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Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Yeilding the Hindquarters
Just thought I would drop this one in here. It is a great article from Brent Graef about moving you horses around. Read it and put it to practice.
http://americashors
http://americashors
Monday, November 28, 2011
Belle....11/19/11
Belles last ride! Craig and Cheryl came today to pick her up. I hope they were pleased with her progress.
I worked her today starting in the round pen. I did more ground work than I have done in the past several days. This was to show Craig and Cheryl some of the things they should be doing before they ride her. She may be a four year old, but mentally she is still a baby. TAKE THE TIME IT TAKES NOW, SO THAT IT WILL TAKE LESS TIME IN THE FUTURE! I can't stress this enough!
We loped circles, trotted long straight lines and showed off her stop. By no means is she a reining horse, but she does have a pretty good foundation on her now. Craig and Cheryl can now do what it take to move her to the next level. That next level is more about what they want to do with her, it should be fun for them!
I worked her today starting in the round pen. I did more ground work than I have done in the past several days. This was to show Craig and Cheryl some of the things they should be doing before they ride her. She may be a four year old, but mentally she is still a baby. TAKE THE TIME IT TAKES NOW, SO THAT IT WILL TAKE LESS TIME IN THE FUTURE! I can't stress this enough!
We loped circles, trotted long straight lines and showed off her stop. By no means is she a reining horse, but she does have a pretty good foundation on her now. Craig and Cheryl can now do what it take to move her to the next level. That next level is more about what they want to do with her, it should be fun for them!
Belle....11/18/11
I am a little late posting this, but here it is...
The ride today went very well. Worked a little in the round pen, but moved out to the big pen pretty fast. Belle is doing very well and today I worked on straight lines. Lots and lots of long straight lines trotting. The more you do of this sort of thing, the better she will be about just traveling out without of of the movement in her shoulders (the back and forth, wanting to lead with her shoulders).
The ride today went very well. Worked a little in the round pen, but moved out to the big pen pretty fast. Belle is doing very well and today I worked on straight lines. Lots and lots of long straight lines trotting. The more you do of this sort of thing, the better she will be about just traveling out without of of the movement in her shoulders (the back and forth, wanting to lead with her shoulders).
Friday, November 18, 2011
Belle....11/17/11
I did something I normally don't do anymore, I rushed the ride. Between the dark and a 4H meeting, I knew I didn't have much time on Belle. So, I didn't do any groundwork today. It showed a little when I first got on, BUT Belle is progressing nicely and she got "right" pretty quickly.
We spent most of the ride in our big pen. Worked on trotting a lot of straight lines. As with most young horses, she wants to push her shoulders back and forth. But with just some minor corrections, she travels pretty straight. We also worked on stops. Stops are pretty important for everyone, you want your horse responsive and soft when asking for that release from the bit. So once she was a little winded (it's easier to ask for a stop when the horse wants to stop!), I put a little pressure on the bit. The reward is in the release, so as soon as she stopped and gave me a little release at the mouth....I released the pressure on her. I had stated awhile back that horse training is pretty boring to the untrained eye.....there are three keys....repetition, repetition, repetition! Doing the same things, the same way...consistently!
We spent most of the ride in our big pen. Worked on trotting a lot of straight lines. As with most young horses, she wants to push her shoulders back and forth. But with just some minor corrections, she travels pretty straight. We also worked on stops. Stops are pretty important for everyone, you want your horse responsive and soft when asking for that release from the bit. So once she was a little winded (it's easier to ask for a stop when the horse wants to stop!), I put a little pressure on the bit. The reward is in the release, so as soon as she stopped and gave me a little release at the mouth....I released the pressure on her. I had stated awhile back that horse training is pretty boring to the untrained eye.....there are three keys....repetition, repetition, repetition! Doing the same things, the same way...consistently!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Belle....11/16/11
We started with the groundwork. I cannot emphasize this enough. If you get her mind engaged, her body will soon follow. We quickly moved into the ride, I did a lot of turning her into and away from the fence. This kinda teaches her to move her front end over, while stepping over. We also worked on vertical and lateral flexion. I would like to see her much softer and am working to that end A continuation for Cheryl and Craig will be to follow this same program with her. She is doing really well and if I can find one, I will start working her with a slicker tomorrow.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Belle....11/13/11
We got back, Sunday afternoon, from the World Paint Show (watched my wife's cousins win a reserve open and a non-pro world championship in the Team sorting) and rode Belle pretty hard. She had a couple of days off, so of course the groundwork is required.
