Horsemanship Summit - Part Two

And so yesterday I spent several more hours watching videos....Just so I can pass the knowledge on to you lot!!  Oh The things I have to do 😊.

Again I scribbled notes.  And now I will try and make sense of them in a quickish summary!!

First up - The Importance of Touch and massaging your horse. This may sound a little Kookie.  But we all use a back person, without question. And if you only have 10 minutes spare after poo-picking, use it to touch your horse!  It will strengthen your bond if you just spend time with your horse without demanding anything of it. Run your hands all over it.  This will teach you what lumps and bumps are normal for your horse. Then if there is a problem you will spot it.  Watch his eyes.  If he blinks excessively at a certain point this may be a hint of trouble. Try a little massage. If you are unsure of this, then just figure out where his 'Sweet Spot' is and give him a scratch.  Most horses enjoy having their withers scratched, but all have different favorite spots. Experiment. If the horse starts pulling faces, lifts his head, mouths or goes parrot-mouthed you have found that spot.  And they will love you for it! Charlie loves having his chest scratched. Dora likes her chin rubbed. Daisy loves a forehead rub, while Lu loves having her ears gently pulled. Lily loves a good scratch behind her ears....and Mini? She just loves being scratched all over.  She loves having her bum scratched with a poo-picking rake. Equally she loves her chest and belly being scratched. I frequently sit down in front of her and do just that. In return she grooms my hair and back. Another day she will want a good forehead rub. She lets you know what she wants!!

There are a few different Bodywork Techniques and they all have their merits. Many years ago when I ran the RDA we were lucky enough to have Linda Tellington-Jones come out to do a demo of her T-Touch technique. She used the RDA ponies and boy were they in for a treat. I have forgotten so much but one thing that I have used many times since was a technique that may or may not have been called Clouded Leopard.  It involves small circles along the neck, just below the mane on the Bladder Meridian Line.  It certainly relaxes the horse!!

So check out Tellington Touch on YouTube.

Another Bodywork Technique that I found fascinating from the Summit was learning about the Bladder Meridian Line.  This is a line that runs from just above the eye, over the poll, down the neck just below the mane, along the groove just below the spine, through the line on the quarters, and down the hind leg, following the grooves between tendons, right down to the coronet band. There are many videos on YouTube. Also check out the Masterson Technique which uses meridian lines and various simple exercises to release tension in your horse and help your bond. 

I then watched a couple of videos on tack fitting with increasing horror!!! 

First up.... saddle fit. I have used many different saddles on many different horses over the years, and think I am a reasonable judge of saddle fit.  But please please use a properly trained saddle fitter. The saddle is an important piece of equipment, and a saddle that is ok, is not perfect.  The saddle also has to fit the rider.  And must NOT place the rider or any pressure behind the 18th vertebrae as this is where the ribs end.

There was a story from an old Cowboy about "Local Tying Up". Long and short, we have all heard of Tying Up (Azoturia), or as it used to be called 'Monday Morning Sickness'. Happened when the horse was worked hard all week, had a day of rest in its stable on Sunday and come Monday Morning its muscles had seized up. Anyways this cowboy had ridden a young mare hard all day, rounding up the cattle, in a saddle that was an Ok fit, but not perfect.  When they got home the large muscle on her back had swelled and seized up.  She had "Local Tying Up". If she hadn't have had to work so hard she would have been ok. However, if her Saddle had been a perfect fit she would have been able to do that work without injury!!

When I had Paddy I finally saved up enough for a decent 2nd hand saddle. I had a saddle fitter out who had a brilliant reputation and had being doing the job for years and years.  He turned up with a van full of saddles, and proceeded to try them on Paddy.  We ended up with 8 possibles. I then had to lunge him. 4 were discarded. I then had to ride in the remaining 4. For a long time. Over an hour and a half! Walk, trot, canter, jump etc. 2 more were discarded.  The saddle fitter was happy. My choice. Then my field mate arrived. Having ascertained that Marie also rode and jumped Paddy sometimes he made her get up and ride over the jumps. He pronounced that only one saddle was good for us both.  It was £50 more than I had......But it was also the one I wanted. A 16in Ideal Working Hunter Saddle. Perfect for a wide, short-coupled Fell Pony with upright shoulders that I liked to jump.  The Saddle Fitter let me off the £50 so that we had the right saddle!!  If you have anything less of a service.....Don't bother!

And now onto Bits. For a long time now I have not used Snaffle Bits with a Nutcracker action, only french links or 'peanut' bits, but having watched this video on bitting I am now questioning the use of bits at all. We have already moved Dora and Mini onto simple Bitless Rope Bridles. And they have both responded really well.  But they are usually on lead-reins. Dare we go Bitless ? I think after watching this we will!!! 

The video showed a simple demo of a cloth rolled up as a tongue, with two fingers the bars.  Then a simple plain old harmless snaffle was laid on the 'tongue'. Oops. just from the weight of the bit the tongue was squashed flat.

