reinersblog.com

I joined a new forum - D board this week. We were part of a stampeed that left the old broken forum at country supply- horse.com. Our link is  Baywind Farm.http://www.baywindfarm.com/forum/Come and visit sometime. Over 200 active ueser stampeeded from the broken board to the new home,  leaving 30 or so of our friends behind. This new forum is awsome- best horse D board on the net I have found. We have a room for groups, a place to downlaod our picts from our computer and many awesome bells an whistles. Come on over to our campfire.

This summer I did chorus, went on one trail ride with the Nez Perce, and found a new forum. Also I kept putting that slow basic handle on my reining horses. I really wanted to go to a Les Vogt clinic or two in Yackama but had to count my pennies. Yesterday I bought groceries and said my -my how things change. Our dollar today is worth about 50 cents or so now. I wonder if I will be able to buy hay for my 9 ponies next year? I think about cutting my herd, but can’t figure on who to let go. They are all treasures, and none can be replaced. Happy Trails.

      Not much. They tell me wet saddle blankets make a horse.  I have 9 horses and I am just one me. I ride when I want to.  

      under construction

       Al Dunning had us walk a circle in a corner. The corner has two fence rails to help keep contained. Not that you are going to spill out anywhere at the walk, LOL. Another clinic we rode into the circle with a spiral down circle, and step around (turnaround )  then trot or canter forward. Run out because the turnaround is a forward motion exercise. Spiral down, turn around - then forward.

       A third exercise is the figure 8. The head or top is little and the bottom or body is big. Trot the bottom or big part and turnaround at the head or small part- one step at at time.  A forth turnaround exercise involves foot control. With the left rein ask the right front foot to step on one o’clock. Then turnaround to the left. One step right, turnaround left. Why ? We saw at that clinic how much more flashy the step right then turnaround left was. Wow. What a difference. Amazing. I need to put this on video on U-tube; but I have not yet. 

      When do you add the turnaround exercise to your training program? LesVogt is going to begin trot and canter turnarounds at the end of the first 6 months. He puts a solid foundation on his colts before he begins the turnaround.  I might wait a year in my program. 1) I get my colt going good on trails. This is kindergarden. I am mostly stuck in kindergarden, by the way. 2) Boone’s Secret, my elementary school- stuff learned mostly from a Larry Carsen clinic,  with other stuff thrown in.  3) Third School- Here I begin canter work and baby turnarounds. At the end of Boone’ s Secret I am cantering some.

      Boone was a crazy difficult Morgan Horse that I could not ride on trails, becuse I could not control his feet. So we did arena work exercises which became Boone’s Secret.  Boone ended up in a 4 - H home near Seattle, with a six month return guarentee; because he was after all a difficult horse. I have never had a colt I trained returned, and I was afraid Boone would break my record. But they kept him. So that means he was wanted and loved, in his new home. And that is all that matters, or counts.  Making dreams come true for someone looking for a good horse. Its all in the foundation. I believe the first 30 days lasts a lifetime, so get it right. My horses always go back to the first 30 days, when given a break or rest.

      I dont want any buck or resist in the first 30 days in my program. This is the first 30 days under saddle I’m talking about, which you can begin when the ground work is done. I did 4 years of ground work with my Kieger mustang- he broke my groundwork record for sure, LOL.  Difficult horse are great teachers. I learned the most from my Kiy.          

     under construction .             

      My friend called today with a dog training problem. His sweet, happy, boxer loves to run. She gets loose and she won’t come. He wants to know how to hard train her to come no matter what.  I told him I’d teach him how to hard train or soft train and he could pick his method.  These two methods are also in the horse world, both methods are used by backyard owners to top riders.  

      Hard training involves force and pain. The good side is you may achieve quick results. The badside is this can crush the spirit, and ruin want - to attitude and drive.  Soft training involves conditioned - response. You set up a place where you can get yes answers. For the horse it may be a round pen. For the dog, it may be a leash.  I was raised in a military family with hard training. I learned how to crush spirits in horses and dogs and men. Then someone taught me how to train soft.  

      I own 2 intelligent, strong willed, tough, sweet, soft Catahoula Leopard dogs. They are used in the south to gather cows and work hogs. The man I got my dogs from told me only teach your dogs two things go and come. To teach come use a shock collar. I have not needed the shock collar yet. This guy has owned Catahoulas 20 - 30 years, he knows Catahoulas. If ever there was a shock collar breed of dog- this is it.  

       My Catahoulas stay close to me when I ride. They were bred to wander. After a winter off my doggies had a drifting problem as they went hog wild. My first thought is get the shock collar- since this is how I was raised. But then I thought about conditioned response. When the horse does not obey, go back a step in training. If I went back a step in training with my dog I would go back to the leash, back to obedience school; back to come on the leash. This I did. My problem fixed. It took time.  

