circles- take 10,000- Or using the thinking side of the Brain. Not the horses, MINE.

So Ive been struggling with Whiz and his circles - all of my horses want to drop their shoulder to the left- for a few days Ive been fighting with him wanting to look to the right, drift to the right or drop his shoulder to the left and go left= I couldnt turn the corner or guide him over in a circle with his nose going first without a tug of war. I got to thinking... geese, if I cant figure out why all my horses drop their shoulders to the left I'm gonna go stinking crazy. But it finally donned on my today while picking rocks in the arena that the problem is that I confront the problem head on while in the circles and make an issue out of it.

So instead of just starting out at the lope in the left problem circle- well, actually I did start out in that troublesome left circle. After a short, short warm up. I loped off and the second I noticed him dropping in I stopped and turned around a little- either way- some direct rein and outside leg to start and just got him thinking about turning or rolling back - either way didnt seem to matter- and I didnt make a big deal out of it- like confrontational I'm gonna pull you into the ground hard and pound on you to the outside in a turn around untill you keep the shoulder up. I turned both ways and instead of locking on the circle and drilling and drilling I loped a litte here. loped a little their, turned a little rolled back once- dinked around and just kept his circle frame in mind and low and behold he kept his shoulder up and was too busy thinking about other things besides wanting to drop the shoulder.

When I quit confronting issues head on and put on my thinking cap- and do it my own way things work much better for me and my horses. I was done in 15 minutes, two year old barely cracked a sweat. And I'll sleep better tonight even though I'm way less tired this evening.

Mike Helson and the turn around

I rode a couple horses that belong to a friend of ours named Raxanne Peterson who lives in Washington- We rode at Mike Helsons place. One of the horses I rode was struggling to turn around and I played with her a little and got her to get a little cadence going. I had her turning pretty cute but not too fast and Mike suggested I pull her face more - become part of the equation - meaning to help her tip her nose- not to bump the face over (which I was doing to keep her off the bit)and keep her pretty bent and go to her shoulder. This really helped to speed her up- and she stayed bent and turned better and harder. She did get a little hoppy to one side but overall it was an improvement. Roxanne said the filly was taken much bigger steps in the turn around. So thanks to Mike Helson and Roxanne.

whizy- breaking through again

Whizzy is a stiff little knocker. So I've always got to work on keeping him soft- not into pitching him away too much because he gets stiff again so quick- its a constant- non ending repetitious pulling and giving back a little and pulling again- not letting him - or any of 'em pop out of form at all before putting them back where they belong and releasing and then not letting them get out of frame before putting them right back- its a never ending battle.

But the biggest breakthrough for him has been bitting him up and making him learn he can run without throwing his head up and getting scared- I bitted him up and ran him forward with the whip until he quit throwing his head up and figured out he could accelerate without flipping his head up in fear of the whip or in fear of the change of speed- made him run through that thresh-hold of fear and uncertainty untill he learned to keep giving to that bit no matter what.

When I rode him afterward he was very soft- stayed bridled up better and off the bit. I could run him down straight - in the bridle from lead departure to the end of the rundown and he would stay straight and soft and stop harder. - not perfect but better. It was cool to see how hard he could stop while bitted up. He can really use himself when he wants to. So from now on he will get bitted up as often as it will help him- No more nor less.

Shawn Flarida Clinic

Really liked watching Shawn work with people. Interesting that when he worked on the turn around he would have the rider stop when the horse improved after only a turn sometimes.- didnt stress that they go 'round and 'round and around.\

Also lifted up and over in the turn to keep them in the bridle.

lifted up on the reins when working on a horse to stop to lift the shoulders and drive the hind under.

Whizy stopping

kind of a break through day for Whizy stopping- I did lots of stopping and backing without loping far at all- pretty soon it wasnt such a surprise to him- he knew he was going to stop and back up before we got going to far and quit worrying about it so much and started relaxing his jaw and getting his butt under him- didnt take tons of loping or anything- got him warmed up a bit- mostly practicing turn arounds- then went to stopping and backing- I think he might make it now.

making it happen

I watched a video of Me and Whizy today and it looked like I was staying in the turn around to long and not letting him out when he was stepping really nice, but staying in too long untill he screwed up. Letting him hang up and drag instead of getting him snapping around a little more crisp- its time for a little of that but only for a turn or two or three. Need to take him out then in then out then in etc like Craig and Toms drill - get him out while he's sweet then back in if I must;

Also saw a Tom Dorance clip- just fix it up a little and let him find it took on a new twist hearing it come from his lips- a little more of a serendipitous tone struck me. When I take my time and walk circles and tweak and dink and play and set things up I do much better- still I noticed on my video of me and whizy I turned him around way to much and spent way too much time dwelling on the spin when I should have got a few decent ones each way and quit. I need to take more time with the walking circles and doing stuff slow to warm up or after he's in working mode and not get in such a hurry to get off and be done but enjoy the journey- its amazing how much quicker you end up being done when I pick that aproach.

Stick a fork in her. She's done.....

Kind of. Anyhow I'm giving up on Sally being a red hot reining futurity queen. She might make an ok reiner someday, maybe as a four year old but we are not banking on it so we will try to sell her. She is a sweet heart and doesnt really owe me anything.

I rode her today after some time off. I forgot that I need to help her quite a bit with leg in the turn around. Thats not how I meant for her to turn out but she seems to need help in almost every maneuver at this point. That's just how she rolls. Hopefully I'll post a video of her soon.

Whiz

Whiz

A few things I'm learning about whiz the two year old is that he does better when relaxed and I just need to take it easy on him, keep him soft and let him progress at his own pace. I got all freaked out because he quit turning to the left and panicked until I realized just wants to be straight - later I realized the gag bit I was using was confusing him. I obsessed about all these things i was gonna havta do to get him to turning agian but the next day he was fine.

He does better in his circles when I ride him with one hand like a big horse- and just peck away at keeping the shoulder up to the left- He'll get it.

dropping the shoulder

Whiz -2, wants to drop his rib and shoulder to the left, while loping around the pasture in a large left circleI I kept playing with his face, trying to pick the shoulder up and he wasnt taking me serious, kept dropping out of lead, dropping the shoulder and finally I got tired of babying him and swatted him on the right "buttock" as my children are learning to call it. It scared him a little but ultimately it seemed to help him pick that shoulder up and run properly in the circle. It wasnt a matter of driving the hip to the left and shoulder to the right, it seemed to be more of a matter making him quit doddling around and drive his but with impulsion. Jack Brainard makes mention of this in his excellent book.

This site has a good article about Ray Hunt- key phrase:

Don’t find fault with your horse. Try to find the good things he does and then the bad will get less and less.