Next up a ported straight bar. Ok maybe if your horse has an exceptionally narrow tongue. But they don't. The tongue was squished.  So you hurt your horses tongue just on a loose rein. Then you pull on the mouth.  The bars of the mouth get pinched, the nutcracker action of the good old plain mild snaffle,  then comes up and hits the roof of the mouth.  The horse opens its mouth, tries to put its tongue over the bit, sets it necks...anything to relieve that pressure. So what do you do?  You say the horse is strong. Its naughty. You need stronger brakes. You fit a Flash nose-band or Grakle. That stops it being able to relieve the pain. With no relief the horse may set its neck even more, it will start to panic. It runs off. Adrenalin takes over. The Horse just wants to get away from the pain, and bolts, or bucks.....or both. So what do you do next?  Get a stronger, nastier more painful bit.  How about a Pelham? Or anything with long shanks? Yeah lets put pressure on the Poll too. Force its head down. Or we could chose a thin bit, one with tongue plates, one that hurts the mouth more. 

I am ashamed to say I have used Dutch Gags (Poll Pressure), Pelhams, Rollers (I naively thought the horse couldn't pull coz it couldn't get a grip on the bit, more likely the gaps between the rollers were nipping its tongue), and even a Running Gag (Cheltenham Gag) years ago on my very strong mare.  The thing is, I owned her for 12 years. I knew the more you held her back, the stronger she would get. If anyone else rode her I would advise them to ride on the Buckle. If she got faster I would say "Don't pull, just relax". Why the hell did I not see the connection and ride her in a headcollar????????  My only excuse is  thats how it was then. We didn't know any better.

 But we did....If only we had looked back a hundred years or so. Apparently in the old days, when horses worked for a living, there were Bitsmiths. Skilled men who traveled the country fitting and making custom bits according to each horses mouth and tongue.  When the Horse was sold, the Bit went with him. I can't help feeling since horses have become animals for leisure only we have lost all skill as horse-keepers.  For thousands of years, man used horses for work and transport. One horse had to work all day, and last for many years. It had to pull all goods. It was a taxi. It carried the whole family, it hauled logs, carried other animals (killed for food). It went to War. It delivered Milk, Coal and the post. It pulled the plough and brought in the harvest. It pulled canal boats, and went down mines. And there were no vets, ex-rays, hard feed, rugs. Ordinary people were extraordinary Horsemen, just because they lived and worked with horses all day every day. The horses had long working lives, because they worked! They were muscled up, unafraid, didn't eat sugar and were treated with herbs when they were sick. Sorry I digress. Thats only my opinion...Not the opinion of The Horsemanship Summit.

And so back to the Summit. Bitless Bridles.  As I am interested in going Bitless, I gobbled this up...And had to change a long held belief that Hackamores are severe. English Hackamores have a long shank....so I always assumed this meant they were severe.  But they are milder than any bit.  Yes they put pressure on the poll, jaw and nose.....but not the tongue or bars of the mouth. As Daisy seems to hate a bit, as soon as she is declared fit to ride, I am going to try her in a Hackamore.  And I am now saving up for a leather Sidepull which is the mildest.  Dr Cook Bridles put pressure on the opposing cheek, so not all horses like them. And plain old rope Bosals came in last, purely because a thin piece of rope is more severe than something thicker...although putting a bit of sheepskin over the nose-piece negates that. 

That said, it is important to fit Bitless Bridles correctly.  The noseband MUST sit on the bony part of the horse nose.  If its too low it will sit on the cartilage...and cause pain!

I have to say Daisy has concerned me for a while. She came to us in a bobbly bit and a Grakle. She pulled, she was on the forehand, and would lunge into canter. I have never been a fan of Nosebands, so before long had removed it. I had realised she pulled against the bit, so ride her on the Buckle, pushing from behind. Over the years she has become a lot more balanced and 'under herself'. She stopped bucking (mostly) and tripped a lot less. Sometimes she tanks off. I normally just let her go.....Once she is in front of Lu, she stops. Only once has she outright took off in a gallop with me. We were out alone and I steered her into some trees, which stopped her. She did rear a bit, and canter on the spot, but soon calmed down.  Occasionally she has these moments out on a hack, but I know her so well, I just sit quietly and laugh.  But one day I tried to see her from a strange riders point of view. I figured she may scare them.  So I got her a Dutch Gag with a French Link.  Mild I thought, but with a bit of stopping power if needed.  And yet when ridden by other people who don't trust her enough to leave the reins loose, she still opens her mouth against the bit. Despite the bars of her mouth being hard (through years of pulling), this bit obviously puts too much pressure on her tongue. I will be trying her in a Hackamore!

And thats it for tonight!!

Here is a picture that, in Hindsight I am not very proud of.  It was taken in the early nineties and i am riding Skittles in a Riding Club Horse class, where we had to use a 'plain old snaffle'.  She is pulling, and I am hauling back. Look at her mouth! 😦

Listening To The Horse - Horsemanship Summit

Wow. Brain Spin!!!  I saw a post online the other day inviting people to The Horsemanship Summit.  Two days of videos worth over £1000 for free. They started streaming online today.  Trouble is, you only have 24 hours to watch the vids!!!!  It has some amazing horse trainers on it though, including Mark Raschid, Steve Halfpenny, Ellie Ross, Pat Parelli etc etc.  All trainers that ring a bell with me.  I have just binge watched about 3 hours.....hence the brain spin.  I have sat here nodding and agreeing with stuff.....But they put it so much better than I can. I also scribbled notes.  So here is a summary of what I have seen so far!!!!!

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.