Posts Tagged ‘cues’

Is lunging a horse more than simply having your horse run around in circles? It turns out the answer is a definite “yes”. In this article we’re going to lay out a system you can use while lunging to turn this exercise from a mindless session of running around in circles into a comprehensive training plan that teaches your horse to be willing, respectful, and attentive-getting her ready to ride.

First what tools do you need? You can use a whip or carrot stick if you like, but the truth is all you need is a lead line and halter. Let’s start with having the horse move out to the left. Take the end of the lead rope that’s closest to the halter and hold that in your left hand. Then take the far end of the lead rope and hold that in your right hand. The end of the rope in your left hand will be an “open door” through which the horse can move-so don’t pull on it or apply any pressure, just hold it loosely. You may want to use that hand to indicate you want the horse to move that way by pointing, but that’s about all we’ll do with that hand.

The other end of the rope is the “gas hand”, we’re going to use it to put pressure on the horse to ask her to move out or speed up. You do this by swinging the rope at the hip area of the horse.

When you ask the horse to move out the first time, ask her to move out at a walk. Remember, we aren’t trying to “cool down” a “hot” horse with this exercise. The goal is to build a communication bridge and get the horse listening to our cues – this is going to carry right over to training under saddle.

When the horse is walking, especially if it’s a young or untrained horse, you might want to change the diameter of the circle. You can do this either by reeling in some rope to bring her closer to you, or you can walk to position yourself closer to the horse. Try alternating the distance between you and the horse large-small-large-small. This helps her feel comfortable with different situations. When she is close, you can pat the horse on her mid-section. This will help desensitize her to being touched while in motion, which carries over to riding.

To stop the horse, bend down and look at her hip, then she’ll swing around and face you. Now we’re going to try something different than the usual approach to lunging a horse. Take the opportunity to throw in some other groundwork routines at this point, instead of just sending her out the other direction. First, lead her a couple of steps and then ask for a stop. Then move over to the withers area and ask her to lower the head. Then flex. Now ask her to back up a few steps and send her out the other direction.

Instead of just sending her out, we’ve just practiced: dropping the head to promote submission, flexing to teach the one rein (emergency) stop, backing up and leading to teach respect.

Now ask the horse to trot. When she’s moving at a walk, put some extra pressure on the hip area by swinging the rope. Let her trot around a couple of times and then ask her to slow down. Try something different-ask her to slow down using breathing. Take a deep breath and then exhale loudly. Horses are really in tune with this body language cue which means slow down and relax. Some horses might come to a stop, and that’s OK at first-but the goal when trotting is to have the horse slow to a walk. When she is walking, you can exhale again and in that case it would mean to stop.

Now we can mix it up, even throwing in some cantering. Alternate between walk-trot-canter, periodically stopping and going through the groundwork routine described earlier.

What are the advantages of lunging a horse this way? First and foremost is it teaches the horse to pay attention. With so many activities thrown in, she has to stay focused to see what you want next. Second, it reinforces your leadership position by incorporating exercises like dropping the head and backing up. This approach also keeps things more interesting for the horse. Horses get bored just like we do, so why not mix things up and make it more interesting for the horse. Lastly, lunging a horse this way builds a communication bridge. When you’re practicing changing from walk-trot-canter with slowing down and stopping using your breath, you’re preparing the horse for being ridden by teaching her cues to listen to.

David McMahon is a freelance author who owns three horses. He invites you to visit http://horse-training-tips.com where you can learn more about lunging a horse.

Author: David McMahon
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Tips, cues, videos, anything will help.
My horse doesn’t maintain his speed very well. Sometimes he’s awesome, others he’s all over the place. He’s great when I ride him in the round pen, but out in the arena, this is when he acts like a retard. I ride western btw.
Oh yeah, he likes to speed up. That would be a good point to mention haha.

Natural horse training involves the training of a horse by using it’s natural body language and movements. Practitioners are using a wide variety of different techniques to yield the result horse owners are after: a bond of trust being present between the horse and it’s rider. The bond of trust which develops between the horse and it’s rider during natural horse training is applicable across all disciplines namely: working, eventing, dressage as well as riding for pleasure.

Natural horse training and working horses

Working horses still plays a huge role in farm operations such as herding cattle and other farm animals. A horse is still the only safe method of transportation to the most remote areas as well as unstable or dangerous terrain. It is very essential that a horse traversing such an area knows how to remain calm throughout the journey. It is also essential for the rider to read subtle signs from the horse as to advert danger because horses have the ability to sense a change in conditions much quicker than humans. Only a rider that is best in-tune with his horse will be able to pick up any cues from his horse.