Send them somewhere.

I'm figuring out that part of problem with lead departures is that I'm trying to bridle her up and pick her up instead of kicking her forward with my legs and making her go somewhere. Its also helping her move out in her circles. I'm letting her and the two year old lift their head up and go forward, really forward and move out. I see too many people, including myself sometimes spend too much time messing with the horses face and driving them up in the bridle. They say, well, I'm trying to keep him off the front end. But speed will help keep the horse off the front end without so much wrestling around getting the horse confused and mad or just bound up.

It is ultra important that the horse is giving to the bridle but trying to make them travel in a way that isn't natural for them can be a waste of time. It works out better to get them soft in the bridle- but you also have to pitch them away and let them carry themselves in a way thats natural even if it means packing their head a little higher than you like- as long as the horse isn't getting scared and bracey and raising up. That even goes for the turn arounds- they need to be where they can turn the best.

Letting them go a little faster and sometimes quite a little bit faster - of course without scaring them to death- in the circles and fencing seems to really clean up all the manouvers and keep them off their front end without making them mad. Speed takes care of a lot of problems.

Several Important things

Most important I figured out at the show was to bump the horse off the bit during the lead change and it reall helped Jolena- saw Trent Peterson doing it at the Oregon reining Classic. Popping that chin in and head down into the bridle really gets them off the bit and changing leads- keeping their shoulder up in the circles and turning correctly and faster.

When I really got Jolena bumped down and off of the bridle and shoulders up in the circles- it made it really easy to just use the neck rein a little to keep the horses shoulder up in the circle- really using the neck rein only in the show- if you keep them honest while practicing.

The Mattt mills guiding drill I did on Sally really helped get her relaxed and not pulling on the bit- also it helped Whiz to relax - you have to do it untill they are tired.

Rolling back into the fence (to the outside of the circle)really helpes whiz to not drop his shoulder into the inside of the circle circle and tip his nose to the inside like I like it.

Rope nose band really got sally to keep her nose down and jaw soft and in the bridle.

While I'm thinking about it I better jot down a few of the things I'm figuring out.

keeing the face soft in the lead change with soft hands

keeping the horsse in the bridle while turning helps the horse stay soft and turn harder.

Turn, circle, turn. circle and frame turn, circle and frame, turn, circle and frame repeat, repeat repeat instead of turn turn turn traintrainturnhammerturn.stop.

Turn, quarter circle, turn, quarter circle, turn, quarter circle repeat will get them hooked and keep them looking the right way if you repeat it and keep the eye with the inside rein. The results may be more evident the next day.

Always work on turning the horse each direction- even the good way.

Really camping out in the snaffle bit and getting the face and parts broke broke broke will make them all that much better when you stick them in the bridle

If you practice the Dell Hendrick circle drill and guide them back into and through the middle using only the neck rein they will get really light and responsive to the neck rein.

Thanks Dr Laura and Dad

Dr Laura
I was thumbing through the channels in the van today and came across Dr. Laura who got a call from a women who's son was going into the military. She asked Dr Laura what to do with her fears about her childs safety. Dr Laura told her, "dont think about it"How do I do that? the Lady asked."Think about something else."Since Dr Laura has a boy in the service. She must head her own advice. So its real.But that is good advice. I think about stuff that upsets me. I used to do that as a little kid and get all messed up. I'd think about the saddest stuff a little kid could think about. And dad came down to comfort me and told me to replace my thought with happy thoughts about going fishing and being happy. So I did, and it helped.So I think I will take Dad and Dr Laura's advice once again, I've gotten off track. Instead of dwelling on problems, even troubleshooting I've got to trust that God will show me the answers and when thoughts get me messed up I need to think of something else.Dont think about it, Think about something else.God always comes through for me. No matter what problem comes up, Or how stumped I am, an answere always comes through. So I need to stop fretting about stuff, and when I do I need to stop thinking about it and think of someting else. The answer always comes. Like today when Sally was throwing her head in the air when I asked her to change leads. It came to me to work my hands and slide the bridle and sure enough it fixed the problem. I was so worried about if I could get her ready to show or not, and the answere is, probobly not the next show, but I know what to do to get her furthur towards the goal and I know how realistic the goal is. which is more than I knew yesterday. So it all worked out. and my big wreck in the showpen worked out for the best because I learned a valuable and lesson and improved myself and my skills and my horse.

Also, it worked good On Lindas horse which has plagued me with for two years with bad lead changes. Linda tried it on her, messagging the reins and it really helped the mare stay soft and change leads. So all of the fretting and stewing and struggling I've done and imposed on both these mares could have been softened a little if I'd been a little more patient and confident that the answer was on its way.

Sally

Well, Sally is not turning out exactly how I'd planned but She is showing me all kinds of new stuff, not the least of which is how she excells more the softer she is in the bridle. What I figured out is when she sticks her head up when I ask her to change leads all I have to do is messagge those reins or slide the bridle across her tounge or see-saw or shake her off right when I que her and she gives her face, stays soft in the bridle and changes leads. Linda tried it on Jolena, the lead changer from Hell. Sure enough she got the lead change without too much fuss.

Perfectionism

It has come to my attention that I am a perfectionist. I got in a big disagreement with my three year old futurity mare, (again) and it is donning on me that our goals are entirely different. She refuses to copoerate. Not with training but with my dream. Perhaps I have set my goals to high, and, being a perfectionist, I consider myself a failure for not reaching my goals.

Its not that I haven't reached my goal. But I've come to the realization that my goals are out of reach. Placing in a respectable reining futurity with the mare is a stretch. The negative way to say it would be to say that its a joke. But after studying perfectionism on the Internet I've learned not to use strong language, in order that I can start to become an optimist, which is what you have to become to not be a perfectionist. I'd like, now, apparently, to become a "high achiever." Which is a healthy persons version of being a perfectionist. When a high achiever doesn't reach a goal he doesn't fret, he just enjoys being on a path to improvement. In other words he's a looser. Oops there I go again being negative. Optimist's put a positive spin on everything. They dont feel pain, they experience discomfort. They dont get mad, they become annoyed. In other words they are idiots. But at least they are happy.

Perfectionists are unhappy, suffer from low self esteme, and frustrated.

So I'm reprogramming myself to be an optimist. This could take a while.

An interesting thing learned is that perfectionists are critical of themselves and others. I am very critical of myself when I train a horse. I try to make it a habit not to be critical of people though, so it took me a while to figure out that who I am critical of is the horse I'm training. I'm critical of him or her and also of myself.

