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For example, this weekend as we were walking down the trail,
Drake "spooked" at every rock, dead fall, tree stump, and mud
hole. The only thing necessary was more leg. It wasn't a real
spook, it was "I'm bore and want to see if I can get a rise out
of you" spook. We go through this all the time.
For that type of spook, you need to learn to balance correctly,
use your legs correctly, and just keep on going where you were planning
to go. Corrections, for the most part, are just a reward to the horse.
If the horse is bored, then you changing the game plan will be a reward.
If you stop and make the horse look at the spook, the horse has won.
If you go around and around, the horse has won. If you improve your
riding to the point that you can feel the spook coming, and you ride
every step of the way, then you can head off the spook before the horse
has time to do anything. And you win.
Then we hit the quail. A huge flurry of feathers explodes almost under
us. My heart stopped. Drake's went up to 140. Drake did a 180 and then
stopped. We laughed about it. Got back on the trail, and bang, Mrs.
Quail flew up under us. Drake stopped. Laughed again. Then Junior quail
jumped up. Drake looked but was bored with the birds by now.
And then there are the boogies that are going to eat you spooks.
Remember, it is the rider who must determine what is a genuine spook.
Drake has very few of the boogies spooks. He's seen alot.
Before you get to the real spooks, you need to present small controllable
spooks to the horse at home in a controlled environment. You need to
teach the horse how to respond to spooks in a way that you want, not the
way the horse wants. (I've got a couple of articles on this from the
last time we discussed this topic. If you want them, e-mail me at
wendy@fc.hp.com)
When Drake went through the sensory overload test for being a ranger horse,
one of the obsticles was the "wall of death". A couple large pieces of
black plastic were hung from an overhead bar (very high and safe). The horse
had to push the plastic aside to get through. As we walked forward, Drake
saw this thing and stopped cold. No way, no how was he going through that.
I gave him a second then asked him forward. He tried left and right, and
found my legs firmly on his side. He took a couple of steps and stopped.
I gave him a second and then asked again. Slowly we crept forward.
We got to within a couple feet of the plastic. As the wind blew, the
plastic came up and Drake could see the other side. He scooted through
to safety. (I've also got write ups on the two tests my horses have been
through.)
This was a real boogie spook. I simply took my time, and gently asked
him to behave properly. Discipline was not needed. Just good riding.
And training before hand.
Spooks on the side of the trail require a slightly different method,
but not much. At the wall of death, we needed to go straight forward.
When there is a spook off to the side, the horse wants to move away.
The horse goes in the direction of the shoulder. As you sit on the horse
watch his shoulders, rather than his head. If the spook is on your right
side, the horse will frequently look to the right, put his shoulders out
to the left and scoot out to the left. You can pull the horse all day
long with the reins, forcing the horse to look at the spook, but that will
not control where the horse is going. If you point the horse's head
slightly to the left, and use a lot of leg to move the horse's shoulders
to the right, the horse is forced to move to the right. The leg blocks
the horse from moving to the left and away from the spook.
When some one says "Don't let the horse look at the spook", they are
repeating something that they don't understand. The horse can still see
the spook, even if you yank his head around to your knee. They do have
eyes that see behind them. What you are really doing, is setting up the
horse's frame so that you can more easily keep the horse from jumping
out from under you.
When Drake spooks at the rocks, first he telegraphs it to me by tensing and
shifting his shoulders and side away from the spook. He'll also snort which
is a dead giveaway:-) I apply much more leg on the side away from the spook,
and take a firmer contact with the rein away from the spook. With the rein
closest to the spook, I "set" the shoulder towards the spook. All this
happens within a second, with lots of subtle shifts in weight. You have
to be quick. But even if you let the horse start the spook, you'll do the
same things. Bend the horse around your leg, keep your leg on to prevent
them from jumping away, and then walk on by.
For the real spooks of crossing water the first time, crossing the bridge
the first time, that big ugly horse eater in the corner, you'll probably
want to ride by or over, do what ever, come back and ride by or over again.
For most other spooks, ride by correctly, and then just keep on going.
-- Wendy\|/ /\ -O- /**\ /|\ /****\ /\ / \ /**\ Here there be dragons / /\ / \ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\/\/\ /\ / / \ / \ / \/\/ \/ \ /\/ \/\ /\ /\/ / / \/ \ / / \/ /\ \ / \ \ / \/ / / \/ \/ \ / \ \ / / \/ \/\ \ / \ / / \ __/__/_______/___/__\___\__________________________________________________
Wendy Milner HPDesk: wendy_milner@hp4000 Hewlett-Packard Company e-mail: wendy@fc.hp.com Mail Stop A2 Telnet: 229-2182 3404 E. Harmony Rd. AT&T: (970) 229-2182 Fort Collins, CO, 80525 FAX: (970) 229-2038
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