Posts Tagged ‘baby finger’

A lot of dressage riders aren’t clear on the difference between flexion at the jaw and flexion at the poll, and how to ask their horses for each of these positions.

Keep in mind that a dressage horse can flex three ways-to the left, to the right, and “in”.

When a horse flexes to the left or right, he’s flexing at the poll. When he does this, you’ll just see his inside or outside eye or nostril. I call this position +1 or -1 because you’re bringing his head 1 inch to the inside or the outside of where his head would be positioned if his chin was directly in front of the crease in the middle of his chest.

You’ll ask for flexion at the poll to the left or right with an indirect rein aid. To give an indirect rein aid, give a quick turn of the wrist so your thumb points to the center of the circle, your fingernails point up toward your face, and your baby finger points up toward your opposite shoulder. As you turn your wrist this way, bring your hand very close to the withers, but don’t cross over them. As soon as you’ve turned your wrist, return to the “starting position”where your thumb is the highest point of the hand. Be sure you support with your outside rein as you do this so you “catch” his poll rather than bend his entire neck.

When a horse flexes “in”, he flexes at the jaw, and he closes the angle at his throatlatch. You’ll use a completely different rein action to ask your horse to flex “in” than the action you used to ask for flexion to the left or right.

Ask your horse to flex “in” by moving the bit in his mouth. Be sure you only use ONE rein to move the bit. If you alternately saw on his mouth with your left and right hands, he’ll just bring his face closer to his chest.

We often flex the horse’s jaw. In fact, his jaw must be flexed for him to be completely on the bit. BUT, the danger lies in flexing the jaw BEFORE you connect him over his back. If you flex his jaw first, he’s not really connected. His face is just “in”. The danger here is that you can fake yourself out.

You might think he’s correctly on the bit because he feels soft in your hand when his jaw is flexed. But if you go to do something like a transition, you’ll find out that he’s really not connected at all.

During the transition, your dressage horse will raise his head and neck and look hollow because all you have control over is a flexed jaw. He wasn’t honestly on the bit to begin with! You need to ride your horse from back to front. Close your legs and send your horse forward through your outside hand to get his back round. And ONLY after you’ve sent him forward through your outside hand should you flex his jaw as the final ingredient of putting him on the bit.

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Author: Jane Savoie
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Horses chew, we all know that, but if you’ve ever watched horses out in pasture they’ll perform types of grooming and bonding rituals with their teeth. Take a look sometimes and you’ll notice many times horses standing together while one is almost seemingly biting the flesh of the other. They’ll grab a little bunch of flesh and in a careful way kind of nip away with a little tug of the skin. This is very common and it’s a cooperative event where one horse allows the other. I’m quite sure I wouldn’t discourage such behavior amongst horses.

Now we (humans) come along and from day one we teach our horses- even from babies- not to bite. At the slightest indication the young horse is nipping us we’ll most likely retaliate with a little swat on the horses nose to discourage such a thing.

We spend a lot of time with horses; wouldn’t you suspect perhaps these wonderful sensitive animals would perhaps want to bond with us just as well? They’re practically like family aren’t they? Didn’t the Arab horses of old (maybe still) actually live in the houses of some people? Well yes. So why are we discouraging – well obviously having a horse even a baby horse come up to us and nip us on the neck just doesn’t make life pleasurable to say the least. Ok- so what’s the point, there is one.

The point is I’ve seen and worked with horses that were full of anxiety due to not being allowed to “Bond” with us. The urge for horses to nibble on us in a bonding way I believe is very strong. The point is rather than smacking your horse on the nose discouraging him and pushing him away perhaps we should find a way to be permissive of such horse behavior. But how is the question right? – Are you now thinking that perhaps I let my horses and other horses nibble on me? YES! I DO. I actually feed the side of my hand “Baby finger side” into a horse’s mouth palm facing up.

You’ll be amazed how many horses take the bait and commence with the nibbling. (Insert laughter here).

Here’s an example: I was called out on a job one day to shoe a horse, it was my first appointment with this horse. When I approached I immediately noticed the horse was full of tension and to a degree I’d never seen before. What puzzled me was there was no apparent reason for it, it was just part of his demeanor. Needless to say I was quite surprised by the behavior. To make a long story short when I fed this horse the side of my hand he took it and just practically melted right before my eyes, the tension just nearly completely dissipating. It was obvious this horse had been denied this urge to bond for quite some time, perhaps always.

Now by contrast I have been with other horses that when I encourage the nibbling behavior their reaction is one of almost “Fear” and panic! Obviously residual from being smacked anytime any part of the human body comes in contact with their mouth other than if there is “Food or a Bit” in hand. A pretty sad event when you think about it. The horse has the urge to bond and it gets beaten back by unsuspecting human beings. The horse literally filled with joy.

Ok – here is a word of caution if you’re intending to discover and pursue this for yourself. Some horses are so full of anxiety over being denied this that when you do first start to feed the side of your palm to them they’re going to clamp down quite hard (you must be careful and prepared and go slowly). Just sneak your hand in their mouth for a second and slip it out before they clamp down. And basically most horses will “Snap” the skin of the side of your hand with their teeth. So you’re pulling away slightly as they’re clamping down which causes the snap. They do it in the pasture as well; they pull the skin & snap.

So please be careful – every horse is different, you need to learn how to read them. Obviously I have an advantage because I’m a Farrier and I get to handle a lot of horses.

So should horses be allowed to chew on us? My answer is a resounding “Yes, but in a controlled manner. You’ll have a different horse as a result.

If you liked this story and would like to get your hands on a horseshoeing method that has a 16 year 100% track record “Not One Single Lame Horse” rush and click the website link down below in the Author Bio – do it before you and your horse loose out. Your horse will love you for it.

Thank you, happy riding and remember to Care4Horses.

Reprint rights allowed providing nothing is changed.

Author: John Silveira
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Mobile device news

Lots of riders are confused about how to smoothly switch their long dressage whip from one hand to the other. Many of you tell me you feel awkward while doing this, and you’re concerned about making your horse uncomfortable and disturbing the contact because you’re twisting the bit in your his mouth.

Here’s a step-by-step method to switch your dressage whip without disturbing the contact with your horse’s mouth. I recommend practicing this technique at first with your bridle on a hook or by looping a piece of rope around a fence and pretending the rope is the two reins.

That way you can practice the method enough so that it becomes automatic rather than mechanical. You’ll need to do quite a few repetitions in a left-brained, mechanical way before this skill gets turned over to the right side of the brain where you don’t even have to think about it. So that’s why it’s a good idea to practice when you’re not on your horse.

1. Put both reins and the whip in the same hand.For example, put both reins and the whip in your right hand.

2. Turn your right hand so your thumb is facing down and your baby finger is pointed up. With your hand in this position, the butt end of the whip points toward the withers and the lash of the whip points straight toward the sky.

3. Now, turn your left hand upside down so your left thumb is on top of your right baby finger.

4. With your left hand in that “upside down” position, curl your fingers around the whip.

5. Use your left hand to pull the whip straight up toward the sky. (Your whip is now in your left hand and the two reins are in your right hand.)

6. Separate your reins so you have one in each hand.

You’ve now switched your dressage whip without twisting the bit in your horse’s mouth or scaring him by pulling it up across his withers.

Author: Jane Savoie
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Mobile device news