Pulling them into the ground

Pulling them into the ground works really good sometimes when your tired of mamby pambying them around and you need to get something done- You cant always beat around the bush. Sometimes making the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult is too vague. So when they speed up, stop them, over and over again, you dont need to kill them, that is rip them into the ground and jerk their face off- just stop and start over. If they pull on you, soften the face, you may need to wrestle them down, shake them down, see-saw them down forcefully, then forgive them totally and lope off again, which is what I did with Whiz today, who was being a total stiff, dope and wanting to raise up and stiffen up when being guided in his circles, so I stuffed him into the ground and softened him and drove him into the bit, then loped off back into the circle and after enough of this he slowed down and got soft and WANTED to slow down in the middle.

This also worked on Humble when he was learning to stay put in the counter canter- when I put my leg on him he would anticipate, run, get upset and carry on like a dork. So I pulled him in the ground, softened him, pretty aggressivly- its like I had to be very firm so he knew EXACTLY what I wanted from him. Then he was like, "Oh, you want me to go slow? and relax? and not charge? and not lean? why didnt you just say so?)

So instead of beating around the bush and skirting the issue, I keep him in the counter canter, keep shoving him around with my legs, if he gets upset, stop him and start the whole process over again. I have better luck doing this than I do by strictly letting them go at a lope and training on them until they settle down- I still do it, but sometimes it helps to pull them into the ground until they quit all their nonsense. It really helps to fully forgive them after you pull them into the ground and soften them - no big deal, just keep doing it until they improve - then let them stand and breath.

Lead Changes, take 2,372

Humble, 4 year old Derby wannabe - beautiful lead change today. The deal is on lead changes you have to be able to side pass like a wild man. You should be able to go around the arena each way, side passing the whole time with some dispatch. They need to be able to sidepass from left to right to left to right with no hesitation. You have to be able to send them sideways with no resistance immediately when you touch your leg to them.

Then when you ask for the change, you dont nessesarily have to ask for the change. You keep riding forward and apply your leg for the new lead but just get him to move over a little - to move that hip into the direction of the new lead. Don worry if he doesnt change, just dont upset him. If he moves off of your leg but cant quite make the change, but doesnt get scared, be happy and be patient- at least he is trying. If he speeds up pull him in the ground and start over.

Get him to counter canter, move his ribs to the outside of the circle in the counter canter, (with nose pointed in a tad so he can see where he is going) Then Move his hip to the outside and nose to the outside- and counter canter squares shoving the hip out with the nose shaped the same way. Do all of this until he can do it without being scared and without anticipating the lead change- he just needs to stay put- in what you've asked him to do- when you ask him to change, if he gets fast, stop him, if he doesn't change you can let him go as long as he doesnt get scared, quit asking for a few strides then ask again, you can ask for as long as he tries to move over. You may have to stop and get him even better at side passing, moving his hip in, turn on the forehand, kicking the hind end out of gear, walking around in circles with the hip leading shaped like the letter c- anything to make him automatic at moving off of your let including sidepassing at a trot around the entire outside of the pen- roll your spur up his side if he doesnt hustle- make him over learn it- that is the trick to getting the lead change, that and not scaring him.

Hackamore

Really am starting to like riding in the hackamore- I have one mare that responds especially well= it doesnt scare her but she respects it, The Bozal helps her keep her shoulders up.

Fencing

I try to fence my horses almost every time I ride them now because it teaches them to run straight. It also teaches them to run. When they are far enough along I speed them up. It does lots of good things. When you can speed them up its like blowing the carbon out of them. When you stop them at speed it makes them pay attention and want to go slow. So it takes more effort to get them to speed up, which makes them even want to stop more. If you have one that stops hard but isnt free in the front end, like the Jac Daniels Neat three year old I'm riding, fencing, all the way to the fence will get them thinking about running and the more you do it and they get used to it the more relaxed they will become and that frees up the front end to.

Another thing that helps is something Doug Phipps used to do when I rode with him twenty years ago or so. When I run down and ask for a stop and the horse jams his front feet in the ground I just instantaneously trot forward to the fence or sometimes lope off again. I try to get him so when I pull on the reins he slows down and keeps going forward, - doesnt slam into the ground. That there, combined with the fencing will really help to keep them mobile up front when you do say the word Whoa!

Being a technician

When I get frustrated because I'm not riding the caliber of horse I would like to be riding I think about being a good horseman. You have to have a special, athletic, good minded horse to do well in reining competition. So when I'm not riding one that fits this description I need to remind myself that I can still be a good horse technician and work on doing the very best with what I have. So when I do get that good one I'll be prepared. Also, its rewarding to know you've been the best horseman you can be and got as much out of a particular horse as possible, even if your the only one who knows it. There is pride in that and it will not go unrewarded.

A good way to discover if your riding a decent horse is to watch a video of it or watch someone else ride it. Its a good way to bring you back down to earth if you find yourself thinking your horse is better than he is.

Tie downs

They work good- If a horse is fighting the bit and raising their head up I'll just tie it down. They seem to deal with it better than if you fight with them to keep it down- it works- The bottom line for me isn't to have perfect hands, although I pride myself in having knowledgeable hands, the bottom line is to end up with a broke, broke horse. If I have to use a tie down to do it, so be it. The horse stays happy and thats how you get them broke, not by upsetting them day in and day out. Brett Stone won the 92 futurity on Boomernick. I think he trained him in a tie down often.

Bits

I love rotating bits. I like to get them really really broke in the snaffle, ie, smooth snaffle, gag snaffle, gag snaffle in draw reins, small twisted wire- a young horse will bridle up pretty nicely in a small twisted wire snaffle, in one hand if you get him really broke to the snaffle.

After they get pretty broke in the snaffle, moving to the shank snaffle they feel surprisingly broke, when they get good in that, if you've done your homework they will feel fabulous, (Humble - 3) in the correction bit- then if you use a correction to bump that nose or chin in, they take you very seriously.

I like to keep rotating bits draw reins etc and not keep them too long in any one shank bit if I can help it. Like to rotate around in the snaffles to keep them fresh.