Posts Tagged ‘natural horsemanship
Spending My Time Wisely
On Friday I did something I haven’t done in a really long time…but was long overdue.
It was a surprisingly mild November night, and after finishing all of my barn work and chores I decided to spend some time with Minnow. Armed with a few brushes (and the dachshund bundled in his winter coat) I settled myself into the pile of hay in Minnow’s stall. Minnow munched around me, occasionally giving me and the dachshund kisses (he’s so sweet like that). I scratched his itchy spots, brushed his muddy coat (from all the rain we’ve had) and basically just enjoyed being with him. I sat in his stall for about an hour before dragging myself away.
I’ve always known the importance of just enjoying my horses, not asking for something specific from them, just letting them be horses and observing. Its of huge importance for horses to bond with their owner/rider/special person – and to be undemanding of your horse helps to accomplish this. But, in actuality its always hard to find time to do this. You carve out time to go to the barn – and you want to “do” something. I know the feeling, I’m guilty of this all of the time. But horses don’t feel this same need, and sometimes its better to do nothing.
I think I spent the most time doing nothing with Minnow when I was in college. When he was in his most intense part of training with me I decided to bring him to college with me. Needless to say I think I spent more time at the barn evading school work than anything else. But it brought Minnow and I much closer.
I’d just sit in his stall and watch him eat hay, or I’d lay in the grass with him while he got his fill. I even studied in the pasture while he was just “being a horse”. Most of the time he ignored me, but occasionally he’d wander over and nuzzle my hair, or tug at my boots – signs that he was interested in me and what I was doing in there with him. Getting a horse interested can sometimes be one of the toughest things to accomplish – and for Minnow especially, these steps were huge. He was a pony that was easily terrified of everything – but rather than touching it to see what it was he opted to completely ignore the situation – to the point where when faced with a strange object he would turn his head all the way around so he didn’t even have to look at it. So bringing curiosity out of him was always a major struggle for me. So with each time Minnow CHOSE to touch me, or my books he was becoming more and more curious – curiosity that helped me to get him over his fear of the mounted games equipment, fear of noises, fear of pretty much anything.
So on Friday night as I sat in Minnow’s pile of hay I thought back to those wonderful days we spent together in college and I vowed that I MUST do nothing with my horses more often.
The Greening of Whitney Brown
One of my childhood friends (who I learned to ride with!) now works at a Gypsy Vanner Farm, El Brio Vanner, across the street from my farm. Her favorite horse, Odd Job Bob, is the star in a movie that is currently filming, “The Greening of Whitney Brown”. Bob spent most of this summer with famous trick trainer, Tommie Turvey, where he learned to lay down among many other tricks. I’ve been watching Tommie’s Youtube channel all summer as I’ve seen videos of Bob learning liberty signals and tricks specific to the movie. I feel like I know a movie star…even though I still haven’t met Bob!
In the spring I brought two of the Trick Ponies over to El Brio Vanner to give my friend a preview of what I had taught them and how I had taught them – unfortunately Bob had already left to get training for his big movie debut. I’m hoping when he finally returns home in a few weeks I will get a chance to meet this special horse. Maybe I can get his autograph. 🙂
Here’s a little info on the movie:
THE GREENING OF WHITNEY BROWN follows the misadventures of ‘Whitney Brown’ (SAMMI HANRATTY), a privileged and popular Philadelphia teenager whose world is upended when her parents, ‘Henry’ (AIDAN QUINN) and ‘Joan’ (BROOKE SHIELDS), experience sudden economic problems that necessitate a family move to Whitney’s grandparents’ old farm in the country. There, far from her dizzying world of shallow girlfriends, endless parties and school pressures, she finds a new best pal: ‘Odd Job Bob’, a beautiful and spirited Gypsy Vanner horse owned by her new neighbor ‘Dusty’ (KRIS KRISTOFFERSON) — a crusty rancher who turns out to be her estranged grandfather. Through her new relationships with Odd Job Bob, Dusty and her parents, Whitney rediscovers what it means to respect not only nature and her family, but also someone very special she had almost lost touch with: herself.
And here are a few behind the scenes clips:
Super exciting! I hope someday one of the Trick Ponies will make it into a movie – wouldn’t that be cool. For now I’m living vicariously through my friend! 🙂
Getting past the Scary
Boomer's finished haircut
After Boomer received his haircut (which by the way I love now) my mom and I decided it would be a good idea to work with Blitz and the clippers. Our clippers are really loud – and I’d be scared if they came at me! And while Boomer took to the clippers with hardly any problems at all, he’s not the average horse. I’ve always said I’ve never seen/had a horse quite like him that is pretty much unfazed and curious about everything. Blitz on the other hand is naturally more cautious. It takes him a few days to get the courage to touch scary things while it will take Boomer mere minutes. But the fact is Blitz will get over it, he just needs a little more time.
So anyway, onto the clippers. With the help of the clicker we attempted to get Blitz used to the scary clippers. He was actually pretty good. We didn’t snip any hair (other than my mom’s little mishap and a few whiskers) but we made good progress with him. You can watch the video below.
