Posts Tagged ‘Rope’

Before the ultimate goal of saddle training can begin it is necessary to complete some important groundwork with your horse. You will need to take your horse from trailer or barn to the tack area, tack up, and then you’ll ride. You can’t begin to teach point B if you’ve not first mastered how to get there from point A. The two of you can only act as a team if your horse cooperates with you. This cooperation begins with your ability to approach, catch, and halter him first. After that you can use a halter and rope to lead your horse.

Teaching a horse the boundaries of acceptable behaviour is done with the primary objective of safety in mind. He will need to be taught that his natural tendency to pull against the lead rope, for example, is not allowed. A horse should never be allowed to invade the personal space of whoever is holding the lead rope. Accidents can easily occur if proper consideration to teaching basic safety manners to your horse is not given before moving on to more advanced training. Whilst a good equine insurance policy may cover you for accidents that happen in training, it’s obviously far more preferable not to have to find this out!

The three Ps of horse training – patience, persistence and positive reinforcement – come into play when leading your horse. You have probably already discovered the 3Ps to be effective if you have accomplished haltering.

Ideally you need to begin lead training with your horse when he is still a foal. Basic ground manners should be taught from an early age, before the horse is old enough to worry about saddles and riding. Cooperation will still be required from the young horse during vet or farrier visits, as well as for the various other people he may come into contact with.

If you happen to have the dam – the foal’s mother – present, lead training will be easier as he will naturally copy her behaviours. If not, any horse with which the foal spends time will also work. Young horses naturally learn from the older ones in the herd. For example, you don’t need to teach a horse in the pasture how to graze or go to the water and drink. They watch the other horses to learn these things. If your student is older, you can still use another horse’s example by haltering and leading the other horse first. As you do this you will notice your student watching and paying attention to these events occurring around him.

Start off by leading two horses – the foal and either it’s dam or a more experienced horse – side by side with you in the middle. The safest place for you to stand is to the left of your student’s shoulder, with the older horse to your left. A young horse could suddenly decide to bolt or to kick his heels, so make sure that you don’t wrap the lead rope around your hand or anywhere else that makes you vunerable. The last thing you need at this stage is complicating the process with an injury for which you may need to claim on your horse insurance.

You could also use the pony method if you have a calm horse which the foal will be comfortable following. This is done by simply towing the student horse behind using a longer lead rope. It makes sense in fact to teach the lead in this way, as it’s natural for a young horse to follow an elders lead.

If you don’t have the luxury of having other horses close by from which your student can learn, you will need to rely heavily on your skills of patience, persistence and positive reinforcement. Don’t be discouraged if it takes longer than you would like for your horse to understand what it is that’s expected of him.

After satisfactory progress, it’s time to try it alone. Again, standing to the left of your young horse’s shoulder and with both of you looking straight ahead, gently walk forward and as you step out, tug very gently forward, then release any pressure on the rope as soon as the horse makes any motion to go forward. Understanding that release is a reward to your horse is a valuable tip used by professional trainers. It tells your horse he’s doing something right.

When he can successfully walk with you in straight lines, try a slight left turn whist maintaining the space bubble. If he crowds you, use your right hand to push him out away from you and hold your arm out to the appropriate distance. Then try turning to the right with the same safety distance between the two of you, still using your right hand to guide him into the correct zone. You will need to reward him by releasing the pressure on the lead rope each time he steps in the right direction.

A large amount of patience is required to successfully complete lead training with your horse. Big improvements will soon be made if you can just stick with it. Work every day if possible for short periods and you’ll be pleased with the results; then you will be moving closer to the time when you can saddle up and begin riding.

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Author: Stephanie Andrew
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Electric Pressure Cooker

Yesterday, I led a horse named Elliot. When it was time for people to get off the horses in front of us, we had to start and stop over and over. I don’t like hitting horses and pulling on the lead rope hurts them, so help please?

Horse biting is a serious problem for the horse owner. It can cause a major bruise or even broken bones. Dealing with the problem in the heat of the moment often results in a smack to the horse, but surprisingly that’s unlikely to solve it. So, why do horses bite and what can we do about it? What we’ll find out is that the reason the horse bites really doesn’t matter.

1. Understand why horses bite

The fact is biting is completely natural for horses, for a lot of reasons. Horses use biting for play, as a defense mechanism, or for dominance. They bite amongst each other and if you’re not the “alpha” of your herd they may be prone to bite you too.

