Making a Change

by Steve Rother

In the last article, we were talking about how to fix a barn sour attitude in our horses. Long story short, I simply said to first work them more at the barn, then second, to rest them more away from the barn until they make the decision that being on the trail may be just as good as being in the barn, if not better. Since then, hopefully, you have had a chance to create a learning situation similar to the one I described last month.

New Problem
So here we are at the barn, showing our horse that we have learned something new, lap after lap, circle after circle. Now it is time to try to teach him a thing or two about not messing with our confidence level so that we can all have more fun.

But something unexpected happens. It seems like things are coming along pretty good, like your horse is moving through the exercises and giving it a go, but then it's like you hit a wall. Not just physically, but mentally. It isn't working! Our question is why?

Why it Didn't Work
There comes a point in time when we start to get pretty handy with a few exercises with our horse. Things start to come along pretty good. But then we are faced with a situation where our horse is distracted, and then the test is on. Do we have what it takes at that moment to get our horse to focus on the task at hand? Do we have what it takes to get the job done?

The answer is simple, but it requires a degree of feel and focus that may not be easy for some people at first. So what is this “feel and focus” thing? Have you ever pushed a ball or a shopping cart and had it roll straight and true for quite a distance? Then have you ever pushed a ball or shopping cart and had it spin, twist, drag, and crash into the wall? There is a difference in feel.

The hard part is gaining back this sense of feel. The size and motion of the horse can be very distracting, and therefore it can be hard to “feel” what they do.

Example
Have you ever ridden a horse through a gate, heading toward home? Remember how straight and true the horse felt as it passed through the gate. Then remember when you turned around and rode the horse back through the gate, heading away from home? Did you notice a change in the way he felt, maybe slower, stickier, leaning to one side? This is the missing ingredient that you may be looking for if you are unable to get your horse to feel good about leaving the barn.

Reassess your situation if you are having difficulties with your horse. You may just not be circling long enough or working steady enough until the feel in the horse changes. Or the horse might be trying and you might not be letting up long enough to give them a clue about what you are looking for. You are giving him a random release, and he has gone on to resisting harder because you missed his earlier try. You are rewarding the wrong thing, which the horse now thinks is the right thing. You and your horse are huffing and puffing, flustered at one another, going through the motions but not getting the job done.

The Solution
So what do you do? Back up and teach yourself and your horse some feel. Take your horse into an enclosed arena or round pen and set your reins down on your horse’s neck with one hand still on them. On this very loose rein, allow your horse to wander around the pen. Whenever the horse is on the wrong end of the arena (near the gate), urge him to go faster by squeezing or tapping your legs. When the horse goes to the right side of the arena (away from the gate), pet him and let him rest. The key to this exercise is to not pick up on the reins (unless you have to, then put them back down as soon as you can).

Continue this exercise until you can feel your horse go to the right side of the arena on a loose rein, straight and true.

Doing this exercise on a loose rein assures that you are actually getting to the horse’s feet, not just going through the motions. The only way for the horse to get to the right side of the arena is for him to make the decision - for himself. Continue this exercise until you can get to at least four different spots in the arena consistently on a loose rein. You can then take this feel back outside and give my barn sour exercise another go.

Important Keys:
Go until you feel your horse change (this may take a little longer than you think) Always notice when your horse tries Continue to ask your horse to try harder Have fun and stay focused
As with most things with your horse, the foundation is the key. I cannot stress enough the importance of having a good foundation on your horse in order to more easily tackle these problems.