The great horseman Tom Dorrance is quoted as saying, "be picky, but not critical." But I'm very critical, specially if I feel the horse is thwarting my goal on every level. I try to convince the horse through all of the training methods I can think of but the results often come slowly, and sometimes progress either ends abruptly or goes backwards and I become frustrated and she becomes frustrated and when the dust settles I perceive myself as a faliure while she happily munches on really expensive feed.

Never mind that I've done a really nice job on a mare with limited potential. I often tell people that you cant make chicken salad out of chicken shit. Which means if you want a horse to be a star reiner you cant just take a common pooper and expect miricles. No, you have to start with a horse possesing the requisit talent and brains to accept the training and enjoy the work. Yet I expect myself to make chicken salad. No offense to the horse. The horse is always right.

I've chosen a tough challenge, It takes a year to make a reining horse. Over two years ago I started training another mare that I have recently all but given up on. She just turned out OK. Barely. The reason she turned out ok is that I turned her over to my wife, Pookie and she gets along with the mare. She accepts a little progress and puts the mare up. She allows imperfection and this keeps the mare from becoming upset. Pookie is one of those happy high achievers. God love her.

So I started on this new fillie over a year ago and now I realise that she is just going to be ok but nothing to write home about. So I am basically relaxing my high hopes on her which will be a relief to us both. I'm accepting her for what she is and will base my further training and showing of her accordingly. To use baseball as an illistration: I was hoping to make the major leages or more realistically the minor leagues with her but she will most likely end up in the church league softball division. Slow pitch. Crap.

Or, in the spirit of becoming more optomistic. Stuff.

Also I will begin employing self affirming self talk techniques. The idea here is, you change your speach to constantly say what you want to be like, it eventually gets in your subconciounce and before long, pretso: Your the man. So, without further adue, here I go!

I am at peace.

I am happy.

I work well under pressure.

I am wise.

I am calm.

I am blessed.

I am lucky.

Success is 98 percent failure.

I am cool.

I am smart.

And for the mare.

She tries.

She is sound.

She is patient with me.

She is quiet.

She is forgiving.

She has some ability.

She has taught me much.

She doesn't owe me anything.

She is pretty.

She is kind.

She is meek.

Me again...

I am meek.

I am humble.

I am kind.

I am gentle.

I am secure.

I am going to bed.

Or shooting myself.

Things to write about

Turning 50 and passing fads such as cigar smoking on the deschutes.

Other examples from Dave Berrys book

Sally - June 22, 09 Twirls hard - flops out- and Back In!

I wanted to continue Sally's (3 year old reining futurity filly) little training log because on some rides I learn some really cool stuff and I want to try and jot it down before I forget.
First of all I am growing more hopeful about her after Saturday's reining club practice- Victoria Peterson likes the way she looks loping around so I asked if she would ride her for me and the end result to Vic was that Sally looks better than she feels.
The mare lopes around cute but comes out of frame when asked for speed and drops the inside shoulder on left circles. Also at speed she flops out of lead especially to the left.
Anyway after Saturday I felt pretty good about her because she did everything pretty good in spite of a less than fancy circle to the left and I felt like she is getting more solid- especially since I really drove her up in the bridle with my feet in her belly and her face back behind the bridle and her head between her legs- I know its not political correct to those who fancy themselves as natural horsemen but the fact is the mare cannot hardly gallop a lick without being pushed into frame and galloped that way and really I have to work hard at keeping her head down at the lead departure which is also one of her weak suites. When she is correct I pitch her a little slack but when that shoulder starts to drop I pick her up and drive it back over. Ive also started using more inside leg. I think it keeps her mind on the inside and helps her bend around my leg, and relax.
So today I worked pretty hard at the lope, bot ways, I threw in some counter cantering, at the circle and serpentines which I plan to do more of. I changed leads both ways and decided she needs work on he good side- the right because she doesnt change as good that way so I did some hip control at counter canter and two tracking and tried to get her sucke back to the right and thinking to the right.
When I felt she had done good and I was about to put her up
I did some circles so I could start off whit her head way down in the lead departure an and see how she would do going to the fence from the left circle. That was a good drill for her because her tendency when going from left circle straight and building speed is to change leads to the right and veer a little to the right. But I kept it slow so she would understand to go straight and maybe she would program herself to keep straight if I was just repetitious and didn't ask her for too much speed and train on her too much.
At the very end of the ride- or what I thought would be the very end I pitched her away and let her run some circles to the left and she was as trashy as ever. She started dropping that inside shoulder and near the north end of the arena she wanted to leak out and quit guiding. Of course then, when you guide her inside she flops out of lead because she is thinking right in a left circle. It was a little messy and I got her thinking to the inside again- I used my inside leg a lot to get her to bend around my leg and it worked ok but the big problem is she is thinking right so I really need to take her left sharp and repetitious ala' Dell Hendricks or neck rein her in and then direct rein her in, until she's driving through herself and turning around, ala' me.
One thing that happened when I pitched her away and sped her up was she really wanted to drop her shoulder to the inside. I tried just steering her out a little and she stayed somewhat straight but her shoulder was in which I dont like. I kept the speed up and then she flopped out of lead and I kept her in the fast circle and soon swapped in front and was running fast in the wrong lead. Instead of panicking and getting after her I just kept her in it and when really fast. I finally got her back in the correct lead with out fighting with her or scaring her and when she got in the correct lead I let her slow down and pretty much rewarded her by stopping after she relaxed and loped slow.
I was about to quit and was letting her catch her air in the middle. I thought about putting her up but then I thought if she wanted to be at the south end of the arena so much, near Sparky, a pony who lives in a pen on the other side of the fence. So I let her catch some air and decided to put her to work near the Sparky end of the arena.
I decided to just jog some circles near the fence – I didn't want to be too hard on her. Well, she started hunting the turn around so I thought I would go ahead and let her hunt the turn around and do the drill Tom Foran uses on his new video.
I had on sharp spurs which really helps Sally because she is so lazy and thick skinned. She responds really well to the sharp spurs and I dont have to work as hard. I trotted her in a circle bumping her with leg and spur and when she wanted to turn (spin) I let her, noticing that when she went by the fence I lost her attention because she must have been looking towards sparky. Anyway she figured out pretty soon that being bumped in the circle was worse than spinning so she was really hunting the spin and when she spun I removed the leg and let her turn. It worked really good. So I went to the other side and she was sluggish and that shoulder that drops to the left in a left circle stuck out to the left in a right circle. When she went into the turn I took my legs off but she was still sluggish in the turn. So I kept fishing for her to start hunting the turn around. I rewarded her by releasing pressure when she started to spin but she stayed sluggish. But when I addressed that shoulder sticking to the outside while trotting and shoved on the rib with the spur and put her in a straighter arc she really aligned herself and hustled and started hunting the turn around. I let her spin a few times and finally she really turned the crank and turned harder than she has or as hard at least but I wasnt really asking. She was doing it on her own because I made her hustle in the circle with a spur she respected and I didn't have to spur hard. Thats the best that that drill, or any drill has ever worked for me. She was huffing and puffing but she spun hard, HARD to the right on her own and I didn't touch her with the spur in the turn around. Then we left that end of the arena and walked to the middle and I let her air up. I tied her up and let her rest under the shade of the juniper tree that I haven't cut down on the north end

