Posts Tagged ‘cues’

One of the joys of happy horse relationships is offering your four-hoofed friend a tasty morsel. However, there is as much difference of opinion about whether or not one should feed horses treats as any other aspect of horse training. If you would like to share cookies, carrots, and other equine delicacies with your horse, here are a few basic rules and concepts to consider.

Treats Are Not Rewards

Unless you are teaching your horse to do tricks, and small bits of feed are used as reinforcement for teaching specific cues, horse cookies are best used only on special occasions. The main objection lodged against feeding horses carrots and apples is that it teaches horses to bite and may cause horses to get pushy as they search for another cookie.

Don’t Associate Treats With Work

Horses work to earn their living, just like the rest of us. If your boss started giving you a bonus every time you showed up to work you would get pretty upset the next time you clocked in and there was no bonus. Horses are no different. A treat is just that, something special. Bring your horse’s favorite snack out when they are thinking of nothing other than you. Not getting tacked up, not getting a bath, not getting into the trailer… but when there’s nothing on their little equine mind but you. You are presenting your horse with a gift, not a paycheck.

Safety First

Offer treats with your hand open, fingers together, and palm up. Provide a little support as you let the horse’s lips take the treat from you. Sure, some folks have their horse take a carrot from between their own teeth – that’s a trick. Some people can also do a full reining pattern bareback and bridleless. If your experience doesn’t measure up to the experts, choose the safer road.

Be aware of your horse’s expression and body language. If you even get a whiff of pushiness or impatience, walk away. You always get more of what you reward. If your horse begins to demand that cookie, and you give it to him, you have just taught him to be more demanding the next time. Treats are a gift, not dinner.

Unless your horse is soft and obedient, no treat.

Three’s A Crowd When There Are Treats

If there are other horses around at cookie time, be careful to note their reactions in addition to those of your horse. Feeding cookies to more than one horse at a time requires you to stay in control of where all the hooves are. If you don’t have the leadership established to direct who gets the first cookie, etc, then don’t take a chance. Horses can get rough with each other and with you if there’s a cookie to be had.

Best Horse Treats

Horses are not all born knowing that carrots and apples make good treats. There are many commercially prepared treats available. Some horses like peppermints, some prefer gingersnaps. Many horse cookies have nutritional supplements in them. How many and how often you feed treats, as well as how big your cookie budget is, will determine what will be on your horse’s cookie menu. The best horse treat is the one your horse likes most. You won’t have any trouble figuring out which treats your horse prefers.

Carrots as Hydration

There are good reasons to use carrots as a source of hydration rather than as a treat. When trailering long distances or for horses who don’t drink well tied to a trailer, you can use carrots as a way to supplement your horse’s water intake.

The easiest way to teach young horses to eat carrots and apples is by feeding them to their mother before they’re weaned. If Mama loves carrots, Baby will learn to as well. For older horses, break carrots into one-inch pieces and mix in their grain or pellets during their regular feeding time. Start with just a few pieces at a time. Most horses will eventually learn to eat carrots, and then you can feed larger pieces when you are concerned about maintaining hydration.

Treats Are Special Gifts

Whenever you’re confused about whether or not to feed your horse treats, just think about what is appropriate for children. We don’t give special presents to a kid having a tantrum. We don’t reward a child who is sulky or stubborn. Horse treats are special gifts, that’s why they are called ‘treats.’

Just use your common sense – make that ‘horse’ sense, and both you and your horse will enjoy sharing treats.

Whether the topic is personal success or training stallions, Lynn Baber brings years of experience to readers and audiences. Highly credentialed in issues of leadership, relationship, and most things equine, Lynn has a unique perspective not found elsewhere. Read excerpts from Lynn’s latest book, “AMAZING GRAYS-AMAZING GRACE: Pursuing relationship with God, horses, and one another” at http://www.AmazingGrays.us. It may also be found on Amazon.com. Lynn is a retired equine professional and is a director of Amazing Grays Ministry.

Author: Lynn Baber
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Horses don’t lie. A horse is not going to put his ears forward and pretend he is happy if he is not. If those ears are plastered flat back, and his tail is wringing a vicious circle, you can be certain he is not happy. What you see is what you get.

