Level 2/3 Stage 3
On Line
Changing Directions at the Trot
Liberty
Driving Games
Catching Game
Circling Game
FreeStyle Riding
Canter Passenger Lesson
One Rein Transitions
Canter Leads
Stage 3
On line Skills
- Changing Directions at the Trot 22″ Line
Main components are:
- a solid Circling Game where the horse can maintain gait a the trot and disengages easily in the Bring Back
- a good Yo Yo Game, especially the forward part
- be sure the horse can come to you at the trot as you go backwards and rub the underside of the rope with the Carrot Stick.
Teach your horse to run to you!
A good way is to do this on the Circling Game. When you bring your horse in to you, a snappy hindquarter yield and no hesitation between the disengagement and coming to you is imperative. You need to draw zone 1 and drive zone 4 (by slapping the ground with carrot stick and string toward zone 4)… shorten the line, draw zone 1, drive zone 4… shorten the line, draw zone 1 and drive zone 4… until the yield is complete and then draw the horse in. Each time you repeat this, the horse will respond sooner until finally it takes very little to draw and those hindquarter will snap around without you even having to slap the ground.
You may need to preempt this by giving your horse more confidence to come to you: using your Carrot Stick, walk backwards and rub the underside of the rope with the stick, all the while drawing your horse towards you. You’ll find that the stick and its motion may at first cause the horse to be skeptical, but pretty soon he will read your friendly invitation and his growing confidence will reflect in his willingness to come forward.
Slow and right will build too fast and right. Soon you will be able to run backwards while rubbing the rope and pulling it in and your horse will run to you. Don’t expect to get this happening consistently in just one session. After 7 days in a row, you’ll probably have a good thing going.
Get your horse changing directions at the trot, on a 22′ line.
The exercise of rubbing the underside of the rope as you draw your horse toward you is a great key for this exercise. Once your horse is confident in running to you, it’s easy to redirect him.
Make sure you set yourself up to be ready to give the new direction and support: change your rope and carrot stick around in preparation. As your horse is circling (say to the right) you change there rope into your left hand (it was in the right for the horse going to the right) and the carrot stick in to the right. Now once he gets to your right shoulder, turn on the spot and start to run straight back and draw your horse into you.
Once you’ve done that a few times and he is confident, bring him half way to you (and once you have 2 eyes), and maintaining the flow redirect him with the rope to the left and lead, lift and touch(support) with your carrot stick and string if needed. Then go forwards back to the centre of your circle. If you did it just right your horse will smoothly change direction and probably lick his lips.
Please note: this will not happen if your horse gets scared as you redirect him(solution – he probably needs very little stimulation and you did too much with he stick) or if he is not coming in to you at the trot yet (in which case you would go back to the isolation of just asking your horse to come to you with confidence).
Summary
Take note of the ingredients required to teach horses to change directions at the trot: solid Games 5, Game 4, & horse can come forward as you rub the rope with the Carrot Stick.
Teach your horse to run to you. Play the Friendly Game with your Carrot Stick by stroking the underside of your rope, walking backwards and drawing your horse to you.
Then you can start drawing zone 1, driving zone 4 to quicken up.
Keep building confidence go back to the Carrot Stick under the rope every now and then.
Slow and right builds to fast and right!
Changing directions at the trot on a 12′ then a 22′ line is an important requisite.
In preparation to change directions, change hands on the rope and carrot stick so when the horse comes to you, you can lead and support without fumbling.
Bring him to you a few times off the Circling Game before you change directions as he’s half way.
Stage 3
Liberty
- Driving Games
- Catching Game
- Circling Game
Playing with a horse at Liberty requires a lot more skill than communication with a line. Its like working without a net! You’ll learn to become more conscious of how you communicate, your positioning and your timing especially. It is also an excellent way to teach horses athletic manoeuvres without being on their back, to teach them what they need to know when you are riding. Liberty prepares for FreeStyle Riding by teaching a horse to be in control of his own forward motion without having to be physically held back.
Liberty helps develop new levels of respect and therefore impulsion. Among many other things, it teaches the horse self control through the four responsibilities.
