Training – Hippology

Coeur d’Alene’s first Christmas

Lena doesn’t know what all the hype of Christmas is about. She thinks it stinks so far. Okay so she got a cookie with breakfast but after that it was hard work!
I forgot to bring my GoPro out so I only had my phone camera.

Today was a day of firsts.
-Although I have picked up Lena’s feet and cleaned them out over the summer, she has never had them trimmed. First pedicure. Front feet only as I don’t want to make it overwhelming. She is still quite young.

Whenever I have picked up or cleaned her feet I have done it at liberty. Today it was time to start learning to tie. Not in a knot, of course, just wrapped around the trailer tie three times. Enough to not let her walk away but not enough to keep her there if something happened and she panicked. Since we have been working on leading, standing, backing, and all the other things on a lead rope over the summer, she understood not to walk away.

-Both front feet cleaned, trimmed, and filed.
She knows that “good girl” means she did good. We worked on that this summer. Scratching the best spots and giving treats while telling her “good girl.” That helped as I was working on her I could verbally let her know what she was doing was the right thing. I would also give actual scratches while giving her a break as a bigger reward. She did great.

In the fall I had taken Lena to the north side of the farm to see her sister, Juno. At the gate entrance to the north side there is a wooden bridge over the big wash. Lena stepped on it and decided it was not at good thing to walk on and proceeded to leap over the rest of the bridge to the other side! Today we started on the desensitization of walking on wood planks. After all, Shoshone did it for me in the spring when moving to the south side to the maternity pen. All I had to do was ask her and she walked right over. Time for baby to learn that she can trust me when I say it is okay.

An introduction to the bridge before starting.

I lead her up to the small (5 foot), partially covered, bridge over the small wash into my backyard. Of course she didn’t want to touch it. I had a bucket of hay by me to help with the big reward when she did come up. Each time I would encourage her to move forward a little further. She was not allowed to go backwards. If she did I would pull the lead rope with little tugs until the exact moment she made a forward motion. Forward motion doesn’t have to be an actual step at first. A forward motion can be as small as a shift of the body forward or a lifting of the foot with the intention of going forward. Always reward the absolute smallest of things at first so they get the idea then build on it. I wanted to reward not only for trying but for thinking about trying and concentrating on the task at hand.

Below are the videos I took with my phone. I did the best I could with one hand. Each time I stopped the video I gave her a break. We walked around the yard as I gave her scratches etc. to give her a mental break and reward. I didn’t want it to be overwhelming.

Video 1– I encouraged her to explore the bridge by looking, sniffing, and yes…licking. She is Licky Lena, after all. We had only been working less than a minute before I thought of getting my phone out to record.

Video 2– Lena takes one step onto the step in front of the bridge.

Video 3 – Getting a little stuck and attention going elsewhere but she stepped both front feet on the step and then a foot on the bridge! That gets a big bite of hay reward.

Video 4 – Another successful step onto the bridge. Getting a little more okay with it.

Video 5 – She is getting a little fidgety and nibbling the lead rope (she was getting a little mentally overwhelmed so she was looking for something else to do) so it was important she step on the bridge again so she can get another big bite of hay as a reward or I would have to give her a break from it. Getting her to step would reinforce the stepping on the bridge and getting hay idea. She did it!

Video 6 – She is getting comfortable with it. A little encouragement and she steps right up with both front feet and gets a big reward.

Video 7 – Much easier and quicker now. She steps right up and gets rewarded.

Video 8 – The last one for the day. Right up on the bridge. We will work on the back feet up on the bridge a different day. This was a lot for her today and she did so well!

This is really the same principles I use for introducing probably most, if not all new things.
-Keep the focus but don’t let it become so challenging that you loose them mentally.
-Reward for the littlest of things at the beginning and build on it.
-Always let them know when they are doing the right thing.
-Give them breaks so they can mentally reset. After they did the right thing is a perfect time. They can process what just happened.

-J

It’s a small price to pay for the life you lead.

