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Showing posts with label ask the horse trainer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ask the horse trainer. Show all posts
Ask the Trainer: Difficulty Leading Horse & Respect on the Ground
Horse Behavior Question:
Say that I am taking my horse out of a pasture (through a gate) or leading my horse around. If my horse becomes spooked or just misbehaves (bucking, kicking out, rearing, and running ahead of me, hard to control), what EXACTLY should I do in that situation? How should I control my horse? Should I turn them in a tight circle or back them up? I am clueless!
Ask the Horse Trainer - My horse keeps backing up
Ask the Trainer... Q & A
Unwanted Behaviors- Backing
"Hi, I just bought another quarter horse. When I went to check her out, 2 different people, a man and a lady got on her to ride, she too a step or two back. I got her home, tried to mount her, and she just keep backing up. I tried for about an hour to go get on her and she keeps backing up. I tried to do this in my field. She let me put the saddle on her easy and the bridle. I tried on 2 different days. I don't have a round pen, should I try to do it in the stall next just to get on and off of her a few times? Thanks for your help."
Paul
Are you creating unwanted horse behavior?
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Horsemanship: Tying a Rope Halter Correctly
Rope Halter Typing Tip
Most people using this type of halter are not tying the knot correctly. Often the halter slips and loosens after a short while. This can become dangerous if the bottom section gets "stuck" around the horse's jaw and he panics.
This makes the halter not only ineffective for the initial purpose but also creates continuous unintentional pressure elsewhere, leading to defensiveness in the horse.
Most people using this type of halter are not tying the knot correctly. Often the halter slips and loosens after a short while. This can become dangerous if the bottom section gets "stuck" around the horse's jaw and he panics.
Another common issue from "standard" store-bought halters is that the pressure points the knots on the halter should sit on are laying incorrectly on the horse's face. Often the cheek section is either too short or long, causing the know to sit above the lower end of the horse's cheekbone, or it too the length is too long, the knot sits in the sensitive soft tissue pocket near the horse's nostril.
This makes the halter not only ineffective for the initial purpose but also creates continuous unintentional pressure elsewhere, leading to defensiveness in the horse.
One more time, I don't use rope halters when I'm trailering horses. Especially if hauling long distances, there is continuous pressure and often causes raw spots and discomfort.
The Missing Link: Understanding and Connecting your Horse's Brain and Actions
Question: What does a horse refusing to move or kicking out when asked to move forward such as at the canter or lope, spooking, herd anxiety or herd bound, trailer loading issues, bolting, “leaning” on the bit, becoming aggressive, fidgeting when tied, a horse that won’t stand quietly to be mounted have in common? The horse’s brain.
Most “issues” people focus on are not the problem itself, but rather a symptom of the underlining issue. How many times have you heard or maybe said yourself, “MY horse does (or doesn’t)…” or maybe, “It was all going fine and then suddenly…” or how about “My horse is really great but he has just one little problem with...”
Frequently FOUR missing links contribute to common issues or “problems” with the horse:
• Lack of Awareness in the person
• Lack of Understanding of the horse’s actions
• Lack of Clear Communication between humans and horses
• Lack of Mental Availability from the horse
Lack of Awareness: So many times the person does not recognize, put value to or address their horse’s behavior until it gets dramatic enough that it no longer can be ignored. The horse does not randomly act out. If a person is reacting after a horse is at its peak stress level, the horse is not being supported by them, and is on its own as to how they handle itself.
Lack of Understanding: Have you ever seen the magician move the three cups around with one cup covering a small ball? The object is for you to try and visually follow the cup shielding the ball. The distraction of the movement tends to confuse the person watching and they usually pick the wrong cup at the end.
The same goes for horses. People tend to focus on the “big” and “dramatic” movement instead of watching or noticing the small ways their horse is constantly communicating with them. Focusing on the unwanted horse behavior rather than reviewing what led up to the unwanted moment. A lack of understanding regarding the root cause makes efforts from the rider attempting to “fix the problem” seem futile.
Lack of Clear Communication: If you spoke English and were attempting to communicate with someone who only spoke Italian, it would not matter how many times you repeated yourself, how loudly you spoke, or how much you changed your tone of voice; they still would not understand you.
This often is the case between human and horse communication. First the rider’s manner of communicating, using their energy or aids may have no meaning to the horse. So the horse appears to “ignore” them because of a lack of understanding, causing frustration in the rider. Using “stronger” aids (harsher bit, longer spurs, whips, etc.) is often suggested, and yet frequently this does not clarify the communication. The seemingly random use of aids, with increasing severity, offering critique can cause the horse to become mentally tuned out as a coping mechanism.
Lack of Mental Availability: If you have ever been asked to do something that you did not want to or did not understand, can you remember the feelings of physical resistance in your body because of the mental stress you were experiencing?
The same goes for horses. When a person is lacking awareness of their horse, this affects their understanding of why and when a horse behaves as it does. Unclear in how to communicate with the horse, the horse has no alternative but to mentally “shut down.”
Without the horse mentally participating “surviving the ride” and being “hopeful” for an uneventful ride becomes the norm in the rider. Neither of which will make either horse or rider come away with a positive and motivated feeling for the next ride.
How many times have you witnessed or experienced a “difficult” or resistant horse and stopped to notice where his brain was?
Have you ever watched a horse resistant to load into a horse trailer? Have you seen him looking in the opposite direction from the trailer? How will he load with quality if he is avoiding thinking or literally looking at the trailer?
Have you ever tried to turn left and had your horse “leak out” to the right? Notice where his eyes are looking? Towards the right, which is why his body is leaking out in that direction. Since the horse’s body follows where his brain is at, he’ll never make quality and balanced left turn if he isn’t thinking about turning left.
Have you ever felt your horse “shift gears” and noticed you were passive, or hopeful, that he’d slow down? Until that horse thinks about slowing down, he will not offer a soft and thoughtful physical response.
Have you ever been riding in a group and gone to leave the group and had your horse have a complete emotional meltdown and physical tantrum? Until your horse can keep his thoughts with you, irrelevant of whether you are near the other group of riders or not, his brain will remain with the group of horses that left, and therefore his body will try to follow his brain to get back to that group.
I’ll close by mentioning another key “tool” missing from most horse/people partnerships' quality. Too many times it’s not until “the day you need to get the job done,” that people suddenly and randomly demands quality from their horse.