- Act like a partner not prey animal
- Maintain gait
- Maintain direction
- Look where you are going
As your horse realises more and more his responsibilities you’ll enjoy the interaction a lot more, because your horse will uphold his responsibilities in the partnership. He becomes more mentally, emotionally and physically fit, does not change gait or directions unless asked to do so by you. he also takes care of what’s under his feet, this is not your job!
Preparation
This is the key. The worst thing you can do is take your horse to a round corral, turn him loose and see what happens! Make this your goal, but look at what is needed to prepare your horse and yourself so it has a good chance of being successful.
How to know you are not ready:
- You have some problems (opposition reflex) in one or more of the 7 Games.
- In the Circling Game your horse leans against the rope rather than putting slack into it, and changes or resists the direction you ask for.
- You cannot keep the “belly” of the rope on the ground when disengaging the hindquarters with the Driving Game, the horse wants to run off when you put pressure on the hindquarter.
- Your horse is reluctant to come towards you in the Yo Yo Game.
- You can’t play the Circling Game on a 22′ line and change directions without losing the trot.
Let’s get ready:
- Make sure you are getting positive reflexes in all 7 Games on the ground. See chapter on Positive Reflexes for this:
- Improve your Circling Game. There are two reasons that a horse will lean on the rope as he is circling around you.
a) you don’t keep your feet still so he’s used to the circle changing position all the time.
b) he has not found enough comfort and positive reinforcement when he comes to the centre.
With a) you need to make sure that your feet don’t move one bit. This allows the horse to measure the distance he’s supposed to travel from you and help him to become more equal on the circle.
With b) if he does lean on you, be as dependable as a fence post and hold fast so that when he comes in a little he feels the release that he caused through changing his behaviour. Don’t try to change it for him by pull and release, pull and release, the horse will only get confused and get worse.
Also, if your horse has opposition reflex and tries to go left when you indicate right, this will have to get better On Line before you ever attempt it off line, at Liberty in the round corral.
Be really clear on the 3 phases of the Circling Game: the Send, the Allow and the Bring Back.
Start playing all your Driving Games without touching the rope, as if your horse is at Liberty. And also the Friendly Game.
There are two ways you can do this – by wrapping the rope around the horse’s neck and only touching it when necessary: or by attaching the 22′ line and holding just the end, so it’s as if the horse is free because there is no contact. The belly of the rope is on the ground.
Drive your horse backwards, drive him forwards (with your carrot stick over his back and you in zone 3), drive in circles to the left and right, drive sideways. These need to get pretty good.
One of the most important yields to get solid is the hindquarter yield. You need to be able to put pressure on zone 4 and have the horse snap his hindquarters around to face you with a positive look on his face. If he runs off, you know this is not yet right.
If the 22′ line is too long a distance at first, use a 12′ line with your 6′ string attached to the leather (so you hold only the string and the heavier line is on the ground) practice driving the hindquarters away until your horse understands the benefits of facing you and becomes confident to do this every time. Once you can do this without a rope on at all, you are ready on this point. Be prepared for it to take a few sessions to become solid.
Make sure you can play the Friendly Game with the Carrot Stick and String fairly vigorously without your horse getting worried and maintaining a loose rope. Get to where you can do it at Liberty.
Play the Catching Game
Before you start trying to get a horse moving around, you’d better make sure you can get him to come back to you. It’s easy to send them away and hard to call them back, so always have more emphases on the come back whenever you are playing with your horse.
- Turn you hose loose and see if he will follow you. When he leaves, start building pressure on zone 4 with the carrot stick and string, (not zone 5) as if you have a rope on the horse and you are playing the Circling Game in asking him to yield his hindquarters and come to you. If you simulate as though you have the rope, you’ll probably do the right thing, that is draw zone 1 to you and drive zone 4 away from you.
- As soon as you horse turns an ear and an eye to you, start to look at you…SMILE & BACK UP! You would even turn your back and walk to the opposite side of the corral. The idea is to take the pressure off completely as quickly as you can. It won’t take long before your horse starts to look at you to get the answer when he’s feeling pressure on zone 4, and then to start coming toward you.
