Re: RC: dealing with refusals-how far do you push them?

[RQuestarabians@aol.com]

In a message dated 09/24/2000 6:11:42 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
horselover32904@yahoo.com writes:

<< quick question- if you ask your horse to cross a ditch
 or go a certain way.(anything they do not like..), and
 they refuse, is it imperative to continue to force
 them?  when do you end the fight?  I am afraid that if
 i let her turn away, she will refuse again later on
 something else, but i hate to "beat"her into
 submission- Help!!
 
 I always start with a request, then a firm pressure,
 then a kick, then the crop..
 
 
 thank you- sonya
 
 >>
Dear Sonya,

Horses respond very well to pressure. You keep the pressure on until she 
gives and takes a step. The important thing to understand is do not focus on 
the whole goal at once (crossing the ditch). Instead focus on getting just 
one step at a time. Keep the pressure on her (pressure can be your legs, 
tapping with the crop, anything that motivates her to move). . start with the 
least amount of pressure you can and just keep increasing the pressure until 
the horse moves something. When using your legs it is not necessarily the 
intensity of your legs it's how you use your legs. It should feel like you 
are kicking a soccer ball with both legs. . .you want that rebound effect. It 
has been my experience with horses that ignore the leg (dead to the leg) or 
resist going forward altogether seem to respond very well and immediately 
when you use you leg in this way. The upper level dressage horses 
(Warmbloods) I used to ride as a teenager, would sometimes take quite a lot 
of persuading initially to go forward.  If the horse does not respond to your 
legs, tapping with the crop or both, sometimes you have to really get in 
there,( keep it up ), and really let them have it until you get a response. 
The horse needs to understand that leg/crop means move . . not "Well, I'll 
just think about it." I guarantee you it will only take a time or two before 
you will have a "true believer" of your horse.  When you get a step 
IMMEDIATELY stop the pressure (kicking, or tapping). It is crucial that she 
knows that when she lives up to her end of the bargain that you do also. The 
important thing is to focus on one step at a time. With this method the horse 
will quickly learn that pressure means to move something, and release of 
pressure means reward. You've really got to be careful though. You have to 
really assess the situation. If your horse is a solid trail horse, and she's 
shouting at you "No I don't want to do this because it is Sunday today! " 
then the above method may be applicable. Number 1 is your safety. If the 
horse is telling you "No, I don't want to threw the ditch there are Bogies in 
the bushes on the other side" then you really have to make a decision as to 
how you think the horse will react. You certainly do not want to push the 
horse threw the ditch, and in turn she does a flying leap over it, and you 
fall off and break your neck. Nothing is worth that. There is no shame in 
getting off if you feel it is safer. A lot of times I just get off when 
riding my Greenies or young horses if they are rattled by something. But, I 
know that at that point in time I am safer on the ground, and I know for a 
fact that by getting off they are not going to jump ontop of me. Most of the 
time the green horses that I am riding will just follow me and say "Oh that 
was all I was afraid of?". The next time it is hard wired into their computer 
(brain) and it is never an issue ever again. I cannot stress enough to you 
that if you do not feel safe getting off and leading the horse . . if you 
even think she may jump ontop of you, do not do it. 
Maybe, try asking for a step forward and then a step back and, and then two 
steps forward, and one step back. This engages the horse's hindquarters and 
takes their mind of what was initially bothering them. Get her to do 
something you want, not what you don't want. If you really feel that she just 
cannot handle a certain situation, there is nothing wrong with asking her to 
go an alternate "safer"route until the she has more experience. In time she 
will not be refusing anything (other than normal horse spooks) when she 
understands perfectly the "deal" you make with her known as pressure (move 
something) and release (reward). Please E mail me if you have any questions. 
I'll be more than happy to help you out the best that I can.
Robyn