alliekk
01-17-2008, 10:43 PM
I thought I would post a couple threads for those who don't have a perfect horse, and those who cannot afford a trainer. I know that this will take up a lot of space, so I am going to post it in segments.
I do not pretend to know everything, but have successfully trained and shown western. I was in 4-H for 8 years and joined many of the contests, including horse bowl (kind of like jeopardy only with teams), hypology (knowledge of the anatomy, health, and nutrition of a horse), and horse judging. We judged horses in halter, WP, EP, showmanship, and equitation. I placed 18th out of 300 at nationals in judging. Though it is not national champion, it is definitely something I have no problem being proud of, considering I was only 16 at the time. Those are what one could consider some of my credentials.
ground work. When working on the ground, make sure you have a firm hand. A horse that does not respect you on the ground will more than likely not respect you in the saddle. Practice squaring him up every single time you stop him. His feet should be side-by-side, approx. 4-7 inches apart. Make sure his legs are straight up and down, do not let him stretch out or stand under himself. This is not only for showing, it is for balance and respect. This will help him to stay balanced and not feel the need to walk off with you when you mount. Half the time, the underlying root to this problem is from him not being balanced when mounted and then became used to keeping his balance by foreward movement.
When working in the halter, teach him to move away from your body when you walk into his. You can do this by standing directly in front of him and walking towards him. If he does not move, start swinging his lead back and forth harder and harder each time he does not comply. When he does walk back, stop and give him a pat on the neck, not on the face. We do not want him to associate praise with his face, that is when they start getting into your "bubble" each time he thinks he's done something right. (I learned this the hard way with Shaz). So this teaches him to move away from your body cues, which helps when doing pivots on the haunch and forehand.
Once he has learned to back away from your body, start doing this on either sid of him, asking him to turn away from your body. Do as tight a circle as you can so that it will set the basics for planting his pivot foot.
Next, do the same only towards his rear end. Walk straight into his hip bone, not farther foreward or back. Do not pull on his face, but make sure to keep control of his head so he doesn't start walking in circles like lunging. If he doesn't yield to your body then start to swing the end of your lead rope toward his rump. If he does not move away then start to let it pop him in the rump. If he still does not move, tug on his head a few times (NOT JERK) just to make sure you have his attention. Keep swinging your rope while tugging (no more than 4 or 5 tugs). This should get his attention. If it doesn't then go back to backing and forehands.
When leading your horse, you always want a horse that will pick up a trot immediately, you never know when you may need to get out of the way of something. You may need two people for this exercise. Walk your horse around your area, doing random turns and stops. These make sure that he is paying attention to you. When he has done everything you want and feel you have his undevided attention, then you can move on to the trot. For some, this is just a hassle and most don't even deal with it because horses can be a pain. While walking, start to cluck or kiss with your mouth so he knows that you are getting ready to do something different, then start to jog. This is when the second person comes in. If he does not immediately follow your direction, have your second person snap a whip behind him or clap loudly behind him. This may scare him the first few times and then after a while he will do it willingly so he will not have to deal with it. If this does not get him trotting, then you may need your second person to snap it closer to him or even pop him (not hard, just enough to get his attention). Always remember to cue him a second or two before you do your transition so he knows there is going to be a change, it's just less confusing for all.
I will post walking, trotting, and loping in later threads, but please feel free to put in your opinion of my techniques. If you have any success or know another way, do not hesitate to put that down. Sorry it was so long, but the more information the better the results.
Thanks for reading!
~ALLIE~
I do not pretend to know everything, but have successfully trained and shown western. I was in 4-H for 8 years and joined many of the contests, including horse bowl (kind of like jeopardy only with teams), hypology (knowledge of the anatomy, health, and nutrition of a horse), and horse judging. We judged horses in halter, WP, EP, showmanship, and equitation. I placed 18th out of 300 at nationals in judging. Though it is not national champion, it is definitely something I have no problem being proud of, considering I was only 16 at the time. Those are what one could consider some of my credentials.
ground work. When working on the ground, make sure you have a firm hand. A horse that does not respect you on the ground will more than likely not respect you in the saddle. Practice squaring him up every single time you stop him. His feet should be side-by-side, approx. 4-7 inches apart. Make sure his legs are straight up and down, do not let him stretch out or stand under himself. This is not only for showing, it is for balance and respect. This will help him to stay balanced and not feel the need to walk off with you when you mount. Half the time, the underlying root to this problem is from him not being balanced when mounted and then became used to keeping his balance by foreward movement.
When working in the halter, teach him to move away from your body when you walk into his. You can do this by standing directly in front of him and walking towards him. If he does not move, start swinging his lead back and forth harder and harder each time he does not comply. When he does walk back, stop and give him a pat on the neck, not on the face. We do not want him to associate praise with his face, that is when they start getting into your "bubble" each time he thinks he's done something right. (I learned this the hard way with Shaz). So this teaches him to move away from your body cues, which helps when doing pivots on the haunch and forehand.
Once he has learned to back away from your body, start doing this on either sid of him, asking him to turn away from your body. Do as tight a circle as you can so that it will set the basics for planting his pivot foot.
Next, do the same only towards his rear end. Walk straight into his hip bone, not farther foreward or back. Do not pull on his face, but make sure to keep control of his head so he doesn't start walking in circles like lunging. If he doesn't yield to your body then start to swing the end of your lead rope toward his rump. If he does not move away then start to let it pop him in the rump. If he still does not move, tug on his head a few times (NOT JERK) just to make sure you have his attention. Keep swinging your rope while tugging (no more than 4 or 5 tugs). This should get his attention. If it doesn't then go back to backing and forehands.
When leading your horse, you always want a horse that will pick up a trot immediately, you never know when you may need to get out of the way of something. You may need two people for this exercise. Walk your horse around your area, doing random turns and stops. These make sure that he is paying attention to you. When he has done everything you want and feel you have his undevided attention, then you can move on to the trot. For some, this is just a hassle and most don't even deal with it because horses can be a pain. While walking, start to cluck or kiss with your mouth so he knows that you are getting ready to do something different, then start to jog. This is when the second person comes in. If he does not immediately follow your direction, have your second person snap a whip behind him or clap loudly behind him. This may scare him the first few times and then after a while he will do it willingly so he will not have to deal with it. If this does not get him trotting, then you may need your second person to snap it closer to him or even pop him (not hard, just enough to get his attention). Always remember to cue him a second or two before you do your transition so he knows there is going to be a change, it's just less confusing for all.
I will post walking, trotting, and loping in later threads, but please feel free to put in your opinion of my techniques. If you have any success or know another way, do not hesitate to put that down. Sorry it was so long, but the more information the better the results.
Thanks for reading!
~ALLIE~