Training and attitude are two different things. Training teaches the horse to react to cues; attitude is how the horse responds. A negative horse resents and resists. He may go through all the motions, but his performance will be tense and sullen.

The apathetic horse drags himself around dull and oblivious, saying, “I’m bored; I’m brain dead; I don’t care.” But a horse with a positive attitude shows powerful, focused action.

The Beginning

Let’s look at where attitude starts. First of all, if we were to place the horse on a Freudian couch, we would find that he likes to be comfortable. A comfortable horse is content. He is confident in his rider and in his role in the partnership. At the core of this relationship is trust.

Trust is an expectation. When the horse trusts you, he has learned from consistency what will happen if. In other words, if he refuses to stop, he will feel the pressure until he does. If he refuses to turn, he will feel the pressure until he does. If he responds correctly, he will be rewarded.

When the horse knows where he stands, his actions develop power because his confidence increases. If you can plug into the horse’s confidence, you can channel that energy into a powerful performance. He becomes a horse who knows his business.

Trust is understood through communication. Communication is a system that sends and receives messages. In order for this system to work, it must be a language that can be exchanged between the two communicating. It means we must do more than tell the horse what to do; we must also listen. Refinement in horsemanship is in direct proportion to the ability to read and react appropriately to what the horse is saying.

Lack of communication is a frustrating thing. If the horse cannot make sense of what you are saying he will be confused, and in reaction to this confusion, he will either tune you out or get hostile. This attitude will manifest itself in apathetic or negative action.

Through communication and attention to his reactions, we teach the horse to accept his role in the partnership, even when he’d rather be out under a shade tree with the breeze blowing his mane.

The Key Element

In order to work, all language must adhere to consistency. Imagine what would happen if you said “Pass the salt,” when you really meant, “Where is the milk?” Salt is salt; milk is milk; and whoa is whoa.

Based on your consistency the horse learns the language. He learns to trust his actions. This gives him the courage to be bold and to show his athletic power. To clarify, trust is an expectation, and consistency is how those expectations are established.

Horsemanship’s language is called the aids. It is a body language that uses a consistent pressure and release from pressure to express what is being said. If you do not understand the aids, the horse will not be capable of trusting you.

The horse may not want to do what you ask, but his attitude will improve as he learns to expect follow-through from you. Follow-through is a pattern of cue and enforcement that teaches the horse to expect your pressure and release from pressure when he responds to your cues.

The cue always remains the same. The enforcement gets increasingly stronger until the demanded response is given. It looks like this:

cue > enforcement > wrong action

cue > ENforcement > wrong action

cue > ENFORCEMENT > correct action > reward (release from pressure)

The cue doesn’t change. It remains consistent and present with every escalation of enforcement. Eventually the horse will respond to the first cue because he seeks the release from pressure. In other words, his obedience and confidence will increase as his expectations are reinforced.

His nature can make him happy in a world of obedience as long as you are fair and he knows what the rules are.

Inconsistencies are mental surprises that make the horse uncomfortable and destroys his ability to trust you. He does not want to be shocked, nor is he delighted by surprises. Shocks and surprises will damage his attitude, especially in the area of communication.

Another element of trust is respect. A respectful horse will pay attention. I’m not talking about a horse walking on eggshells, afraid of every move you make, but the respectful horse who is just aware of you and what you are doing. This a a calm and comfortable kind of respect based on the equine custom of pecking order.

The Natural Order

The horse is a herd animal and pecking order is a natural part of his life. He knows it. He understands it. He is comfortable with it. The horse may occasionally challenge his position, and some horses are spoiled and rebellious because they have been allowed to maintain a superior attitude. But if it is made clear, through consistent use of the aids, that you are his leader, he will accept it as normal and be happy about it.

Respect has a natural awareness for space. Both animals and humans have what is called “their space,” and as the dominant steps into the space of the submissive, the submissive moves out of the way.

If the horse moves into your space he is challenging you. When I’m talking about space, I’m talking about that area where we protect ourselves, that place when we feel pressured to move. The horse’s attitude toward you will improve when he is not allowed to enter your space and push you around.

This respect for space will carry over from the ground into the saddle as the horse learns to stop challenging your authority. He can enjoy your affection or you may push him around; if the pecking order is intact, it will be comfortable for both of you.