Natural horse training and eventing

Horses trained for eventing including dressage, show jumping and strenuous cross country races are pushed 100% to their limit and must therefore be sound. Cross country races are very dangerous as the course is composed of miles being traversed at very fast and lots of solid build jumps. Only horses being able to trust their riders fully will be successful in these competitions. This is why natural horse training is so important because it builds the trust between horse and rider so when the rider wants the horse to do something new, frightening or challenging, the horse will trust the rider enough to take the risk.

Dressage

Dressage training are known for building balance and muscle in the horse as well as trainer. Whether riding for pleasure or competition, the communication and balance established with natural horse training techniques, makes the dressage horse and rider achieve a higher level of grace and precision.

Pleasure riding

The biggest goal to for most owners is to have fun with their horses which can only happen when there is no fear present. Natural horse training absolves the fear of humans seeming unpredictable to horses and builds communication. When humans learn to speak the same language as their horse, they will find that they will be able to do almost anything with their horses.

No matter the occupation of your horse, natural horse training takes your horse to the next level by building trust, communication and stamina in horses and riders which translates to every situation.

Click Here [http://www.the-perfect-choice.com/naturalhorsetraining] to learn the easiest natural horse training techniques.

Author: Nathalie K
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Did you ever see a horse that was tied to something set back and fight against the rope? It’s not a pretty sight and can be very dangerous. I knew a gal who tied her horse to the stair rail while she ran inside for something. When she came back, there was no stair rail any more. It was attached to the end of the lead line and “chasing” her horse around the yard, banging his legs at every stride. It was an expensive vet bill, and expensive repair bill, and a lesson learned the hard way. Not only did she learn not to tie a horse solidly to an object that might give way, but she learned that her horse didn’t really tie well.

What’s the best way to teach a horse to tie? I’ve heard and even tried lots of ways. The way that we’ve learned doing natural horsemanship seems to be the easiest on the horse and it solves a lot of other problems at the same time. It involves teaching the horse to give to even the slightest pressure on the lead line.

Begin by having the horse wear a good rope halter, not the flat web or leather kind. The rope halters offer a better feel to the horse and are not as easy to lean against and ignore pressure. Then, stand by the horse’s shoulder and gently and steadily use the rope to ask the horse to bend its head towards you. At the slightest movement of the horse’s head, release all the pressure and rub the horse. Do it again and again and again from that side and then also from the other side of the horse until the horse becomes very tuned in to bending its head on the slightest of cues and until it can bend farther and farther around. The release of pressure when the horse gives even a little is very important.

Stand out in front of the horse and put some pressure on the rope asking the horse to come forward towards you. If there is resistance, just hold steady, not pulling, just steady, until the horse gives to the pressure. At that point, be sure to release the pressure quickly.

Once your horse really understands how to give to pressure, you will find that if it steps on the lead line while grazing, there is no jerking upward when it feels its head held down. Instead, the horse will drop its head back down and step off the rope. In fact, this is a good test to see if your horse really gives to pressure and is ready to tie.

What does this have to do with tying a horse? Well, the horse has to know how to give to pressure to be able to stand tied, and once you have a horse that will respond instead of pulling against the pressure, you have a horse that will tie and not pull back. The process of really getting it to give to pressure may take a few sessions, longer perhaps if the horse has already learned to set back, but it will make for a much safer and responsive animal and is well worth the time it takes to teach. Additional benefits include a horse that leads without having to be tugged along, and a horse that already knows about giving to pressure when it comes time to begin asking for collection under saddle.

Bonnie and her husband own Gemara Farm Fox Trotters in Barnesville, GA. They use natural horsemanship methods gleaned from many sources to train their horses. Bonnie coaches others in what she has learned and there are usually fox trotters available for sale with a natural horsemanship background. For other tips and pictures about natural horsemanship, visit http://www.gemara.homestead.com

Author: Bonnie Martin
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Have you ever gone to get your horse and realized that it was less than enthusiastic about seeing you? Do you wish your horse would be more interested in what is coming? Assuming that there are no physical problems such as poorly fitting tack, sore muscles or joints, teeth problems or anything else that might make the horse uncomfortable, the lack of enthusiasm for what is coming might just be boredom with the routine. Doing something different might be all it takes to respark your horse’s interest in being with you.

Just like with people, horses get tired of doing the same old thing over and over. Some get to anticipating cues if they get drilled too much in the same pattern. I’ve seen horses in the show ring that learned the pattern of gaits announced and would execute them without the rider’s help. That might seem like a good thing to some, but what if the judge mixes things up and the horse keeps doing its normal routine?

Lots of riders have one major interest of what they want to do with their horse and they stick with doing that almost exclusively instead of developing a well rounded animal by offering it a variety of experiences.

Horses that never get out of the arena, whether they be dressage, barrel, show, or lesson horses, can get too used being in just those surroundings and then become upset when not in their comfort zone. Or they may become bored to tears there and not work nearly as well.

