TRAINING

"WHAT MAKES A TRAINER?"

If you're in the saddle, you're a trainer. That may not be what you had in mind, but every aid you use, every movement, right or wrong , is training your horse. It's so much easier to do it right the first time. Re-training is so much more tedious. If you find your training efforts to be somewhat less successful than you'd hoped, get with a good trainer. Look around, watch lessons and the training ring at horse shows. Sign on with someone with a history of success, a teacher you can understand and will respect. I'd prefer a monthly session with a top notch professional to a daily lesson with an uninspired teacher, so if finances are a factor, don't waste any of your available funds.

"SHORTCUTS"

There are none. Believe it or not, it's your choice, but there is no substitute for the basics. Leg into hand, straightness, bending, smooth transitions, you can't skip any of it and come out on top. "The slow way is the fast way," wise words from George H. Morris... No martingales, draw reins, side reins, kimberwicks or elevator bits can ever take the place of slow, patient, informed riding. 'See-sawing' on a horse's mouth will encourage the horse to travel 'behind' rather than 'on' the bit.

"TRANSITIONS"

Transitions and their educated execution will take your mount from elementary school to high school. Once you're aboard a horse, transitions begin. Walk, trot, halt, canter, back up; these are transitions.
It is the finese and education used to carry out these commands, which will make the difference between a horse who is barely ridable and a competitive show ring mount.
Smoothness and invisibility, coupled with firmness and conviction are ingredients in the formula for success.
Before you ask him to move forward, your horse must be given the freedom to do so, i/e, freedom of the head and neck. You must release the break before applying gas. Next, the rider will squeeze with his legs, inviting the horse to move forward. The horse must learn to respond to a 3 degree squeeze, on a scale of one to ten. There is no place for kicking here.
Should there be no effort to move forward from this leg, the rider/trainer must reinforce the squeeze with a cluck and if necessary, a stick, used behind his own calf. It must be crystal clear that, although the rider is calm and compassionate, it is he, the pilot, not the horse,who is in command.

In asking his horse for a decrease in pace or to halt, the same patient principles will apply. In a similar fashion as that used to invite the horse's forward motion, the rider will close his fingers on the reins, giving his mount the time necessary for him to comprehend the request for a decrease in pace. The rider's upper body must open to a verticle position, while his hands, tightly close. Just as "kick" is a "four letter word," so is "pull." The rider needs to learn to wait for his horse to get the message from the aid that has been employed, to his brain and back to his legs, in order to carry out his rider's request.

"HEAD CARRIAGE"

No shortcuts here either. Begin with a snaffle. Start your training sessions on a long rein if your mount is sensible enough and let him loosen up. Gradually take a soft feel of his mouth and begin riding him into the bridle. Leg into hand, meaning a squeezing leg into a quietly resisting hand, works well to teach a horse to relax in his head and neck and accept the bit. Be sure to relax both hand and leg pressure upon submission, however slight, from your mount. Follow your horses head with your hands and arms, raising your hands when his head goes up and lowering them when he drops his head. Keep a straight line from your elbow to the bit in your equine's mouth, keeping your fingers closed softly around the reins, but snug enough to prevent the leather from slipping through your fingers. Establish a rein length that allows a straight line, with no slack in the rein contact, holding your hands slightly in front of the withers. Maintain that contact and rein length. Be sure not to allow a pulling horse to steal inches of rein. Relax the feel on his mouth only when you feel the horse "give" in his head and neck. Let him walk on a loose rein for a bit. You have begun to "train." in a positive direction.

It may seem strange, but head carriage is never determined by your aids in front of the saddle. In order to achieve proper flexion, you must learn to carry your hands, closed softly around the reins in a steady, inviting manner and ask the horse to the bit with your legs. Your fingers must remain closed, never giving when the horse pulls, until he relaxes in his jaw. Follow his head with your hands and arms, allowing for the movement he needs in his head and neck to maintain balance at the walk and canter, maintaining a straight line from your elbow, through your wrists to the bit in his mouth. When his head rises, so do your hands. This training system works through reward and restriction of that reward, so that when he is evading the bit and your hands and legs, there is never force but, rather a steady leg pushing into an unyielding, even hand. As soon as he relaxes in his jaw and drops his head, your hand pressure should relax as well, the "reward", teaching him that this is the only way to earn your approval. After your first success, don't be surprised if your equine partner goes right back to ground zero. That is to be expected. Just begin the process all over again and if you're patient and more determined than he is, you will succeed.

"TEACHING CHANGES"

Let's face it a wonderful trip with flying lead changes beats a wonderful trip with simple ones, even when the prize list allows for simple changes in a baby green class. When the prize list does not specify, trotting on course is a violation and the trip will definately not score high on my card. If your horse doesn't understand the flying lead change, perhaps going back to basics and giving your mount more time at home would be wiser than paying entry fees to school him. Does your horse tend to bulge or cut more on one side? Be sure, when attempting to execute a flying change, that you don't get so wrapped up in what his feet are doing, that you ignore the necessity of keeping him absolutely straight before asking for the change. With a crooked horse, chances for a correct change are slim indeed. Look up at a point ahead of you, never at his legs and don't lean in. Stay in the middle of your mount while simultaneously asking for his straightness with your legs and preventing his tendency to misinterpret your request by speeding up. Keep your pace very even, using half halts, until you are sure that your horse is straight through his entire body, even bending a bit to the inside, so that he's moving away from your inside leg before you ask for the flying change. If he doesn't listen to your requests for straightness, quietly halt and do a leg yield away from the side he's leaning into. Then try again. If you are successful in communicating straightness and consistency of pace to your horse, you will successfully accomplish flying changes.

Remember: NO BODY ENGLISH!

Keep Tuned In. More to come!

"PACE"

"SHOWING OVER FENCES"

"EYES"

"BITTING"

"A STRAIGHT HORSE"

"BALANCE"

"The Teacher Who Stops Learning Is No Longer A Teacher!"

CONTINUE TO TRAIN, PUSH THE SHOE!

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Back in the Barn

The Way We Were	Equitation Position	More Memories	Sheik & Reiver
M.S. Walk	More On Training	About Judging	Jack Russell Hermes
Medal Twins	Meet Samantha	Safe Horsemanship	Remembering Buffy

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