Blitz was untied throughout the session – although I did hold the end of the rope just as a precaution – so if he decided to move away he was able to. Surprisingly he stayed very still and other than a turning of his head occasionally he wasn’t too horrified – mostly because we made it enjoyable for him. I think with a few more session we’ll be clipping his hair in no time!
Blitz also had a breakthrough the other day with my mom. She took him on his very first trailride alone! Like I mentioned Blitz really isn’t brave at all and going anywhere alone is a huge step for him. My mom felt comfortable enough that she thought it would be good experience for him. She said he was a bit nervous but behaved himself quite nicely. This is a great step because trail riding alone gives horses great confidence – if done properly. Horses are herd animals, so asking them to leave their comfort zone of the group is very stressful for them. But to have a horse that can go anywhere and do anything alone is wonderful. I’ve been fortunate to be able to train most of my horses to be this way – and both of our young guys are well on their way to being able to do this too.
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Can’t use the Accelerator if the Brakes are Cut
Blitz and my mom warm up
On Sunday Boomerang and Blitz traveled 2 1/2 hours to the site of the United States Equestrian Team training facility, Hamilton Farm, in Gladstone, NJ. It was a long journey (with us up at 4am) but it was well worth the trip for the hour of riding we did due to what we accomplished alone. We were to compete against two other teams in the pairs division – teams with top riders and ponies much more advanced than our boys. My mom and I saw this as another step in their training – to play against better/faster horses…and for the boys to keep their cool.
See in mounted games many of the horses feed off eachother. They stand at the start in a line waiting for the flag to drop, one horse jigs and gets excited, the next starts to rear, and before you know it the whole line is dancing around with adrenaline. Adrenaline – its the curse for all of us, how do you control a 1,000lb animal that can’t control its own emotions? Trick question – because you can’t! But you can teach your horse how to control these emotions – inturn making your horse controllable to you.
As the other horses reared and danced Boomer and Blitz stood like statues waiting for their cue from us to take off. And take off they did…well Boomer did atleast, Blitz’s idea of taking off is a few speeds slower – but thats fine, because thats the way my mom likes it. I decided to use this fairly low key competition to ask Boomer for a little bit of speed. Despite the overnight rainfall I felt the footing would be ok so I used the opportunity to test out his wheels. And wheels he has. We aren’t too far off the speed I want out of him, but I definitely don’t want to ask for it all yet.
I strongly believe that the “meltdowns” of many a games ponies are due to the fact that the riders push them too much too fast. As a rider in an extreme speed discipline its hard to not want to go fast all the time. Once you feel that rush its in your blood and its hard not to want to feel that all the time. But for a young/green horse going fast is the last thing you want to do. In training, ponies should be working on spins, stops and most of all control. You can’t step on the accelerator if your brake lines are cut!
So when I asked Boomer for a little more speed I only did so because I was comfortable in knowing that I for one had a really good stop on him. I say whoa and he slams on those breaks (and of course looks for his reward haha). I also knew that he had his adrenaline under control. Our months of racing up hills than asking him to stop and stand after a flat out gallop have really helped to teach him to control his emotions.
So speeding away we went. I was so proud when several times we came neck and neck with another rider and thanks to Boomer’s speed we actually crossed the finish line first! And what I didn’t expect out of Boomer’s speed was that he actually transferred it over to my vaulting. If you have been following along in my posts, you remember that we’ve been working on leading (and not biting) while under saddle. All in the hopes that Boomer will match my speed when I’m ready to vault on. So in the past several weeks we’ve completely stopped working on vaulting and focused only on the leading part. I expected Boomer to be somewhat respectful while leading, but I still thought he’d revert back and stand still while I vaulted. I definitely was surprised when I placed my hands on his neck (in my typical vaulting position) and he proceeded to take off in a controlled canter. Wow this is exactly what I wanted (I really made sure to make a fuss and click and reward him)…however since I didn’t anticipate this my vaulting was a tad delayed. Sadly I’m a little rusty on my speed skills since we’ve spent the past year doing things slowly. So when I vaulted I kept ending up behind the saddle – or missing alltogether. Thankfully Boomer didn’t buck me off and I was able to claw my way into the saddle as he galloped towards home.
All this made me realize in what bad shape I’m in. I’ve been focusing so much on Boomer’s progress I forgot to keep myself up to par. Looks like I’ll be spending the winter doing pushups again!
Anyway to wrap up the day. We placed 3rd – but respectfully points wise. And although we didn’t take home the blue ribbon, we were both extremely pleased with the boy’s progress and thats all that really matters. Riding to us is about personal goals. Winning is nice, but if you can’t be happy with what you have done/accomplished than none of it really matters. Each day the Trick Ponies learn something new, and for that we are proud. We are thankful that we have been able to create a partnership and a language with our horses – and it makes riding and competing that much more enjoyable for everyone involved!
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Turn the Spin Cycle on!
Minnow and I during our very last competition as a pair.
