Showmanship in Hand
Lesson Four
Pivots, Circles and Curves
A maneuver
almost always found in a showmanship pattern is the pivot.
Circling or
traveling in a curve while walking or trotting will also be used in patterns.
Teaching the
horse to travel in a circle will help him learn the pivot. Traveling in curves makes the horse start
thinking about moving away or following your body. This is the movement needed to perform a
pivot right or left. Maneuvering the horse in a circle requires the horse to
move away or toward the handler.
As discussed in earlier lessons, the
horse will move off of the handler’s body and not off of the lead.
To teach the
horse to follow the handler, begin by walking with the horse in a halter and
lead with the chain used under the chin, as in a showmanship class.
Walk in a brisk
manner, with the lead coiled in a big loop held in the left hand. The right hand holds the lead opposite the
ring on the halter. When holding the lead, do not have contact with the horse’s
head. Keep your eyes forward as this
both aids your performance when showing, and does not create a cue to the
horse.
A training technique will be used that
is similar to teaching a dog to heel. Begin by walking around the practice area
and make gradual curves left and right. You will have to change direction with
your feet and shoulders first, and then allow the chain to connect to correct
the horse by pulling him with you or pushing him away. Avoid jerking the horse with the chain, as
this will cause the horse to brace away from you. Instead use a steady pressure, and
immediately release the pressure as the reward when the horse comes with you.
When turning or
curving to the right, turn into the horse and bump into the horse to reinforce
that he needs to move away from your body.
Avoid using the
chain under the chin and neck. Use of
the chain for turning causes the horse to bend his neck. The horse must keep his neck straight and
learn lift his shoulders for the turn, keeping them square. The horse should cross the front leg on the
outside of the turn in front of the leg on the inside of the turn.
It is important the horse does not bend his
neck. If the horse bends his neck and the shoulder drops into the turn the
horse will not be able to maintain balance throughout his body, thereby
allowing the hindquarters to swing out in the opposite direction.
If the horse does not understand how
to move away from your body, use a tap or slap on the shoulder with the end of
the lead. You must reinforce the idea
that he needs to move away from your body.
An easy way to do this is by exchanging the lead into your left hand and
the loop into your right hand. With the
lead switched it is easy to extend the right arm toward the horse’s shoulder
and apply a tap. If the horse does not
respond, become stronger with the correction, he will figure it out quickly.
Making large circles and curves is
easier for the horse, as forward motion helps him maintain balance and gives
him the opportunity to figure out what you want as he is not required to turn
as sharply and promptly as in a pivot.
When the horse is moving easily away from your body, he will not be feeling
a pull or bump from the handler. This is
positive reinforcement for the horse.
Verbal praise and petting are certainly acceptable when the horse has
responded correctly.
As you progress in the training of
walking in curves and circles, throw in a sharp 90-degree turn to test your
horse. At this point of the horse’s
training, only make right turns. (The
left pull turn is a more advanced maneuver and will be taught when the horse is
farther along in his understanding of following the handler’s body.
The test will
be – is the horse moving quickly away from your body, or is he still slow in
his response? Are the horse’s shoulders
lifted and square? Did he cross the
front left leg over the right? If the
answer is no – keep doing the basic curve training. If the answer is yes, it is time to increase
the difficulty.
This is a great drill: use four cones set up to form a square. The cones should be 40 to 50 feet apart. Walk the horse around the outside of the
cones. Walk the square to the right and to the left. When
curving around the corner, try to stay as close to the cone as possible. This will help with your visual accuracy in
creating the ninety-degree turn.
Completing the corner correctly is important too. Be aware of over turning, or under turning.
After traveling around the square a few times,
there will be a path in the dirt. Is it
straight?
Using the cones in the square creates many
practice exercises that help the horse prepare for the pivot.
Once your horse
understands how to move away from your body, increase the difficulty by making
ninety degree turns left and right around the cones.
When
approaching a right turn slow down, bringing the horse almost to a stop, but
maintaining enough forward motion to help the front left leg cross in front of
the right leg.
Turn your body
completely so you are facing the side of the horse’s muzzle. Lift the right
hand slightly making contact with the chain in order to steady the head and
prevent it from turning. This will also help shift the weight back onto the
right hind leg.
The hand is not
to be used in any way to turn the horse.
Do not allow the hand to touch the horse’s head. The hand is only used to maintain
straightness. In the finished turn the lift of the head is not needed, since
the horse is so in tune to following the handler’s body, and will know to stay
balanced. By practicing this frequently,
the horse will catch on quickly and follow your body.
It is important
to remember to stay on your path when making the turn. The horse has to see your body go into the
direction first; this is the cue for the horse to turn. If you cue with the hand first, then the
body, the horse will learn that the hand is the first cue and will wait to be
given the hand cue.
It may be helpful to visualize a circle
in the dirt, or even draw one. The
circle will always be the same for each horse.
When the horse is balanced, the horse’s nose will stay directly on the
circle. If the nose passes across the
circle the horse is stepping forward too much, if the nose moves to the inside
of the circle the horse is rocked back too far.
