Les Vogt Supervised My Turn-Arounds
Wow! You sure had a lot to say about the turn-around. Thanks so much for all the help. You know the best part about it? Now I know I’m not the only one that thinks it’s a difficult maneuver. It’s really hard to get the hang of! They (the they, you know who they are) make it look so easy.
I got to go to my third Les Vogt clinic last weekend, as you know (only my second on horseback). During his clinics, there is free time where he’ll let you choose what you’d like to work on and have him help you with individually. I chose to spend most of my time, under the watchful eye of Les, doing turn-arounds and the collected sequence stop.
I think the two maneuvers have one major thing in common, that thing that Les is always saying, “It’s all in the neck!” This clinic really hammered home the importance of that. If the horse isn’t supple and soft in the neck, the maneuver will always fail. I don’t know why it’s taken so long for that to sink in to my noggin.
With the turn-around, I worked on the approach a lot (riding into it like Al says)–bumping the back of the horse up to the front, always keeping the form of the neck. When the neck was right I could make the attempt. I really had to pay attention to my hands (drrr). The inside rein (hand) helps create that bend where you should only see the horse’s eyelashes, and the outside rein (hand) controls the speed and also helps to keep the form of the neck. With Les supervising several attempts, I feel like I’ve really got the idea now and realize that it’s going to take a lot of practice before it becomes second nature.
I get it now. Basically, there should be no resistance in the neck whatsoever. None. Thats where I need to work with Leo right now, but he’s pretty dang close (I say this with no small amount of pride).
Amanda, you were talking about some hip issues? I think you said your horse might be swapping ends a little? Leo does that too. I watched Les have some riders really go to work on that. If the horse is swapping ends than one thing he suggests is “having a conversation” with the horse about it by pushing the inside hip to the eye, before trying again. Also, where is your foot/leg? Have you tried cuing from farther back, like you would to move the hip in a turn on the forehand? You probably already know that but just in case–it might help hold the hip in.
Now you know what it’s supposed to feel like you’ll be spinning post holes in no time.
20 Aug 2008 at 7:26 am
Yeah MJ! I bet you had lots of fun! Was it hot at the clinic? Wish I could of been there too.
22 Aug 2008 at 4:29 pm
It was 103 degrees on the second day. I saw one horse that was pretty affected by it and had to be taken out of the arena to get cooled down. The rest of the horses were fine. We were in a covered arena. I read this article on horse dehydration before I went because I knew it would be hot: http://www.horsechannel.com/horse-exclusives/too-hot-to-ride.aspx
It was funny. I kept checking the horse’s gums. I hosed him off before lunch both days and put him in a stall so he could have a break too. He thanked me with his eyes.
We took a lot of breaks and I did a lot of standing trying to keep the horse as comfortable and cool as possible.
I learned so much at that clinic. I think I learned more this time because I wasn’t such a deer in headlights. I was so nervous my first clinic! A riding clinic is a pretty intimidating thing really.
23 Aug 2008 at 11:42 pm
Glad you had fun and learned alot. I would love to go to a Les Vogt clinic sometime. We ran out of money this year- but I got my hay in for the winter- so I was glad for that.
Hay was $75.00 a ton, then $95.00 a ton, then $150.00 a ton- whew! Doubled in a two year spread! Gollie.
24 Aug 2008 at 1:35 pm
Yep, poor farmers. Same poor farmers that you see driving brand new pick up trucks to Florida winter homes.
Hay is up, grain is up. But I drive by acres and acres that aren’t planted with anything. Guess I better not get started…it makes me say bad words.
We did go to the Northern Illinois Horse Fair yesterday. Got to talk with Tommy Garland and Dave Robart. I wanted to talk with Tommy about tying horses around from the ground (checking em up). He was real good about it and we talked a few ideas around. We bought a halter/bridle rig that he designed that works really good for tying the young ones around.
Dave Robart designed some really great bits. Now I’m not a bit fanatic by any means. But his bits made sense and I bought one of his snaffle bits. Being the skeptic that I am, I held off on buying the bit he calls “The Reiner”. Seems like it should work really well and the snaffle has worked really good. I’ll probably order one pretty soon.
Chris saw Tracy Porter show how she gets her horses to bow and step up on a small platform. So she went out to the barn after we got back and darned if she didn’t have Ginger bowing like a trick horse. Pretty cool!!! Course now I gotta build some of them small platforms.
24 Aug 2008 at 5:26 pm
How did she get the horse to bow? With carrots?
I don’t know who any of those trainers are. I’m going to go Google them right now…
24 Aug 2008 at 10:28 pm
Yep use treats. Trick though is getting them to lift their foot with cue from stick. It was pretty cool really to see how she got them to do it at least a little in very little time. If nothing else it’ll make em easier to trim their feet.
25 Aug 2008 at 6:46 pm
Sorry I’ve been missing. Have had busy days at work, but I guess thats REALLY what I’m suppose to be doing when I write on here! Glad you got to do another clinic MJ, sounds like you’re turning into ME! I couldn’t get enough of them. Still can’t, but don’t have the funds like I use to before I was married! Why does that seem to be the first thing to go??
We worked on spins last Monday at our. She kind of has this problem where you walk a circle, then ask for a right spin & its like she doesn’t want to go into the spin, she fights you & tries to back out, so he had me immediately get her moving forward when she did that & she seemed to get it at the end. This past Sunday I took her to a show, not reining, we only did a walk-trot class, but I worked on spins in the warm up, she seems to be better that day. Also Al, do you find if they gain some speed in the spin, they tend to keep the hind end planted more? I think Doug said something like that or I heard it somewhere.
26 Aug 2008 at 1:53 pm