Pet Peeves

     Some things I really dislike include oversimplification of a reining horse spin or a Trail walk-over or any manuever involving striding.  It also iritates me to see various styles of a stop combined into one  -  a reining stop is a reining stop and a halt in dressage or a quick stop in Trail are unique and the individual aspects of each must be understood and respected.  Among my biggest pet peeves are explanations that are "dumbed down" to the point that we are to longer advancing the art of horsemanship. 
     And, on the flip side, I find over-complication of training a horse to be just as bad!  Collection is balanced motion that has been contained.  A horse that leans with any part of his body (including his mouth) is not balanced.  This is not "rocket science" and it's up to us to teach our amateurs all the underlying principals of training.  The principals of good training are not a mystery and they don't do any good if we don't teach them and pass them on.  A rider must be able to work all parts of the horse then put those parts together and ride the whole horse.  It's not difficult if you let your horse teach you but first you must be ready to listen and learn.
     And no, all styles of riding and showing are not the same.  Just because someone rides one discipline does not mean they understand another.  Riding dressage doesn't mean you can train a good Western Pleasure horse.  We must all appreciate each and every discipline and its specific particulars and the the different talents that all these disparate disciplines demand of the horse.  For me, it always begins and ends with the horse!  See you next week, JD.
    

Nervous Nellies

     With show season starting, I thought I'd comment on something we should all know but that's sometimes forgotten:  All horses will be nervous their first few times out.  Some horses seem much quieter and calmer than they really are so remember, your horse needs you to be calm, quiet and cool.  If you are nervous and edgy or rushed, it only confirms to your horse that there really is a need to be nervous and prepared to flee.  You are their herd leader and they will "follow" you if they trust and respect you and feel you'll take care of them.
     Horses are emotional beings.  They have all the basic emotions that we experience and the difference is they only have them in real time.  They don't experience dread nor do they fret when resting.  In your training and show preparation, teach your horse to focus on you and his job.  A focused horse is a calm horse.  A horse that knows his job will be more confident.  Don't introduce new material, new ways of riding etc., at a horse show or similar new circumstance.  Above all else, ride your horse, not someone elses.  In other words, don't copy things that you haven't practiced on at home - ride as close as possible to the way you do at home. 
     You may be nervous too but be patient and don't get emotional.  Horses do not deal with human emotions well.  Don't become frustrated or angry, it only makes bad things worse.  I see many very talented horses ruined this way at shows.  Remember, take care of your horse first and there will always be another horse show!  See you next week.   JD

Hints

     Here are some quick hints I think you will find useful.  First hint, when using training equipment such as martingales, draw reins, german martingales etc., don't get heavy with your hands or allow your horse get heavy (pull) either.  When used properly, these are great aids and make life easier for both horse and rider.  But the downside is, if this equipment is not used properly you'll only end up further from your goal than when you started.
     Second hint, know when to move on, when to get out of training equipment that adds all that extra leverage.  If you stay too long in some training equipment, you and your horse will become dependent on it.
     Remember that in correcting any problem with a horse, you have to be very careful not to create another problem that is, maybe, worse than what you were attempting to correct in the first place!  I hope these short hints get you thinking and you find them helpful.  See you next week, JD

Slo Mo

     Today I'm going to talk about the advantage of cueing your horse slowly, specifically how going in slow motion relates to the rein lift.
     Lifting your reins is a technique that is used to get horses to drop down into the bridle and lift their shoulder.  I use it on all our horses regardless of their discipline but it's especially useful for Western Pleasure horses.  Some of the added advantages of a rein lift are that horses have a tendency to not overbridle (go behind the bit) and it really gets a Western Pleasure horse set for their longer rein.
     So, here's the deal:  this technique really works best if you lift slowly, get the horse to commit to the bridle, then slowly release.  When you lift slowly, you don't surprise the horse and he has a chance to respond.  This makes for a smooth, flawless picture of the horse relaxing down into the bridle.  In releasing slowly, the horse stays in this nice frame much better.  There is no herky-jerky reaction from the horse and the image becomes one of consistency and fluidity.  In other words, the horse looks well-broke and your judge sees a pretty picture.
     I tell my students to generally apply a three-second rule.  About three seconds of lift followed by three seconds of going back down.  Don't forget though that the key is commitment - your horse must commit to the bridle before you release - and don't forget too to use your leg when asking for that commitment!  See you next week, JD.