Don’t wait until the moment you need to get the job done as the first time you ask for quality from your horse. Every day, every moment you interact with your horse. If you’re not offering it, don’t “hope” for it from your horse.
If there is a lack of confidence, understanding or clarity the horse won’t/can't do his job well.
Would like to have a private one-on-one consultation with Sam? Now you can with her REMOTE COACHING option!
Most “issues” people focus on are not the problem itself, but rather a symptom of the underlining issue. How many times have you heard or maybe said yourself, “MY horse does (or doesn’t)…” or maybe, “It was all going fine and then suddenly…” or how about “My horse is really great but he has just one little problem with...”
Frequently FOUR missing links contribute to common issues or “problems” with the horse:
• Lack of Awareness in the person
• Lack of Understanding of the horse’s actions
• Lack of Clear Communication between humans and horses
• Lack of Mental Availability from the horse
Lack of Awareness: So many times the person does not recognize, put value to or address their horse’s behavior until it gets dramatic enough that it no longer can be ignored. The horse does not randomly act out. If a person is reacting after a horse is at its peak stress level, the horse is not being supported by them, and is on its own as to how they handle itself.
Lack of Understanding: Have you ever seen the magician move the three cups around with one cup covering a small ball? The object is for you to try and visually follow the cup shielding the ball. The distraction of the movement tends to confuse the person watching and they usually pick the wrong cup at the end.
The same goes for horses. People tend to focus on the “big” and “dramatic” movement instead of watching or noticing the small ways their horse is constantly communicating with them. Focusing on the unwanted horse behavior rather than reviewing what led up to the unwanted moment. A lack of understanding regarding the root cause makes efforts from the rider attempting to “fix the problem” seem futile.
Lack of Clear Communication: If you spoke English and were attempting to communicate with someone who only spoke Italian, it would not matter how many times you repeated yourself, how loudly you spoke, or how much you changed your tone of voice; they still would not understand you.
This often is the case between human and horse communication. First the rider’s manner of communicating, using their energy or aids may have no meaning to the horse. So the horse appears to “ignore” them because of a lack of understanding, causing frustration in the rider. Using “stronger” aids (harsher bit, longer spurs, whips, etc.) is often suggested, and yet frequently this does not clarify the communication. The seemingly random use of aids, with increasing severity, offering critique can cause the horse to become mentally tuned out as a coping mechanism.
Lack of Mental Availability: If you have ever been asked to do something that you did not want to or did not understand, can you remember the feelings of physical resistance in your body because of the mental stress you were experiencing?
The same goes for horses. When a person is lacking awareness of their horse, this affects their understanding of why and when a horse behaves as it does. Unclear in how to communicate with the horse, the horse has no alternative but to mentally “shut down.”
Without the horse mentally participating “surviving the ride” and being “hopeful” for an uneventful ride becomes the norm in the rider. Neither of which will make either horse or rider come away with a positive and motivated feeling for the next ride.
How many times have you witnessed or experienced a “difficult” or resistant horse and stopped to notice where his brain was?
Have you ever watched a horse resistant to load into a horse trailer? Have you seen him looking in the opposite direction from the trailer? How will he load with quality if he is avoiding thinking or literally looking at the trailer?
Have you ever tried to turn left and had your horse “leak out” to the right? Notice where his eyes are looking? Towards the right, which is why his body is leaking out in that direction. Since the horse’s body follows where his brain is at, he’ll never make quality and balanced left turn if he isn’t thinking about turning left.
Have you ever felt your horse “shift gears” and noticed you were passive, or hopeful, that he’d slow down? Until that horse thinks about slowing down, he will not offer a soft and thoughtful physical response.
Have you ever been riding in a group and gone to leave the group and had your horse have a complete emotional meltdown and physical tantrum? Until your horse can keep his thoughts with you, irrelevant of whether you are near the other group of riders or not, his brain will remain with the group of horses that left, and therefore his body will try to follow his brain to get back to that group.
I’ll close by mentioning another key “tool” missing from most horse/people partnerships' quality. Too many times it’s not until “the day you need to get the job done,” that people suddenly and randomly demands quality from their horse.
Don’t wait until the moment you need to get the job done as the first time you ask for quality from your horse. Every day, every moment you interact with your horse. If you’re not offering it, don’t “hope” for it from your horse.
If there is a lack of confidence, understanding or clarity the horse won’t/can't do his job well.
Would like to have a private one-on-one consultation with Sam? Now you can with her REMOTE COACHING option!
Exploring the use of a round pen- an alternative perspective
A FB friend posted an article on anti round pen usage... Here was my in depth perspective/answer:
I find 95% of folks misuse a round pen, whether under the guise of "exercising" or teaching conditioned responses, such as the lesser of two evils is to turn, face the human and be caught; which is a bullying tactic. The problem with teaching conditioned responses and patterns is the day you change the routine, you get a fire breathing dragon instead of your docile horse.
So what happened? Most horses learn the pattern in order to get the human to leave them alone. There's not a lot of thought or clarity, it is just a form of "escaping" the pressure created by the human. The human in turn incorrectly assumes that because the horse is being so "helpful" by automatically doing something they might ask of their horse, that the horse is okay. More times than not, he is not.
For me the round pen allows an opportunity in a safe place where the horse and I can have open two way communication. It is an opportunity to assess if the horse is mentally available to physically participate with me. If any sort of fast movement or continuous movement occurs, there's typically a brainless-ness and flee to it.
Most horses that arrive with "behavioral issues" (which is often a symptom, not the issue) is a direct result of constant mental and emotional stress. The horse is rarely considered when the human has an agenda. So often the horses are bullied into doing things that really bother them and "all of a sudden" they act dramatic, resistant and dangerous. No, it wasn't all of a sudden. Most folks do not notice, put value to or address if their horse is asking for help, until the person can no longer ignore the escalating dramatic behavior displayed by the horse.
So as I start a colt, re-educate an older horse or fine tune a finished one, the round pen can be a tool. Could the same conversation happen while in the pasture, being led or tacked? Yes. It is not about location, shape of fence or teaching a patternized response. It is about a quality conversation that sets you and your horse up to be successful. But folks are looking for patterns and conditioned, brainless responses.