Healthy respect also tunes up the horse’s level of responsiveness because the horse’s natural desire is to keep track of what is happening up the pecking order. He will be paying attention to you.

Attitude is absolute. It is there in one form or another, and as we teach the horse to trust us we encourage his positive side.

It is your responsibility to establish communication on the horse’s level and to understand his needs. You must be fair in your expectations and encourage him toward his potential at a reasonable pace and also take into account that his personality, level of training, and physical condition should match the work he asked to do.

With trust, his performance will gain power from the confidence he has. Good attitude shows. It gives the horse that sparkle that takes him over the line from average to exceptional.

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Author: Kathy Bennett
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Owning a horse takes on a whole new set of responsibilities that leasing and lessons did not have.

I find that this is the most overlooked part of horse ownership, and I see it daily in the horse world. Horses can be expensive, even when they live with you as opposed to being boarded out.

They are living, breathing creatures whose very lives are completely dependent upon YOU for survival. I cannot state this enough, especially having gone through years of watching people get them and dispose of them when no longer needed or wanted.

If you have any indications that you may not be able to keep up the commitments, I ask that you keep your lease horse and read no further. I’m not trying to be harsh, but this next step requires you to do some soul searching. It’s not really about the money.

Since you are still reading, let’s take a good hard look at the real cost of horse ownership.

There are many articles on this subject, but three factors to keeping costs down are:

Buy a sound, healthy, happy, trained, quiet horse that has passed a battery of veterinarian testing and professional trainer/coach approval.

Keep the horse in a place that is safe and free from hazards.

Research and read everything you can about horses: skeleton and structure, feed and nutrition, care and grooming, feet and maintenance. The riding is up to you and your coach.

Costs for owning a horse go through the roof when these above principles are neglected or passed by. If I wrote down all the people I know right now, whose horses are out of commission, the reasons would be because of at least one of the above principles.

The Cost of a Good Horse

Horse prices vary around the world, so we will use North American averages. Let’s look at a few of the necessities of a first horse and the price for it.

Sound, healthy, vetted clean, not too young or old (7-13)
Well mannered, trailers nicely, can be clipped and bathed
Has basic training levels down well: stop, go, turns, cues lightly, trained mouth
Has registration papers
May have competed at entry level

Price for this horse: $5,000. Price for this pony: $3500 – 5000.

Now let’s add some frills:

Horse has been in many shows and pinned in ‘A’ circuits – Add $2000 and up

Horse is discipline specific; jumping, hunter, reining, breed classes – Add $2,000 (smaller levels) to $15,000 (medium levels) to anything over $50,000 (higher levels)

Breeding: purebred or reasonable bloodlines – Add $2,000 and up. For the top bloodlines – Add $5,000 and up. Poor bloodlines can drop the price of a horse.

Horse has level 3 and 4 dressage – Add $25,000 and up

Horse is a proven broodmare – Add $2000 and up

Horse comes from a notable trainer – Add $3000 and up.

Costs vary with every horse, but these are generalities. When it comes to the price of a horse, it’s not always the quality or training. Market value is what someone will pay, and if no one will pay $50,000 for a well-bred hunter, you won’t sell it. It’s very simple.

Good ponies are worth their weight in gold, so you may have to spend more for a winning pony, but if the pony is young enough, you will recoup every dollar and sometimes more.

The price of horses also is dictated by the economic climate. As of the writing of this article, July 2008, you don’t even have to pay for a horse these days. Auctions have been selling them from $20 to $200; half of the value of meat. Check out this site for the truth on auction horses and the current auction prices: fuglyhorseoftheday.com

Speaking of Auctions

Can you get a good horse at an auction? Absolutely, but it relies on 50% – skill and 50% – luck. There are more bad reasons for horses being at an auction than good reasons.

Should you try an auction? As a first time buyer, absolutely not, unless you bring someone skilled, and even then it’s still 50% luck. If it’s your first horse, it would be heartbreaking to bring the horse home and a week later have a vet tell you the horse is unserviceable for life. We will have more on auctions in a future article.