The bottom line is a horse may bite out of fear or lack of trust, because of past abuse by humans (making him feel threatened in certain circumstances) or out of simple disrespect. A lack of confidence by the handler that horses pick up in body language can also make biting more likely.

2. Maintain personal space

One of the most fundamental things you can teach your horse on the ground is maintaining personal space. Imagine a bubble around your body that the horse is not allowed to enter. Then follow a simple rule- you can enter the personal space of the horse, but he can never enter yours. This simple rule is part of establishing leadership with your horse, as the alpha you’re entitled to it. But it’s more than just a part of horse training for leadership, maintaining some personal space is necessary for basic safety. If a horse is too close he can knock you down on the ground, trample you, or of course he can bite you. All of these things are less likely if the horse always maintains a few feet of distance.

Teach the horse to stay out your personal space by backing him up and using proper leading techniques. Don’t hold the lead rope right up next to the halter, hold it a couple of feet down. Make sure your horse doesn’t walk out in front of you or go past you when you stop. Back him up every time he gets within your personal bubble. By maintaining a bit of personal space, we make it less likely the horse can strike out and bite.

3. Punishment only works over the short term

If you get bit by a horse you might have an impulse to smack him. And the truth is, there might be certain emergency situations where you’ll have to, like if he’s biting down hard on a finger. But punishment should be avoided if possible. Smacking a horse isn’t going to teach him to stop biting for a few reasons. First of all, many horses, especially young horses, bite as part of the games they play among each other. Smacking a horse biting in this context can backfire. The horse will play harder and may engage in a game of trying to dodge your smacks and sneak in a bite. Smacking a defiant horse is likely to make him more aggressive.

4. Don’t over-feed treats

Believe it or not over-feeding treats can create biting horses. Prey animals aren’t motivated by food the same way dogs are, and continuously feeding a horse treats will make him pushy and demanding. There is a time for treats, but use them sparingly and don’t try to use treats to shape behavior.

5. Establish leadership

Dealing with the biting horse comes down to establishing leadership and earning respect. Alpha horses don’t get bit by the other horses. Your role as a horse owner is to establish yourself as the alpha in your herd. This is a permanent way to fix the biting horse. If he truly sees you as the confident alpha, he won’t bite you, regardless of the reason he would try to otherwise.

If you have a biting horse then its time to get back to basics with your training. The first step is to include a few sessions in the round pen. At liberty round pen training is one of the best ways to establish leadership, earn respect, and build trust with a horse. Often this may be all that’s needed to start eliminating biting problems.

Leading a horse-done properly-is also another important exercise to earn respect. Work in a few training sessions where you actually walk backwards away from your horse. This has a powerful effect on the mind and emotions of the horse, because she’ll see that you’re always out in front of her. Walk backwards and occasionally ask for stops by raising both hands and exhaling. Look to see how she is paying attention. If both eyes aren’t focused on you, then she isn’t being attentive. Bump the rope to bring both eyes on you. Also work on leading from the mid-section or hip, which is more properly called “driving”. Driving a horse is a more dominant activity and will help you get in a position where the horse respects you-so is less likely to bite.

Finally, it’s a good idea to spend more time lunging, working on having the horse change speed and direction on command. The idea is to get the horse listening to your commands. This helps establish your “authority” as the alpha of the herd.

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 the biting horse.

Author: David McMahon
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital Camera Times

Horse groundwork training is a vital part of getting your horse ready to ride. You should begin with three goals in mind. First, you want to become a leader for your horse. Horses naturally look to a leader as they are herd animals in the wild. For safety reasons, you want to assume that leadership role. Otherwise your horse is going to be making the decisions, like when to run away when he hears something scary on the trail. He’s also more likely to exhibit bad horse behavior if you haven’t established leadership. With leadership comes respect from the horse, and a horse that doesn’t respect you is more likely to rear, buck, and bite among other problems.

There are three simple horse groundwork training exercises you can do to establish leadership. The first that should be done is round pen work ala Monty Roberts “join up”. Take your horse to a round pen and take the lead rope off. Then send him out to your left at a canter. Have him go around about five times and then ask him to change direction and go around to the right. As he is going around apply pressure-swing your rope at the hip and maintain eye contact at the withers. At this point, start looking for signs of acceptance from the horse. This will be communicated to you with four basic gestures. An ear on you indicates respect-the horse is paying attention to what you have to say. Next comes licking of the lips or chewing. This is a sign of relaxation, which really means that the horse is not feeling any fear-or more to the point he trusts you. When you see these signs, take some of the pressure off-stop swinging your rope and back off a little bit. The horse may indicate increased trust by dropping his speed down and circling at smaller distances. The final sign to look for is the horse dropping his head. When a horse drops his head, this is a submissive act that says “you’re my leader” and “please let me join the herd”. When he does this, take eye contact off the horse, walk backwards away from him in a spiral pattern, and exhale. This will bring the horse to a stop. Now you can approach the horse and get him to hook on (follow you without a lead rope).