If the horse is physically and mentally bothered, fearful, insecure or shut down, why wouldn't I want to address that and help him sort out his concerns BEFORE I get on? There's no need to "wait and see," what the ride will be like; if I see he's bothered now, it'll only get worse in the saddle.
Imagine if all these amazing athletic creatures were supported to compete without being in the the continual state of stress and duress, then what might their movement look like?
By not offering a horse TIME to sort through his emotions, rather just attempting to physically exhaust him, but never address what he's bothered about, is setting up the horse to be defensive....
As with everything, something that can be a safe, confidence building and supportive tool based in how it is presented by one person can also be a horrific experience for the horse if someone with ego, time limitations, and ulterior motives uses it...
Just my thoughts.
Sam
I find 95% of folks misuse a round pen, whether under the guise of "exercising" or teaching conditioned responses, such as the lesser of two evils is to turn, face the human and be caught; which is a bullying tactic. The problem with teaching conditioned responses and patterns is the day you change the routine, you get a fire breathing dragon instead of your docile horse.
So what happened? Most horses learn the pattern in order to get the human to leave them alone. There's not a lot of thought or clarity, it is just a form of "escaping" the pressure created by the human. The human in turn incorrectly assumes that because the horse is being so "helpful" by automatically doing something they might ask of their horse, that the horse is okay. More times than not, he is not.
For me the round pen allows an opportunity in a safe place where the horse and I can have open two way communication. It is an opportunity to assess if the horse is mentally available to physically participate with me. If any sort of fast movement or continuous movement occurs, there's typically a brainless-ness and flee to it.
Most horses that arrive with "behavioral issues" (which is often a symptom, not the issue) is a direct result of constant mental and emotional stress. The horse is rarely considered when the human has an agenda. So often the horses are bullied into doing things that really bother them and "all of a sudden" they act dramatic, resistant and dangerous. No, it wasn't all of a sudden. Most folks do not notice, put value to or address if their horse is asking for help, until the person can no longer ignore the escalating dramatic behavior displayed by the horse.
So as I start a colt, re-educate an older horse or fine tune a finished one, the round pen can be a tool. Could the same conversation happen while in the pasture, being led or tacked? Yes. It is not about location, shape of fence or teaching a patternized response. It is about a quality conversation that sets you and your horse up to be successful. But folks are looking for patterns and conditioned, brainless responses.
If the horse is physically and mentally bothered, fearful, insecure or shut down, why wouldn't I want to address that and help him sort out his concerns BEFORE I get on? There's no need to "wait and see," what the ride will be like; if I see he's bothered now, it'll only get worse in the saddle.
Imagine if all these amazing athletic creatures were supported to compete without being in the the continual state of stress and duress, then what might their movement look like?
By not offering a horse TIME to sort through his emotions, rather just attempting to physically exhaust him, but never address what he's bothered about, is setting up the horse to be defensive....
As with everything, something that can be a safe, confidence building and supportive tool based in how it is presented by one person can also be a horrific experience for the horse if someone with ego, time limitations, and ulterior motives uses it...
Just my thoughts.
Sam
FINAL April Group Conference Call
April 26th 10am-10:45am PST
"Clarifying communication between Humans and Horses"
Even if you cannot participate for the entire duration, you can still register and enjoy replaying the recorded call at a later time.
The first week's call, "Raising mental availability in Humans and Horses," and last week's "Humans having Intention," was a great success and I had lots of positive feedback from both sessions. If you missed out, you can still register and hear the recorded versions.
Remember, you must REGISTER in order to participate and/or have access to the calls and/0r the recorded playback of them.
For details and to REGISTER
Keeping it simple...
Letting go of “stuff” in order to find clear communication.
Recently I’ve had a few horses come in for training or
an assessment that all share a common theme in their background. All of their owners had ridden years ago, and
then after an absence from the sport, re-immersed themselves in the last year
by buying a horse. None of the owners
had ever “done” ground work in their previous equine experiences, and each
owner had recently been taught a different “method” for doing ground work. The one common factor being that each owner
had been encouraged to buy DVDs, books, and “equipment” to learn work with
their horse on the ground.
In each scenario, the new owner felt confidence and believed
that they had a “connection” with their new horse while at lessons, clinics,
etc., until they brought their horse home and had unexpected scenarios arise. Then things started to fall apart.
I don’t believe there is a “right or wrong” way to teach
horses or people, my personal style is to try and keep things as simple and
straight forward as possible, using a simplistic train of thought in how, what
and why we “do” something, so that when owners are home alone with their
horses, they can “think through” how to help their horse even when I’m not
around.
In fact I constantly adapt how and what I present depending
on who is on the receiving end. I just
got done teaching a clinic few weeks back where one of the students on day four
of the clinic asked, “What are we going to do today?,” and was shocked when I
explained that each group of riders and their horses dictated during each
session what “we accomplished” or learned for the day.
When a horse comes in for training, I offer the horse a
clean slate, with no assumptions no matter the age, experience, etc. of the
horse. As I’ve mentioned in many of my
other blogs, there are usually some major holes in the initial education of the
horse.
So back to the recent horses that came in for training. I could basically quickly distinguish what “method”
each horse had been taught by their conditioned, non-thinking responses and
brainless movement when I asked something of them. They each had to re-learn with me what they
thought they knew, and rather than offering me a movement first, I wanted to
see their thought BEFORE they moved.
See their thought? Yes. I wanted to see their eyes and ears focused
towards wherever I directed, I wanted to see a relaxed physical state, I wanted
to see consistent breathing, and only then, would I believe the horse was
mentally available to “hear” what I was physically going to ask of him.
I have found that the simpler I keep my communication with horses
the easier it is for the horse to trust, believe and try. I am only 5’2” and have worked everything
from heavy draft horses to Warmbloods, from Arabians to ponies to mules. I CANNOT “manhandle” any animal into doing
what I want. But I CAN “talk” to his
brain, but first I must get the animal’s brain willing to “hear” me.
Going through what may seem to some people as very
simplistic ways of communication through either spatial pressure or physical
pressure using just a lead rope, the initial “conversation” with the horse is
to establish concepts such as yielding to pressure, following pressure, being
able to clearly offer a left, right, forward and back- with any of the animal’s
four feet, establishing “personal space”, desensitizing the horse from being
defensive when something new is presented, and last but not least, teaching the
horse how to “search” for what I am asking of him, rather than trying one or
two things and then mentally shutting down if he didn’t figure out what I wanted.