What I call groundwork has changed over the years and now means something totally different to me than it did back then. Back then, the ground work was a shortlived concept that basically did not take the horse into account. It was only there so I could get them tired and get in the saddle. NOW, it means getting the horse' mind activated. Is she paying attention to what I asked her to do on the ground? Will she yeild her hind end and step over in the front? How is she when you are just swinging your lead (or stick/string) around? All of this will translate to what you are doing on her back. Getting connected with her mind sure makes things go alot easier.
Spent most of the ride time in our big pen, working on trotting in straight lines. Most horses have a little trouble staying straight when you take them out of confinement. Belle had not troubles with staying straight as long as we were in the round pen. Once she got outside, the open space was something new to adjust too. So, we did long straight lines. Lotsa trotting and extending that trot. One of the things to keep in mind with increasing your speed is the hole / ditch / canyon concept. Belle is exactly where she needs to be right now. Weather willing, there should be a lot of good rides this week.
She is scheduled to go home on the 19th, and Cheryl had asked me to ride her with a slicker. Well, we will see by the end of the week where we are on that. Never should you push a horse farther that they are able to handle (wish I had paid attention to that when I was younger!)
What I call groundwork has changed over the years and now means something totally different to me than it did back then. Back then, the ground work was a shortlived concept that basically did not take the horse into account. It was only there so I could get them tired and get in the saddle. NOW, it means getting the horse' mind activated. Is she paying attention to what I asked her to do on the ground? Will she yeild her hind end and step over in the front? How is she when you are just swinging your lead (or stick/string) around? All of this will translate to what you are doing on her back. Getting connected with her mind sure makes things go alot easier.
Spent most of the ride time in our big pen, working on trotting in straight lines. Most horses have a little trouble staying straight when you take them out of confinement. Belle had not troubles with staying straight as long as we were in the round pen. Once she got outside, the open space was something new to adjust too. So, we did long straight lines. Lotsa trotting and extending that trot. One of the things to keep in mind with increasing your speed is the hole / ditch / canyon concept. Belle is exactly where she needs to be right now. Weather willing, there should be a lot of good rides this week.
She is scheduled to go home on the 19th, and Cheryl had asked me to ride her with a slicker. Well, we will see by the end of the week where we are on that. Never should you push a horse farther that they are able to handle (wish I had paid attention to that when I was younger!)
Friday, November 11, 2011
Belle....11/10/11
Since Belle has had 3 days off, I was prudent of me to make sure the ground work is good. Meaning "how's her mind?"
She is still a little twitchy about anything behind her and as I was twirling my stick and string around, just being friendly with her, I remembered a story I wrote awhile back about learning to handle your tools . I am much better with mine, but sometimes I still get wrapped around the axel...learn to use the tools you have and if you don't have very good ones, save your money to get you some!
Anyway, I worked her on the ground quite a bit and when she was better than we started...I got on. We started out in the round pen and worked on flexing laterally and vertically. She is pretty good laterally, and will get better the more you ride. Vertically she is a little more challenged, but then again...the more you ride, the easier it gets for her. Worked inside the pen until I couldn't see anymore and jsut spent a few minutes outside the pen walking around looking at boogers again. Pretty good day for coming off a 3 day rest!
She is still a little twitchy about anything behind her and as I was twirling my stick and string around, just being friendly with her, I remembered a story I wrote awhile back about learning to handle your tools . I am much better with mine, but sometimes I still get wrapped around the axel...learn to use the tools you have and if you don't have very good ones, save your money to get you some!
Anyway, I worked her on the ground quite a bit and when she was better than we started...I got on. We started out in the round pen and worked on flexing laterally and vertically. She is pretty good laterally, and will get better the more you ride. Vertically she is a little more challenged, but then again...the more you ride, the easier it gets for her. Worked inside the pen until I couldn't see anymore and jsut spent a few minutes outside the pen walking around looking at boogers again. Pretty good day for coming off a 3 day rest!
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