Here’s a good formula for knowing how much “pressure” to put on your horse:
- No eyes – lots of pressure
- One eye – some pressure
- Two eyes – no pressure
Don’t worry too much if your horse won’t come all the way to you, this is actually not a requirement at this level, but accept it and encourage it if it does happen. What is important is that he faces you.
Circling Game at Liberty
Play it as if you have a rope on your horse. This is the secret because then you will do all the right things. (The most common mistake people make is that they forget they ever did On Line Savvy and when they start to circle their horse at Liberty they do all the wrong things! Typically it involves a weak send and then walking around and around as the horse goes around).
- Send zone 1 to ask your horse to leave. Position your hand just like you are leading zone 1 and then use the Carrot Stick to support it.
- Stand in the dead centre of the corral (mark it if you have trouble finding it) and keep your feet still! Allow your horse to circle you as you lean on the Carrot Stick and relax. Remember that you are playing a kind of Friendly Game by being at ease. This will let your horse know that he is doing the right thing and also cause him to be more perceptive to when you are about to ask him to do something else.
- Allow your horse to circle you at whatever gait he chooses. Don’t be critical of him changing gaits or directions right now. You are only teaching him to leave you and then come back. Let’s save this for the next step. If he wants to stop and face you, encourage it! You can always ask for more circles later.
- Ask him to come back. Draw zone 1 with a friendly, beckoning finger and a smile… and drive zone 4 with the Carrot Stick and String until your horse goes to face you. If he just gets faster, don’t be surprised, maintain you position until the horse comes through. (See Trouble shooting session for more details on this)
- Play the Friendly Game by “flogging” your horse with kindness until he can confidently stand there.
Once your horse can confidently maintain direction, you can start influencing gait.
Preparation
- Play the Circling Game On Line. See if you can speed your horse up by leading zone 1 and pushing zone 5 by slapping the ground 180 degrees away from the horse. For example, if you horse is at 12 O’clock to you, you would slap the ground at 6 O’clock. Your arms would be spread in a T shape as you lead zone 1 and slap the ground in zone 5 the next slap at 90 degrees and the next at 45 degrees the next touches your horse. Keep repeating the move until your horse understands and speeds up so you can go from walk to trot, and even from trot to canter (use 22′ line).
- To slow down, put some pressure in zone 1 by wiggling the rope up and down, getting progressively stronger until it causes the horse too hesitate and even slow down. Relax, and if the horse speeds up again, repeat the shaking movement phase by phase until the horse understands not to run through the “pressure”.
- By using these two keys you should be able to get you horse going from walk to trot, back to walk and even halt…and later from the trot to canter (22′ line is best as canter at 12′ line is difficult for some horses at this level) and then back down to a trot, walk and halt at will. Once you can regulate the gaits On Line you can try in the round corral.
Influencing Gait at Liberty
- Pretend you have a line on your horse.
- Send zone 1.
- Stay neutral and keep track of your horse while he circles. Don’t look, just listen.
- Think of the centre of the corral as you own little corral, draw a circle around you feet in the dirt so its about 3 feet in diameter. Stay in you ‘corral’ to be neutral and only step out of it if you need to go to phase 3 and 4 to make a correction.
To slow your horse down, turn against your horse’s motion (if he is traveling right, you would turn to your left):
- Phase 1. hold your stick out in front of zone 1 half a corral away, at 180 degrees from where your horse is at.
- Phase 2: start activating the stick while pivoting to keep the stick well in front of zone 1.
- Phase 3: roll the string out and start slapping he ground as you come out of your ‘circle’ so you gradually physically close the space down.
- phase 4: make contact with zone 1 or block the horse’s path completely so he has to stop or turn.
Your goal is to be able to influence your horse’s change of gait without having to move more than 2 feet from your centre mark and without causing him to change directions. This means you have to become skilled at using the phases.
