Race Brain help

[Wendy Milner <wmilner@verinet.com>]

>Am I the only one without great plains to be 
>circling in??


>Liz and Basil The Nag

No, you are not the only one without a big flat spot to
ride in.  My trails are steep and narrow.  

>In company he is mostly fine too (depending on 
>which horse we are with) although he 'feels' out 
>of control if cantering behind. It seems that all 
>he wants to do is be 'on' the horse in front. Not 
>overtake, because he 'dies' on me once he gets a 
>bit in front. He just wants to be right on top 
>of the horse in front (dangerous - we can't see 
>the ground and are in a prime position to get a 
>kick in the chops). 


>I'll tell you what I *am* doing to try to fix it. 
>Schooling in the arena (he always behaves like a 
>star in there though) and focussing on teaching a 
>quick whoa (verbal)...not as effective, but I am 

!!! Whoa means stop.  Sliding stop if need be.  But stop.
Don't use Whoa if all you mean is slow down.  Pick another
word.  I use Easy.  Because Easy doesn't sound like whoa,
and when you say easy, you can drag it out slow and eeeaaassssy.

>hoping it'll work.....(oh, when he gets into one 
>of those 'I'm gonna canter RIGHT UP to that 
>there horse' moods he will not listen to delicate 
>dressage type aids which are fine in the arena. 
>He's really thickskinned and he needs quite a 
>strong aid for most things)...

Not necessarily.  

If you pull back to get the horse to stop, the horse is
going to pull on you.  The horse cannot pull if you don't
pull.  In the dressage arena, you aren't pulling, so he isn't
pulling.  When you get out to the trails consider this,
for every second of pulling back, you must totally release
for two seconds.  Gads.  Wouldn't that lead to a run away?
No.  Because you are not going to give your horse the
opportunity to pull against you.

(By the way, I know this for a very good reason.  Guess who
used to pull a lot.  Me.)

In the arena, to stop, you sit deep, tighten your upper
thighs, sink into the saddle, and stop following with your
hands.  On the trail, you do this and the horse doesn't
listen, so you have been pulling.  Instead, give the signals
to stop, release, then give the same signals only firmer.
Instead of not following with the hands, pull back a bit.
Instead of just sitting deep, resist with the seat.
And then release.  You might have to do this every single
stride.  But keep doing it until you get a response.

Drake used to really jig when we got to the end of the
trail.  He could see the trailer.  I had to do a half halt
every single stride for a quarter of a mile before he stopped
the jigging.  Next time, I did the half halts a couple of times,
and he remembered for a few strides.  So I did a half halt
every other stride, then every third stride, till by the end,
I was walking nicely.

Here's a nice feature of the one rein stop.
In the arena you practice till you have the timing down
perfect.  The horse knows the signals.  So, you can walk
along, take the rein, give the leg cue, and the horse gives
one step to the side and stops.  When you are on the trail,
you can start to give the cues and the horse starts to stops,
then you release.  It is very much like the timing of a half 
halt.  You don't need a big flat spot to do this.  And,
you don't even have to come to a stop.


Wendy