Well, we can see how good I have been at posting regularly. NOT! I know I am terrible. Anyways... I am working with the 4H kids to increase their horsemanship levels. So I thought that I might begin blogging about basic horsemanship. This might help by allowing them to read about a topic before we tackle it in practice. We will begin at the very beginning with cues. So here is what I have so far. Let me know your thoughts. Remember this is geared for kids 9-17 years old.
To most riders when cueing a horse you think of the three primary cues – hands, legs and seat. Those cues are important, but there are secondary cues that are just as important in horsemanship. The secondary cues include voice, breathing and eyes/head.
Voice: The power of a voice cue comes from the volume and tempo not the actual word used. While some horses seem to recognize a certain word, they are actually reacting to the way the word sounds. They have no real understanding of the meaning of the word. A similar sounding word said in the same fashion will usually get the same response. An example is the word WHOA. When you say WHOA, you usually say it in a low tone and draw it out. Say NO in the same manner and the horse will probably stop. Now, say WHOA in a loud voice quickly and the horse will probably ignore the cue. Also if you give a voice cue differently each time, the horse will never become very responsive to it. Repetition of the same sound is the key.
Breathing: The rhythm of your breathing can be a very effective cue. A horse can feel how your breathing affects your body. An example is when you hold your breath. When you hold your breath, your body will tense up. The horse can feel this tension and will react either by becoming tense themselves or bracing against the tension. Yet when you breathe in deeply and exhale slowly, the horse will usually react by relaxing and slowing down. A very deep breath with a long exhale done just before cueing a horse to stop will encourage the horse to stop squarely.
Eyes/Head: The weight of your head has a large impact on your balance in the saddle. The average head weighs more than 10 lbs. and depending on where you are looking at affects how your seat is weighted in the saddle. An example is if you always look down at the ground or at your hands, your horse will have a tendency to seem lost or hesitant often breaking gait. Dropping your head will cause you to round your shoulders and collapse your back. This will in turn rock your seat bones back and raise your heels making your seat and leg cues ineffective. Your horse will lose impulsion to move forward and break gait. On the other hand, keeping your gaze level and your head pointed straight ahead (looking past your horse’s head) will allow your body to keep the Ear/Shoulder/Hip/Heel alignment and maintain effective cueing. In addition, rotating your head in the direction you want to be traveling will work as a pre-cue to let the horse know you will be changing directions.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
I saw a robin!
Wahoo, another sign of the coming spring --- I saw a robin today in the yard. When I saw it I did a little dance, of course my husband thought I was crazy. I have never been so ready for Spring in my life. Yesterday, I began some spring cleaning around the barn. Burnt some of the numerous branches broken in the ice storms and began the ardourous process of cleaning up the round bale piles. I love the ease of feeding round bales in the winter, but hate the spring clean-up. Jazz behaved well today and is well on her way to having a pretty good pivot established. The rest of the herd is beginning to gain back some condition and will be ready for work when the weather allows it.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Rain, rain go away!
I was so pumped to have three whole days without rain, snow, ice, etc... I was finally able to get up each horse throughly groom them and do a little ground work with each one. The ground is still slick about 2 inches down, so I was only able to manage some inhand work. I was actually pleased with how everyone behaved. I don't think there will be much back tracking when I am finally able to start some real training with them. I am starting to see some real promise with "Jazz". She is beginning to fill out nicely and act like a two-year old is supposed to act. I am still concerned about her ability to begin under saddle work in two months. If she isn't ready, she's not ready. One extremely encouraging sign today --- Sadie was starting to shed! She is always my barometer of the weather. When she started wooling up in Spetember, I knew it was going to be a hard winter. I am looking at this as a sign that spring is on the way!!!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Long time no say!
