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training when conditioning - "mentally rushing"



CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com wrote:
> In a message dated 1/22/99 12:20:40 PM Pacific Standard Time,
> fasterhorses@gilanet.com writes:
> 
> << ...I think that conditioning
>  rides might work out better for all involved if they were just for
>  conditioning -...  >>
> 
> I consider EVERY ride I go on to be a training ride, even if conditioning is
> also the goal.  Everything we do with a horse invites a response from the
> horse and adds to his memory of what happens when we interact, and that is
> what training is all about.

I agree with Heidi on this... I start out every ride with one or more
"problems" in mind that I want to work on.

How much training do I do? Sometimes two minutes, sometimes as needed. I
rarely "train" more than 15 minutes even on a long ride. A lot can be
done in a very short time. Especially if you are consistent and your
horse comes to expect a bit of training. They want to do well, get it
over with and move out. I definitely condition while I train!

An example is a horse I'm riding for a friend tonight. At this point,
this horse needs hill work at a walk - and this is not a walking horse!
Isn't hard to control, will agree to go my speed, but is tense in the
poll from "wanting" to go forward. As a result, this horse is slightly
hollow in the back, the neck is slightly inverted and the stride is
shortened because of tense shoulders. This horse has a short choppy
movement at a walk when anxious, but when relaxed can round up and move
nicely.

What I've gotten so far in two rides is a great rounding in the whole
top line. Not perfect, but a very good improvement. Soon it'll be great.

I ride in a rope hater and lead tied around in a rope hackamore, and
occasionally a snaffle. No matter how nuts and hot the horse is, I
usually ride on a VERY loose rein - droopy. I use a "concentrated rein"
- minimal contact - soft as a feather - when I absolutely must, or when
I'm going to do fast work like whoa-gallop transitions.

The training for this horse I'm riding tonight is: Whenever the horse
puts it's head up and starts mentally rushing (speed doesn't even need
to change), I take one hand, slowly and deliberately run the hand down
one side of the rein until my hand is about 20 inches from the knot, and
ask for a turn on the forehand by bringing my fist towards my waist, the
leg on that side to the girth, and bending me and the horse to that side
around my inside (on that side) hip. The first few times I'll turn (even
in a very narrow areas) once or twice, and the movements are always very
slow and deliberate so that the horse can anticipate the series of moves
in the future. This isn't rushed at all.

After that initial turn or two, all I need to do is begin this movement,
and by the time my hand is two or three inches down the rein, the horse
has collected and rounded, and I release the rein and drop the lesson
there, letting her know that's all that is required. If the horse
doesn't respond as well as I want, I circle.

The result is that I have a very hot and forward horse that will collect
on it's hindquarters and go round on a loose rein when I move one hand
an inch or two, or even with a gentle squeeze on the line. I've seen
this transformation even in maniac horses previously ridden with tie
downs, gag bits, martingale and all sorts of hardware. It's amazingly
easy to do once you've seen it, and even a tough horse can be taught to
be this responsive in a few rides. Most Natural Horsemanship clinics
cover these essentials. I'taint jest fer cowboys!!!

My total training time to accomplish something this valuable may be 10
minutes on a 3 to 5 hour ride. I can focus on conditioning too, right?
Yep.

We make these "contracts" with our equine partners... what they can get
away with, what we'll put up with.

An old cowboy once told me that "you ride the horse you earn." 


That's a thought....  Thanks, Short George!

  - Linda, Gilroy



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