Wild horses are a majestic sight to see out in the wilderness. They conjure up emotional feelings like power, strength, grace, beauty, and most of all…freedom.

When these magnificent beauties leave the wild and enter our lives there is a trade off. I am NOT discussing whether they should remain wild or not nor am I talking about the round-ups. That happens before they enter my life. I am talking about their new life. With me.

In my life on my farm they give up their freedom to roam around as they please. Yes, I would love to see them standing upon a grassy hillside with the wind blowing through their mane and tail but the fact is I live in the desert on a fenced in farm. The fence that keeps my mustangs in also keeps predators out.

They give up being able to do whatever they want when they want. Of course most of the time they are not told what to do other than to stay within the fence but there are times when they need to do something even if they don’t want to. It is a necessity for them to be halter trained, stand tied, let me pick up feet, and let me touch them all over while behaving. This is non-negotiable because I need to be able to lead them places in an emergency, stand at the hitching post if I need to doctor them, pick up their feet so they can be trimmed, and touch them all over also in case they need to be doctored.

Is it necessary for them to do more? When I rescue or adopt I do so with the intention of caring for them their entire lives no matter how long or short that may be. Being that I am human and not immortal I have to think of giving them the best chance in life even if I am no longer there. If I knew for a fact that I would be there for their entire lives then the answer would be no but since I am mortal, my opinion is yes. Yes because in order to give them the best chance in life I need to have them used to things horses encounter in their domestic life other than abuse, neglect, etc. What a great way for my horses and I to bond as well. Doing things together! Most people have horses to ride them. A horse that has never been under saddle may not be as appealing as one who has. Get the idea? It doesn’t have to be limited to riding. There is driving, horsemanship, trick training, etc. Most of all, an all around well mannered horse is very attractive. If you are not interested in actually riding, driving, or anything else then there are many things you can do to create a well mannered horse. Why not tack up with a saddle or harness or do some desensitization? Doing this in a positive way at the horses pace is not just a fun way to spend time and bond with your horse. It is a great way to set them up for success even if you can no longer be a part of their life.

They may have lost their freedom, family, friends, and home but in trade I give a safe place to call home, food, water, shelter, medical attention, new friends, and new positive life experiences.

-J

The Five Basics

The five basic moves that take you from passenger to driver.
Great things for your horse to know even if you never ride or drive them!

Growing up taking English riding/jumping lessons I found it frustrating that the way my friends rode was so simple and my lessons seemed so complicated. They mounted their horses and took off. Kick to go, pull to stop, and pull on one side of the reins to turn in that direction. Why did I have to do so much work?
Collection, connection, on the bit, lateral, cadence, engagement, blah, blah, blah. And what about the eluded half-halt! My friends never talked like that!

Eventually I grew up and started riding and training my own horses. There are five basic moves I like to teach my horses on the ground that transfer into the saddle. They are the basics of almost everything I do in the saddle and can be taught to horses no matter how young. Foundation building blocks, I would say. They are not something new that I invented or even thought of on my own. They were taught to me years ago.

I still do these on the ground and/or in saddle before every ride (after warming horse up) to check his responsiveness and attitude.

Flexion of the nose/face
Turning on haunches
Turning forehand
Reverse
Stepping latteral

Flexion of nose/face
Goal – When I “ask for his face” he will give softly, willingly, and completely.
I use it to ask for bend and stretch and to be soft and supple.
I started by standing my horses side at the shoulder or neck area. For the first few times at least, I had my lead rope attached to the side of the halter at the nose band area and not in the middle. Holding the lead rope about 1 foot away I applied a light intermittent pull until he turns his face, even ever so slightly, then I immediately STOP as the reward. I praise him for a bit and repeat. If he doesn’t do anything or turns the other way, I make the pulls a little faster and firmer until he does. As he learns what the correct response is he starts turning his head easier and I can ask that he turn it more and work my way to him turning and touching his nose to girth area with a very very light “ask”. I do this on both sides equally making sure to switch the lead rope to the side I am working on!