Wow, it has been months since I last posted. A lot has been going on, but very little of it has been horse related. I have been busy being a mom to two kids - basketball games, 4H meetings, church events and school events. Mixed in there is work and tending to livestock. For those that do not live in Oklahoma, it has been a terrible winter. Rain followed by ice followed by snow, week after week. Luckily, I had sent all of the horses in training home for the winter. Unfortunately, this weather means my riding lessons came to a screeching halt. That sucks because everyone was making such great progress. I also had the pleasure of spraining/injuring my knee in November. The doc just said, "Well it is pretty messed up, come back when you are ready for knee replacement surgery." Yikes! I am not ready for surgery yet (been there done that) so I am still hobbling around with a swollen knee, but I am cleared to ride because in the doc's words, "Ya can't hurt it anymore than it already is". We do have one new member of the herd. Rendi now has a 2yr old dun filly (pictured). She is training her for the 4H 2yr old in training program this summer. This filly was in bad shape when she came and we are hoping that she grows out enough to start riding her by the end of April. Only time will tell. As for me, my off time from real training is being spent getting all of my personal horses finished. They are all in various levels of training and I am usually tied up with training outside horses and my horses have been put on the back burner. I am really excited to get to work with them and see how far I can get them. Well in a burst of words, that is what has been going on here at Perfect Partner. I hope to start posting more regularly now that things have slowed down somewhat - a stiff wind not a tornado. LOL
Friday, August 28, 2009
Wednesday & Thursday
Missy - no change, Thursday the milk was watery so I am now leaning to false pregnancy. I resumed her training just sticking to light in hand/suppling work. Will continue to monitor. I changed her to a snaffle tonight to see if I can get her lighter and more responsive. She likes to just lay on the sidepull. She took the snaffle well and I worked on suppling her to the bit. We continued to work on lateral body control with hip and shoulder over exercises. She is becoming quite light to those cues but continues to fight and brace against rein control. Will continue to work on this issue.
Kixsie - A miracle - she is trotting 90% sound. I guess it was just a bruise and the soaking worked. Whew! I will still watch the hoof closely and work on soft ground only. I saddled her tonight and she showed some apprehension, but did not spook or act up. The apprehension increased drastically when I tightened the girth. I calmed her down and snugged the girth up slowly, attached the breast collar, walked her, snugged some more, walked. She soon began to relax and chew, but every time I stopped to check the girth, she would tense up. After saddling, she seemed relieved when we walked out to the arena. I began by asking her to lunge in a large circle. Just like last time, she snaked her head and braced against the line. Unlike last time, she did not rush and remained focused. She responded better to cues for direction/gait changes. She did not loose all of her "snottiness" but did work much better than last time and since I was worried about her hoof, I quit lunging after on 5-10 minutes at walk/trot. I then worked with her on some in hand/suppling work which she did fantastic. Very light and supple to rein cues and much better on the hips over. I noticed, however, that whenever I placed my body in a position near the saddle, the mares body would show alot of tension. I worked to lessen this by reassuring her and just moving around the saddle. I wanted to keep this lesson short, so we called it quits on tonight. Tomorrow I plan on mounting and going out on a light trail ride.
Kixsie - A miracle - she is trotting 90% sound. I guess it was just a bruise and the soaking worked. Whew! I will still watch the hoof closely and work on soft ground only. I saddled her tonight and she showed some apprehension, but did not spook or act up. The apprehension increased drastically when I tightened the girth. I calmed her down and snugged the girth up slowly, attached the breast collar, walked her, snugged some more, walked. She soon began to relax and chew, but every time I stopped to check the girth, she would tense up. After saddling, she seemed relieved when we walked out to the arena. I began by asking her to lunge in a large circle. Just like last time, she snaked her head and braced against the line. Unlike last time, she did not rush and remained focused. She responded better to cues for direction/gait changes. She did not loose all of her "snottiness" but did work much better than last time and since I was worried about her hoof, I quit lunging after on 5-10 minutes at walk/trot. I then worked with her on some in hand/suppling work which she did fantastic. Very light and supple to rein cues and much better on the hips over. I noticed, however, that whenever I placed my body in a position near the saddle, the mares body would show alot of tension. I worked to lessen this by reassuring her and just moving around the saddle. I wanted to keep this lesson short, so we called it quits on tonight. Tomorrow I plan on mounting and going out on a light trail ride.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday
Missy - Softer over the tailhead, but no other changes.
