For starters I watched Steve Halfpenny (Lightness Training), experience a few days in Spain learning classical training. It turns out it is sooo different in many ways. Did you know they only ever ride one-handed?? Did you know Dressage just means Training? And that training was for war-horses? Makes Dressage sound less boring huh?? Basically that one hand is used to fix the horses head....not for stopping or steering. It remains still, while the other hand is free to wield a sword or lance. The steering and stopping is done entirely through shifts in the body-weight. If that hand that is holding the reins moves, the horses get tense. So learn to ride your horse one-handed, using just your body for control.
Next up was a lovely Irish girl called Elaine Heney, who shows us how to calm an excitable pony. The pony in question just wanted to go. Instead of slowing it, or making it stand, she showed how we can use the horses energy, let it go, but control the direction by doing mini serpentines. I have used this sort of thing for a while. Our Daisy particularly has a mouth of iron, and pulling against her will have no effect, except to make her pull back. With Daisy I have always relaxed the reins, but put her on small circles. It is very effective!
I next watched an hour long video on collection.. It all makes sense. A collected horse puts its weight onto its hind quarters, engages its back muscles, lifts its back and steps under itself. This makes the horse more flexible, light and strong. We have all ridden horses that are on the forehand. They lean against your hands and drag their back end along behind them. This does not do the horse any good and will lessen its useful working life. There was a lot of useful input from a lot of trainers and riders in this video. Here are the key points.
1: Less is More....This refers to equipment and over-riding. To become collected the horse needs freedom of movement. If the Rider is tense for example the horse will be working against this tenseness, and become tense aswell. The rider needs to relax and allow the horse forward. A lot of riders start by pulling their horses head in. This does NOT work. The neck may be bent, but the horse will be hollow and dragging its back end. Allow the horse forward.
Do Not use the reins for control, they are merely there as a form of communication. Learn to control direction and speed with the seat and legs.
2/ Equipment.... Anything that shuts the horses mouth or applies too much fixed pressure is not helpful. A flash for instance....So the horse constantly opens its mouth, tries to get its tongue over the bit? Its showing pain or discomfort. A Flash or grakle that holds the mouth shut is just treating the symptom, not the cause. Gadgets can also be confusing. We all know about pressure and release right? You want to halt, you apply pressure on the reins, the horse feels discomfort in its mouth and stops, you release the pressure as a reward. What if you are using very tight side-reins while lunging?? The horse constantly feels pressure on its mouth, so stops. The side-reins are still applying pressure!!! How is that teaching the Horse anything??? The Horse is very sensitive. If it shows signs of discomfort, use less tack, Not More!
3/ Learn the Gaits.Yes that may sound simple. But you need to be aware of the footfalls of each gait. Learn the sequence and feel it. You cannot influence a foot that is weight-bearing. For example you are trotting. The feet move in pairs diagonally. You need to be rising and sitting on the right diagonal to be in balance with your horse, otherwise when you ask for canter, you won't know which hind is ready to strike off into canter.
4/ The Horse Is an Athlete....So treat is as such. Horses are designed to move. In the Wild they move as they graze. They cover at least 20 miles a day. This way they stay fit, agile and muscled up. Ready for action, should a predator appear. In our modern world the horse has become a leisure pet! We almost treat them as humans. Yes we may love them. That love translates into treating them as pets....and it does them no good. We tuck them up at night into an enclosed space, alone, heaped in rugs to keep them warm. We ride them for an hour a day, thinking thats more than enough. It goes against all their wild instincts. Horses in the Wild move all the time. Graze, move, graze. For about 18 - 20 hours a day! Moving, 20 hours a day!!! This is what keeps them fit. And Sane. So if you can't give your horse 24/7 turnout, then at least work it every day, for several hours. Otherwise the horse will have a shortened life and injury because its muscles are weak. Or it will become shut down and depressed. It will give up hope and meekly do as its told, while waiting to die. Some people like this, they think they have a well trained horse. Really? If you truly love horses, its because you love their wild spirit, so let them be horses and meet them halfway as partners!
Finally I watched a video from Ellie Ross about Positive Reinforcement. This is something I have been doing for a year and a half with Charlie, and more recently with Lil, Dora and Mini. Having tried several methods with Charlie, I found that Positive Reinforcement works well with him. I use a Clicker to signal a right response, so you may have heard of this method as Clicker Training. Works with Dogs, Dolphins and even Chickens!! Many animal trainers use this method. I have even seen a documentary about someone that Clicker trained a Polar Bear!! So I watched this video with interest and lots of nodding in agreement. Even though I didn't learn anything as such, I noted down a lot of key points as again the Trainer can explain far better than I can!
1/ The difference between Negative Reinforcement and Positive Reinforcement. We all know Negative Reinforcement. You want the horse to move forward. You apply pressure with your legs. The horse moves forward, you take the pressure off. Positive Reinforcement.. No pressure. The horse does the right thing, ie moves forward. It gets a reward. It doesn't move forward. No reward.
2/ Food Manners. This can be taught quickly. First associate a sound with a treat. As I said, I use a Clicker as its consistent. Click, treat. Click, Treat. Once the horse associates the Click with the treat, you can start on food manners. If the horse mugs, nips, jostles you for a treat stand firm. As soon as it looks away, click and treat. It doesn't take long. That way you will never be mugged for treats!
3/ Scary Objects. Take for example a puddle. Your horse may refuse to go through a puddle. So you push, kick, stop it leaving the 'scene of danger'. You may be able to force the horse through the puddle, but it will forever associate the puddle with a bad experience. What if you try a different way??
Let the horse turn away from the puddle. But bring it round again. Use baby steps. If the horse looks at the puddle, reward it. Stay calm, relaxed and do not use force. If it moves one foot forward, or drops its head, reward it. Continue in this manner and the horse will come to realize that the puddle is a good place to be. It has no pressure to stay there, its free to leave, but if it stays it will get a reward. Now your Horse likes puddles!
Clicker Training can bring huge rewards in your relationship with your horse. Test it out. Go to the paddock. Does your horse ignore you? Or move off? Or does it come to you, excited to be learning something new?
So thats a quick summary of today's Horsemanship Summary. I will forward on as much as possible tomorrow.
In the meantime, here is today's photos of Clicker Training the Three Amigos.
As you can see, they haven't quite got the tricks yet, BUT loose in a 2 Acre Paddock with plenty of grass, all three of them are there with me, eager to figure out what they must do to get a sliver of carrot. And they are also figuring out that mugging me doesn't work.
No comments:
Post a Comment