Identifying Challenges
I ‘ve spend enough time trying to get these circles right that I’ve now identified our problem areas (or “challenges”):
Circles to the right: he loses his bend and gets straight.
At a walk: we’re pretty good there, but I notice that on the side of the arena that leads home, his outer shoulder (zone 2) breaks out of form and starts to head home. His neck stays plenty flexi though (ugh!). I use my outer leg and touch his neck with the outside rein to correct him. This works ok at a walk.
At a trot: he completely bursts out of the reins with his shoulder at the “spot that leads to home.” Since we’re going faster, he almost trots right out of the arena in shoulder first head still aimed toward the circle he’s supposed to be in, so I start really tapping him with that outside leg and pull on the outside rein. This causes him to straighten up because I’m forcing him to go back. With no bend I try to put him back and he cuts off part of the circle. It’s a mess. I think we’re making a pear, not a circle. Really really bad to the right.
At a canter: I try to keep him in a bend, but I notice he’s just pointing his nose in a lot of the time. He seems to get tired very quickly, so I have to keep urging him forward. But he’s not collecting. He’s sort of slamming down on his front end if that makes any sense. He’s getting better about the leaning, but is definitely not in a nice bend. I have to keep after him to keep him going in a circle, and he often tries to do his MadDog shoulder drop and cut hard to the inside.
Backing: he’s backing straight most of the time, but not with any real hustle. I’m not wearing spurs and wasn’t planning on it for awhile, not until I’m really “off” my legs while riding (Les says so). I’m not sure how to get him going any faster without. Maybe I shouldn’t be worried about faster right now though.
Yielding: he yields great with the slightest touch on my right, but from the left it requires some tapping with my left boot top to get him to respond.
Reins & Riding: I’m getting better with the reins and better about keeping weight off my legs. I see why it’s important to shorten the stirrups when riding that way. If you don’t use your legs much, your stirrups fall right off. I’ve also started to ride with my boots jammed into the stirrup all the way to the heel instead of riding on the balls of my feet like I was taught to way back when. It does make you feel more secure once you get used to it.
Hi,
I just found your blog through another site & am enjoying it & I believe we are kind of in the same boat. A quick history on me…I started riding about 7 years ago, got my first horse, a 7 yo palomino QH in ‘01, then Clinton Anderson moved to my hometown so I participated in about 5 clinics with him, including an advanced one. Thats where my real horse training began (& also my interest in reining). So I’ve basically been following his methods since then & started gearing my training more towards reining. In Feb. of ‘06 I bought a 3 yo great-granddaughter of Smart Chic Olena & Taris Catalyst. Started her last summer & am continuing her training on my own. Then this June I sold my palomino mare & bought a gelding, well he actually was a stud when I got him but had him gelded the day I brought him home. He is a grandson of Smart Chic Olena & Jacspin. I’ve started him a little this fall, and am now just to the point where I’m about to get on him.
So the reason I say we are in the same boat is I’m trying to learn & teach reining to my horses without a trainer, from DVDs mostly. I just ordered the Andrea Fappani set & should be getting that soon. Next year I may call a trainer that lives close to me when I get my gelding going along good.
Something I wanted to suggest about your horse’s issue about not wanting to turn on the side that leads home…something that Clinton teaches is to make the wrong thing difficult & the right thing easy, so I would really make him work hard at the end he wants to be at, like trot or canter him in small circles there until he gets pretty tired & then take him to the other end & let him rest for a while, keep doing that til he decides he doesn’t want to rush to or stay at that end because its no fun place to be, just like horses that like to hang out near the gate, work them hard in front of the gate & rest them at the other end of the arena. It may take a while for them to catch on, but they will.
I also feel for you with the cantering. My filly isn’t too good at staying on the circle. I turn her head but if I let go she’ll just go off straight. But I’ve been riding once a week in an indoor arena since I don’t have one at home (yet! another story) & she seems to be improving every week. Actually last Tuesday she progressed alot. So keep plugging away at it, it should get better! Sorry for the book! Looking forward to your next post!!
~Amanda
26 Oct 2007 at 10:28 am
Something I’ve been trying here lately is modifying the “right thing easy, wrong thing hard” idea just a little bit. I’ve been trying to make “my thing” easy and “their thing hard”.
Here’s kinda it…we’re going along straight and he decides “let’s go this way instead”….ok maybe that’s a good idea, but if a little is good a lot is better. Wanna go to the right? Ok, let’s go right a lot…in a small circle. Not my fault it’s uncomfortable, it was your idea. These circles are too big and you want to cut them short? Ok, let’s see how small they can get at a lope. Go the way he wants to go but go a little farther than he was figuring. Seems they figure that I’m a complete idiot and I mess up everything they try to teach me so might as well just follow along with what what I wanted to do in the first place. In some situations it works better than trying to put em back where you want em or taking them completely opposite where they wanted to go.
Be careful too you don’t sour him (and you) on circles. If you got someplace to kind of “let him go” take him out and let him run a few cobwebs out. Sometimes I think we forget we’re basically dealing with “kids”. We get pretty focused on training and working toward perfection. Sometimes gotta let them “take the reins” for just a little bit to keep em fresh. That and every once in a while take him out and do something you know he’s really good at and he seems to like doing. Let him do it a few times, pet him and put him up. Gotta let him have some perfect days too.
27 Oct 2007 at 6:21 am
Amanda,
Hey thanks for the advice. I’m trying it out already. We’re doing looooots of work in that magnet corner of his. Thanks for the support too. It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one out there learning without a trainer. I’m jealous that you get to actually start a horse from the very beginning. I’d love to hear how it goes. Did you like the Clinton Anderson clinics? Did you learn a lot from them? More than in a DVD? I’ve never been to a clinic.
Al,
I took your advice today. Since we’ve been working hard all week, we took a break from circles and worked on other exercises. Also, the stables where I ride has access to trails. There is a big wide trail/road that goes straight up the side of the mountain. From the bottom, I let down the reins a little, and let him run as fast and as far as he wanted. He loooooves to run.
28 Oct 2007 at 8:50 pm
Hope you and Leo feel refreshed after your trip up the mountain. Seems that the ones that like to run really appreciate that. You can see it in their face. You kind of let him be the leader for a little bit and you played together. I think it kind of changes things a little bit from horse and trainer to partners. Each of you gain a little more trust in each other.
Now you can go back to work and get this reining thing figured out…together.
29 Oct 2007 at 5:39 am
I love starting them, I’ve only started 2, so I’m by no means an expert, but there’s just something about being the first person on them. I actually got on Doc & walked & trotted around this past weekend for the first time. Here’s a couple pics if you want to see…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/PalominoGurl/IMG_0467.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/PalominoGurl/IMG_0468.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/PalominoGurl/IMG_0469.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/PalominoGurl/IMG_0470.jpg
He did really well, so I guess I did my homework right.
I LOVED being in the clinics with Clinton. I learned SOOO much from them. It is different than learning from the DVDs because it was so nice if you had any questions you could just ask or if he saw you doing something wrong he’d let you know right away. Even just being in the audience & watching & taking notes at a clinic is informative too. But I do have a couple of his DVDs & watch them alot. Actually his colt starting one is what I use for starting one.
29 Oct 2007 at 10:07 am