Kixsie - Hooftester came back positive, abcess or navicular? Began soaking hoof to see if I can draw the abcess down if there is one. If it is navicular, the owner is in Australia and left no contact numbers. My farrier is not up to date on navicular barefoot trims, am looking for someone in the local area to come evaluate her. Without owner permission, I can't take her for a veternariay (sp?) work-up with x-rays. Also hesitant about administering any NSAIDS.
Riding Lesson - It has been two weeks since Jaylee's lesson so we began with a refresher in position and balance lunging bareback. She did fantastic, so we saddled Sadie and worked on precision and cuing by having her ride Sadie in a large circle with the object to make it round and equal distance from a centerpoint (me) the whole way around. Jaylee started at a walk and then progressed to a trot. She did great, but had more trouble with the circles to the right than the left. Sadie did not want to keep bending to the right. Jaylee stuck with it and persevered! Jaylee stayed relaxed and balanced throughout most of the exercice. She would get a little off balance at times and draw her knees up, but with a gentle reminder, she dropped her heel back down and lengthen through the hip. In previous lessons, she was having trouble maintaining control and letting Sadie go wherever. Today, Jaylee maintained control and Sadie behaved beautifully. Once Jaylee had achieved her goal on the circles, I had her begin to ride Sadie on the rail. I expalined that this is where she needed to maintain control the most, because Sadie tends to rush when left to go as she pleases. Jaylee began at the walk, and transitioned to the trot smoothly. Her goal in this exercise is to maintain Sadie in a steady rythem and cadence while maintaining her balance in the saddle. She would let Sadie rush at times and break gait at times, but she maintained her balance and position well. She was able to adjust her seat to what Sadie was doing and cue Sadie appropriately. For Jaylee's free ride portion of the lesson, she chose to ride Sadie over the bridge several times and work the trot poles. She had fun and did a great job of riding the poles. A new thing that I am trying with my younger lesson kids is a Lesson Folder. We wrote down Jaylee's riding goals and lesson goals. She delighted in marking off several of the lesson goals already. I also included a color sheet and a horse emotion worksheet. I challenged her to decorate the folder and draw me a picture for next week. I will also be implementing a testing system so that my lesson kids can rate their progress. I think that this will really encourage my really young riders.
Wednesday is my no lesson day, so I can concentrate on the training horses. I also plan on working with Rendi and Val. They need to work on creating a better partnership.
Kixsie - Hooftester came back positive, abcess or navicular? Began soaking hoof to see if I can draw the abcess down if there is one. If it is navicular, the owner is in Australia and left no contact numbers. My farrier is not up to date on navicular barefoot trims, am looking for someone in the local area to come evaluate her. Without owner permission, I can't take her for a veternariay (sp?) work-up with x-rays. Also hesitant about administering any NSAIDS.
Riding Lesson - It has been two weeks since Jaylee's lesson so we began with a refresher in position and balance lunging bareback. She did fantastic, so we saddled Sadie and worked on precision and cuing by having her ride Sadie in a large circle with the object to make it round and equal distance from a centerpoint (me) the whole way around. Jaylee started at a walk and then progressed to a trot. She did great, but had more trouble with the circles to the right than the left. Sadie did not want to keep bending to the right. Jaylee stuck with it and persevered! Jaylee stayed relaxed and balanced throughout most of the exercice. She would get a little off balance at times and draw her knees up, but with a gentle reminder, she dropped her heel back down and lengthen through the hip. In previous lessons, she was having trouble maintaining control and letting Sadie go wherever. Today, Jaylee maintained control and Sadie behaved beautifully. Once Jaylee had achieved her goal on the circles, I had her begin to ride Sadie on the rail. I expalined that this is where she needed to maintain control the most, because Sadie tends to rush when left to go as she pleases. Jaylee began at the walk, and transitioned to the trot smoothly. Her goal in this exercise is to maintain Sadie in a steady rythem and cadence while maintaining her balance in the saddle. She would let Sadie rush at times and break gait at times, but she maintained her balance and position well. She was able to adjust her seat to what Sadie was doing and cue Sadie appropriately. For Jaylee's free ride portion of the lesson, she chose to ride Sadie over the bridge several times and work the trot poles. She had fun and did a great job of riding the poles. A new thing that I am trying with my younger lesson kids is a Lesson Folder. We wrote down Jaylee's riding goals and lesson goals. She delighted in marking off several of the lesson goals already. I also included a color sheet and a horse emotion worksheet. I challenged her to decorate the folder and draw me a picture for next week. I will also be implementing a testing system so that my lesson kids can rate their progress. I think that this will really encourage my really young riders.
