100 tips for us: You can’t get a horse too nice at the end of a leadrope. Be smooth & efficient – not quick. Some people try to push the horse through things. Instead start from where the horse is at. Settle for the smallest change and the slightest try. Do not pull on the horse as it will only teach him to pull back. Don‘t let the horse learn he is stronger than you. Don’t let the try get buried. Have an idea and then go with this idea when it becomes the horse’s idea. With a youngster, don‘t be critical. Softness doesn’t come from your hands it comes from your heart. Let the horse move his feet if he needs to, but do it in a useful way. Don’t make the horse canter. Just get him ready to canter. When the tail is up the rider stays down. When the tail is down the rider goes up. It’s not how much you do, its how little you can do to get the job done. It’s about getting them to accept. When your horse wants to turn, take advantage of it. It shouldn’t be a matter of strength, but a matter of feel. Teach your horse to lower his head to put on the bridle. Bring the horse to the mounting block, not the mounting block to the horse. A horse can’t get soft until he is forward & light. You have nothing to direct until there is willingness in there. Sometimes people do enough to be annoying, but not enough to be effective. What is most important is the quality and the consistency of handling. You need to have a mental picture of what you want to achieve. Most people only get 10% out of their horses. If the human gave 5% the horse would give 95%. But you have to give to take. Open & close a gate by backing through it with one hand on the gate the whole time. Use your environment to help your horse. You need a soft feel in all disciplines of horsemanship. If you relax when you ask, the horse will relax when they respond. If your horse presents an opportunity, take it. A horse will get sure, then unsure. Then sure, then unsure. Lateral flexion must have the correct bend: 1. Ears stay level. 2. Nose perpendicular to the ground 3. Poll slightly higher than the withers. You can’t collect a horse with his poll lower than his withers. That will cripple a horse after a while. A soft feel is flexion at the poll AND elevation. How to teach flexion: Hold, wait, let the horse explore, release. Train your horse like you’re hoping it will take all day to get there. There’s no rush. A horse should be able to bend his neck before you put a leg on, otherwise there’s no point. When a horse lifts his withers, his HQs and pelvis tilts up and the back lifts. If a horse’s head is down & low, it actually stretches / tightens up all his back line, and the horse can’t lift his back as easily. Don’t try to make it happen. You can’t fix a horse, you direct them. They take care of the fixing part. It’s better to have some caution than it is to get hurt. There are a million ways to work a horse, but there is only one right way. To work from where the horse is. If the horse is ready to go on, then go on or he will regress. Keep it interesting. If you get the right feel it will bring you the timing. Put effort in, not speed. Wait and let the horse figure it out. People can have a lot of experience but not a lot of knowledge. Old age can get there before wisdom. You will spend your time better working with your horse, than cleaning him up. At the end of the month it’s better to have a better riding horse than a shiny tail. The less you do, the better frame of mind the horse stays in. Get your horse to seek relief rather than give to pressure. Give your horse time to think. To go right, keep your weight a little on the left side to push him right. Also don’t block him going to the right. If you want to go right, and you put weight on the right side, it can block that right movement. You shouldn’t be peddling your horse with your legs. If you are, after a while you’ll have to get off and walk for a walk to get a rest. Don’t write cheques you can’t cash. You may not be a good enough rider to copy all you see. It’d be good if I can tell you something not involving timing, but I don’t know what that would be. Know what lead your horse is on in walk & trot BEFORE you ask for a canter. When you life up the lead rope, with slack still in it, the horse should move. This is called following a feel. If something doesn’t work, so what? Try it again. Handfeeding isn’t loving your horse. Direction and guidance is loving your horse. Otherwise they can start to see you as their waiter! It’s all about the basics, Get the horse soft and control the body. Working with cows: Don’t make your moves too big. Then you won’t have to stop as hard. Sit on your tale bone with your knees out. Always sit in a stopping position. It’s just words until you experience it. Give the horse time. Direction, not correction. Its gotta come from the inside of you to the inside of the horse and back to the inside of you. Get him ready to do it. The horse will take care of doing it. Cue in time with the horses feet. It doesn’t matter what happens. It matters that you know what happened. Be there before it happens. When you turn them out good, they come back in better. When you turn them out bad, they come back in worse. They don’t learn any more but they get more sure about it. You want the horse sharp, with energy, not dull and zoned out. Do not do mindless lunging. Sit straight up in the canter. Do not lean backwards or forwards. Do not cross the neck with the reins. If you are on the right path, you are only going to get better. The best riders are usually the best students who listen, try and practise. On a new horse, first check if they are as light on both sides. The bit is about the feet. It’s not about the headset.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Oct 2013 07:54:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015