Instead of lots of movement from either me or the horse, “driving”,
micromanaging, repetition, patternized routines, etc. my goal is to simply be able to ask the horse’s
brain to focus on something specific, then depending on how much “energy” I
offer using the lead (NOT swinging the
end of it- that is driving,) to have the horse move mimicking the energy I’ve
offered. From lining up to the mounting
block, crossing a tarp or puddle, or stepping into a horse trailer, it is not
about the “task” at hand, but rather for the conversation to begin with the
horse being mentally present and ready to “hear” where I direct his brain, and
then for his body to gently respond.
So as a recent owner went to load up her horse the “old” way
with attempting to put pressure on the horse’s hindquarters, never noticing the
fact that the horse wasn’t even looking at the horse trailer he was supposed to
be getting into, I offered instead to stand to the side of the trailer, and
through being able to help narrow down the horse’s thoughts from looking at everything
EXCEPT the trailer to directing them to thinking into the trailer. After the horse
quietly and thinking into the trailer, I asked that he offer first one foot, then pause, then the second front
foot, and then to stand half way in the trailer, which is when he took a deep breath, dropped his head and emotionally let down. We stood, we breathed, and we relaxed. He stepped out, then I asked him to “think in
the trailer” and again he gently loaded his front end, paused, then when I
asked him to think “further” into the trailer, he loaded all four feet, quietly
waited for me to ask him to move up to the front and stood nicely while
tied.
The horse’s owner was sort of shocked. I simply explained how adding “gas” or “driving”
the hind end of the horse with more and more pressure, without having a “steering
wheel” was just going to create chaos to the horse’s brain and body in an insecure
animal. Instead, ask him to slow down
his thoughts until he focused on just one simple, attainable task, such as “think
straight.” Then add, “think straight,
take one step.” And to slowly increase
in increments what you want, you remove the “scariness” of the task.
I explained it wasn’t about the horse loading, lining up for
the mounting block, or crossing the tarp, it was about the horse learning to be
available to “hear” what I was asking, and to learn, that I would SUPPORT him
through ever physical step I asked, that every time he tried, I'd acknowledge his effort, rather than take advantage of it, and that afterwards he would feel more
confident for trying.
I think back over the years as to the many
scenarios when I’ve gently taken away lunge lines, whips, “training aids,” and
other gadgets that people truly believed would help improve their horsemanship
and help their horse “overcome” a problem. The shock from the owners of how they accomplished more with doing less, using less stuff, and being more clear what exactly they wanted, are the "light bulb" moments that keep me inspired to teach humans.
In the end I hope
that through teaching both human and horse students to literally think
through a scenario first, rather than react, and to teach them simple tools in
how to communicate effectively and clearly that both can come away
from each scenario with a calmer, safer and more satisfying experience.
Here is to keeping it simple…
Sam
Tune Up Day 2: Clear Communication
Day 2 Tune Up:
Today O left her feed and come over to greet me with her head over the stall gate and I was able to halter her from outside the stall… I tacked and ponied her, this time working with more energy in both the trot and canter while ponied.
This is also a good place to mention manners in the horse that is being ridden while ponying another. In the case of Pico, if you think “little man syndrome” you might be on the right track for his sometimes ignorant behavior towards other horses. So when he gets to be the “big man” on the totem pole when working another horse, his ego can get the better of him, as many horses do when they are working cattle. Many times a really insecure horse can become overly aggressive towards a cow, as if taking the offense is the best defense towards another animal.
So as I was working O on her lightness and balance while ponying, I was also working with Pico to remind him his brain should stay with ME no matter where, or what, O was doing. Whether she spooked and jumped ahead of us, whether she got too close to him as we made a tight turn, whether we were trotting over a log, he needed to stay mentally available and participate with what I was asking of him.
O seemed happy and ready to work so I after I put up Pico I climbed aboard her. Figure eights, serpentines, halts, backing, tear drop reverses, etc. were some of the patterns I presented. I teach people to imagine having a sliding scale of ten different energy levels within each gait, and so I focused mostly on the trot increasing and decreasing my energy between a two and a seven as we were riding our “shapes.” This is where things such as the “drunken sailor” arise, many young horses think that they cannot multi-task (i.e. keeping a consistent rhythm through an entire movement), so they tend to offer either “slow” and straight or “wiggly” as they increase their speed.
Working at the posting trot is a great way to help delegate the rhythm and energy you’d like from your horse, by the amount you use within your seat and the frequency at which you rise and sit. Too many times people “follow” the horse’s movement rather than feeling like they can influence how fast or slow the horse goes without it requiring “much” of a change from them. I find many older horses offer “one speed” within a gait, and if you ask for more or less you tend to hit an imaginary “wall” of resistance. So from the start with youngsters, I need them to understand that all gaits must have a balanced sliding scale.
With a horse like O and her reactive personality, when she is bothered by something, she will “increase” her forward moving energy but lose the quality of her movement and balance because she can physically shorten her neck into an accordion like manner, causing her to take very fast, short and choppy “sewing machine steps.” These steps put more effort in the up and down motion of her leg, rather than a balanced powerful movement initialed from her hind quarters propelling her forward in elongated steps. As I’m riding her, if she does become a bit concerned, rather than letting her just build up her worry with more momentum, I need to still stay “focused on the job,” but address her increase of speed by lowering my energy in the saddle and helping her find a slower and more reasonable way to move. Think of the phrase, “Face your fears.” A horse that “deals” with life by fleeing (which is the most natural thing for them to do,) will become more and more reactive over time as their fears increase… But the funny thing with horses is if you tend to slow them down and help them mentally address what is bothering them, they then can usually “let go” of the initial worry and continue the ride without carrying their original stress. This is especially so with O.
As the ride continued I worked on varying riding her literally on the buckle (holding the very end of my reins), and then taking up a feel of the reins. DO NOT THINK “CONTACT.” Too many times there are many terms in the horse world that are misinterpreted and have caused a lot of issues for both humans and horses. I won’t get off on that tangent in this blog.