Wednesday is my no lesson day, so I can concentrate on the training horses. I also plan on working with Rendi and Val. They need to work on creating a better partnership.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
A true Monday - Monday
UGHHHH!
This training thing is never boring! I went out to bring Missy up from the pasture. Her and Colty were already at the gate waiting. As I approached the gate Missy was showing signs of heat. Mental note to myself - this explains her attitude yesterday. I catch her and take her to the tie out and begin grooming. She is very touchy about having her tail handled (unusual) but I again chalk it up to being in heat. She lets me brush out her tail and I proceed to curry her belly. I reach under her belly with a cloth to clean her udder area and notice that it is very swollen. ( sidenote: when this mare came for training, she had a large belly. I asked the owner if the mare was pregnant. He said, "No way". I assumed the big belly was from worms. I wormed her with a Panacur Powerpac and went on. Her udder has always been larger than a normal maiden mare. When I asked her owner if she had ever foaled, he again said, "No way." I suggested that her get her palpated before proceeding with training. He declined and I explained what could happen if I continued training a pregnant mare. He said he understood and that I should preceed with training). I ran my hand over the udder and gently squeezed a teat - MILK! I then palpated her tailhead - no real softening. I checked her vulva - it did look a little relaxed. The belly shows no signs of peaking but does appear to be lower (dropped). I called the owner and related the events - he thinks it is just a false pregnancy. What! I have been around a couple of mares with false pregnancies and none of them ever produced real honest to goodness milk, maybe some milky liquid but never milk. He said proceed with training. I made the decision to turn the mare out into a private paddock and watch her for a couple of days. This morning she was unchanged, but I would not be suprised to find a foal tomorrow morning. Now on to Kixsie - she was still showing signs of lameness in the right front. Still no swelling, heat or tenderness anywhere on the hoof or leg. My farrier is coming out this evening to do a hoof tester test. Keeping my fingers crossed!
This training thing is never boring! I went out to bring Missy up from the pasture. Her and Colty were already at the gate waiting. As I approached the gate Missy was showing signs of heat. Mental note to myself - this explains her attitude yesterday. I catch her and take her to the tie out and begin grooming. She is very touchy about having her tail handled (unusual) but I again chalk it up to being in heat. She lets me brush out her tail and I proceed to curry her belly. I reach under her belly with a cloth to clean her udder area and notice that it is very swollen. ( sidenote: when this mare came for training, she had a large belly. I asked the owner if the mare was pregnant. He said, "No way". I assumed the big belly was from worms. I wormed her with a Panacur Powerpac and went on. Her udder has always been larger than a normal maiden mare. When I asked her owner if she had ever foaled, he again said, "No way." I suggested that her get her palpated before proceeding with training. He declined and I explained what could happen if I continued training a pregnant mare. He said he understood and that I should preceed with training). I ran my hand over the udder and gently squeezed a teat - MILK! I then palpated her tailhead - no real softening. I checked her vulva - it did look a little relaxed. The belly shows no signs of peaking but does appear to be lower (dropped). I called the owner and related the events - he thinks it is just a false pregnancy. What! I have been around a couple of mares with false pregnancies and none of them ever produced real honest to goodness milk, maybe some milky liquid but never milk. He said proceed with training. I made the decision to turn the mare out into a private paddock and watch her for a couple of days. This morning she was unchanged, but I would not be suprised to find a foal tomorrow morning. Now on to Kixsie - she was still showing signs of lameness in the right front. Still no swelling, heat or tenderness anywhere on the hoof or leg. My farrier is coming out this evening to do a hoof tester test. Keeping my fingers crossed!
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