RIDE COMPETITIVE TRAIL to
By Vickie Zapel, PrI
Lesson
Five
HOW
TO PREPARE YOUR HORSE FOR SUCCESSFUL WATER CROSSINGS
A
LUNGE LINE, A STICK
Let’s
talk about tack and equipment; the kind that won’t get you into trouble.
You’ll need a proper sized flat nylon
halter with metal fittings.
The
nose band, crown piece and cheek sections should fit snuggly against your
horse’s head.
You
will need the metal fittings for attaching your chain. The chain is not inhumane when correctly
attached and properly used. It is a very
helpful aid for keeping a half-ton horse under control. The horse will only feel the chain, if he
bolts or needs behavior correction and you decide to apply some pressure. If you need the chain, and you don’t have it,
you’ve definitely taught your horse that you can’t control him. And you can never go back and do a “do
over”. It’s best to be prepared.
A
flat nylon lunge line usually works best.
If you have difficulty working with approximately 25-30 feet, then any
saddle repair shop can shorten the line to 15-20 feet. Try to find a lunge line that has the soft,
round rubber stopper on the end. The
rubber stopper is safe and works much better than a tied knot or a loop end.
The
fastened snap end of the lunge line should have a chain that is designed to run
through your halter’s metal hardware. You
can always purchase a separate chain and clip the lunge line to it, but it adds
bulk and is more cumbersome.
There
are several ways to fasten a chain to a lunge line. I prefer having the chain under the horse’s
chin rather than over his nose. If you
wish you can put the chain through the left nose piece ring and under the chin,
then through the right nose piece ring and up to the ring that attaches the
cheek piece to the crown piece. Be sure
the snap lever is facing away from the horse.
If
you attach the chain starting on the left side, you’ll be lunging the horse
traveling to the left. When you wish to
lunge moving to the right, you’ll have to switch the chain.
This
video shows how to attach a chain so you can work either direction without
changing the chain with the chain placed over the horse’s nose. http://www.learningabouthorses.com/videos/lunge_chain_both_directions.html
When lungeing, it is always wise to wear well-fitted gloves.
Horses
on lunge lines have a tendency to buck, kick out and demonstrate all kinds of
excess energy. When a horse bolts and
gets away from a handler, it is almost a sure bet the handler did not have a
chain on the horse and wasn’t wearing gloves.
Having
a horse get loose from a lunge line is a dangerous event for human and horse
and you do NOT want to promote it. It
only takes the horse escaping the handler one time to become very optimistic
about escaping again.
Your stick
can be a lunge whip, a long dressage crop or a handler’s stick; all are
available at most tack stores or from online catalogs, and all come in a
variety of lengths, weights, styles and colors.
A word of warning: a lunge whip can become difficult if the tail becomes
entangled on rocks or stuck in shrubbery near a water obstacle.
When
choosing your “stick” or whip, feel it for weight and length and select one
that will be easy for you to handle in one hand for long periods of time.
Whenever
working with your horse, if you think it is a good idea and it makes you feel
more comfortable, wear a proper fitting,
THE CORRECT METHOD FOR LUNGEING
Lungeing is best done with a lunge whip.
Lungeing is a wonderful exercise for
letting your horse burn off excess energy while you teach roundness and balance
on circles, upward and downward transitions, stopping, standing, waiting and
crossing water.
Excess energy will never be your
friend when it comes to competitive trail obstacles. If the horse is not ready to relax and
accomplish the task at hand, he is not going to concentrate or be willing to
move calmly. You never want to approach
an obstacle lesson when your horse is too fresh; it will work against you every
time.
If you are not well versed and
dexterous with a lunge line, you need to start practicing. If you’ve never lunged a horse, you might
want to take the online course, Training Performance Horses, a www.horsecoursesonline.com
course.
The key to teaching your horse to
work on a lunge line is to work slowly and to ALWAYS move toward your horse’s
hindquarters to drive him forward, or ALWAYS step in front of his natural
balance point (just behind his elbow and slightly upward) if you want to stop
his forward movement. Do not back away
from the horse in order to shorten the lunge line. Shorten the line with your hands and step
toward the horse’s hindquarters to drive him out and away from you. (Never get so close to his hind quarters that
you could be kicked).
Begin by asking the horse to walk
to the left. With the lunge line in your
left hand and the whip in your right, step toward your horse’s left hip and tap
him gently on the lower legs with the whip.