When ready to ask for the actual pivot,
do so, in small increments. Begin by
asking for ninety-degree pivots. Start
in the presentation position. Turn and
face the horse maintaining body position directly in front of the horse’s
nose. Switch hands on the lead. The right hand will hold the loop of the lead
and the left hand will hold the lead close to the head to keep it steady and
straight. Apply slight pressure on the
chain in order to keep the horse’s head straight, and
directly in front of his shoulders. Step
toward the horse’s nose, when the horse does not move away tap the horse on the
shoulder with the lead held in the right hand.
The shoulder needs to move. The
left front leg must cross in front of the right. The response needed is that
the horse must start to move to the right when he sees your body move toward
him.
If he does not
move the tap on the shoulder will be applied.
As the horse starts to move, slightly elevate the horse’s head to keep
the weight shifted back. By watching the right hind leg you will know if the
pivot is being performed correctly. Ask
only for a few steps in the first attempts.
Stop and praise
when done correctly.
The horse is in
a trial and error stage of training. He
really isn’t sure what you want, but if he gets praised when performing
correctly he will figure out what is desired by the handler.
Continue with ninety-degree pivots to
the right Remember to save left pivot work for later as they are more difficult
and even though we have started a foundation in curve work, they need to be
taught later in the horse’s training.
As the ninety
degree turn is perfected move up to half turns and then to three quarter turns,
and finally, full turns or three hundred and sixty degree turns.
Go back to the square of cones. Walk from one cone and slightly past the next
cone. Stop and ask for a ninety- degree turn around the corner. Trot to the
next cone and stop. Now make a half-turn
and trot back to previous cone. This
exercise can be mixed up with many different variations. It also incorporates the previous
lessons--starting and stopping at cones, squaring up, maneuvering around
corners or circling a cone, changing direction etc.
Problem Solving:
1. The horse is stepping forward out of the pivot.
This happens because the horse does
not have his weight shifted back on the hindquarters. Make sure you are staying on the circle path
created around the horse. If you are
accidentally drifting to the left, the horse will lose his pivot foot and step
forward. The handler may be accidentally
pulling the horse forward with the lead.
Make sure your body is facing the side of the horse’s head, if your
shoulders are slightly rotated to the left this will cause your circle to be
off. Lift the hand holding the head
slightly to shift the horse’s balance back onto hindquarters.
2. The horse is stepping backward in the pivot
The handler has shifted the horse’s
weight back too far. The handler may be
starting with her body facing the throatlatch or neck of the horse, instead of
the muzzle causing the horse to shift the weight back too much. The handler is
stepping to the right while traveling in the circle. Adjust the handler’s body
position and pull the head forward slightly.
3. The horse is pivoting on the left foot instead of the
right
This is caused by the horse’s balance
being placed on the left hind foot instead of the right. The horse does this when the weight is
shifted too far back. Usually this occurs when the handler is positioned
between the center of the neck and the horse’s shoulder when asking for the
turn. Correct by correcting the
handler’s body position, and pulling slightly forward and squaring up the
shoulders so the horse can lift around the turn. A left hind pivot foot can occur if the horse
is bending his neck to the right and failing to lift the shoulder, causing the
left shoulder to lean left. This is usually caused by the handler pushing the
head to the left or by allowing the lead to travel under the neck.
4. The horse is bending his neck to the right in the pivot
This is caused by the lead traveling
under the neck. Always keep the lead
near the ring on the halter. Never push
the horse’s head to the right with your hand.
5. The horse starts out correctly and then loses his pivot
foot.
The circle is not staying
consistent. Draw the line in the dirt to
help stay on track. The horse is losing the straightness in his body or his
shoulders are not staying square. Ask
for consistency in speed. Stay slow and correct; teaching form is very
important. Speed will come later.
6. The horse steps on his front foot when stepping across
The horse is too bunched up. Allow the neck to stretch out slightly. The handler may be lifting too much on the
lead, jamming up the horse’s forehand. Remember the pivot is a forward
movement; the horse must have forward motion to perform the pivot correctly.
7. The horse crosses the left front behind the right front
foot.
The weight is shifted too far
back. Slightly pull the horse
forward. Make sure the handler is in the
correct position, facing the side of the muzzle.
(There is no quiz for this lesson.)
Assignments:
1. Describe your horse’s ability at the beginning of this lesson.
2. What problems occurred in the training process of walking in curves
and circles? How did you solve them?
3. How many training sessions took place before asking for ninety- degree
turns?
4. Describe patterns used with the cones set in the square.
5. Is your horse comfortable with pivots?
Happy or confused? Why?
6. How much time are you devoting to your horse’s training program?
7. Did you have problems occur that are not discussed in this
lesson? If so, what were the problems
and how did you solve the problem?
8. VIDEOS: Please send videos of you performing the
"showing/cue" techniques described in this lesson. Please post the videos to YouTube, and send the links to cathy@horsecoursesonline.com