Oh my goodness. I hope you have been more consistent working with your horse than I have been in this blog! I knew I was behind, but I had no idea 2 months had passed! :) If you're reading this blog let me know- it's easier to put the effort out to keep it updated if I know people are taking a look at it. If you have any questions you can email them to me or post a comment on the blog.
We've talked about sending your horse forward and about moving the hind or front feet to the left or right... the only direction we have left is back. Backing the horse up is very important. I agree with whoever it was that said you should be able to direct your horse backward as easy as you can lead it forward. Now that takes work! And, as with everything else horse related: as you learn more you learn there is more to learn. In this post I'm going to explain 3 ways to back your horse up. Learn and practice all 3.
1) Handler stands still and backs horse to the end of the leadrope. Stand facing your horse flick the lead rope in a vertical movement (like flicking a towel) with your wrist. If your leadrope is of good quality this will carry a feel (kind of like a shock wave) up the leadrope and signal the horse by bouncing the halter on it's nose. Start lightly, increasing the intensity of the bump until the horse takes a step backwards. As your horse backs up you will need to feed out more rope. Continue until the horse has backed to the end of the lead rope. See how LITTLE it takes to draw your horse forward and repeat a couple times. The key to getting your horse lighter is to ask with less intensity than you know it will take to achieve. For example, on a scale of 1 (low)-10 (high) if I know my horse backs up on an intensity of 4 I will first ask with the intensity of 1 or 2, then follow through with an intensity of 4, releasing when the horse responds. Before long the horse will surprise you and respond at 1. This is true of any maneuver.
2) Backing the horse by your presence (body language). When you approach you horse, it decides to leave, or stay, based on your presence (cues the horse receives from subtle body language). For example, you approach differently if you just want to pet the horse on the head than you do if you want to drive it out of your space. This exercise will help you become more aware of your presence. Start standing 6-8 ft in front of, and facing your horse. With body language that says "move out of my space" (straight posture, square shoulders, direct eye contact) step towards your horse if it doesn't back up, bump the lead rope as discussed above, until it responds. If it does back up, soften your body to give a release of pressure and pet the horse on the forehead. Once your horse starts backing up on just your presence, make sure you can still approach with softness without the horse backing. The goal is for the horse to tune into your body language and sort out when to leave or stay. We don't want the horse backing up every time you walk towards it!
3) Directing the horse backwards with lead rope. This is probably more similar to the picture of "backing your horse" that you have in your head. Stand to the side of your horse head (even with the horse's throatlatch). The hand closest to the horse (you will do this from both sides) is positioned on the halter/leadrope knot with thumb pointing down. The other hand holds a bit of mane at the withers to help keep you body in the correct position (to the side instead of out in front of the horse). Direct the horse backwards, releasing every time it takes a step back. Encourage the horse to stay soft in the poll, backing with its nose down and in.
As your horse is backing, take note that its feet are moving in diagonal pairs (left front moving with right hind and right front with left hind). When you are confident backing your horse is a straight line, start backing circles, figure 8's and serpentines. Do so by placing a front foot out to the side as the horse is backing. For example, if you want the horses tail to go to the horse's right, as the left front is leaving the ground direct it to the outside. At the same time the horse's right hind will step to the right.
Work hard and have fun!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Putting the Pieces Together
At this point you should be able to yield both the hindquarters and the front end in both directions. Now we are going to put both exercises together in what I call Hind/Front.
Lets start with the horse tracking left on a circle around you (at an active walk, of course). As you yield the hindquarters, the left hind leg will cross over the right hind. After a couple steps of hindquarters pause and allow the horse to pause and rock his weight back onto the hindquarters then yield the front end to the left (left front is the leading foot, right front crosses over) until the horse is positioned to track right. Add some forward motion and the horse is now circling you to the right.
At the beginning it can be confusing for people organize in their mind which way they are supposed to turn. In the example above, as the horse is yielding its hindquarters it is looking (or being bent) left. It is going to continue looking (or being bent) to the left as it yields the front. If, after yielding the hindquarters you find yourself straightening the horse's neck and changing the direction it is looking, you are preparing to yield the front in the wrong direction! Remember that the horses stays bent in the same direction for both hind and front.
To start with let the horse complete one of two circles each time you change directions and focus on achieving Hind/Front. As this becomes more comfortable, change directions every 1/2 circle. Be precise about getting the changes of direction at exact points on the circle so you learn to control the timing of the maneuver. Lastly, practice moving your 1/2 circle towards a destination. You will be walking in a straight line with your horse moving on a 1/2 circle in front of you, achieving Hind/Front with every change of direction.