Give him your verbal command to ‘walk.’ If this is his first time, be prepared for
him to trot or lope or bolt off.
Once the horse is walking and you
are continuing to face his hindquarters and drive him forward, it is time to
teach the stop.
Say “whoa” to the horse at the
same time as you step toward the horse’s head.
After giving the command, “whoa” if the horse has not stopped be sure
you are forward of his balance point and give a short, sharp jerk on the lunge
line with an immediate release.
If you’ve moved your body forward
of the horse’s balance point, he should stop.
It’ll take a little practice, but he’ll quickly catch on to both the
verbal command and your movement away from the forward driving position to the
stopping position. Be cognizant that
when you are giving him the verbal command and your proper body position to
“whoa”, that you do not raise or shake the whip, during the “whoa” command, the
whip should always be lowered.
The only thing that changes when
you request a new gait is your verbal command; say “jog” and cluck or “lope”
and kiss and drive the horse forward by stepping toward his hindquarters and
using the whip as encouragement. Do not
be afraid to snap the whip on the lower legs to make sure the horse understands
you are in control and mean what you say.
Here is a video showing a rather
poor stop and the correction needed. A
second video shows the corrected stop. http://www.learningabouthorses.com/videos/lunging_stop.html
PUSHING
Simply put, trying to push or
pull (force) your horse, no matter how tempting, through any type of obstacle
is ugly, unsafe and it does just the opposite of training your horse to be a
willing partner.
The best way to train a horse for
any obstacle is to get the horse to think going over or through an obstacle is
his idea.
Let’s use water as an example.
To get the horse to think going
through a water obstacle is his idea he just needs a little thought
readjustment.
Horses not yet trained to a high
degree are horses that rely on instincts instead of trusting and following
(you) the alpha leader. Trust from both
parties has to be earned. Only you know
how much you and your horse trust each other…so only you can guess at how long
it may take to establish a foundation of trust.
If it is already there, great; if not, begin working on earning your
horse’s trust.
The video below shows one way to
introduce a horse to water.
http://www.equinestudiesinstitute.com/videos/ride_trail/introduce_to_water.html
Jake is being introduced to water
on the driveway while on a lunge line.
Watch Jake look, but then go through the water with no hesitation or
change in cadence. Jake is a three year
old western pleasure horse with no trail experience. He mastered this simple challenge so easily,
that his handler immediately asked him to work at the trot, which Jake handled
with no stress. Jake would easily be
ready to have some mud, poles, sprinkler, tarp, etc., added one at a time to
his driveway puddle.
This next video is of an older
mare just being introduced to the idea of walking through water.
http://www.equinestudiesinstitute.com/videos/ride_trail/older_mare_water.html
She wants to start out too fast
on the lunge line. She does not give the
appearance of a calm, interested horse.
And she doesn’t look where she is going.
You know she can see the water in front of her, but it didn’t really
register with her until after her feet struck the puddle. The water obstacle did not get her attention
until after she had entered it, and that is not what you want to
cultivate. You want her to look at the
water, recognize it and then decide on her own to cross it.
Note that the handler
did not attempt to force the horse into the water.
Even if you are tempted, your
stick or lunge whip is not for whipping the horse; it is merely an extension of
your arm and hand. By tapping the
horse’s hip (you may have to increase the tapping intensity with some horses)
you will encourage the horse to go forward in an easy, sane manner.
The whip or stick device is used
as an extension of your arm and can also be used at his shoulder/rib cage in
the same manner to keep him from cutting corners and ducking toward you
purposely avoiding where you want him to go.
The idea is that the horse is to
move forward when you ask, and to move forward where you choose for him to go,
while building his confidence.
EVERY HORSE
You want to use the horse’s
natural curiosity to help him make up his mind to cross a wet spot, mud,
flowing water, pond water or anything else that he is uncertain about.
This is always possible if we set
our horse up for success!
Some horses have already had
positive experiences, but are still insecure.
Other horses are just scared.
Some horses have had one or more unsuccessful encounters with trail
obstacles that have reinforced their perceived danger.
Always begin obstacle training
with something so minor, the horse can’t help but be successful.
Walking over one ground pole is a
good starting place. Virtually any horse
will do it without even thinking about it.