The second horse groundwork training activity to include in your routine is simple leading. Put a lead rope on your horse and just walk around. Look for signs of disrespect: crowding, edging past you as you walk, and taking two or three more steps when you’ve come to a stop. If your horse indicates one or more of these signs, spend a few minutes each day walking backwards away from your horse. This way you can only be in front of the horse as he’s being led, and he will see you as a leader in his mind. Occasionally ask for stops by stopping, raising both hands with palms out and exhaling. While you’re doing this, make sure the horse has both eyes on you. If they are not you he is not paying attention (disrespect), so bump the rope to bring his nose on you.

Once leadership, trust, and respect have been established, its time to turn your horse groundwork training toward preparing a horse to be ridden. The goal now is to set up a set of cues that will be given to control and direct the motion of the horse, and teach him these cues on the ground. The cues given use a pressure and release reward system. Pressure is the cue to move, release of the pressure is a reward to the horse that reinforces the desired response. The main areas we want to work with are: moving forward and backing up, moving the forehand over, moving the hindquarter over, and disengaging the hindquarter.

Let’s start with moving the forehand. To move the forehand, apply pressure between the jaw and withers in the neck area. When the horse takes a step away from you, release. Do the exercise on both sides. Then repeat with the hip area. Disengaging the hip is a process of applying pressure to the hip and having the horse circle his hip around while keeping his front legs in the same location. His hind legs should cross over one another. This is called “disengaging” because we are taking away the forward impulsion of the horse-when his hind legs are crossing he does not have the balance necessary to move forward.

Backing up applies pressure alternatively to the opposite sides of the face. Shaking the lead rope will do this, or you can apply pressure with your hands (in the air just by the nose). To ask the horse to move forward, you can do a driving exercise. Stand at the midsection to the left of the horse and put your riding or carrot stick over his back. Point forward with your left hand and tap the back of the horse with your tool. The tapping is “pressure” asking the horse to move forward. When he starts moving, you can release the pressure.

The final groundwork exercise you can use to prepare for riding is lunging. The focus of lunging used in this way is not to wear down the horse, but rather to build communication. To do this you will start the horse moving at a walk and ask him to stop periodically. When he is doing that well in both directions, then begin to include trotting. At first, have him start at a walk then ask for trotting, then work on having him drop down from a trot to a walk. Then stop again. Mix it up so your horse is never sure what you’re going to ask (keep him paying attention). When he is doing this well, begin including cantering in the exercise.

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

Author: David McMahon
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: DIY Wind Power

Your horse comes to the gate happy to see you, then he spots the wormer tube and he prepares for battle. When you finally catch him and get the halter on you begin the event of deworming. If you are lucky, most of the wormer will not only end up in his mouth instead of your shirt, but it will also stay there and not end up on the ground. On bad days, you have to nurse your bruised feet and take a shower to get the wormer out of your hair. If this sounds remotely familiar then I have some lessons that can help you both in this simple process.

Over the years there have been many products developed to help with this procedure. There dewormers that are fed to the horse with his grain on a daily basis, different flavors of pastes and gels to make wormers more appealing to the horse and even ‘worming halters’ that help insure all the paste gets in the horses mouth and in the right place so it stays there. Now you will be able to teach your horse to accept paste.

We do not start with the goal, as that is the fastest way to get into a wreck, as your toes will attest to. We will start with a basic lesson that teaches your horse to put his head in the correct position to accept the wormer and leave it there until we ask him to move it. You can use a halter or bridle for this lesson and can do this in about any enclosed area. It is a good exercise to work on in the stall when you cannot go outside as well.

Start by standing on the left side of your horse and place your right hand on his poll with your fingers between his ears and your left hand about where the noseband of the halter lies. You will first teach your horse to lower his head to the pressure on his poll by placing light pressure with your right hand. Leave the pressure there until you see his head drop even a quarter inch. Do not add pressure if he raises his head. If he raises it too high for you to reach with your hand, then use the lead rope or rein and exert the same downward pressure. Remember to release the pressure as soon as his head goes in the downward direction, no matter how high it went and how little it goes down. We have to keep in mind we are teaching the horse to lower his head, not to put it where we started. Be sure to praise your horse for each correct guess with either a rub or encouraging voice.