Cost of Ownership

Boarding

Keeping your horse at a stable varies immensely. Let’s look at the monthly variants:

Backyard, no barn, reasonable feeding, full care, shelter, no arenas – $150 – $350
Private small facility, good care/feed, stalls, turnout, arenas (outdoor) – $300 – $550
Self board, you do everything, pay for all feed, clean stalls – $150 – $350
Quality barn, come competitors, excellent care, instructors, indoor arena – $550 – $700
Competition barn, discipline specific, best of everything, trainers, coaches $700 – $1,500 (plus frills)

Keeping your horse in your back yard depends on the amenities and outbuildings you have. Lets start with the buildings you may have to build (based on averages only):

Outside shelter/run-in, 14′x14′, open 2 sides: $350 – $600 (untreated or treated lumber), if someone else build it: $1,000 +
Small barn, 2 stalls, hay storage, concrete floor, one storey, ‘traditional’ building style, around 36×40: You build-$35,00. They build: $45,000
Hay storage shed: $400-600.
Shavings and bedding shed: $400-600.
Fencing, corral 40′ x 100′: Wood 3 rail painted – $16,000. Bayco high-tensile horse wire at 5 strands: $17,000. Metal: $65,000.
Fencing, pasture: wood, untreated unpainted – $60 per every 10 feet.
*Please note the absence of barbwire pricing. Barbwire has no business around horses. I have a saying: “That horse never died before.”

Building anything on a property only increases the property value, if done well. Anything less becomes a safety issue, which we talk about later.

Training and Lessons
Lesson, one hour, qualified instructor: $30 – 50/hour
Training, one month, qualified trainer: $1,000/month

Feeding

Grain for one 1100 pound horse: $35 – 50/month
Hay for same horse: Grass/orchard hay: $110-150/month. Timothy: $120-170/month. Alfalfa mix: $120-170/month. (pure alfalfa is for cattle. More on that in future articles, or see Kathryn Watts, Marijke van de Water).

Average 50 lb. bale cost: orchard $5-12. Timothy: $12-18. Alfalfa mix: $16-24.

Hay will rise substantially in the next 2 years from the cost of fuel and the depletion of farmland for corn crops. Drought and economy also play a role in the variable feed pricing.

Worming
Every 2-3 months: $20 each time

Vet Care
Call out (before they do anything) $65-85
Average one hour visit with no return or emergency: $250-350
Vaccinations: $120/year

Feet
Trim, all 4: $30-45
Shoes, general all-purpose set of 4: $220-280
Shoes, 2 fronts: $90-140
Specialty shoes, all 4: $280-450

Trims average every 4-6 weeks for optimum health. Shoes the same.

Bedding
Per month: Shavings: $40-65. Pellets: $50-85. Straw: $25-50.

Equipment
Saddles
English, medium quality. Dressage: $1,700 – 3000. Hunt seat/all purpose: $1500 – 3000.
English, used, good quality: Dressage: $700-2500. Hunt seat/all purpose: $400-1600
Western, medium quality, all purpose trail: $1800-2400.
Western, good quality used: $800-2200

Bridles
English with bit: $85-125
Western with bit: $70-110

Halters
Web traditional: $25-55
Rope: $14-29
Leather: $50-120
Lead ropes: $12-30

Grooming Equipment
Brushes, combs, picks, misc: $30-100

Misc: saddle blankets, horse blankets, boots, wraps, first aid, tack cleaning supplies, sprays, bandages: $200-600/year.

Hauling
Average 100 mile trip: $1 to $2.50/mile

Insurance
This cost varies too greatly to make sense or put it on the site.

Total Equine Costs/Averages for One Year
Recreational horse at home (after building): $1800
Boarded recreational horse $7000
Boarded competition horse $15,000

It costs the same to board and feed a bad horse as it does a good horse. The initial price of the horse is the easy part.

Author: April Reeves
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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A well-broke horse is a joy to work around. A horse that always tries to get his own way can be a nuisance. They can also be dangerous. Proper training can put the respect back in a horse and make him more enjoyable to work around. Training shows a horse that it is easier and more comfortable to do as we ask than to do otherwise. A horse should respect you and your cues, not fear them.

I’ve compiled a list of handy tips that if used consistently, should put the respect and trust back in your training program with a minimum of effort. As your horse gains in respect and understanding, you’ll find that he tests you less and less, making him easier and more enjoyable to work with.