Walking into a wet spot on the
drive way is a good introduction to water obstacles.
Do not go out on the trail with
lots of mud, a steep bank, deep water, heavy flowing water or a cliff on one
side of the narrow trail to begin your horse’s training. To do so is a sure method to end up with at
least one very negative and unsuccessful experience; the opposite of setting
your horse up for success.
READING
Your horse can say a lot in a few
seconds.
Pawing in water can express
curiosity and stress at the same time, especially upon initial entry.
Let him satisfy his curiosity and
release a little stress. In the
beginning a little pawing won’t hurt. A
horse can see, smell and hear running water, but he cannot tell how deep it is
or if the bed of the creek is stable and safe.
Pawing is a way for him to answer his own questions; it gives him the
opportunity to check his footing.
Try to read the horse’s body
language.
A seasoned horse splashing up a storm in a
pond, may be saying he intends to lie down and have a good roll.
A happy horse that is relaxed,
licking his lips and chewing or sucking his tongue, may just be entertaining
himself while he enjoys standing in the pond.
Generally a horse that is moving
his feet forward is able to alleviate stress, remain calm and accomplish a task
all that same time.
The slower his feet are moving,
the slower he is thinking. A slower
thought process better serves to decipher new information and strange
obstacles. On the other hand, if his
feet are moving like pistons, so are his thoughts. Little information processing is going on
between the fast thoughts and the fast feet.
So what is your horse saying when
you take him to an obstacle?
You walk your horse up to the
puddle in the drive way and he just stands there quietly, while you stand there
quietly and nothing gets accomplished.
Basically he is saying, “I don’t
see what you want me to do.”
You can’t ask the horse to move
forward into water, if he isn’t looking at it.
He needs to see where he is going and where you want him to go. He needs to focus on the task.
Get your horse to look at the
water…smell if he wants, taste it if he wants and then ask him to move forward
into the water.
Read his body language and be sure
he isn’t exhibiting fear while he is looking, smelling and tasting the
water. If he’s relaxed, he should step
forward when asked and walk through the puddle.
Remember the video of Jake
walking and trotting through the puddle on the drive way. His body language said he had no problem with
the puddle, so we took him to a bone dry pond which is overrun by weeds and
grass.
Watch Jake now: http://www.equinestudiesinstitute.com/videos/ride_trail/Jake_dry_pond_grass.html
Where did Jake’s focus go? Directly to the abundant, lush grass. Was he worried about the dry pond bed? No, he was trying to snatch some grass. Was
he refusing to walk through the pond bed?
No, he was just not concentrating on the job at hand; he was too
interested in stuffing his face.
You can’t really blame him, he
doesn’t get much pasture time and he had never been to the dry pond before.
Note how his handler corrected Jake for putting his head down to eat, but
allowed Jake to put his head down to “look” where he was going.
Jake wasn’t positive about the
unleveled ground or the weeds, but with a few circles he began to grow more
confident. Notice also how with each
circle his trainer sent him further and further into the pond, which Jake
handled just fine in those small increments.
Before his next lesson of
exposure to water or dry, weedy, sloped ponds you could take Jake back to the
driveway puddle and add another obstacle; a sprinkling sprinkler would work
great.
DO NOT “
Remember, most horses are
“fearful”. They may be huge, powerful and
magnificent, but they have very strong flight instincts.
Because they are flight animals,
their concerns are very legitimate to them, so they are reluctant about
entering a bog, or mud or a puddle of water.
Given a choice, they tend to run
away from anything their natural instincts suggest may harm them.
As the rider/trainer, it is your
responsibility to introduce them to any obstacle in such a manner as to
desensitize them. Desensitizing takes
time and patience and must be done slowly and on the horse’s terms. So make initial introductions to any obstacle
in small increments.
We do not use ‘flooding’ ….the
old sack them out until they quit shaking routine.
We use intelligence instead of
dominance.
You earn their trust, and that is
only done by never getting them into trouble.
One way to introduce your horse
to water; is to allow him or her to make the initial contact on their own.
If you have a pond or stream
handy and there is grass along the banks, it can be pleasant for an
inexperienced horse to simply eat his way into the water with no drama
involved. This is not the only or even
the best way to introduce water to an inexperienced horse, but in many
circumstances it does work very well.
A note on eating your way into
water; don’t allow any ‘eating’ of any kind when the horse is saddled or
bridled.