Lets start with the horse tracking left on a circle around you (at an active walk, of course). As you yield the hindquarters, the left hind leg will cross over the right hind. After a couple steps of hindquarters pause and allow the horse to pause and rock his weight back onto the hindquarters then yield the front end to the left (left front is the leading foot, right front crosses over) until the horse is positioned to track right. Add some forward motion and the horse is now circling you to the right.
At the beginning it can be confusing for people organize in their mind which way they are supposed to turn. In the example above, as the horse is yielding its hindquarters it is looking (or being bent) left. It is going to continue looking (or being bent) to the left as it yields the front. If, after yielding the hindquarters you find yourself straightening the horse's neck and changing the direction it is looking, you are preparing to yield the front in the wrong direction! Remember that the horses stays bent in the same direction for both hind and front.
To start with let the horse complete one of two circles each time you change directions and focus on achieving Hind/Front. As this becomes more comfortable, change directions every 1/2 circle. Be precise about getting the changes of direction at exact points on the circle so you learn to control the timing of the maneuver. Lastly, practice moving your 1/2 circle towards a destination. You will be walking in a straight line with your horse moving on a 1/2 circle in front of you, achieving Hind/Front with every change of direction.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Moving the front end
Now that you have the basics of yielding the hind quarters working for you, lets move on to yielding the front end. It's quite popular to hear talk of yielding the hind quarters and the one-rein stop, but you don't often hear people taking it to the next step. Moving the front end is the balancing maneuver to yielding the hind quarters. It is the "other side of the coin," if you will. We focus on yielding the hind quarters before moving the front end because hind quarters is the step the horse uses to prepare itself for moving the front.
First it's important that you understand what you are looking for. You want the horse's leading front foot (I'll explain which foot the is in a second) to move out to the side and back a little bit. Then you want the other front foot to cross over the leading foot. If the horse is turning to its left, the left front is the leading foot and the right front is the crossing over foot.
Okay, now on to the mechanics of moving the front end. For this example we will move the horse's front end to the left. Start after your horse has disengaged the hind quarters and is stopped facing you. The lead rope will be in your right hand with the tail of the rope in your left. Step to your right (your horse's left). This puts the horse in a "tight spot" and causes it to rock its weight back on its HQ. Then use your left hand to influence your horse into moving to its left. The horse will end up in the position to track right if you were to send it forward on the circle.
To clear up any confusion, I often tell students to visualize an imaginary line coming out between the horses front feet. Step across that line, then move the horse feet. If you want another step of front end you will need to again step across the line, then move the feet.
Remember you're looking for the leading foot to move first, then the other to cross over. You probably won't get a cross over at the beginning, keep stepping to your right (across the line) and moving the feet until the horses hind quarters remain stationary (pivoting on the outside foot) and the leading front foot moves out and back, resulting in a cross over. Pause to give your horse a release of pressure. With practice you will be able tell whether or not a cross over is going to happen by how that leading foot moves. So pay attention. The sooner you can recognize it and give a release the soon your horse will understand and the happier he will be.
If your horse is moving forward you are probably oriented to far back towards the horse's shoulder. Make sure you stay in front of the horse's nose to "shut the front door" and cause the horse to turn instead of coming forward.
First it's important that you understand what you are looking for. You want the horse's leading front foot (I'll explain which foot the is in a second) to move out to the side and back a little bit. Then you want the other front foot to cross over the leading foot. If the horse is turning to its left, the left front is the leading foot and the right front is the crossing over foot.
Okay, now on to the mechanics of moving the front end. For this example we will move the horse's front end to the left. Start after your horse has disengaged the hind quarters and is stopped facing you. The lead rope will be in your right hand with the tail of the rope in your left. Step to your right (your horse's left). This puts the horse in a "tight spot" and causes it to rock its weight back on its HQ. Then use your left hand to influence your horse into moving to its left. The horse will end up in the position to track right if you were to send it forward on the circle.
To clear up any confusion, I often tell students to visualize an imaginary line coming out between the horses front feet. Step across that line, then move the horse feet. If you want another step of front end you will need to again step across the line, then move the feet.
Remember you're looking for the leading foot to move first, then the other to cross over. You probably won't get a cross over at the beginning, keep stepping to your right (across the line) and moving the feet until the horses hind quarters remain stationary (pivoting on the outside foot) and the leading front foot moves out and back, resulting in a cross over. Pause to give your horse a release of pressure. With practice you will be able tell whether or not a cross over is going to happen by how that leading foot moves. So pay attention. The sooner you can recognize it and give a release the soon your horse will understand and the happier he will be.
If your horse is moving forward you are probably oriented to far back towards the horse's shoulder. Make sure you stay in front of the horse's nose to "shut the front door" and cause the horse to turn instead of coming forward.
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