So when I say I “took up” on the rein, it means that I had a light feel of O’s mouth. I ride with what I call “piano fingers.” That means that as I increase or decrease pressure through my index finger, then middle, then ring finger and finally pinky, I can communicate a whole array of energies from my hand to O’s brain. I can use my reins to have a steady feel; I can use a direct or indirect rein, etc., which all tell O something different. Too many times for the sake of riding “pretty” people do not communicate clearly with their reins and so the horse has to decipher what the rider wants because the rider asks for several different movements but basically using the almost identical aid. In a young horse, if the horse is having to constantly question the rider, this can be the beginning of the horse increasing his resistance and fear and decreasing his confidence the more rides he has on him.
Today I also started to define imaginary “walls” on each side of the horse between my leg and hand. How many of you have ever tried to turn in one direction and had a horse gentle leak out the opposite way? In some styles of teaching people are encouraged to “hold” their horse’s shoulder, hip, etc. in order to prevent it from leaking. But for me, at 5’2”, even if I’m riding a pony, that animal is always going to be stronger than I am. And if I watch an animal such as O, in the pasture doing amazing rollbacks, why on earth would I need to “hold” her body in order to keep her balanced when I ride? But I also can’t expect her to just “know” that I want her to carry herself without leaning on me (literally). So I must create boundaries of what behavior she offers that works, and that which does not, the same as what I’d done in her ground work. So as we worked on our more specific and balanced turns, even if she was light in her physically movement, if I at all felt her leaning or dragging through the turn in her should, ribcage or hindquarters, I’d slow down and emphasize shifting her weight to her hind quarters to become balanced rather than “falling” or leaking through the turn.
This is also where I’d like to mention a lot of horses increase their speed because of a lack of balance. If any of you have ever watched a jump course where the ride starts off at one speed and with each jump the speed increases, it is usually because the horse is not moving and/or jumping in a balanced manner.
Another thing I’d like to mention is stay present in what I call “real time riding.” This means that although I may have a goal, I need to address EVERY single thing O is trying, if I don’t she will keep trying something getting physically bigger and stronger in doing so. The following are some of the things that I focused on:
1) When I made a correction, if O responded defensively then I needed to stop and help her learn that a correction is not an attack and that she does not need to get defensive, tight, hurried, etc. If she doesn’t initially understand what I want, and then gets defensive about the correction, it can create a whole array of issues and we’ll never continue a trusting relationship as her education continues.
2) The standard I present initially must stay consistent; I can’t sometimes “really mean it” and other times let certain things slide. If I do, she’ll start to question if I “really mean it” and then I’ll have to constantly be having to convince her. Not fun.
3.) Even if O doesn’t quite get “it” right, if she is trying, I need to acknowledge her effort, I personally do this with some sort of “quiet” moment so that her brain can process that her effort was a good thing. Too many people continue to hammer away at a horse, and never allow the horse to process what is happening, which of course causes resentful, burnt out, shut down horses.
As the ride progressed, O continued to relax more and more, her effort increased and movement became rhythmic. This to me was a good place to “call it a day.”
After the ride, I left her standing tacked up while I cleaned two stalls. Again, changing the “routine” of what she might expect even after a ride helps her to stay mentally present and participative the ENTIRE time I’m around her.
Sam
Ask the Horse Trainer- Foundation for a Quality Relationship with the Horse
Ask the Horse Trainer- Foundation for a Quality Relationship with the Horse
Ask the Horse Trainer: Horse Grazes while on Trail Ride
Question:
I have a 7 yr. old TWH, who is having only one problem. That is when we start out on the trail, he ABRUBTLY, without prior notice, stops and starts eating grass. It's a fight to get his head back up, and when I finally do, he may take 10 or so steps, and again without notice, stops and eats. This is the only bad habit he has. He out in pasture from 4:00 pm until 6:30 am and then put in his stall.
He is not under-fed. Most times other riders are back at least a horse's length from me, and his quick stopping usually ends up in a rear end collision.
Vet says I need to use spurs on him. Others say, carry a crop and smack him when he does this. I'm not into smacking him. What can I do?
Ask the Horse Trainer: Panic & Dangerous Horse Behavior
Ask the Horse Trainer: Panic & Dangerous Horse Behavior
Topic_Info: Panic Problem & Dangerous Behavior Question:
I bought a new horse about six months ago and he is a super sweet boy. He is five years old and there is a good chance he was abused before I bought him. The only problem he had when I bought him was that he would stiffen his front legs and panic when you tightened his girth. I found that if I took my time, left him untied, and walked him during the process he would do fine. Last week, I was taking him to a trail ride and when I started to load him, he pulled back, panicked, and threw himself over on his back. He has done this one other time also when he was tied to the trailer. Panic, then right over backward! I really love this horse but I'm starting to get afraid that he will panic and flip over under saddle. This is a hard problem, do you have any advice?