In competition there will be all
kinds of tasty decorations around an obstacle.
You’ll lose points if your horse takes a nibble. Many course designers put “temptations” in
front of your horse whenever the course requires you to stop and stand for a
period of time. The last thing you need
is your horse attempting to eat a tree branch.
Even when you are just on a
pleasure ride, never let your horse eat along the trail…doing so is a great way
for your horse to chew on something poisonous and develop the habit of
snatching at food.
Another way to introduce water is
using the “buddy” system.
Horses are herd animals and
staying with the herd is a strong survival instinct. For herd animals, there is safety in numbers;
your horse was born knowing this, so he’ll want to stay as close as possible to
anything that resembles his herd.
If you have a friend with a “good
ole boy”-horse who can play a “safe mentor,” that is often all that’s needed
for your horse to “dive in” to water and mud.
Should you try this suggestion be certain that the horse in front of you
does not harbor kicking tendencies and won’t be startled when a green horse
runs up against his hip or bumps him harder than is considered polite.
Don’t have access to the seasoned
water campaigner, try your dog. Most
dogs love water and enter it without encouragement and if it is your dog, your
horse is already accustom to his company.
Your dog has four legs and is part of your herd. If the dog isn’t being consumed by the water
monster, the horse understands he won’t be either.
Here
is a video clip of the exact opposite of being insecure; this horse is being a
smidge too bold.
http://www.equinestudiesinstitute.com/videos/ride_trail/bold_horse_large_pond.html
I like that he is very confident and alert,
however, he picks up just a little speed going down the grassy slope to the dry
pond. So there was a slight change of
cadence, which will cost you plus points.
But he did go through and exit the pond with a very nice flow and
willingly stopped on the incline for his rider.
If you have access to a dry pond
or one with this type of entrance, it works great for initiating training on
water obstacles. You could also cut away
weeds on a corner of the pond and use the corner for an introduction to water
while on a lunge line.
In this lesson we have focused on
water obstacles, but the same principles hold true for any obstacle.
Be committed to spend as much
time as necessary. It is a simple, but
so important to build your horse’s trust and acceptance of what you ask. Introduce new experiences in small steps.
Once you have a horse walking
through a water puddle, you might want to add a small sprinkler and practice
the same walking, jogging exercise with a bit of extra water. Or just let the garden hose continue to run
water into the wet area.
For the next step, you might want
to add a mound of dirt or shavings.
If you have been getting positive
results, you can increase the challenge by adding a ground pole. Once one ground pole has been mastered, add
additional poles and turn the sprinkler up.
You get the idea---as the horse is willing to accept greater challenges,
you are creating a greater bond of trust.
Every horse is different and we
all have different schedule requirements….so the rule is: It takes as long as
it takes.
Never rush your horse’s training.
Shown above are visual samples of
fairly dry water obstacles. Each has a different
type of challenge and can be utilized in different ways to vary the degree of
difficulty.
The semi-dry pond with the very
large rocks would be an excellent choice for introducing the horse to a wet
spot with easy entrance.
On competition day that pond
might be full of water and you could be asked to dismount on the rock, send
your horse around you, then stop and wait for you to remount. Big fun!
could also be requested to back
around the rock or back a serpentine around several rocks. If you have trouble with backing a horse,
check out Training Performance Horses at www.equinestudiesinstitute.org
When training for any obstacle,
allow your horse to take baby steps; baby steps should already be the standard
for procedure in your mind.
YOUR
ASSIGNMENT;
1.
In lesson Four, we discussed the importance of
“straightness”! This is equally
important moving backwards. Please send
me a video of you backing your horse.
The video should show you backing straight for at least 3-4 horse
lengths, and without resistance. Please video from both the front and the back.
2.
Write
a short essay on the cue sequence you use for backing your horse and how you
keep him straight. If your result is not
ideal, please explain how you are going to change it. Here is a video explaining the correct way to
back a horse: http://www.learningabouthorses.com/videos/how_to_back.html
3.
Send
another video showing your horse walking through a large wet spot.
4.
Write
a short essay on how you perceive your horse’s progress at working obstacles,
especially water.
Please submit your assignment to: Vikevon7@gmail.com
Remember to include your full name and
email address and label the subject line with the course and lesson
number.
I’ll do my best to send my response within 5-7
working business days. Thank you.