Once the horse will lower his head each time you apply pressure and leave it lowered, you are ready to teach the horse to bring his head around to the side. First, bring the horses’ head down to a comfortable height with your right hand. Now, with your left hand apply pressure to the side of his nose at the point where the halter nose band would lay as if you were going to pull his head in front of you, but don’t pull. Just apply pressure and wait for him to move away from the pressure bringing his head to the side toward you. Leave your right hand at his poll and apply pressure if the horse raises his head during this part of the lesson. Always get the head at the correct elevation then ask to bring it to the side. When the horse raises his head, he is telling you he is uncertain and is tensing up. A good rule to follow is to go back in the lesson until you get the proper response then build on the correct answer. Again, release the pressure as soon as the horse moves away from it and praise the horse. When the horse understands to both lower his head and bring it in front of you, we will begin teaching the horse to leave his head where we place it.

Bring the horses head to the correct position using pressure and release. Release his head as soon as it is in the correct position. He will want to put it back straight so, when he does just bring it back. Count how long he leaves it to the side and try to build that time in small increments. When your horse will leave his head to the side for one minute, start messing with his face a little at a time. Allow the horse to put his head back forward when he does well. It can make the horses’ neck sore to keep it to the side too long so give him breaks, switch sides, and practice the same lessons on the other side. Rub his cheeks, nose, mouth, etc. and when he is comfortable with that start rubbing the sides of his lips where the wormer will be going.

Use extreme caution when working around the horses’ mouth that you do not place your fingers where they could be easily bitten. There is a gap between the incisors and molars that has no teeth. It is also where the bit rests. This is the only place you should put your fingers actually into their horses’ mouth. If you choose to do so, the horse will try to spit your finger/hand out with his tongue. Use extreme caution that you do not allow him to draw your finger/hand into his teeth where he could mistakenly bite them.

Place your right arm under the horses’ head and bring your right hand to the spot your left hand had been on the bridge of the horses’ nose. Now with your left hand carefully rub the insides of the lips and while lifting the lip out of the way with your right had, rub the outsides of his bars and gums until he is comfortable. Take small steps and if you meet a lot of resistance go back to a point the horse is comfortable and start back at that point and move forward slower.

When the horse is comfortable with one finger, move to two, then three, and so on until the horse will allow you to place your entire hand in his mouth at his bars, staying relaxed and calm. Your horse should also allow you to hold his tongue to the side of his mouth as well. When you place your hand, at the bars, into his mouth, he will try to spit it out, gently take his tongue and pull it out to the side.

We have now taught the horse to accept us working around and in his mouth and we are ready to introduce the worming tools. We will start with an empty wormer syringe. Bring the horses head into position in front of you and take the empty syringe and begin by rubbing it all over the horses’ face, mouth and lips. When he is quiet for that, rub the syringe along the inside of the lips where it will be used later. When the horse is calm with that, insert the syringe into the horse’s mouth as if you were going to administer the wormer and push the plunger. Continue with this until the horse accepts the empty wormer.

Now find a paste substitute that your horse likes such as syrup, applesauce, baby food, etc. Place a small amount into the wormer syringe and administer it to the horse. Do this daily until the horse looks forward to the wormer. Now we are ready to pull a fast one on them. Take your wormer and without hesitation, administer it to the horse. Later that day dose him again with the substitute that he likes. If he is hesitant back up until he is calm and administer the substitute until he looks forward to it again. The next time you are ready to worm him, go in with the wormer and administer with out hesitation.

Jodi Wilson is a recognized authority on the subject of horse training and has spent almost 30 years developing training techniques and solutions for horse owners no matter the discipline or breed.

Jodi is an Accredited Josh Lyons trainer, and is Certified in John Lyons training techniques. Her website, http://Jodi-Wilson.com, provides a wealth of information to improve the relationship between horse and rider. Jodi is also available for clinics and demonstrations as well as lessons, apprenticeships, and horse training.

Jodi has trained and competed in Reining, Sorting, Jumping, Dressage, English and Western Pleasure, Trail and Problem Solving.

Author: Jodi M Wilson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: How Electric Pressure Cookers Work

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
Provided by: Pressure cooker

Beverly G asked:

As I havnt owned a horse for some 20 years Im very rusty and am getting stuck on some of the questions. One of them is to explain what I know about “trotting up” and how to hold the lead rope in this situation? If anyone can help Id be very grateful.