Working Another Horse from Atop Your Own
Training your own horse, part 4 of 6
by Alice Trindle, photos by Susan Triplett (click photos to enlarge)
Many of us are fortunate to have more than one horse in our lives. Each one seems to excel at certain jobs, and all have very distinct "horsenalities." Some may be at different stages of development.
One characteristic seems to be universal among humans who are blessed with multiple horses, and that is the need to find time to work with each horse in order to discover his personal brilliance and give him adequate jobs to accomplish. We have seven riding horses on our place, and it is a rare day that we get to work with all seven individually. I am constantly searching for ways to exercise multiple minds and bodies at one time and keep both horse and human in a continuing education course. This month’s "Training Your Own Horse" article covers one of my favorite activities to achieve that multiple learning agenda: working one horse from the back of another.
Before we get into some of the great exercises and maneuvers that can be accomplished by working another horse from the saddle of the one you are riding, let’s talk a little about the benefits, prerequisites and cautions you need to consider. Just to keep a clear picture in our minds, I am going to call the horse being worked without a rider the colt, and the critter you are riding the horse.
Benefits of Working a Colt From your Horse:
*Exercise for two animals plus the human at one time – both mentally and physically
*Gives your horse a job and can help a timid horse gain confidence and understand herd mentality and rating with respect for body space
*Requires horse and rider to multi-task, clearly projecting intentions to the colt while maintaining consistent cues and aids for the horse
*Prepares the colt to learn how to yield in a respectful manner and accomplish a flow, either through ponying (no colt-dragging!) or liberty work
*Works objects and motion in and out of the colt’s vision from a position above him, preparing him to be ridden
*Exposes the colt to environments in which he will one day be ridden, helping him to learn where his feet are located in a balanced manner
Prerequisites:
Make sure you have spent significant time sensitizing your horse and the colt for use of the flag and rope on all parts of their bodies with movement first. Ask yourself the following questions, and see previous articles in this series for further explanations and techniques (view articles on http://www.nwhorsesource.com/ or http://www.tnthorsemanship.com/).
1) Can I move both my horse and the colt sideways, forward, backward, and cross the hindquarters with a flag or rope while I am tossing the end of the lead rope or 22 ft. line?
2) Can I ride my horse while I hold a flag in various positions at the walk, trot, and canter?
3) Have I prepared the horse and the colt to have ropes under their tails and around their girths and flanks?
4) Does my colt yield to pressure, follow the "feel" of the lead rope when I ask him to move forward, and allow me to change eyes both in front of him and behind?
Equipment: Double-check that your girth and leathers are in good shape, not old and cracking. Do you have a rein setup that allows you to drop the reins without loosing one and easily readjust your hand position? I recommend a "Horseman’s halter" and 12ft. lead for ponying the colt. (Available with Alice’s specifications at Nancy’s Halters through http://www.tnthorsemanship.com/.)
If possible, spend some time with a knowledgeable aspiring horseman to learn and watch proper liberty work and effortless ponying exercises. When done with mindfulness and flow, it is a beautiful dance!
Cautions:
Whenever the halter comes close to your saddle horn (if you are riding a western saddle) red flags and whistles should go off, particularly when using a "Horseman’s halter." These halters will not break, and should you get that halter caught on your saddle horn, it would not be a pretty picture.
When working the colt with a saddle on, be careful not to catch your toe in the colt’s stirrup. Often when I am working my horse very close to a colt, I will remove my foot from my horse stirrup and bring my heal up toward my buttocks.
Check out the environment and facility first. Make sure the fence is secure and without spots where a rope or lariat could get caught in the “V” between a post and a panel. Look for any protruding nails, etc. If ponying in a bigger environment, know the terrain so the exposure for the colt will be all positive.
At this point, you're ready to begin.
Preparing to Coil
If the colt is to your left, then the tail of lead rope is positioned toward your horse’s ears. Hold reins and coils in the same hand. (see photo at left)
If the colt is to your right, then the lead comes toward your belly. The reins and coils are held in the left hand. (see photo at right)
This system allows for the coils to flow off your fingertips and will keep you from getting any wraps around fingers, hands or wrists.
Chase the Tail to Push the Eye Exercise
1. Start by leading the colt toward the tail of your horse. Watch for a nice, balanced turn on center (i.e., the colt’s outside front foot reaches for your horse’s tail and the inside hind steps under). Your horse accomplishes the same movement.
2. Begin to change from being on the inside of your colt’s bend to leading his outside eye through. You will magically find yourself on the outside of the bend for your colt. Keep forward movement and watch the outside front foot as you now lead it toward your horse’s ears.
3. In this sequence I started with the colt in a bend to the right, chasing the brown horse’s tail. Now I have led the colt’s left front foot through and have caught the new eye--his left eye. We are still both bent to the right, and the colt is preparing to shift his balance slightly to the hindquarters to accomplish a turn on the haunch.
4. Here the colt is preparing a nice turn on the haunch to the right with the front feet moving in a rhythmic "reach-cross…reach-cross" pattern. Notice the lead rope nearly acts as a neck rein.
For more instructions and exercises, such as Proper Ponying Rather Than Dragging, How to Dally, and Changing Directions Away from the Colt, visit http://www.tnthorsemanship.com/.
Come Ride with Alice
3-Day Horsemanship Clinic
October 7 – 9 Olympia, WA
3-Day Horsemanship-Cont. Ed
October 10 – 12 Olympia, WA
3-Day Horsemanship Clinic
October 14 - 16 Fort Bragg, CA
3-Day Horsemanship II-Cont. Ed
October 17 - 18 Fort Bragg, CA
5-Day Driving & Riding Clinic
October 25 - 29 Emmett, ID
by Alice Trindle, photos by Susan Triplett (click photos to enlarge)
Many of us are fortunate to have more than one horse in our lives. Each one seems to excel at certain jobs, and all have very distinct "horsenalities." Some may be at different stages of development.