Horses only ridden going forward on the trails may not be as responsive to cues as the rider would like and they might be uncomfortable and unconfident in an arena or show situation. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a horse that could go from one situation to another and handle it well?

To counteract the problem of your horse becoming bored or not at ease in different environments, provide your horse with a variety of experiences. Barrel horses don’t always have to be hyped. Some of the best ones I know do other things than racing most of the time. A leisurely trail ride, dressage basics, or some other type of work can make them much more responsive and enjoyable as well as versatile.

Dressage and show horses can benefit from trail rides as well as other activities such as moving cows. In fact, slow, precise cow work can give any horse a purpose for some of the moves they need to be able to do fluidly in competition.

A trail ride is a great way to keep your horse’s interest due to the changing scenery. But a trail horse can get too dependent on following the horse in front of it or insisting on taking the lead itself. A good trail horse responds to a rider’s body, leg, focus, and rein cues, and there is no reason a trail ride shouldn’t be a chance to work on moving your horse laterally, disengaging, serpentines, backing, and doing transitions. Obstacles on the ride provide a perfect opportunity to practice these moves and provide your horse with a feeling that there is a reason for the moves. One doesn’t have to just go down the trail. Spend time trading positions within the group too so that your horse does not get in the rut of leading, following, or being with a certain buddy.

Sometimes when you go to get your horse, just go and hang out with it. Or, instead of riding, go on a trail walk together with you directing the horse from the ground. You can practice a lot of moves from the ground and get your horse more responsive without being on his back.

Keeping things interesting for your horse will pay off by giving you a happier, more versatile horse and also expand your horizons to new, enjoyable activities that you can do together. Variety is the spice of life for both horse and human. Happy riding!

Bonnie lives at Gemara Farm Foxtrotters located in Barnesville, Georgia. She and her husband currently have several fox trotters of their own and practice natural horsemanship with them, as well as Bonnie coaching others. There are usually some fox trotters available for sale. http://www.gemara.homestead.com

Author: Bonnie Martin
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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What causes horses rearing? Like everything else involving horses and their interactions with people, the answer usually boils down to one of two causes. Horses of course will engage in a threatening display like rearing if they are feeling well, threatened. So the first cause to look for is fear. A second cause of horses rearing is defiance. A horse may rear to intimidate you, or while balking about accomplishing some task you want him to do. In this case, the root cause of horses rearing is disrespect.

It turns out that fear and disrespect are two sides of the same coin when it comes to the horse-human relationship. The reason is simple. A horse isn’t going to have fear about a situation or task provided that he’s got a strong leader he can look to. Are you that strong leader, inspiring unwavering confidence in your horse? Or do you lack confidence, as exhibited in your actions or body language?

At the same time, a horse isn’t going to respect a handler that hasn’t shown leadership. Once again it boils down to confidence. Are you confident handling horses? Can the defiant horse sense weakness or wavering in your body language?

So we see that when it comes right down to it, the fearful horse or the disrespectful horse that rears is really doing so for the same fundamental reason: they don’t really have an alpha member of the herd. As the handler of the horse, it’s up to you to become the alpha and demonstrate calm and confident leadership at all times. Once it’s established, leadership will cause a horse to respect and trust you. So all at the same time, by being a leader for your horse, you can win over horses with all kinds of different dispositions. There is no need to study whether a horse is “left brained” or “right brained”, “introverted” or “extroverted”, “fearful” or “dominant”. Horses are naturally wired to follow a leader plain and simple, and by giving the right cues you can easily establish leadership and inspire confidence and get any horse to follow you. Horses that see you as their leader are going to be less fearful, so less likely to turn to rearing when something startling happens. A horse that respects you isn’t going to use rearing, or anything else, in an effort to intimidate you.

That sounds simple enough, but how do you establish leadership?

The first step in a leadership program is a good round pen training program. This means taking your horse in the round pen at liberty (no lead rope) and going through the exercise to have him hook on to you. This exercise really taps into the mind and emotions of the horse and like nothing else, helps a horse see you as the herd leader. You should always go back to round pen training first when encountering some major behavior problem.

The second task at hand is to simply get your horse listening and paying attention to you. This can be done on several levels-basic groundwork for example. Spend more time simply moving your horse around-moving the hindquarter, the forehand, backing up. Do some leading exercises.

One of the most important exercises for a horse with behavior problems in my view is lunging. Done correctly, which means continually asking the horse to pay attention by randomly asking for walk, trot, canter, slow down, speed up, stop, turn-is a great exercise for getting your horse listening for your commands. That helps cement the position of leadership you lay down as a foundation with round pen training.

When faced with horses rearing, like anything else, all it takes to solve the problem is getting back to basics. Punishment in the moment might give a short term fix, but it’s not a long term solution. Go back to a solid training program of round pen training, leading, groundwork yields, and lunging to fix that attitude.

