Actually this "bump" thing came from an old John
Lyons technique. It works quite well. Has nothing to do with
striding or anything else. It's an "annoyance" thing. When you do
something to "bug" the horse, his tendency is to start trying things to get you
to quit. You IMMEDIATELY "release" when he "guesses" the right
answer.
When your horse is poking. You swing
your legs and gently "bump" his sides. This is fairly easy to do and you
can keep it up for a pretty good while without becoming tired. You don't do
it hard. Eventually, he will get tired of having his ribs thumped and
start trying things. As soon as he "walks faster", then you immediately
stop swinging your legs. If he slows down, do it again, etc. Pretty soon
he will learn to "hold" the speed you want to avoid getting "bumped". You can
use this as a "cue" to get the walk speed you want.
Works great with my guys....now only one "bump" is
required to get a faster walk. Another "bump" gets an even faster
one...
I
think that it very well may be before the front shoulder comes forward.
The trainer said that you should bump or push the ribcage just as the "hind
leg comes up", but it seems to me that it is easier to tell where the front
leg is than where the hind is (I know, I know there are many of you out there
that know exactly where all four legs are). At the walk, the front leg
is back (right before the front shoulder comes forward) and the hind leg is
starting its arc. At that point, he is moving his ribcage to let the
hind foot come up and you are just encouraging him to move it a little
more.
As
far as ignoring the cues, I think the word "bump" might be slightly more than
what I mean. You are not cueing him so much as just pushing the motion
that is already started. Rib cage swing, push, swing, push. If you close
your eyes and ride at the walk you should be able to feel the sideways swing
under your seat, and then you are just reinforcing it and encouraging a little
more swing.
Once
you have that, then the key is to take the motivated times and work to
encourage them to increase it and hold it longer...how many of us pat and
praise our horses for walking?? Just like any training, if you ask them
to extend the walk and they respond, even for just a few strides, pet them and
reward them for it and release the pressure, then next time ask for a few more
strides. When they will get to ignoring you is if you go along pushing,
pushing, pushing and never getting an increase, but you keep at it. They
never respond and never get the reward.
The thing you notice about Dot is that even at a walk, her legs are
active. She consistently bumps them in rythm with the stride
(alternating sides).
*Okay, I am a bit confused here......I have
heard conflicting things about this....one that if you lightly bump the
side of the horse on the side right before the front shoulder comes
forward, it will encourage this.....
second, that if your legs are always
moving, the horse will learn to IGNORE cues....as in it will desensitize
them.....better to give one, understandable cue, and back it up with a
light crop or spur tap if they ignore it.
Well, I'm open minded as I have a slow
walking 5 year old....pretty lazy, but I HAVE seen times where she is
motivated and is quite capable of walking fast.....