Fencing Sally

Another thing sally was doing when I added speed fencing her in the left lead was to swap to the right lead and veer right- the guiding drill where I got her following her nose to the left and veering her to the left really helped this- its odd that her shoulder is stuck out to the left but when I ask for speed she want to travel to the right- weirdly It help to fix her be letting her keep her shoulder to the left and veer left into the fence. By doing that she stayed in the proper lead and learned to no squirt to the right when being fenced. But in the end the thin that woked best was yarding her to the left when she went right and making her follow her nose into a left turn around a few times.

maine Things Sally has taught me

Sally- 3 year old reining futurity mare- Nice disposition and can stop and turn around a little and change leads but she has a little trouble with lead departures and really wants to drop her shoulder to the left in her left circles- she has been that way since I started her as a two year old.

But her biggest problem by far is that when you speed her up in her circles to the left she flops out of lead.

The best way to deal with this has been to counter canter small right cirles in the left lead- specially if she wants to flop out of lead and go to a certain place in the arena I take her to that place and counter canter or at least trot some counter arc circles. This has helped a bunch- mainly because it doesnt involve staying in the circle and correcting on her- that scares her because I've made to big of issue out of it and exacerbated the problem.

In her turn arounds to the left she also kind of wants to drop her shoulder a tad and leak out forward. It helped a bunch when I made it crystal clear that she needed to keep her nose to the inside- bumped her nose to the inside when I neck reined her and didnt quit untill she kept it to the inside when I neck reined her.

Also what really helped a bunch in her turn around and her circles was when I got her guiding better by making sure she would follow her nose when trotting or loping into a small circle and driving her into a turn around. When she followed her nose with a direct rein and booting her with the outside leg back behind the cinch- when she followed her nose and started spinning with some hustle I would let her come out- Thats the best litmus test for making sure the horse is driving all the way through itself- I learned it from Tony Garcial- he used to have me lope a circle and make the horse drive through itself into a smaller circle intill it was turning around and then lope out after a turn or two- its a great test to see if you horse is guiding and turning.

Also he taught me to trot or lope little circles, stop and roll back back into the little circle- little circle as in as small as it can possibly lope. You really end up working hard and hauling on the reins and yarding them around quite a bit untill they get off the rein and between your legs- but then when you stop and let them settle a bit- they are really ready to turn around.

Linda did these two drills on Sparky and it made a huge difference in his turn around- When I did it on Sally it made a huge difference in her turn and also her guiding.

What really helped her in her turn was when I stuffed my dull spur into her side and dug it in as far as I could and made her turn entirely off of my spur- the deeper I dug the better she turned. This totally changed her turn. Instead of leaking out she sucked back and stepped that inside foot right under the stirrup where it belongs- If she tried to slow I just stuffed it in further untill she got off of it. I took it of intermittantly when I could but surprisingly the more I stuck it it the better she turned- there was no need at all to try to bridle her up and keep her from leaking forward.- Also she kept her head down and even looked into the inside properly- which is the exact opposite of what you might think she would do. Now I need to refine it so I dont need to cue her so hard when I do it because I want to save the really strong spur cue for turning her off of my leg in the show pen.

Also in her circles I went back to bending her around my inside leg so and neck reining her down to a small little slow circle that ends with me kicking the hind end out of gear when I neck rein er and use my inside leg to kick her out of gear.

Also demanding that she keep her head down when she lope off and also really keeping my legs stuffed into her sides and driving her forward and into the bridle and demanding she lope correctly. She was great to the right this way- better to the left but I have to work on it a lto harder and pick up that stubborn inside shoulder- I worked on counter cantering with the shoulder up as opposed to driving the hip in also I bridled her up and picked up the inside- I think I'll put her in the draw reins

She does best when I let her air up in between loping sessions and keep her from getting scared. Even though she is really lazy she seems to do best when she has a lot of time to warm up- and rest between loping sessions and lope, lope lope. She is a lot of work and though she is lazy and gentle it seems to require lots of riding mixed with resting to get her brain engaged. When she is allowed to catch her air for five minutes she really does some nice stuff. Good to know before taking her to the horse show.


In her turn arounds

jog drill and hot horses

Ive finally been feeling that jog drill that John Irish taught in his clinic. It is written about here and this is a really good article to read over again from time to time.

I am riding a colt by Docs Nighthawk that is pretty talented but he also has a big motor. Whenever I'm riding a pretty hot one I usually have to relearn that just jumping out and loping them down only makes them hotter.

I have better luck when I spend a little time walking some circles or moving body parts around a little while and then playing with turn around. Doing lots of repetition and going from side to side and then rewarding the horse by quitting the turn when he is correct and then doing the same thing on the other side or working on the same side if he anticipates changing directions too much- After I've done enough of this to get the horse moving his feet and building his desire to turn he starts to relax and then when I go to loping he is quiet and not wanting to run off too much.

I have preety good luck pulling hot horses into the ground or just stoping them and rolling back easy to the other direction but lately I have been breaking down to the trot and doing the trot drill I didnt really quite get the drill at first when John Irish was helping us with it at the clinic. But I came about it by accident when working on this hot Docs Nighthawk horse.

It started when he started sucking to a horse I had tied to a juniper tree in the arena. Since he wanted to pull in that direction I took him over there and trotted and loaped him in little circles and drove him hard with my legs and also spun him quite a bit and worked him pretty hard then took him to the opposite end of the arena to rest. He wanted to loap slow after that. It worked so well I started doing it in other parts of the arena and started driving the horse up in the bridle more and really slapping him with my legs- wasnt wearing spurs for this horse- Any way it made him kind of relax and slapping with the legs while holding firm with my hands made him bridle up and I noticed he went into this nice little jog. So instead of pulling him into the grownd when he got wound up I slowed him to the jog and did the little jog drill at a circle and it seemes to make him want to lope slow and correct. Pulling him into the ground on occasion is still effective. I also break him off to the side sometimes to do this if he is sticking out in the shoulder.

