Re: RC: circling and training

[Linda Cowles <linda_cowles@mentorg.com>]

> Back to the circling, since he was straining, but unwilling to walk, I started
> circling him overtime he started in the above mentioned gait.  It did work for
> a while and then we would start the prancing all over again.  So tomorrow, we
> are going out for another walk and will see if he remembers the circling and
> will walk a normal horse walk back to the house.

I just got some tapes that illustrate some of the circling techniques
we've talked about, the techniques I use when I'm "Race Brain Training".
Two of these tapes may help you out.

I'm working a horse now that is an exceptional athlete and wonderfully
tempered, but can be stubborn about some things. Primarily trailer
loading!! She's reportedly great when someone gets behind her, but I
ride alone often, so need a horse to get in easily, and I have high
standards for my horses and want them to pop into the trailer as soon as
I ask. I decided to try Pat Parelli's Trailer Loading tape, and while I
was at it I got two other tapes "The Seven Games" and "The Art of
FreeStyle Riding".

I'd recommend all three of these tapes to anyone with one caveat. Have
someone else watch the tape with you and then go try the exercises
immediately, then go back and watch the tapes again. It isn't as good as
working with a parelli type instructor, but it's very helpful. I've been
told that several of the tapes - the 5 tape lesson series - are out of
date with what the PNH folks teach now. 

And to use the techniques, it's important to have the right type of rope
and rope halter. PNH ropes are yacht rope with latigo leathers on the
end. When pat talks about "weighted" ropes, this is what he's referring
to, simple yacht rope. I have a bona fide PNH rope but also use those
that Pat Fredrickson sells. The PNH rope has a better feet to it for
ground school, but the others work as well.

The 7 Games tape lays the foundation for all subsequent PNH work. It's
initially ground work, but it carries over directly to mounted work. It
talks about the "Circling Game" and shows how to increase and decrease
speed easily.

My only complaint is that this horse is **SO** well trained!! It's only
a level one horse working on level two, (I went through level one in 8
weeks of Sunday clinics), but finished level one horses are so sharp...
the tape doesn't illustrate dealing with evasions, fear, disrespect,
laziness. very small things make huge differences. Like knowing when to
stop something...

The Trailer Loading tape shows Pat getting a stubborn mare to load for
the first time, and is great because it displays PNH techniques in use.
I know what I'm doing, but Pecans owner pointed out several significant
differences in what I was doing and what Pat was doing. Mike hasn't used
NH, but his sharp eye helped me a lot.

The Freestyle Riding tape shows the 7 Games from the saddle and more.
The initial shot is Pat galloping around in a huge open rolling pasture
with loose horses, bareback with no halter, neck rope - a completely
naked horse. This is a mental image... you may not think you can ever do
this, but with training and on a trained horse? I could do it with Gav
if I kept working in that direction, but it isn't a goal. If you train
and prepare right, riding like this, like riding Tevis, is doable.

The second shot is a level I mounted clinic in a 100 foot arena, 20 or
so people on saddled horses  with no headgear or neck ropes at all,
riding with "carrot sticks" (orange fiberglass golf clubs minus the club
part) ... this clinic is pretty typical of the later level I clinic
sessions I've been to, around the 6 or 7 lesson. People are going in
every direction, galloping into sharp sliding stops, jumping barrels,
doing fluid roll backs and transitions with no rein, no neck rope, no
shanks, - no martingales!!! The skills I've collected in these clinics
are amazing.

Looking at this brief clinic footage, remember that many of these people
- probably half or more - are here because they had a lot of fear and /
or had horses that were dangerous. Most of Deb's clinics were full of
chickens like me riding death threats like Kadance. And we all got to
the point where we were galloping confidently around in a 100 foot arena
with 20-30 other horses and riders with no halter, lead rope... just our
courage and training and a carrot stick. 

I still need to work on my trailer loading with this mare - Pecan is the
queen of evasions. While we got her going easily, smoothly, calmly and
independently in and out of the trailer, it wasn't what I want.

The tapes are around $40 each:

http://www.parelli.com/books&.htm

Good luck, Linda


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=