       Andy trains dogs for the military. He only uses a shock collar if its the last gasp effort before the death camber for the dog. He told me my intillegent high  energy dogs needed a job. Build them an agility course. This has got to be an excellent answer for exerciseing the body and mind of  a German Shephard on a military base in Germany, or a dog in a limited environment like the city. I could run my dogs more, I get my 4- wheeler or pick - up and they race ahead, wind in their face- happy in their heart - for this breed loves to run. Meeting the needs of the breed,  exercise can problem solve. But it takes time.   

      The shock collar is fast and easy. What is your goal?  Come no matter what? I have lost more dogs in Central Idaho than anywhere I have ever lived. If my dog is not with me he is dead. He better come no matter what. My dogs sorta kinda listen and obey. If I put more time in them they would be better. Or I could get the shock collar.  I could get a leash. They are always 100% ok on leash. Off lead obdience without the shock collar takes time.  You get to choose.  

      When the horse is corrected or trained with pain he stiffens up, he gasps, he may loose the light in his eye over time. Top preformance is lost.  John Lyons recommends instead of correct- direct the energy whenever you can in training. I try to apply this and I see a free, loose, not stiff horse and a happy dog. My dogs loves his job. He works hard with a waggin tail. Back in my shock collar days, I lost that joy.  I’m always looking for  a softer way to train.

      My dog had 2 weeks of training in him. We had a problem to solve. Could he find the sheriff on an 8 hour old partly flagged trail? Our first corner was not marked. Other turns werent’ marked. The trail would take a half hour to walk, with no mistakes. We were there in 15 minutes. Dogs with happy hearts can do more. I love soft training. The head of the SAR team was agahast! You have to work a half hour trail, and you must put a shock collar on that dog for a least a year; for after all he is a hound.  Thats not what I wanted in my training journey. We never went back.  I made a choice.

Ps. We teach disobedience when we ask for a yes answer and do not follow through. If you call the dog, he must come.  My dog just ran out the gate and he is running like a banshie- I am not going to call him because I am 99% shure he will not come. Or case B Jeb is in my fenced yard and I call him to come in the house and he refuses. I step on the porch and he comes. He knows the next step is I go to him, and he comes. He knows I followup. I have to teach this concept to my husband. Do not ask the horse, Can I catch you, and then not follow up, or you teach the horse he can win, or run away. I dont want my horse to realise that he can win.  I do not want to teach resist- I want to teach obedience.  

       I first learned the back a circle exercise from Al Dunning. When I found he was doing a clinic in my small part of Idaho, I did not let the fact that I was riding a green colt detur me from attending. He did not tell us why reiners practice this exercise, just do it. He did not tell how; one rein, two rein, what about leg aids? I got off my colt and backed her from the ground. We got her done with no resist, because Ruby has learned to follow my feel. Learning an exercise on the ground first can make it go smoother.

     Les Vogt teaches the back a circle exercise also. He tells us when to add it to the training program, how often to practice it in a training session, and what it does for the horse.  It strengthens the back end, the back leg muscles, and helps build the stop. Since it is a muscle builder, it should be practiced slowly, like conditioning an endurance horse, step by step. If I remember the DVD’s from last winter correctly, you begin towards the end of the first 6 months of training the reiner.    

      Riding Mac last week he stopped his feet at my request, but shoved his nose toward the sky, so  I backed a circle before I released. I learned if I release the rein when they are tossing the head, I teach them to toss the head, LOL. So I used the back a circle exercise with Mac for a correction. He broke at the poll and yielded his head a lot before we were through. Back a circle gives us many gifts.  

     It helps in turnarounds. My turnarounds are just baby beginner steps of 1/2 or 1/4 turn at the walk, step by step. Back a circle can be married to a beginning turnaround exercise. 1) Pick up left rein, 2) back a circle butt to left away from right leg ( to move butt over use right leg) then 3) stop or pause, 4) step 3 steps to right. ( move shoulder over. ) It really helps my shoulder flow right when I start with back a circle, but I have no clue why this works so well.  ( Butt is backing to left pause- shoulder forward to right- This is hard to put in a word picture.  Butt  moves away from right leg.  )   

      The horse must know to move the butt away from the leg before B a C exercise is done from the saddle. I teach yield butt to leg with a turn on forehand exercise. I do my training exercises in a dee ring snaffle. When I taught back a circle at a clinic last spring, we backed one step. Pause. One step over ( move back leg one step )  repeat back one step- stop or pause, one back foot over. If my horse will not move that back foot over from my leg, I know how to connect the rein to the foot and ask with the bit, so that is my demand cue. I teach step by step, and I begin with one then two, then three steps of B a C, not with the whole exercise at once. I train in steps slowly. Hope that helps give yah something to chew on this week.    