David McMahon is a freelance author and horse owner. He invites you to visit http://horse-training-tips.com where you can learn more about horses rearing.

Author: David McMahon
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Training a horse for good ground manners starts as soon as you enter the stall or field. When you effectively use your vocal and body cues, you are speaking their language. Ineffectively using your cues when trying to catch your horse in the field can cause your horse to run from you. Believe me, it’s not easy to catch a horse that doesn’t want to be caught. They seem to run in circles around you, teasing you. Ineffective use of your cues would include either sneaking up on your horse from behind, or walking directly at their head.

To effectively communicate with your horse, approach them from the side. Make your presence known; talk to, whistle, or cluck to your horse. Walk towards them with your hand outstretched. This gives a horse that is unfamiliar with you the reassurance that they can be comfortable with you. This is how you should approach every horse in the field, no matter how familiar you are with them. If you disregard these methods, you can startle your horse and cause it to run, potentially teaching a very bad habit.

For a green horse or a horse that has formed the habit of running when approached, there are other pointers for when teaching good field manners. When you are approaching the horse, don’t look them in the eye. As with any animal, eye contact is meant to infer dominance. Since horses are a prey animal, if they feel like something or someone is trying to dominate them, they will run. Minimizing eye contact is less threatening to your horse. You may also hide the halter and lead rope behind your back. Horses are smart, and some will associate the halter and lead rope with being ridden. Treats and food can be used to lure your horse if worse comes to worst. However, using food or treats in training a horse should be limited to desperate situations, not every time.

When a horse is consistently difficult to catch, use the previous methods to catch your horse, but occasionally just halter your horse, give them a treat, and take the halter back off. This way, your horse will not assume that they are going to have to work every single time you enter the field. As much as a horse may love being ridden, they have their lazy days as well.

Training a horse for good ground manners extend far beyond the field. Some horses, when standing in the cross ties, will stomp and sway from side to side. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, and it doesn’t mean your horse is being bad. They could be nervous or anxious. Unless he is pulling hard against the cross ties, it’s more of a nuisance than a threat. Some horses do it constantly. To be honest, there is no easy fix for this.

Consistency (not taking them out of the cross ties because they are handling them badly), a stern voice, and a swat on the rump (with your hand only) can help your horse learn that the cross ties are not such a bad thing. They will typically calm down if you groom them while in the cross ties, since it’s relaxing to them. If your horse respects and listens to you in other settings, you have a better chance of helping them handle the cross ties well.

Katie Olson is an accomplished equestrian in the Hunter/Jumper discipline, and she is an experienced horse trainer. She has ridden and/or trained several horses over her eleven-year career as a passionate rider. For more information about training a horse and to become part of our new online community of horse lovers visit Training A Horse. Ground Manners.

Author: Katie Olson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Dressage has long been seen as the most graceful of equestrian events and for good reason. The FEI dressage horses that compete at this level are trained to move gracefully across the arena performing complex maneuvers while the rider appears to give no cues and interferes very little in the actions of the horse.

The FEI rules describe dressage as “the development of the horse into a happy athlete through harmonious education. As a result, it makes the horse calm, supple, loose and flexible, but also confident, attentive and keen, thus achieving perfect understanding with his rider.” Dressage also means “training” in French and when properly trained, the dressage horse is capable of performing a variety of maneuvers while it appears that the rider is really just along for the ride. This level of harmony is best witnessed during the dressage competition at the FEI World Equestrian Games.

There are two types of dressage competitions at the World Equestrian Games. These are the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special. During the competition, each horse and rider will perform the same test that consists of specific movements and gaits to be performed at specific points around the arena. The FEI dressage horse will be capable of demonstrating a very high level of achievement and the performance of the horse will match the description of the FEI dressage rules.

Each horse is tested independently before a panel of five judges. Each movement of the test is judged independently as well. The horse and rider team with the highest overall score wins the competition. However, if you really want to see an amazing dressage performance while visiting the FEI World Equestrian Games, then you won’t want to miss the Freestyle competition.

The Freestyle competition allows the rider to create their own pattern and choreograph it to music. There are specific movements that must be completed in the test, but the rider is able to determine when those movements will be performed and they can ride to the music of their choice.

You can witness dressage at nearly every equestrian horse show across the globe, but rarely do you have the opportunity to witness the best dressage horses at work. If you want to see what a truly professional dressage horse looks like, there’s no better place than the FEI World Equestrian Games when riders and horses from around the world come to compete for FEI World Cup in dressage.

The dressage portion of the Alltech 2010 World Equestrian Games will take place September 27th-29th and October 1st, 2010.

For more information about the world equestrian games and to find the best world equestrian games housing visit http://weg2010housing.net.

Author: Abbey Dale
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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