Also in guiding I'm working more on the side that sticks out and less on trying to pick up the shoulder that drops. Instead of picking up the shoulder Icounter canter some and consentrate on steering out and straight and not fighting the shoulder by guiding into the circle and keeping the shoulder up which kind of contradicts itslef because it means stearing into the direction of the shoulder your trying to keep up- which doesnt seem to work.

Also shaking the reing gets the horse to come off better than wrestiling with it.

Some good quotes

Some excellent quotes.

Keeping them Relaxed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX0inX4LpZo

This is a great video clip and Dell puts out a great video on reining. I think he is kind of a genious.

In this clip he stresses instilling relaxation and confidence. I'm going to keep this video in front of me to help me keep my head screwd on straight. What Dell says in the video is of maximum importance and the foundation for training a reining horse.

turn around green horse

Its been really working good to make the hind end go out of gear by inside leg and hand to the opposite shoulder. then atadding outside leg and letting them drop down nose first into the turn. If they look to the outside take the hind end out again the try again with the outside leg until the quit looking the wrong way. I go back and forth and back and forth- getting the hind end out of way then letting the front drop into the turn around nose first with the shoulder up. When I quit the drill I want them to stay hooked into the circle to the direction we are working on because they arent going to turn around in the first place if they cant walk a good circle on their own without much help. This drill really helps them hook onto that circle.

taking the pull

Also on taking the hind end out of gear on green horses - like the frying pang geldings- it worked reall good to really take a hold and bring the hand up to the oppisite shoulder firmly and swiftly to get controll of them.while kicking them out of gear.

new wrinkle on turning around while walking the fence

It worked pretty good to not only take the hind end out of gear first but to sidepass down the fence with emphesis on moving the hips opposite before dropping back down into the turn- really freeing up the rib, hip, shoulder to the right before turning to the left for instance

picking up the shoulders

finally got sally to pick up her shoulders by taking ahold of her face and counter arching at the loap in bacically the counter canter but really stressing the taking the shoulders away and then giving them back into the circle for a reward as long as the shoulder stays up- Worked goo,

Relaxation Technique

The relaxation technique worked pretty good yesterday on Sally a three year old futurity mare who can do the manuouvers but drops her shoulder to the left habitually. Keeping my right leg on her with intermittend doses of stuffing my right spur into her belly has kept her from falling out of lead so much but she insists on dropping that left belly and rib cage. Near the end of our loping session, though she started to improve through much repition, counter cantering, steering, softening the face etc. I quit her when she finally started to turn loose because she was pooped.

So the big plan for today is to break it up a little, so it doesnt turn into a loping marathon everyday. When she starts to improve we'll play with a little something different- play with her at a jog or walk or in the other lead, stop and let her blow. Work on her sidepass on the fence, turn her around a little, soften her laterally. Experiment. I'm gonna try to not just confront the problem and pound on it (figuratevely) and make an issue out of it. Go through the back door sort of thing. Its too easy to get stuck in a rut with this kind of stuff.

Bettina Drummond on Dressage

This is really an interesting article about some of the misconseptions of dressage and the term "on the bit"

Keeping Them Relaxed

When I rode with Tony Garcia he was big on keeping the horse relaxed and not scaring him. I'm figuring out-specially after today how important it is to concentrate on keeping the horse relaxed and not just training and forcing the issue but repeating what your asking without upsetting the horse untill he can get relaxed and let down and accept what your trying to get him to do.

Along those lines here are some quotes from Nuno Oliveira...

"Equestrian tact is not only the subtlety of the aids but also the feeling for the choice of the aids that have to be applied, and it is the velvet softness in the coordination."

"Proceed so that the horse finds himself willingly into the exercise, and not by force."

"Never use force except if the horse sucks back."

"Look for the purity of the three gaits. The rest will follow easily."

"Make it a habit to praise when the horse yields."

"When a horse gets nervous during a new exercise, one has to calm him down during the exercise. Otherwise he will get nervous every time we ask something more or something new from him."

"Don't play the master all the time. The difficulty is to feel to what extent one has to intervene."

"In the trot, the hip has to trot, not the hand."

"Maintain heavy buttocks and a supple back, not the opposite."

"The secret in riding is to do few things right. The more one does, the less one succeeds. The less one does, the more one succeeds."

"I don't want riders who work physically hard. Work by thinking."

"Adjusting the reins means establishing a soft contact."

"One has to have an immobile hand with mobile fingers." This is the exact same principle as Neindorff's "The hand stands still, and yet it moves."

"The hands have to be like concrete when the horse resists and like butter when he yields."

"The descente de main is not a gesture, but it is simply a means to cease using the hand actively."

"Descente de main: the rider opens his fingers and the horse has to maintain the same gait, the same posture, and the same cadence."

"Every rein aid must be preceded by an action of the torso. Otherwise you only address the horse's head."

"Don't let the horse fall asleep on the hand. Don't have a dead hand."

Ray Hunt

Ray Hunt passed away. When I first started riding colts in earnest I did so under the tutelage of some of his most ardent groupies. They taught me lots of cool stuff and later I attended several of his clinics In Oregon Washington, Wyoming and Montana and started a colt at the one in John Day Oregon. After that clinic I ran into him and ask if he'd seen Buck Branamman lately, a prodigy of his who helped me and ecouraged me a bunch in my Montana days, back when Buck only charged ten bucks for a Saturday afternoon clinic.

During that conversation Ray he told me that I'd done a nice job on the colt I started. It was a nice colt so it was no big deal but I appreciated the validation and will always remember it. Ray was major idol of mine and I have great admiration for him.

The last time I saw him was in Fort Worth at the cutting futurity. He was talking to his wife- alone by themselves out where people were milling around in the vendor area. I think he was in his chaps. I wish I would have walked over and said hi but I didnt and now I regret it.

Bits and Cavesons (mouth shutters)

Most of the people I work with have the curb strap too tight on their horses. Especially on the green horse thats going from the snaffle to the curb- most of the problem is they dont give all that well in a snaffle - then when they change bits th e curb strap is too tight- error on the side of sloppiness- two fingers? three? I can usually stick my whole hand through the curb strap on a green colt- you should be able to stick a couple three fingers between you caveson and the horses jaw- or take it off-

Loosen you equipement- it will help your horse understand- a ton.

Experiment with all of this. Also you can expiriment with how high in the horses mouth the bit goes- should it make him smile- Well, experiment and see what works- he needs to learn to pack it on his own -so sometimes I leave it hangind down- Also you can drop it way down so it almost falls out- like with a snaffle- so he learns to pick it up and pack it on his own- Just experiment and dont worry about it too much- what seems to work the best on your horse? Or does it seem to matter?