One characteristic seems to be universal among humans who are blessed with multiple horses, and that is the need to find time to work with each horse in order to discover his personal brilliance and give him adequate jobs to accomplish. We have seven riding horses on our place, and it is a rare day that we get to work with all seven individually. I am constantly searching for ways to exercise multiple minds and bodies at one time and keep both horse and human in a continuing education course. This month’s "Training Your Own Horse" article covers one of my favorite activities to achieve that multiple learning agenda: working one horse from the back of another.
Before we get into some of the great exercises and maneuvers that can be accomplished by working another horse from the saddle of the one you are riding, let’s talk a little about the benefits, prerequisites and cautions you need to consider. Just to keep a clear picture in our minds, I am going to call the horse being worked without a rider the colt, and the critter you are riding the horse.
Benefits of Working a Colt From your Horse:
*Exercise for two animals plus the human at one time – both mentally and physically
*Gives your horse a job and can help a timid horse gain confidence and understand herd mentality and rating with respect for body space
*Requires horse and rider to multi-task, clearly projecting intentions to the colt while maintaining consistent cues and aids for the horse
*Prepares the colt to learn how to yield in a respectful manner and accomplish a flow, either through ponying (no colt-dragging!) or liberty work
*Works objects and motion in and out of the colt’s vision from a position above him, preparing him to be ridden
*Exposes the colt to environments in which he will one day be ridden, helping him to learn where his feet are located in a balanced manner
Prerequisites:
Make sure you have spent significant time sensitizing your horse and the colt for use of the flag and rope on all parts of their bodies with movement first. Ask yourself the following questions, and see previous articles in this series for further explanations and techniques (view articles on http://www.nwhorsesource.com/ or http://www.tnthorsemanship.com/).
1) Can I move both my horse and the colt sideways, forward, backward, and cross the hindquarters with a flag or rope while I am tossing the end of the lead rope or 22 ft. line?
2) Can I ride my horse while I hold a flag in various positions at the walk, trot, and canter?
3) Have I prepared the horse and the colt to have ropes under their tails and around their girths and flanks?
4) Does my colt yield to pressure, follow the "feel" of the lead rope when I ask him to move forward, and allow me to change eyes both in front of him and behind?
Equipment: Double-check that your girth and leathers are in good shape, not old and cracking. Do you have a rein setup that allows you to drop the reins without loosing one and easily readjust your hand position? I recommend a "Horseman’s halter" and 12ft. lead for ponying the colt. (Available with Alice’s specifications at Nancy’s Halters through http://www.tnthorsemanship.com/.)
If possible, spend some time with a knowledgeable aspiring horseman to learn and watch proper liberty work and effortless ponying exercises. When done with mindfulness and flow, it is a beautiful dance!
Cautions:
Whenever the halter comes close to your saddle horn (if you are riding a western saddle) red flags and whistles should go off, particularly when using a "Horseman’s halter." These halters will not break, and should you get that halter caught on your saddle horn, it would not be a pretty picture.
When working the colt with a saddle on, be careful not to catch your toe in the colt’s stirrup. Often when I am working my horse very close to a colt, I will remove my foot from my horse stirrup and bring my heal up toward my buttocks.
Check out the environment and facility first. Make sure the fence is secure and without spots where a rope or lariat could get caught in the “V” between a post and a panel. Look for any protruding nails, etc. If ponying in a bigger environment, know the terrain so the exposure for the colt will be all positive.
At this point, you're ready to begin.
Preparing to Coil
If the colt is to your left, then the tail of lead rope is positioned toward your horse’s ears. Hold reins and coils in the same hand. (see photo at left)If the colt is to your right, then the lead comes toward your belly. The reins and coils are held in the left hand. (see photo at right)
This system allows for the coils to flow off your fingertips and will keep you from getting any wraps around fingers, hands or wrists.
Chase the Tail to Push the Eye Exercise
1. Start by leading the colt toward the tail of your horse. Watch for a nice, balanced turn on center (i.e., the colt’s outside front foot reaches for your horse’s tail and the inside hind steps under). Your horse accomplishes the same movement.
2. Begin to change from being on the inside of your colt’s bend to leading his outside eye through. You will magically find yourself on the outside of the bend for your colt. Keep forward movement and watch the outside front foot as you now lead it toward your horse’s ears.
3. In this sequence I started with the colt in a bend to the right, chasing the brown horse’s tail. Now I have led the colt’s left front foot through and have caught the new eye--his left eye. We are still both bent to the right, and the colt is preparing to shift his balance slightly to the hindquarters to accomplish a turn on the haunch.
4. Here the colt is preparing a nice turn on the haunch to the right with the front feet moving in a rhythmic "reach-cross…reach-cross" pattern. Notice the lead rope nearly acts as a neck rein.For more instructions and exercises, such as Proper Ponying Rather Than Dragging, How to Dally, and Changing Directions Away from the Colt, visit http://www.tnthorsemanship.com/.
Come Ride with Alice
3-Day Horsemanship Clinic
October 7 – 9 Olympia, WA
3-Day Horsemanship-Cont. Ed
October 10 – 12 Olympia, WA
3-Day Horsemanship Clinic
October 14 - 16 Fort Bragg, CA
3-Day Horsemanship II-Cont. Ed
October 17 - 18 Fort Bragg, CA
5-Day Driving & Riding Clinic
October 25 - 29 Emmett, ID
Labels: alice trindle, Beyond the Basics, October 2008
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