If you are leading a horse and he tries to drag you, walk past you, or pull the rope from your hand, stop him and make him back five to six steps. Ask him to walk forward. Repeat the correction as needed. Once he understands that he will get corrected each and every time he tries to drag you, he will stop trying.

Teach a horse to respect you and your cues on the ground and that will carry over to work under saddle. If you teach a horse to respect a verbal “Whoa!” command from the ground, he should also respect that command when given from his back.

If you teach a horse to lead respectfully along side you, loading into a trailer should no longer be an issue. He will learn that he must go where you direct. “No” is not an option.

Use the law of opposites. If you’ve asked your horse to stop, and he tries to walk forward, make him back four or five steps. If you ask him to stop, and he turns to the left, turn him twice as far to the right. If he moves to the right, turn him twice as far to the left. If he wants to go forward, make him back a few steps. Enforce that you , not he, choose the direction of travel. You are the driver, not a passenger. Do not “give in” because it is easier. That teaches a horse that he can ignore your cues. It will become harder and harder to make your horse obey if you don’t enforce obedience each and every time you ride.

Remember that long standing habits will take more than just one correction to cure the horse. Do not get mad or punish him, just repeat the correction for as long as it takes. (It may take weeks, even months, but continue correcting each and every time.) Given enough time, most bad habits can be broken and replaced with good behavior.

If a horse refuses to cross an obstacle, dismount and hand walk him over it. Lots of patience may be in order, but spend the time until he will cross. It may mean that you have to hand place a foot, rub his neck to praise him to tell him he responded correctly, hand place the next foot, praise him, etc. Do not give up and let him win, but be sure not to get angry and react in anger. Patience is a virtue. Spend the time today to show him what you want. It takes as long as it takes. It will be shorter tomorrow, and even shorter the following day. If a horse trusts that you will never put him in a situation that will hurt him, and that he must always obey the go forward cue, you’ll find the horse will not only learn to cross that same obstacle, but many of the others that you place in front of him. Go forward means go forward. You are building trust and respect.

Ask a horse to do something three times, then go on to something else. Asking more than three times can cause a horse to think that he is being corrected. Asking a horse to perform the same maneuver over and over will make him sour on that maneuver. If that was his best maneuver, soon it will become his worst. He will learn to hate it if you ask him to repeat it over and over.

The easiest way to train a horse to do anything is to reward good behavior. You must let a horse know that he has done what you are asking of him. If you teach a horse to back up, and he takes a half step back, immediately release pressure and praise him. A small step today becomes a big step tomorrow and two steps on the following day. Ask three times and go on to something else. Ask again the next day. Training takes time!

If you ride in arena, and your horse tries to cut towards the center to make the circle smaller, make him circle to the outside, in the opposite direction from that in which he chose. Small circles are uncomfortable for a horse and he will try to avoid that which causes him to be uncomfortable. Make three tight circles to the outside, then continue around the arena. If he cuts in again, repeat the correction. If you correct him, each and every time he cuts in, he will learn that it is easier to stay on the rail.

Any time you correct your horse, remember that you have three seconds or less to correct him so he will associate the punishment with the “crime”. If you miss that three-second time frame, wait for the next time he misbehaves. Waiting longer than three seconds to punish a horse will confuse him. He will not understand what the correction was for.

Begin each ride with a short session of walking. This is not only good for a horse’s physical well-being, but it keeps him thinking mentally slow while you mount and begin each ride. A horse that is taught to walk off will seldom try to run off while you’re mounting.

End each ride by walking. Walking for four to five minutes after each ride allows the lactic acid (which builds up in the horse’s muscles) to dissipate so he is not muscle-sore the next day. It also lets him unwind mentally. This will teach him to begin and end each ride slowly and calmly.

Never dismount by the gate. A gate becomes a magnet to a horse. Many horses stop at one in anticipation of you getting off. Dismount in a different area every time that you ride. Keep him guessing as to when the ride ends!

Enforcing obedience develops a successful partnership between horse and rider. He learns what you expect of him and you learn what he will give. Always use a fair and consistent approach that enforces obedience and thoughtfulness. Both you and your horse will benefit. May all your rides be safe and enjoyable.

Author: Laurie Truskauskas-Knott
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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