Ask the Horse Trainer: Balking in Young Horse When Ridden
Ask the Horse Trainer: Balking in Young Horse When Ridden
Topic_Info: Balking
Location: Bulverde TX
Question: I have been working with a young horse for the past year (Just turned 4 last week). I feel like I have moved very slowly with him. I worked for approximately 6 months in the round pen before mounting him. I started riding him about 4-5 months ago. I was still lounging 2 to 3 days a week and riding him on the weekends after about a 10-15 minute lounge. I was at my trainer's about 2 weeks ago and we had moved from the round pen to riding in the large arena. He did wonderfully and we had just finished up and I was walking him out when he suddenly stopped. He just would not move. The trainer even came over and tried to hand walk him and nothing. I dismounted and walked him out of the arena not thinking much about it. A few days later, I lounged for about 10 minutes and mounted and he would not move. He drops his head to the ground and would not move a muscle. You can pull his head from side to side but the hooves do not move. I took him back to the trainers this past weekend and the same thing. He lounged beautifully and once mounted, he just feels like the life has been sucked out of him. I can not imagine that he was pushed too far...I must have worked basic walk/trot skills, spiraling in and out on the lounge line for over 3-4 months before even asking for the canter. The first time mounted, he was wonderful. The trainer was there to hand walk him. We gradually proceeded to a lounge line while mounted and within about 2 weeks~ we started riding in the round pen on our own. I am completely lost! I have put him up and thought maybe I need to give him a break and see what happens in about a month. I have never run across this before and really don't know what to do. I thought I had built up respect with all the lounge work. He listens to all my verbal skills and is really well mannered. He is such a sweet horse but I fear that I have really gone wrong and am fearful of creating a habit so I am at a standstill. I would appreciate any help or suggestions that you might have. Brandi
Location: Bulverde TX
Question: I have been working with a young horse for the past year (Just turned 4 last week). I feel like I have moved very slowly with him. I worked for approximately 6 months in the round pen before mounting him. I started riding him about 4-5 months ago. I was still lounging 2 to 3 days a week and riding him on the weekends after about a 10-15 minute lounge. I was at my trainer's about 2 weeks ago and we had moved from the round pen to riding in the large arena. He did wonderfully and we had just finished up and I was walking him out when he suddenly stopped. He just would not move. The trainer even came over and tried to hand walk him and nothing. I dismounted and walked him out of the arena not thinking much about it. A few days later, I lounged for about 10 minutes and mounted and he would not move. He drops his head to the ground and would not move a muscle. You can pull his head from side to side but the hooves do not move. I took him back to the trainers this past weekend and the same thing. He lounged beautifully and once mounted, he just feels like the life has been sucked out of him. I can not imagine that he was pushed too far...I must have worked basic walk/trot skills, spiraling in and out on the lounge line for over 3-4 months before even asking for the canter. The first time mounted, he was wonderful. The trainer was there to hand walk him. We gradually proceeded to a lounge line while mounted and within about 2 weeks~ we started riding in the round pen on our own. I am completely lost! I have put him up and thought maybe I need to give him a break and see what happens in about a month. I have never run across this before and really don't know what to do. I thought I had built up respect with all the lounge work. He listens to all my verbal skills and is really well mannered. He is such a sweet horse but I fear that I have really gone wrong and am fearful of creating a habit so I am at a standstill. I would appreciate any help or suggestions that you might have. Brandi
Ask the Horse Training: Breaking down the philosophy and training theories of Alternative Horsemanship with Samantha Harvey
Ask the Horse Training: Breaking down the philosophy and training theories of Alternative Horsemanship with Samantha Harvey
Ask the Horse Trainer: Rearing
Ask the Horse Trainer: Rearing
Topic_Info: rearingWebsite_Info: came across it when looking up info on rearing
Location: Livermore falls, Maine
Question:
My horse had been rearing a lot. The footing in my field isn't that good, she had been fine all summer then got her shoes off, the ground got hard, and then she started. Then when the first snow came she was fine for a month or so, then when the snow got hard, uneven, and high she started again. Do you think she is doing this because of the footing? It's very aggravating and I try to bring her head to my knee and make her go forward but I can't she's too powerful. I have been doing groundwork with her for now until she gets her shoes back on, and the snow is gone. I'm hoping she will be better.
Ask the Horse Trainer: Slowing the horse's walk, trot, and canter
Topic_Info: Trying to get the horse to walk/trot/canter more slowly.
Website_Info: Google
Location: NY
Date: September 05, 2010
Question:
I've been riding a 14-year-old mare. She was previously ridden by a person who continuously ran her and ran her shortly after she was broke (she was broken at the age of 10) and I have extreme difficulty getting her to walk slowly. When I'm working on the ground with her/grooming, she is a completely calm horse who seems very relaxed. She stands still even when she's being saddled.
However, when I try to mount her, she gets a bit antsy and starts to walk. If I pull in the left rein to keep her head turned toward me, she still walks in a circle and when I finally get on top of her, she tries to walk as fast as she can. If I slack the reins, she tries to break into a trot. A horse trainer helped me for three days and by "playing with my hands", I got the horse to walk a bit slower, but it took a lot of effort. That was last year. This year, even when I "play with my hands", she either throws her head forward or slows down for a second, and then speeds right back up. (I use a hackamore because her mouth is small, and bits tend to end up cutting her.) When I do get into a trot, it's faster than a normal "trot" should be, and it's the same with a walk; unless I keep a tighter rein on her, she tries to trot faster or get into a canter. When I canter her, she tries to go as fast as she can. I'm not an experienced rider, but I'm slowly starting some natural horsemanship, and when I lunge her on the ground, she walks and trots nicely.
Sorry if this all seems disorganized!
Answer:
Horses can very easily become patterned. This means that once a certain behavior, manner of interacting with them, or certain expectation of a type of performance is established, they begin to "automatically" respond without really mentally considering what their rider is asking of them. (Have you ever been in the shower and been distracted thinking about something else, when you suddenly stop and have to think if you already shampooed your hair or not?) They wind up going through the motions of a ride without ever thinking. The day you ask something "new" or "different" than what they are used to, is the day you start to find "holes" in their training and education.
Your horse's physical actions are a direct reflection of her mental availability. As long as she is "unavailable" to hear your aids, your ride(s) are going to be a constant source of frustration for both of you. For a moment you'll have to forget about your long-term goal of a "quiet" canter and focus on your horse's brain.
My goal when I ride, no matter what horse, no matter what background, no matter what the scenario is, I want my horse to ask "What would you like" This allows me to offer direction, influence their performance, and achieve that ideal quality ride because we are both on the same page.
Horses can easily and quickly establish patterned responses based on past experience and what has been expected of them. Right now I would guess that your horse is pretty sure that she knows what is being asked of her, and instead of being mentally available to understand what you would specifically like (in this case a slow lope)- your horse is mentally unavailable to "hear" your aids, so there is no opportunity for you to offer her an alternative idea- liking cantering slow. Think of her mindset as that equivalent to a teenager that is going through the stage of "knowing it all.
So even though your horse has been ridden for years, you may have to go back to some of the basics and re-evaluate yourself and your horse. In your case, I would gather that there is a general lack of clear communication between you and your horse. There are many ways to break down her lack of willingness to canter at various speeds. Because he is currently confident that when asked to canter it must be at a full out speed, that is all he thinks he needs to offer you. You are going to have to be able to influence his brain with alternative ideas, clarify how and what aids you use, and help him start to gain confidence when he mentally addresses you so that he can then offer alternative physical responses, rather than the current conditioned brainless responses.
First look at yourself, you will need to evaluate what aids you are using, how (specifically,) when you are using them, and with what amount of energy (on a scale of 1-10)? This will help you break down exactly at what point does your horse mentally "tune you out." Remember that a horse can feel a fly land on her skin, if you are creating a lot of "activity" with your aids (in this case the see-sawing with your hands) and not getting a response, your horse is tuning you out. Your job is going to have to “tune-up” your horse’s current level of insensitivity towards your aids.