So one of the most important skills that a mounted games pony can have is to be able to spin. Not just any spin. A sit on your hind end, light to the touch, high speed spin! Easier said than done, right?
I’ve had the goal of teaching Boomerang an amazing spin from the beginning. I dream of having a pony that my competitors watch and think – thats the pony I wish I had – he’s got it all, looks, personality, speed, agility….sounds like I’m talking about the ideal man! haha.
So here is my plan of attack to teach an amazing spin to my 6 year old Chincteague Pony, Boomerang.
Step one: Teach him to back up
Step two: Teach him to use a specific leg first when backing up
Step three: Teach him to move away from leg pressure
Step four: Teach him to put his weight on his hind end
Step five: Get him to spin with weight on hind end and continually cross his outside front leg over the inside leg when doing so
Step six: Add speed to the spin
Step seven: Polish the spin by using it in competition
Minnow spins around a bucket
Might seem like a tall order, but I can tell you right now that I’m on step 5/6. So now I’ll break it down and discuss how I taught Boomer during each step. Spinning can be a great skill for any horse to learn. Its not just for the speed horses or the western riders – any discipline can take advantage of a nice spin!
Step one: Teach him to back up. I taught Boomer to back up by walking him up to a fence, putting all my weight back and shifting my legs forward. I then applied light rein pressure until I felt his body shift or a leg move, anything that indicated he had the right idea. As soon as he gave me something I would then click and reward him. As he progressed I would ask for a little more each time – until he would back up with just a shift of my seat, some light rein pressure and the verbal cue back.
Step two: Teach him to use a specific leg first when backing up. I accomplished this by asking him to back up just like in step one, but this time using one rein at a time to signify which leg I wanted him to back up with first. Its easiest to do this drill by starting off by asking him to move his leading foot back first. So if Boomer was standing with his right front foot slightly forward I would pull on my right rein and ask him to back up – then the left – then the right – alternating rein pressure. Then clicking and rewarding when he responded to each rein cue. This step is important because I don’t just want a spin, I want a controllable spin. I want to be able to control each of my horse’s legs.
Step three: Teach him to move away from leg pressure. Next I ask Boomer to back up and during the back up I apply my left heel (toe pointing out) right at his girth (this is assuming I want him to turn right). I apply heel pressure and open up my right rein. My left rein is used to try to keep him straight (this exercise is best done along a fence). Any movement on Boomer’s part to go towards my open rein gets a click and a reward.
A western horse performs a spin
Step four: Teach him to put his weight on his hind end. At this point Boomer is successfully spinning away from leg pressure and towards an open hand. But now I want him to only spin with his weight on his hind end. So we go through our step 3 drill again but this time he only gets clicked and rewarded when all of his weight is on his hind end. At any point when my horse gets “stuck” or won’t move its usually because he’s too much on his front end, meaning he will need to be backed up and asked to move away from leg pressure again.
Step five: Get him to spin with weight on hind end and continually cross his outside front leg over the inside leg when doing so. Now I not only want him to spin on his hind end, but I want him to cross his outside front leg over his inside leg each time. In doing this I ensure a more fluid turn – without him getting stuck on his front end instead of using his hind. I accomplish this by asking him to back up and spin away from my leg – when he crosses the outside front over the inside front he is clicked and rewarded.
Step six: Add speed to the spin. To add speed I start with some drills. Keyholes are great for this. I ask him to go inside a box spin and return at the canter. As he progresses we ask for more and more speed – each time rewarding when I am giving the effort I expect from him.
Step seven: Polish the spin by using it in competition. The more I practice the spin in race type settings (while clicking and rewarding) the more Boomer will begin to associate his spin with turning around objects.
Here is a short video of Boomer working on the keyhole drill with me. As you can see he doesn’t actually cross his left front leg infront of his right – he sort of shuffles them. Also near the end of the spin he put a little too much weight in his front end. He got some good boys from me, but he didn’t get clicked and rewarded this specific time because he didn’t cross/spin like I wanted him to. When getting to the crossing over legs part its helpful to have someone watch you and tell you exactly when your horse crosses its legs – that or use a mirror.
Some horses have a tendency to be more on their hind end than others. Minnow was easy to teach to spin because he naturally kept his weight on his hind end. Boomer has taken a lot longer to teach to spin because he naturally wants to put all of his weight on his front end. He has improved greatly though!
Below is an awesome video of a horse doing a reining spin at liberty. Obviously taught with clicker training and I love it! Maybe someday my boy will be this good! Watch how he crosses his outside front over the inside leg.
And here is one more video of someone who used clicker training to teach the spin as well. She started by teaching her horse to spin on the ground first then transferred it to the saddle. I chose a different approach because as you saw from my post yesterday Boomer likes to bite me when I lead him – and while we are working on this, he wasn’t ready to learn to spin from the ground first. I think I’d have a swollen arm if I did that. So since we’re currently actively competing in the training division for mounted games I really needed to keep moving with my spin goal – so I opted to teach him under saddle first.
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
I am by no means an expert in horse training. I simply use techniques that I have discovered work best for me and my horses. Use my techniques at your own risk.