To speed your horse up, turn with your horse’s motion (if he is going right, you would turn to your right, preferably after he has passed your right shoulder) and stimulate with your carrot stick and string:
- Phase 1: roll you carrot stick and string out at the horse
- Phase 2: slap the ground
- Phase 3: step out of your “circle” and slap the ground harder
- Phase 4: make contact at the top of zone 5, the tail head
To bring your horse back, draw zone 1 and drive zone 4:
- Phase 1: draw zone 1 with your friendly, beckoning finger and a smile as you pivot and melt backwards in a spiral.
- Phase 2: keep drawing zone 1 and slap the ground towards zone 4 as you pivot.
- Phase 3: keep drawing zone 1 and slap the ground harder.
- Phase 4: get in the way of zone 1 as you keep melting backwards and keep stimulating zone 4.
When the horse comes to you, relax and play the Friendly Game by “flogging” your horse with kindness with the Carrot Stick and String. It’s important that your horse can stand comfortable for this. If he can’t, you need to go back On Line.
Success Tips
- Prepare On Line with yields and Circling Game, and then with simple yields at Liberty before you turn your horse loose in the corral.
- Use a corral that doesn’t have corners. While it is possible to use a square corral, you will make it much harder for both you and the horse because the horse will get stuck in the corners.
- If you don’t have a round corral, you can construct one out of electric fence. Teach your horse to understand how to yield from and respect the fence and then you can start using it to play in without the electricity on (just put it on occasionally to reinforce it). To measure a good size road corral, use you 22′ line with your 6′ string doubled in half and tied to the end. By anchoring it in the centre you can walk a 50′ round corral by using this 25′ rope as the diameter.
- Make sure your horse is solid on the Catching Game first.
- Simulate as if you have a rope on, it will help you make the right moves and stay consistent.
- Know where the centre is exactly and mark yourself a little corral of your own by drawing a circle around your feet.
- Don’t be critical of your horse at first. Be happy that he leaves and kind of comes back. Once this is going all right, you can get more particular about not changing directions and then not changing gaits.
- Avoid voice cues, it will inhibit your good use of body language.
- Don’t watch your horse go around. Old Chinese proverb says: horse that disappears when going to the right will shortly reappear on the left! You’ll learn to get eyes in the back of your head.
- Be able to play the Friendly Game with your Carrot Stick and string when you bring your horse back to you. He should be confident and be able to stand still.
- Over the weeks that you practice your Liberty skills, work on your horse getting more and more perceptive to your cues.
- Play with your horse at Liberty when he is fresh. This is when you’ll best be able to orchestrate his motion.
- Don’t try to accomplish everything at once, focus on little improvements each time.
- Maximum laps: 8 to 10. Minimum laps: 2. The main thing you are looking for is when your horse is doing it in his left brain… then is the time to Bring him in.
Pitfalls
- Moving your feet.
- Behaving differently when your horse is off Line.
- Not using your phases effectively.
- Lack of preparation, problems with your 7 Games.
- Friendly Game is not secure.
Troubleshooting
Your horse does not slow down
He has not learned that pressure in zone 1 means yield. This is fairly common in impulsive horses, they’ll push through the pressure because they go right brained. Go back to On Line in the round corral so when he starts picking up speed as you go through the slow down phases, you can reinforce the communication by shaking your rope.
Your horse has trouble maintaining gait
Stick with him and be prepared to reinforce it as many times as necessary without getting impatient. It’s about passive persistence in the proper position. A sluggish Horse that is under-impulsive or non responsive will be the one you’ll have the most trouble motivating to go forward. An impulsive horse will give you the opposite problem he’ll keep breaking gait to go faster and you’ll have to slow him down again and again.
Be consistent with your phases and don’t be afraid to effect phase 4. You have to be effective in order to be understand.
Your horse gets scared of the Friendly Game
This usually happens with a very sensitive horse that is inclined to go right brained pretty easily. You’ll need to go back to On Line and “win” the Friendly Game by being able to get really vigorous until your horse becomes desensitised. Hold the end fo your rope, belly on the ground if you can, and swing your carrot stick and string side to side, slapping the ground. etc. until the horse is calm. A few of these and your horse will learn to stay left brained. Remember, the faster the horse is moving the more emotional he can get. This means he goes more and more right brained, stops thinking, gets reactive and checks out! When he finally comes in, he will have trouble standing still, so take the time it takes to prove to the horse he’s okay. Go back to On Line whenever you are having problems, it will help you sort things out quicker.