Afgani Polo

I thought this was interesting- I saw it on the news. Riders whip their horses and the other riders while trying to throw a "disembowled goat" into "the circle of justice"- one of the horses died during the filming of the news cast. To learn more about this sophisticated sport...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzkashi

Todays tip

Pickup. Release!.....Pickup...release! Pickup...hand still. Bump, Bump,Bump with the feet...Hold steady with the hand. Release. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Same goes for the legs... and preparing for the lead change. Move over, release, move over release. Dont change leads! Prepare, release, repeat....for weeks. Forget the lead change for a while.

Encouragement

I have long been a believer in encouragement because I have such an adamant hate for discouragement, especially the kind that comes from outside scources. Yuck. Give me good a old compliment any day and trust me too fill in the gaps on my own. At least that is my theory for dealing with other people. I'm talking about sharing information or teaching or motivating others to keep trying.



I break and train horses as and advocation and the first rule of thumb for teaching anything to a horse is to reward the slightest change and the smallest try. So that is the foundation I use when working with horses and people. If I'm trying to teach a horse to take a step backwards I put some pressure on the bit in his mouth by pulling on the reins. As soon as he even thinks about taking a step back I release the pressure on the reins. I build on this foundation.



It is the same with teaching kids to play basketball. I help coach sixth grade boys each fall and at the beginging of the season some of them are so lousy they can hardly heave the ball within orbiting distance of the hoop let alone put it in the hole. So I often encourage some of them with a heart felt attaboy in hopes that they will at least keep trying untill they can get the ball near enough to the rim that it may go through the hoop. But I try to be honest and not shine them on. I try to encourage them so maybe they will go home and practice and get to the point where I can say "Hey, nice one, you made it (or touched the rim) now try this technique" I show him the technique such as hand position on the ball or bending the legs more. Sure enough the next shot, in most cases, hits me upside the head. But the point is, if he is encouraged in such a way as to keep his confidence up he may at least practice on his own enough to where a foundation can be laid upon which to build.



Another case in point. One Danny Dunne. I met him on my online humor writers group. When he first started posting I feared for his life because he seemed to have a preoccupation with his own death. He posted hillarious stories such as, My Life as a Dead Person and My Obituary. They were not necessarily the lighthearted, humorus stories normally produced by the group. He'd scratch out a few morbid words in random sentances that flowed painstakingly uphill untill comming to a standstill mercifully ending the story by which time we first readers were contimplating our own death.

But nobody in the group was criticle of his writing. We just encouraged him and made a few kind suggestions sensing that any undue harshness might discourage him or possibly cause the old boy to throw himself off a cliff or try to strangle himself with his own mouse cord. Sure enough it wasnt long before he wrote an amusing story about his childhood. Then another about his highschool mishaps. They were lighthearted, interesting and actually contained a laugh or two. Nothing about death. What we didn't know was that what seemed like a preoccupation with death was really a dry sense of humor with a unique little twist. Before long he had his own Blog and had written a book that could be categorised in the "delightfull" category with favorites of mine like this. And some that are even more delightfuller. (Thats the beuaty of belonging to the encouragement croud, you can get away with delightfuller)

Danny and I have branched out from the group and created a group of our own now. We are prohibited from saying anything negitive by federal mandate and proffesional courtesy since we have both been, ahem, published. You would think it wouldnt work very good but everytime he reads my work and compliments me on a funny line it motivates me to write something. The nearest thing we come to criticism is reporting if something isnt clear. "Tim, not sure what delightfuller means. Please extrapolate." "Dan, not sure what extrapolate means." etc.

I kind of broke off from the original group when an old nemisis of mine, posing as a writer no doubt infiltrated the group as a new member with no other thought in mind butg to commit the foxpaus of criticising my work. Its not that I dont want criticism. Its that I dont appreciate rude criticism. And I dont like criticism that is based on personal preference. I took a break from the group after the critiques became so rude and opinionated I could take no more. I came back a year later but when I wrote a humorous story about elk hunting this certain member me took offense and criticised me sanctimoniously about what seemed to him a flippant attitude about the taking of a game animal for meat. I wrote a scathing rant about people that dispised hunting but wore leather boots and used leather saddles and ate chickens without so much as batting an eye. Poor chickens.

Also there is the public speaking story. Actually it was preaching. My wife and I took a preaching class at our church. When it was my turn to do my little preaching deal I shared about Gods love and told a story about my third grade teacher Mss. Klampee who washed poor David Dunleavys mouth out with soap for Saying "Gawwd." Not that he meant to take the Lords name in vain but probobly because he had heard everyone in his immideate family say it a million times. Unbeknownkst to him the wrath of God came in a fiery handfull of that pink powdery handsoap that shot innadvertantly up his nose and about half killed the poor kid right in front of all of us. The memory was so vivid and so traumitised me and our entire tiny third grade class, let alone poor David, that upon regurgitating (no pun intended) the sad tale of woa I burst out in tears and slobbered and snorted out the rest of the "sermon" in front of the speaking class. The instructor, which consitsted of our women preacher was very gracious to me in front of the class and did not criticize my "delivery" for lack of a better word. She told me in my quiet prayer time God would show me where I could improve my style.

When my wife and I got in the car I asked her what she thougth the lady preacher might have meant. My wife sayed, "Well, she probobly meant that you shouldnt go SSNOOORRRRTT! and wipe your nose on your sleve if you happen to be overcome by emotion on the pulpit" It was sweet of the kind reverand to leave me with some dignity intact. Dignity and confidence go hand in hand with encouragement. I went on to do some successful public speaking after that when it would have been just as easy to give up. Ive also never forgotton her kindness. As for my wife, she pretty much says what she means or keeps her mouth shut so she does not often feel indebted to the non chriticism claus in the federal mandate or anything else for that matter. Thats another part of the beauty of this system. Most people have someone from whom they can accept perfect honesty, at least part of the time. So by being the encourager, I get to be the good guy. Not that I wont be honest, but in order for me to be completely honest with someone I've learned its best to have permission. If I have permission I still use honest chriticism very sparingly.


And finally there was the bucking horse ride I actually made in front of a small crowd where I recieved a compliment that I have never written about. I was attending a horse training clinic in Montana during the days when I fancied myself as a proud buckaroo and rider of the rough string. In reality I was neither but at least I was young and gullible enough to not know any better. An elderly lady had a big mare that she had kept out on green grass who was tight as a tick and higher on grass than any crack addict in the territory. A group of people on horseback were instructed by the clinicion to gallop their horses to the end of the areana and back. On the way back the slick fat mare carrying the elderly women broke in two as it were, exploding in a wild buckinghorse fit that harpooned the poor ol' gal into the areana dirt with such an awful violence that the crowd leapt to its collective feet and dashed to her rescue. She sat up and emitted this horrible groan such as old people do before the . She collapsed againgasping their dying breath. Then, she collapsed like a dead lady. Since she was an old cowgirl from Montana she didn't even break a hip, but she did need a little rest before riding agian. The clinician said, "Wheres that Rawlins kid?" And I happily volunteered to ride the wild beast because I fancied myself a young bronc stomper and also because I was stupid.

