Building a Team of Two

Part one in a new series following the training of horse and rider for reining competition
by Allison Trimble

The main reason I began writing this column was to encourage more people to become involved in the reining, cowhorse and cutting industries. I have known Karen Pickering since I moved to Whatcom County in 2000. Her contribution to the Northwest equine community is great and she is always encouraging people to get out and ride and to try new things. I think the story of Karen and her horse, April, is one that is written every day in the lives of many of my readers. I hope that sharing with you her journey to move forward will inspire you to do the same. Over the next few months, we will be following Karen’s path as she works toward getting into the show pen next season.

Beginnings 
As a girl and young adult, Karen had ridden rank horses without fear, but about 15 years ago, she was in a horse wreck and her confidence was a bit shaken.

Karen purchased April as a yearling in 2000 with the hope of having her first reining horse. She sent April for about eight months of professional training as a young horse, and for the past few years Karen has ridden her all over on the trails and has shown in some local reining shows. Now a nine-year-old, April is kind, easy to get along with and gentle. She can be left for weeks without work and still handle a rider on her back as she heads down the trail.

Like many of you, Karen has the horse she wants, but is looking to find a way to take this horse and show her in local reining events.

Last week, Karen and April came to my place for our first session. I put Karen on a finished horse of mine and hopped Karen's gray beauty. As we walked around, we identified as many of the obstacles that Karen was facing as we could. One of the main suggestions that I had was that I thought the team would greatly benefit from Karen improving her skills separately from April learning her role. I believe that the two of them will come back together as a stronger team.

Karen's Experience
At that time, I discovered Karen was quite downtrodden about her lack of ability at a lope. She could not get April to “pack her head” at anything other than a walk. Karen felt that she was unable to sit the lope and was all over the place when she tried to do maneuvers. She also felt uncertain where to start with controlling her hands.

We spent some time having her lope around on my mare Jane. Jane is not an overly "feely" horse, and she will easily tolerate a person being a little off target. Karen really did very well on a finished horse, so although she will certainly benefit from continued riding on a finished horse, the problem was not all hers.

April's Experience
April was ready for a fight as soon as I threw a leg over. Don’t get me wrong, she wasn’t trying to hurt me, she was just immediately tense and resistant. She is an extremely “feely” horse, very sensitive to legs and hands. That is a great thing in the hands of someone used to it, but is not always a great trait in a non pro horse.

I tried to lope a handful of circles. We were all over the place. It didn’t take me long to understand why Karen was feeling uncomfortable at a lope, because I was starting to feel like I couldn’t ride. April was just so touchy that she was very easily bothered. She was wiggly in her face, wiggly in her body, and because of it, had no cadence in her movement. She also has a long history of going to clinics and lessons and having all manner of new ideas and techniques thrown her way, which has caused some nervous habits.

In my experience, a mare like this--super sensitive and wobbly, and especially a horse with some age on her-- needs the kind of stability that a bit can offer. I went in the barn and got a Billy Allen bit from the tack room and put it on her. It took about ten minutes of moving around before she would let me pick up my hands and rock my legs on her belly. Then she rounded up and dropped the elevation of her head and rounded her back.

While I worked with Karen on learning to do the same thing on Jane, I trotted and loped around on April, working on getting her relaxed and cadent. We were also able to identify that with her shorter legs, Karen needed spurs that turned down so she wasn’t spurring April every stride. Spurs are important for cueing, but can be very annoying, especially to a sensitive horse, if they get it in the sides all the time for no reason.

The huge negative reaction April was having to Karen’s legs and hands was largely caused by her sensitivity. That same sensitivity, when properly handled, quickly turned into a soft and willing partner. It was such a dramatic difference when she understood. She truly is one of the softest horses I have ridden.

The Second Session
The second session was a night and day difference. April started out right where we left off. Karen continued to work with Jane on the same things I was working on with April. This session, April loped right off on a relatively loose rein and let me handle her around at a collected and cadent lope. Karen and I talked a lot about really simplifying things with a horse like April. We charted a path where we would work on building both of their confidence through things like steering, softness and collection.

At the end of the ride, Karen moved from Jane to April and we went through the same exercises. With the new confidence that she could get a horse to go around looking the part, Karen was able to lope around on April and look like a reiner. The smile on her face and her obvious boost in confidence were great. It was the moment when I think she first realized that it was possible. Our little team has a long way to go, but this was a big step in the right direction!

From Karen’s Mouth
“Allison and I will be tracking this journey and hopefully we'll give some of you insight into having more success with your horse no matter what direction you take. I'm liking the lesson program with Allison where I'm on a finished horse and she's working mine.

I believe we all need to do what matters most to us. My goal is to get more enjoyment out of my arena riding, learn some new things and be somewhat competitive at the local level.”