TTEAM and kickers

[Roberta Jo Lieberman <woik@home.com>]

>>>For those of you who have kickers, I was wondering if you have tried
the Tellington-Jones TTOUCH with them. I have played around with some of
her techniques, but more importantly for me is that I touch my horses
everywhere when I groom.>>> Karen

TTouch is indeed an excellent approach for kickers, as Karen has noted.
I've worked with Linda Tellington-Jones for many years in clinics and
writing how-to articles and can add a few ideas here. These exercises
are all designed to increase a horse's confidence and awareness of
"things behind."

1) when riding, reach back with one hand and knead the area above the
tail and hindquarters (if your horse is high-headed, reach forward and
work the poll area, too). Take a four-foot stiff whip ("wand") and
stroke the hindquarters, especially as another horse approaches. You can
stroke the horse all over the body with the wand from the ground before
riding to accustom him/her to its feel. (In TTEAM, the wand is not used
for punishment but as an extension of one's arm.)

2) put your horse in a "body wrap" --  a pair of polo wraps configured
into a figure-eight around the chest and hindquarters and Velcro'd
together near the withers. The body wrap helps to connect the horse's 
hindquarters to his front end, lifts the back, and releases tension
throughout the body. This wrap is very good for calming tense,
high-headed horses the night before an endurance ride. You can simply
leave the horse in the body wrap for a while or ride with it. Combining
the body wrap and the wand-stroking on the trail under controlled
conditions (i.e., have friend ride up behind and pass you at various
distances from your horse) can help your horse get over his desire to
kick. Mares especially seem to benefit from this exercise.

3) Another exericise you can do is while the horse is in the body wrap,
offer him a small bit of grain from a flat pan or Frisbee so that he has
to stretch his neck all the way back to his hips. LTJ has a series of
basic tail lifts and circle exercises that will help a horse get over
fear of having his hindquarters touched. If your horse clamps his tail
when you work around this area,these TTouches can make a difference.

4) to help your horse get over fear of things behind, there is a series
of TTEAM ground exercises including work in plastic, neckline driving
and ground driving. These will help most any endurance horse develop
self-confidence on the trail. If anyone is interested in getting the
articles, email me privately.

Hope this helps.

Bobbie Lieberman and the Bay Mares


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