I climbed on the mares back and waited and listened while we were givin instruction. Before long she decided to blow up again into another bucking fit. In my typical fashion I rode her to a standstill much to the amazement and awe of the appreciative crowd. It was a spectacular bucking display if I do say so myself but because the old gal had topped her off for me before hand this ride contained one element that most of my bucking horse rides did not, which was that I didn't fall off. The crowd, which consisted of horseman and my family and pretty girls and basically everybody who I could have hoped to impress in the world granted me a lively ovation much to my delight. To top it off, when the crowd quit clapping the experienced reveired clinician turned to his hapless assitant and sayed, " Alan, that kids got more talent in his little toe than you have in your whole body!" Compliments like this did not happen to me often or maybe ever but I will never forget the encouragement I get everytime I think about it. I dont know about poor Allen. I guess I should burry the hatchet and write my old writers group and see how he's doing.

Train for tommorw

I need to remember to not look for results so fast all the time. I think if I keep doing the right drills etc daily and look for the results throughout the week and the following week instead of getting frutrated when I'm not getting immideate results- Think along the lines of the horse subconciously picking up on what your doing in the daily drill but it not manifesting untill the end of a week or two.

Things to practice

What Ken said about keeping the shoulders straight up during the lead change made good sense.

Try chirping while moving the hip at the lope to keep forward motion, I'm hoping this will transfer over to the lead change- Jolena will change off the chirp, which may work better for her than the leg. Might try it with the leg realease into the new lead as opposed to legging her.

Also at the back up while saying whoa use the reins to keep the face giving so the horse learns to give its face when hearing the word whoa, not just backing up...per the Avila video.

here is a really nice colt for sale

http://www.equinenow.com/horse-ad-86355

Jolena training log

I decided keep a training log for Jolena- who is pretty finished except for that lead change to the left. My goal is to get her broke and in the show pen.

I got a little messed up trying to change leads on a striaght line from arena corner to corner with her- I was doing good before the clinic getting her bridled up and changing in a slow circle- also I really got her hips broke loose and worked on countercantering squares. Also I moved the hips at a trott going from left to right- getting her use to the transition from side to side she did best when I worked on hip control and countercantering and didnt change often.

I got in trouble riding her forward from corner to corner and letting her come out of the bridle and speed up- I was trying to ride her strait and look up and move her forward but that doesnt work to good for me right now.

I need to remember to bait her going from corner to corner so when she speeds up I can stop her, pull her into the ground, say whoa and keep her listening and not speeding up. She's starting to think when we round the corner in the circle to speed up - need to remember not to panic but repeat stopping her when she speeds up corner to corner and give her a few days to get it instead of trying to make her perfect in one day, even if she picked up the bad habbit pretty quick- like in one day-

I changed her once today countercantering a sqauare- I changed her on the corner and she changed ok but lifted up but still stayed in control.

Also- in her stops she was getting stiff in the jaw and lifting up at the end but a day in the snaffle really concentrating on putting the head down helped that a bunch. It helped on both her and Sally to adress lowering the head and giving the chin- a lot- not just getting a little but really making them turn loose

Also- the get a lot better in the circle when I bridle them up as much as possible- making them really really give and turn loose - the chin and the poll and the withers as much as possible- then they know I mean buiseness and quit dropping shoulder in the circle.

Also they really seem to hyperventilate when stressed. They seem to catch theyre breath quick if you get off and tie them up or even when I led Jolena to the trailer and back- after unsaddling her- she caught her breath in a hurry. They are really getting fit or getting their mind on something else calms their nerves and they catch their breath- either fit or nerves.

Jolena does good if I get off or at least let her stand 5 minutes and gather her wits - then back to loaping a circle and seeing if she wants to go slow.--After that she will.

anyway- a guy needs to think- not just try to fit in someones program or do someones drill but to experiment and think and do what works best for him.

Turn around

I rode Audries mule yesterday- I couldnt get his face soft in the turn around because he had been taught to turn by being legged on the outside rib and stiffening his jaw and looking at the spur. (I guess) Anyway I see and feel this a lot and its because the horse hasnt been taught to take an outside leg and give in in the face at the same time.

What finally ended up working on this mule - after much bridling up, counterbending, circling, softening, mostly at the walk, some at the trot. I was getting nowhere untill I finally brought the head way to the inside and used my outside leg a little- with the rockgrinders so it jus took pressure, not pounding- and not much pressure. When the mule stiffened his inside jaw- which he couldnt much because I had him bent, I applied more outside leg, then released the leg when the face softened- namely the inside jaw, so, it didnt take long before the mule softened his jaw at the use of the leg, as opposed to stiffening the jaw at the use of the leg- then when I loosend him up and let him streighten out in the turn around he stayed soft and turned correctly.

rock grinders

I love my rock grinders occasionally- very occasionally- but maybe a little more on some horses because I'm finding a little touch from the grinders can be more effective that having to overuse my dull spurs- which may be a little too dull.

The rock grinders can sure clean things up in a turn around and draw clearer lines for certain horses. - where in some cases the dull spurs are counter productive.

The Globtrotters

I wrote about the Globtrotters here and must comment on how being inspired by their life can influence the way I train horses. There was some talk at the last Irish clinic about being and looking and riding frustrated. Not what I'm going for. To some. Like Bettina Drummand a well trained horse is an expression of art. And I guess deep down maybe thats what I'm going for although I've not thougt of it like that. Anyway frustration probobly doesnt go to well with expressing art, because its ugly. So I think my Globtrotter inspiration will help me to be more carefree and have more fun training horses, not to try and controll everything but let mistakes happen occasionally and not panic but trust that everything will be fine if I do the right things and loosen up.