Turning on haunches- (yielding forehand)
Goal – My horse will step his front outside leg in front of and across his front inside leg while pivoting on the inside rear leg .
Used to gain control of my horses front end (shoulder and leg).
I start by standing at my horses shoulder holding the lead rope. I ask him to move away from me using my hands (raising them) and a click. My horses know that click sounds mean to move. 1 click = walk, 2 clicks = trot, and repetitive clicks mean canter. In the beginning I may need to poke a little with my finger on his shoulder or wave the rope at his shoulder in the air or making contact, for him to move away from my pressure. As soon as he does, I stop and praise before repeating. He doesn’t have to step correctly while learning the appropriate response. He just needs to move his front end away even just a step. After he learns to move away from my pressure I increase the number of steps as well as making sure he is stepping over and across his front inside leg with his front outside leg. If he is crossing behind the inside leg he is moving in a backward direction and I encourage him in a forward direction. If he walks more forward than over I step closer to his face to block off too much forward motion. Eventually he will cross over and over while pivoting on the inside hind leg in a complete circle.

Turning on forehand- (yielding haunches)
Goal – He will step his back outside leg in front of and across his back inside leg while pivoting on the inside front leg .
Used to gain control of your horses back end (hip, leg, and motor-more on the motor if anyone needs).
I start by standing at my horses hip holding the lead rope. I ask him to move away from me using my hands (raising them) and a click. In the beginning I may need to poke a little with my finger on his hip area or wave the rope at his hip in the air or making contact, for him to move away from my pressure. As soon as he does, I stop and praise before repeating. He doesn’t have to step correctly while learning the appropriate response. He just needs to move his back end away even just a step. After he learns to move away from my pressure I increase the number of steps as well as making sure he is stepping over and across his back inside leg with his back outside leg. If he is crossing behind the inside leg he is moving in a backward direction and I encourage him in a forward direction. If he walks more forward than over I take the slack out of the lead rope and bring my hand toward his withers to shut down his inside shoulder and forward motion. Eventually he will cross over and over while pivoting on the inside front leg in a complete circle.
Sound familiar? It’s the opposite of the turning on haunches.

Reverse or back up
One of the most important pieces for any horse to learn whether riding or not!
Goal – He will backup when I very slightly move or lift the lead rope or step toward him.
I start with a long lead rope or decent weight lunge line and stand in front of him. Slightly and slowly I move my hand and lead rope back and forth in a horizontal movement. I want to see very small waves in the rope. I increase the size and speed until he takes a step back or at least shifts his weight in a back motion. I stop and praise any attempt at the right response no matter how small. I work my way up to as many steps as I want with as little amount of asking as possible. If he tries stepping off to one side or the other I take the slack out of the rope to stop the movement sideways.

Stepping lateral (I only teach this AFTER they know all the other moves at goal level! It will confuse them if they don’t know the other moves)
Goal – My horse will step completely sideways (not forward or back) crossing both front and back legs.
I start facing my horse at his barrel with him standing at a fence facing it in order to prevent any forward motion. I raise my hand closest to his shoulder to ask to move over like I am asking for one step of turning on the haunches. I only want one step. Then I do the same with the hand by his rump. Again only wanting one step. Continue this alternating shoulder to hip and he will be stepping completely lateral.

Did you see the theme with each of the exercises? I am doing something that encourages the reaction I am looking for and as soon as I get it that something (some kind of little annoyance of a poke, rope swing, etc.) stops immediately. Timing is extremely important!

Right or wrong, this is what was taught to me and what I do with my horses. Every horse is different and it has to be broken down for some more than others or find a slightly different way to communicate to each one. It is my job to communicate with my horse in a way he understands and set him up for success! Just like children, if they don’t understand what you are saying, break it down into smaller pieces or say it in a different way until they understand.
Coeur ‘Alene had already learned back up and turn on forehand at only two months old. Now at four months I can ask for either without a halter and rope and back up usually with just verbally. When it cools off we will work on more.

-J