Ridecamp: [RC] Spookin', spinnin' and balking

Did some Parelli stuff.  One of the excercises is 
called "controlled catastrophe" where the instructor 
induces a spook (in a controlled environment) and your 
job is to keep your horse from spinning.  If the horse 
spins, you lose.  The goal is to keep the horse from 
doing a 180 and keep forward progress calmly down the 
trail as if nothing is wrong.  (I LOST a couple of weeks 
ago and broke a rib while riding my OLDER gelding.  Was 
riding with a totally loose rein and yakking with my 
riding buddy.)

I don't find letting the horse look at spooky things 
helpful.  Once my widdle Drako starts focussing on 
something to spook at and starts snorting while I'm 
riding, I'll just turn his head away and keep him moving 
forward.  He learns that these things aren't really a 
big deal and his job is to keep on going down the 
trail.  He trusts that his mommy will not get him into 
too much trouble.  He doesn't spook that much anymore, 
and when he does at least two feet are on the ground... 
the goal is all four feet.

There have been occasions when a horse spooks "on 
purpose" and acts dangerously, I will reprimand by 
circling them hard and staring them in the eye.  Usually 
this gets their attention and let's them know that they 
did something wrong.  I've only needed to do this a few 
times in my life and my horses get the message that 
whatever that spooks them is a lot less scarier than if 
I give him the evil eye.   They usually choose not to 
spook for fun anymore because it's no longer fun for 
them. I let my horses spook as long as they keep their 
feet on the ground.  If they keep their feet on the 
ground during a spook, usually I'll just rub them on the 
shoulder and tell them that it's okay, and then ask them 
to move forward.  

The only time I find a slap on the shoulder necessary is 
when Drako balks at going down the trail.  He would just 
get stubborn and say that he doesn't want to.  Since I 
don't carry a crop, I just slap him on the shoulder, and 
he then goes "okay, I guess you mean it" and he'll sigh 
and go on.  I'm having to do this less and less also.

If you watch herd dynamics, there is a lot more 
physically activity than you think there is.  Horses 
will bite other horses and shoulders to either make them 
mind or for acts of agression.  An unwanted space 
invasion may get bared teeth, a feigned kick in the air 
or escalate to flesh ripping or a bone breaking kick.  

A sensitive horse will wilt at just one look given at 
the appropriate timing.  I have two horses like this.  I 
have had a mare that once bit me and I lost my temper 
and started kicking her in the belly.  She just stood 
there looking at me as if she didn't even care as I was 
kicking her with all my might. She didn't budge an inch -
it was like she was laughing at me.  I no longer have 
her in my possession - she did not bring the best out of 
me as a horse owner.

The Parelli method will teach different "phases" as 
signals to make a horse yield, from wiggling the finger 
to out and out physical.  You'll see the same dynamics 
in the horse herd.  I'm not a Parelli groupie, have 
never taken the levels tests, etc., but taking a few 
clinics gave me some good tools to use.

K.

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