John Irish workshop

Things I learned at the John Irish clinic

John has really helped me ride square and stay in the middle of the horse - look where I'm going, drive with my legs, keep my hands still while driving the horse into the bit- not chasing the face around with my hands- drawing both reins in one hand straight to my bellybutton - sometimes my sternom.
We worked on keeping the Shoulders the up in a twelve foot circle and in a straight line.
Not to brace or lean back at the stop,
Have someone watch and tell you what he sees
Releasing after bridling up is like hitting the reset button
My horses are too backed off
I need to ride my horses more forward
I need to keep my horses shoulders up in the turn around - which later felt like more compression, more bridled up, straighter

I watched John help his wife Rose whose horse seemed to want to run pretty strong in the big fast circles- instead of just letting the horse run hard until he tired John had Rose bridle the horse up, (I mean really bridle the horse up) while keeping forward motion, then turn the horse loose. (hit the reset button) After an aplication or two of that the horse was more willing to slow down

After practicing the twelve foot circle with the shoulders up my horse that over bent in her right circle traveled straighter and guided better in the large fast.

I'm still working on getting more forward in my horses- it helped to use a leather curb strap and a bit with less port- I lowered it in the horses mouth and it helped her from lifting her chin a little when transitioning to being bridled up- I'm working on taking out the resistance and adding forward.

Also I leaned, in so many words, to pick a direction and go for it, even if its not exactly right- which is what I did after his last clinic last fall- I miss interpreted some of the things I thought I was seeing him do or immagined him teaching- It may have not been exactly what he had in mind but nevertheless it helped my horses.

Also today two days after the clinic I experimented with lots of rollbacks in the bigger faster circles, not real fast, - just used woa and rolled back the other way- after lots of bridling and forward and reset button- the combination of the two worked nicely to get the mare backed off - didnt pull on her at all. just said woa- the first two times it scared her to death and she tripped over the dirt and 'bout fell over- anyway the rollback drill worked- not something John taught or probobly would condone- but hey, I picked something and went with it, and it worked, at least for me, for now. We'll see.

elevator bit article

Les Vogt’s California Classics Elevator Bits “People think I borrowed my elevator bits form an elephant trainer, but they’re really quite mild and can do magic things for a horse,” says California reinsman Les Vogt. He explains that the unusual snaffle bit was designed by the legendary horseman Jimmy Williams to establish and maintain an efficient working frame, without disturbing the horse’s momentum and balance.Les gets technical: elevator bits have a neutral 1:1 leverage ratio because the mouthpiece is located equidistant between the headstall ring and the rein ring; but the shank’s overall length of about 8” helps a rider to lift his horse’s shoulder without “putting on the brakes.” An ordinary grazing bit has a leverage ratio of approximately 1:3, which means that for every unit of lift, you create three units of “whoa.” For a horse that drops his inside shoulder in turns or circles, trying to lift the shoulder with an ordinary bit causes a contradiction: the more you lift, the more the horse thinks you want him to slow down.Les adjusts the elevator bit very low in the horse’s mouth, just missing the eye teeth. He says, “The lower you hang this bit, the more a horse will lengthen his topline as he stretches down toward the mouthpiece. Horses like to cradle a snaffle with their lips and tongue because it gives them security that they’ll feel a pull with their mouth before they get in big trouble, so I use elevators low to get horses to relax in their necks, shoulders and backs. If a horse braces against the bit, he’ll be stiff, hollow his back ad be harder to fix.”Also, Les uses a very loose curb chain to allow the horse a long warning time before the chain contacts the chin. “This is a training it, so I want the horse to have a fair chance to pay attention and respond before the bit takes firm action.““I like elevator bits for nay horse and train with them almost everyday, because they act like a plain old snaffle---you can even thread your reins through the direct rein slot---until you need more sophisticated action. If I run into a shoulder or stiffness problem, I can help the horse right away,” said Vogt. “They may look a little unorthodox, but elevators bits are very humane because they help a horse to balance himself efficiently,” he added.

Categories

Here is a list of fairly major things that I've learned lately- just so I can get them down on paper. Later I'll blather on in detail...

Fencing- Do enough so they hunt the fence and hunt keeping streight to get there.

Stopping: Double after a bad stop- Al Dunning, Becky, Wes

Rate: On a chargy horse, dont contain the horse but rollback on the straightaways untill they come back.

Turn around: Keep the feet moving (relearned change directions

Chargy and pulling in the circles- less pulling on the face to slow and soften- more fairly relaxed rollbacks.

Lead change: Never scare or hurry a horse into a lead change- get him really moving sideways off your legs, turning on the forehand, countercantering square corners first before asking for a flying lead change.

Lead Change- Practice changing directions at the sidepass- The horse must be able to do this symotaniously before asking for the change. - Nancy Cahill

Lead change: Get the horse really, really good at sidepassing. Tap with a wip or tip of rein to accentuate if needed.

Lead change: counter canter and on the corners, really, really, move the hip- a lot- practice moving the hip at the trop to warm up- use the wip as a backup to get the point across if needed.
Lead change: dont forget to keep riding forward when you ask for the change.- not just one side of the horse.

Bridle the horse up by pulling the reins one handed to your bellybutton and kicking evenly in the belly- John Irish

Hip controll: backing in circles with the legs hanging in position no pressure - just open doors- notice the lightness and how much the hips move from side to side when changing directions- Buck Brannaman

Hip controll: Moving the hips a little at a time- back and forth
Buck Brannaman

Spooking: Get the horse behind the bridle, one handed, John Irish style.

Spooking: Moving the feet and keeping the horse extremely busy and active- lots of repitition

Groundwork: Do what Clinton anderson calls lunging for respect- so when you direct the horse with the lead he moves his feet accordingly.

Leading: Do lunging for respect while walking from end to end of the arena.

Trailer loading: Do the lunging for respect and make sure the horse can do it in a tight place- next to a wall then the trailer- make sure he moves his feet untill his attention is on the trailer- Clinton Anderson- Also Joe Wolter on trailer loading- hang on- Pookie has a log on fire that wont fit into the stove.

Turn around on the ground- Move the front end just a little at a time- Clinton baby.

Green horse turn around- get the hip out of the way- kick it out of gear first then move the front end around- works really good for a green rider who needs to feel it on a green horse - flag the horse from the ground

Green horse turn around- get the horse handy from the ground Buck Brannaman, Bill Dorance

Green horse turn around- Move the hind end out of gear then move the front end over the same way while walking the horse down the fence.

Advanced horse turn around: Drive the horse forward with the hip in while tipping the nose in walking actively or trotting in a circle the same direction as the turn around. John Irish, Shawn Flarida video.

Rollbacks- Larry Rose backs his horse a long ways when practicing rollbacks to eliminate anticipation

Shawn Flarida completes an entite 360 degree turn before loaping off when practicing rollbacks

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Things I keep learning

The purpose of this blog is to keep track of the stuff I keep learning that are continuing to refine my fairly unrefined reining program. I've learned so much in the past couple years - peices of the puzzle are comming together, or at least changing, so I wanted to write them down so I wont forget them- and maybe it will help someone else in their training.