      The turnaround is a forward motion exercise. Knowing this I may ask for shoulder over one step, pause, one step forward, repeat- shoulder over one step, one step forward, to keep the horse thinking forward in the turnaround, or pre- turnaround. This is surely not the finished product, only a part of the beginning. I hope that was clear, teaching is not easy. LOL>   

      Why back a circle?  Les Vogt talks about this in his Cowhorse U program. It builds muscle in the hind legs for stop, helps the stop. I found if I a back a circle to the left- then step right 3 steps it frees the shoulder for a better turnaround. It is a great exercise to get the horse to yield his nose too.  

      For more information on back a circle exersise see Al Dunning tapes and Cowhorse U DVD’s. Happy Trails-     

      I went to a reiners barn. I looked at the stalled horses- every one- every single horse had lost the light or spirit in their eye. They were gone- but they were here. What happened to these horses?

       Some say not to look a horse in the eye. I do. Its part of reading my horse. How do you feel? I have owned Mac for 15 years- raised him, trained him- another cowboy put 2 weeks on him when he was 3- otherwise its just Mac and me.  He never has learned to trust. He does not say it in his behavior- he say it in his eye. He could come undone- he never has but it is there- I know-its in his eye. Mac is a difficult horse- but he does not have a difficult story- because he has always said yes.

     Yes I will cross the creek, yes I will load in the trailer- yes I will stop-  He gives a willing want - to attitude because I never pushed him over the edge. Doug Millholland said if you train a colt right- you will never have problems to fix. This works best on a colt with a good brain.  I trained Mac without a fight. We learned step by step how to dance. He is not an anybodys horse and he never will be- because he can come undone.  I see it in his eye.    

      One day I went to pick up a backfoot. Faster then lightening he kicked his belly. ” I could kick you, you know” - he said. Yes, I see that, and if you kick me I would never be fast enough to get away. I dont need to pick up your foot. I could if I wanted to. I could put a scotch hobble on him and tie that foot up- throw him on the ground if I wanted to- I could be boss- I know how to do all those things. But I wanted Mac’s trust, and you dont gain trust by force.  

       I have to go to the house and think. This is what I do when I am stuck. What happened? Oh- Johnny the cowboy ropes feet- Ray Hunt style. Mac got his feet roped. He does not want me around his feet no more. He remembers. Fast forward- I can pick Mac’s feet up today. I didn not re- train him or fix the problem, or work on the problem. I worked on building trust. And then one day, I could pick up his feet again- like when we were young in the days before Johnny.

     Control the feet- the foot placement the direction of travel- and you control the mind.

      Training without force builds trust. I want to learn how to do that. I want to learn how to do that better.  I never want the light to go out in my horses eye. That’s my goal.   

      Hank rode Mac on a search last spring. Us Search and Rescue folks was lookng for a suicide victum. Hank could not catch his horse in the spring; so he rode mine. Mac was a good boy. He took care of Hank. I believe if you take care of your horse, chances are they will take care of you too.

     I need to learn to post pictures. Until then Mac has a sub album in my photobucket album- sub albums are to the left. Photobucket link is in my first post.  You can tell in my Mac photo album, my dressage stinks, LOL>           

      I have ridden in a few Pat Wyse clinics. Pat rode with Monte Foreman, and he co - wrote Horse Training Science. My favorite clinic was with a Pat Wyse student. He is an un- known Idaho cowboy. After he listened to one of my songs, he began to train in slower steps- and that is why I enjoyed his clinic. I love training slow. I had to walk my horse through a rollback before I could go on with fun stuff.

     I put my Arab - Quarterhorse mare I have raised and trained myself into a fast gallop. I was told go faster- we did - then I was told to stop. She will never stop- I thought. I got in her mouth with that snaffle bit and she slammed her front end down to the ground in a very on the forehand stop. Rider error. Again we try- do not get in her mouth- do not get in her mouth I chant to meself.  She produces a beautiful butt in the ground slide. She taught me the stop is not in the bridle- its in the brains and in slow step by step training.  John Lyons calls it training the mind.       

I once read about a big Florida trainer who got burned out upper level dressage horses and taught them reining. The burned out reiners he taught dressage. So I began a quest. How do reiners train? What is dressage?  

   I learned about half halts in dressage and feeling the feet for timing the aids or cues this week on a dressage forum. Someone on the forum recommended Dorrence’s book- Horsemanship through Feel.   These two things I may work on all winter to get them from the brain to the ground- or horse.  Today I have been reading mugs blog. She is a delightful reining horse trainer in Colorado.   I went to this reiners blog- and she recommened 2 dressage books. LOL.

Now I am rereading Henry Wynmalen from a reining perspective. I went back to April when she started her blog- I am hooked on mugs. She has heart.

www.mugwumpchronicles.blogspot.com/2008/06/favorite-books-or-adds-guide-to-horse.html