Re: Re: unwilling trot out

[Sue Brown <sbrown@wamedes.com>]

At 10:46 AM 8/28/00 -0700, Kris Hazelbaker wrote:
>One question, though.  Sue, if I understand correctly, with the good whack
>on the hip, you are getting the horse to move forward, but almost
>immediately asking him to stop again?  

Sort of.  When you get the forward response, trot a couple of steps then go
back to the halt -- practicing, of course, a nice smooth transition from
trot to halt. ;-)  Do the exercise again right away...the horse will
probably trot out very quickly the next time.  You have to go back to where
you started within a very short period of time to cement the instruction.
Remember, the lesson at this moment is *going forward in the trot from a
halt* -- so just concentrate on that aspect for that session.  Once he
understands to respond immediately when you give him the cue, you can start
working on other aspects.

Before you do what's in the preceding paragraph, you need to have the horse
responding nicely to walking forward with you.  I'll explain in a minute. 

Are you talking about working on a
>longe line or long lead?  

Long lead or whatever you would use for a trot-out at a vet check.  Be sure
to keep plenty of length between you and the horse so that he doesn't come
off as lame from having his head pulled toward you while you try to have
him go forward straight -- but not so much that he doesn't pay attention
and trots away from you! 

I guess my downfall right now is being able to
>"rate" him at the trot.  He tends to be a "barger" even at the walk, and we
>have worked through that, but now I'm not sure how to do the same for the
>trot.

Get him used to having you along side of him at the base of his neck an
arm's length away.  Practice doing "walk with me" and then halting -- stop
and turn sharply facing his shoulder (still keep your body even with the
base of his neck)...he should come to an immediate halt.  Stand.  Walk
again by turning and walking forward briskly.  If he lags, give him a
little encouragement to move forward.  Train him to respond to your forward
movement by moving forward with you.  Walk a few steps, turn, and halt.
Give him a "good boy" when you get what you want.  Repeat the exercise a
few times after *EACH* work-out session.  Practice standing, walking, and
halting at every opportunity and you'll soon have a horse that responds
appropriately when you go forward or stop.  Gradually start doing this
without holding the reins so that he gets used to moving along with you
without being attached to you.  (In a small confined area at first, of
course. ;-))

Do this at the walk and, when you feel he understands, add a few steps of
trot -- but not so many that he has a chance to gain speed and gets way
ahead of you (or, in the case of a lagger, gets too far behind you.)
Concentrate on quick response and a few steps of trot.  Go back to walk and
halt.  Program his brain to keep you in this particular area where he can
watch your shoulders.  A quick point here -- if you WANT to walk away and
have him *stay* where you put him, cement "stand" in his brain...then start
your walking away from him by backing up a ways with him continuing to
"stand" before turning away.

When you have the above fairly well understood, take him jogging down a
long, straight trail for a considerable distance where you can both settle
in to a speed that you can handle and he can adjust to by keeping your
shoulder to the side of his neck and in his vision.  With a little
practice, he will find the speed that matches yours -- sometimes a little
too slow, sometimes a little too quick but keep practicing...then just jog
with him a bunch (really reinforcing that particular brain groove. ;-)) 

The point at which the dressage whip usually appears is when you add the
trot.  (I've got one that needed it for the *walk* -- but she is truly one
of god's least motivated horses...however, a GREAT beginner instruction and
trail horse!! <g>)  Assuming the horse has been taught to lunge correctly
and to respond to verbal and "noise" cues (kiss, cluck, buzzer, etc.), you
add the trot request at this time using the already understood cues (for us
here it's "trot" and a kiss.)  If there is some confusion over the signals,
go back to the lunge and review...then go back to the "trot with me"
session and try again.  If you feel that he understands the cues and just
wants to respond "in his own sweet time" or not until you do the cues over
and over -- bring out the whip and start the "move forward when I tell you"
lesson.  Then go right back to the beginning of the "trot with me *AS SOON*
as *I* trot and give you the cues" lesson and do it again.  

When you tap with the dressage whip, tap hard enough to make it
unpleasant...the exact amount needed to get an immediate response
(energetically forward) depends on the horse.  A mere gesture with the whip
may be all that's needed for one horse (like a couple of my Arabs) where a
solid smack might be needed for another (like my thicker skinned, seriously
unmotivated Appy mare.)  Do the minimum needed to get the message across
but *don't* start lightly tapping repeatedly (nagging)...the cue should be
one tap hard enough to get the message across, that's all (same as you
would do in the saddle when teaching a horse to go forward.)  It's not the
same as trying to convince a horse to move quietly into a trailer by
becoming a mild tapping annoyance. 

I got a little lean on my explanation this morning regarding forward
motivation -- over simplified it a bit because I had to get out the door to
work.  Hope this helps understand this process better...and I hope I didn't
miss too much in this explanation.  Any questions?...you know where to find
me. ;-)

Sue




sbrown@wamedes.com
Tyee Farm
Marysville, Wa.