horse", a book by Cherry Hill, renowned horse trainer and author; "Ride the Journey," a book by Chris Cox, international horse trainer; and tips from a good friend of mine, Alecia Richard, a horse trainer in Norco.

Service Learning

I'm working for JKK Performance Horses at Sycamore Canyon Equestrian Center in San Dimas for my service learning. My contact is J. Kris Keeler, a professional horse trainer of 20+ years. For my first 10 hours, I have cleaned tack, turned out horses, lunged horses, and performed basic care for the horses currently in training and boarding. So far, I've worked 10 hours.

ESLR

Effective Communicator: I think I've been an effective communicator because I've been talking to a lot of horse riders and trainers about my senior project of western horse training. I've asked for tips to becoming a better rider, their opinion on different bits, and veterinarian care advice.

Effective Learner: I consider myself an effective learner because I've really dove into learning about western horse training. I've bought multiple horse training books, recorded season 1 of Clinton Anderson's Downunder Horsemanship, and subscribed to both Horse & Rider and Horse Illustrated magazines. I've also made a goal to get an extra article or blurb for each of my research checks for this new 2012 year.

Third Interview Questions

1)   What do you think is most important to becoming a successful western horse trainer?

2)    What does a typical day of training look like for you?

3)   When it comes to safety, what are a few tips and practices one can do to stay safe when working with horses?

4)   As a trainer, do you attend clinics and lessons held by other trainers? If so, why or why not?

5)   Do you use many methods of training, or do you try and stick to one method?

6)   Have you ever had a horse or rider that you have not been able to train/help?

7)   Are there certain breeds of horses that you try to stay away from? Any breeds that you think are harder to train or can't be trained?

8)   What has been the biggest challenge you have faced when training a horse or rider?

9)   If there was one thing you could change about your training method/program, what would it be and why?

10)   When training a horse, do you try to gain it's complete trust? Do you think that trust is essential when training a horse?