Most people ride as “passengers” waiting to see what their horse is going to do, and then AFTER the fact, tell the horse if the behavior was “right or wrong.” I call this reactive riding. Instead, you need to be “taking your horse for the ride”- mentally preparing ahead of time how what and where you’re going to ask something of her. The more mental clarity you have ahead of time, the more accurately you’ll use your aids to communicate more clearly to your horse what you’re asking of her. She should be a mirror image of your energy in the saddle. But you’re going to have to take a few steps to establish this before you ever get into the saddle and certainly before you’re cantering and wanting to be able to influence her.
Many horses are what I call "shut down" (mentally unavailable) due to boredom and routine rides. It will take a lot of creativity to create interest in your horse so that she will begin to enjoy participating in the ride rather than tolerating the ride. You will also have to establish black and white lines that clarify which of her reactions to your aids and what behaviors will be acceptable and those that are not. The faster you can catch an unwanted response, the faster she can "let it go" and try another response.
The faster you acknowledge that she achieved your "ideal" response, (giving her a break, move on to something else, etc.,) the more confidence she will have to increase her level of mental availability and physical performance. As you increase your own awareness and thought process you will begin to be able to pinpoint where and when you need to do something different in order to get an alternative response from your horse.
Also, you need to become aware of your horse only has a hard time slowing at the canter, or perhaps you may not have noticed, but I would guess, that by asking her to perform various energy levels within the walk, trot, she probably also has a difficult time doing- this only becomes worse the faster she moves, which is why at a canter she feels slightly out of control.
To take it a step further back- I'd start with evaluating her groundwork and how "light" she is on the lead rope. Does she barge past you at one pace when you're leading her? Does she display a "heaviness" on the lead rope as you go to turn? If you slow or increase your pace on foot, does she acknowledge this or does she ignore you? Everything she "displays" towards you on the ground will only become magnified once you are in the saddle and certainly the faster you ride.
Many times when working on a repeated exercise, horses try to please us by trying to do what is "right" ahead of when we have asked them. Depending on your horse's background, in your horse's case all she knows is to run, so rather than waiting for specific cues or direction from you, she "takes over" and offers what she thinks you want. There is not going to be a quick fix to undo years of established patterned rides by the previous owners. You need to have her mind available at all times to consider what you are asking. If you can influence her mind, then you can change her physical actions. The more she realizes you are helping her throughout the ride, rather than fighting to control her speed, the more sensitive she will be to listening to your aids.
Last but not least. Keep in mind that racehorses run their fastest when they are straight... Mentally many horses are way ahead of where there are physically at; so if your horse is moving too fast, offer an “interruption” (such as a circle, a turn, or specific task) as an alternative task to focus on, this will act as something to get her brain to slow down, and tune back into where she currently is at. You can slowly make the task more specific until she offers to slow down... then continue on with your ride as if nothing interrupted you... Soon it'll only take one rein to offer her a circle, turn, etc. and she'll slow down... Again, check your body language... If your weight is forward, similar to that of a jockey, you are offering your horse to run faster... If your weight is back in the saddle you are offering her to slow down...
With patience and clarity, you will start in small steps (literally) to begin creating the opportunity for a two-way conversation. This will allow both you and your horse to gain confidence in one another which will then lead to a trusting and fulfilling partnership that will allow you to both enjoy a quality ride. Remember, when your horse shows signs of rushing, nervousness, concern, worry, or stress she is not trying to act naughty, rather she is asking for your help.
Website_Info: Google
Location: NY
Date: September 05, 2010
Question:
I've been riding a 14-year-old mare. She was previously ridden by a person who continuously ran her and ran her shortly after she was broke (she was broken at the age of 10) and I have extreme difficulty getting her to walk slowly. When I'm working on the ground with her/grooming, she is a completely calm horse who seems very relaxed. She stands still even when she's being saddled.
However, when I try to mount her, she gets a bit antsy and starts to walk. If I pull in the left rein to keep her head turned toward me, she still walks in a circle and when I finally get on top of her, she tries to walk as fast as she can. If I slack the reins, she tries to break into a trot. A horse trainer helped me for three days and by "playing with my hands", I got the horse to walk a bit slower, but it took a lot of effort. That was last year. This year, even when I "play with my hands", she either throws her head forward or slows down for a second, and then speeds right back up. (I use a hackamore because her mouth is small, and bits tend to end up cutting her.) When I do get into a trot, it's faster than a normal "trot" should be, and it's the same with a walk; unless I keep a tighter rein on her, she tries to trot faster or get into a canter. When I canter her, she tries to go as fast as she can. I'm not an experienced rider, but I'm slowly starting some natural horsemanship, and when I lunge her on the ground, she walks and trots nicely.
Sorry if this all seems disorganized!
Answer:
Horses can very easily become patterned. This means that once a certain behavior, manner of interacting with them, or certain expectation of a type of performance is established, they begin to "automatically" respond without really mentally considering what their rider is asking of them. (Have you ever been in the shower and been distracted thinking about something else, when you suddenly stop and have to think if you already shampooed your hair or not?) They wind up going through the motions of a ride without ever thinking. The day you ask something "new" or "different" than what they are used to, is the day you start to find "holes" in their training and education.
Your horse's physical actions are a direct reflection of her mental availability. As long as she is "unavailable" to hear your aids, your ride(s) are going to be a constant source of frustration for both of you. For a moment you'll have to forget about your long-term goal of a "quiet" canter and focus on your horse's brain.
My goal when I ride, no matter what horse, no matter what background, no matter what the scenario is, I want my horse to ask "What would you like" This allows me to offer direction, influence their performance, and achieve that ideal quality ride because we are both on the same page.
Horses can easily and quickly establish patterned responses based on past experience and what has been expected of them. Right now I would guess that your horse is pretty sure that she knows what is being asked of her, and instead of being mentally available to understand what you would specifically like (in this case a slow lope)- your horse is mentally unavailable to "hear" your aids, so there is no opportunity for you to offer her an alternative idea- liking cantering slow. Think of her mindset as that equivalent to a teenager that is going through the stage of "knowing it all.
So even though your horse has been ridden for years, you may have to go back to some of the basics and re-evaluate yourself and your horse. In your case, I would gather that there is a general lack of clear communication between you and your horse. There are many ways to break down her lack of willingness to canter at various speeds. Because he is currently confident that when asked to canter it must be at a full out speed, that is all he thinks he needs to offer you. You are going to have to be able to influence his brain with alternative ideas, clarify how and what aids you use, and help him start to gain confidence when he mentally addresses you so that he can then offer alternative physical responses, rather than the current conditioned brainless responses.
First look at yourself, you will need to evaluate what aids you are using, how (specifically,) when you are using them, and with what amount of energy (on a scale of 1-10)? This will help you break down exactly at what point does your horse mentally "tune you out." Remember that a horse can feel a fly land on her skin, if you are creating a lot of "activity" with your aids (in this case the see-sawing with your hands) and not getting a response, your horse is tuning you out. Your job is going to have to “tune-up” your horse’s current level of insensitivity towards your aids.
Most people ride as “passengers” waiting to see what their horse is going to do, and then AFTER the fact, tell the horse if the behavior was “right or wrong.” I call this reactive riding. Instead, you need to be “taking your horse for the ride”- mentally preparing ahead of time how what and where you’re going to ask something of her. The more mental clarity you have ahead of time, the more accurately you’ll use your aids to communicate more clearly to your horse what you’re asking of her. She should be a mirror image of your energy in the saddle. But you’re going to have to take a few steps to establish this before you ever get into the saddle and certainly before you’re cantering and wanting to be able to influence her.
Many horses are what I call "shut down" (mentally unavailable) due to boredom and routine rides. It will take a lot of creativity to create interest in your horse so that she will begin to enjoy participating in the ride rather than tolerating the ride. You will also have to establish black and white lines that clarify which of her reactions to your aids and what behaviors will be acceptable and those that are not. The faster you can catch an unwanted response, the faster she can "let it go" and try another response.
The faster you acknowledge that she achieved your "ideal" response, (giving her a break, move on to something else, etc.,) the more confidence she will have to increase her level of mental availability and physical performance. As you increase your own awareness and thought process you will begin to be able to pinpoint where and when you need to do something different in order to get an alternative response from your horse.
Also, you need to become aware of your horse only has a hard time slowing at the canter, or perhaps you may not have noticed, but I would guess, that by asking her to perform various energy levels within the walk, trot, she probably also has a difficult time doing- this only becomes worse the faster she moves, which is why at a canter she feels slightly out of control.
To take it a step further back- I'd start with evaluating her groundwork and how "light" she is on the lead rope. Does she barge past you at one pace when you're leading her? Does she display a "heaviness" on the lead rope as you go to turn? If you slow or increase your pace on foot, does she acknowledge this or does she ignore you? Everything she "displays" towards you on the ground will only become magnified once you are in the saddle and certainly the faster you ride.
Many times when working on a repeated exercise, horses try to please us by trying to do what is "right" ahead of when we have asked them. Depending on your horse's background, in your horse's case all she knows is to run, so rather than waiting for specific cues or direction from you, she "takes over" and offers what she thinks you want. There is not going to be a quick fix to undo years of established patterned rides by the previous owners. You need to have her mind available at all times to consider what you are asking. If you can influence her mind, then you can change her physical actions. The more she realizes you are helping her throughout the ride, rather than fighting to control her speed, the more sensitive she will be to listening to your aids.
Last but not least. Keep in mind that racehorses run their fastest when they are straight... Mentally many horses are way ahead of where there are physically at; so if your horse is moving too fast, offer an “interruption” (such as a circle, a turn, or specific task) as an alternative task to focus on, this will act as something to get her brain to slow down, and tune back into where she currently is at. You can slowly make the task more specific until she offers to slow down... then continue on with your ride as if nothing interrupted you... Soon it'll only take one rein to offer her a circle, turn, etc. and she'll slow down... Again, check your body language... If your weight is forward, similar to that of a jockey, you are offering your horse to run faster... If your weight is back in the saddle you are offering her to slow down...
With patience and clarity, you will start in small steps (literally) to begin creating the opportunity for a two-way conversation. This will allow both you and your horse to gain confidence in one another which will then lead to a trusting and fulfilling partnership that will allow you to both enjoy a quality ride. Remember, when your horse shows signs of rushing, nervousness, concern, worry, or stress she is not trying to act naughty, rather she is asking for your help.
Ask the Horse Trainer: Difficulty Leading and bolting Horse
Ask the Horse Trainer: Difficulty Leading Horse & Respect on Ground
Topic_Info: Leading My HorseWebsite_Info: searching onlineLeading horses… the million-dollar question below is a Q&A that was from many years ago. When I check my blog stats, from the last nine years the #1 searched inquiry is “How to lead a difficult horse, or, My horse won’t lead.” So I thought I’d share this post…
Questions: Say that I am taking my horse out of a pasture (through a gate) or leading my horse around. If the situation arises where my horse becomes spooked or just misbehaves, (bucking, kicking out, rearing, and running ahead of me, hard to control) what EXACTLY should I do in that situation? How should I control my horse? Should I turn them in a tight circle or back them up? I am clueless! Note: I do not own my own horse/ride often, this is a bit of a beginner question, but this happened to me a little bit ago and I was clueless on what to do. Thank you!
Ask the Horse Trainer: Ex Harness Horse- Aggressive and dangerous horse behavior
Ask the Horse Trainer: Ex Harness Horse- Aggressive and dangerous horse behavior
Website GOGGLE SEARCHLocation: PA
Date: February 01, 2011
Question:
I HAVE A 6YO OFF-TRACK HARNESS STB RACER. SHE'S HAD 7 MO UNDER SADDLE TRAINING. SHE USUALLY FREE LUNGES WITH NO PROBLEM. LATELY SHE HAS BEEN COMING AFTER ME. SHE WON'T LISTEN WHEN I TELL HER TO GO OUT, SHE COMES AFTER ME TRYING TO KICK ME. AFTER ITS ALL OVER SHE IS THE MOST LOVING HORSE EVER. LATELY SHE'S ALSO BEEN COW-KICKING WHEN ASKED TO GO TO A TROT. HAD THE VET UP YESTERDAY AND EVERYTHING SEEMS FINE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON AND I DON'T WANT TO GIVE UP ON HER BECAUSE OF THESE NEW ISSUES SHES HAVING.
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