Your horse careens around and around, right brained, can’t stop himself
At first, allow him to experience if for several laps. Many horses will come out of it and finally turn to you for answers. The horse that keeps running, no thinking you can help by causing him to change directions over and over again until he looks at you. You do this by running form one side of the corral to the other, spanking the ground in front of your horse and causing him to turn. The constant turns will mean your horse has to keep disengaging and this will cause him to start thinking again. As soon as he looks at you, turn your back and walk to the other side of the corral to take all the pressure off.
Once your horse does stop, allow him to stand a long time, licking his lips and thinking. Don’t try to approach him if he doesn’t come to you, even to play the Friendly Game. Give him the comfort he needs at that time. As it gets better your horse will probably come over to you for comfort.
When you horse changes direction he turns away from you
Don’t worry about it: At this stage, if you make a fuss you horse is going perceive you as being critical. All you are trying to do is correct a behaviour such as breaking gait or changing directions when you don’t want him to. If phase 4 causes him to turn, dont be critical of how he turns. In the next level, this will become more important to you.
Summary
Liberty requires a lot more skill the playing with a horse On Line…that’s if you want to be teaching him anything.
Liberty prepares for FreeStyle Riding.
It teaches a horse self control through the four responsibilities of a partnership. 1. don’t act like a prey animal (act like a partner) 2. don’t change gait 3. don’t change direction 4. look where you are going.
Success a Liberty is highly dependent on prior and proper preparation.
Problems in the 7 Games, the Circling Game and Driving Game, and the forward part of the Yo Yo Game especially you will have problems in the round corral!
Prerequisites:
You need positive reflexes in all 7 Games on the ground.
Your horse needs to be able to play Circling Game without leaning on the rope, find comfort at the centre and you need to be disciplined about keeping your feet still.
Be able to play all the Driving Games without touching the rope.
The hindquarter yield needs to be especially good, where the horse does not try to escape when you put pressure on zone 4 and will face up without being afraid.
The Catching Game is critical to success in the round corral.
If your horse runs away from you, put pressure on zone 4 until he looks at you then take the pressure off by smiling and backing up.
Don’t worry if your horse won’t come all the way to you at first. this will build with confidence.
When playing the circling Game at Liberty, pretend exactly as though you have a rope on your horse. This will help you to do the exact right thing in communicating what you want.
There are still 3 phases of the Circling game, the send, the allow, the bring back.
Don’t be critical of what gait your horse chooses.
Make sure you can play the Friendly Game by flogging your horse with kindness.
Once you can send, allow and bring back with clarity, then you can get more particular about your horse not changing directions.
When your horse is confident in maintaining direction, then you can start influence gait.
Practice gait transition On Line first! Lead zone 1 push zone 5 to go faster.
Get in the of zone 1 with a vibrating rope to slow down.
Be able to go from walk to trot, back to walk and halt… then as thing get good, try moving up and down from the canter (use 22′ line).
Changing gaits at Liberty: pretend as though you have a line on your horse.
Stay in the centre of the corral, in your own “corral” drawn in the dirt with your feet. Only come out of it in phase 3 and phase 4.
To slow down, pivot against your horse’s motion and influence zone 1.
Get very good at using phases.
Remember that zone 1 and zone 5 extend way out for your horse. You first phase should influence your hose as far away as the opposite side of the corral: 180 degrees away.
To speed up, pivot with you horse’s motion to influence zone 5.
To bring your horse back, draw zone 1 and drive zone 4, going up the phase until your horse faces you.
Friendly Game is critical canter balance. Keep playing it in between everything.
Do not use voice cues at this level, it affects your use of body language.
On Line skills are an important prerequisite for Liberty.
Use a corral that does not have corners for your horse to get stuck in.
Do exactly as you would do if you have a rope on your horse.
Be particular with being Critical.
Don’t watch your horse going around and around. Learn to eyes in the back of your head.
Play with your horse at Liberty when he is fresh.
Min 4 and Max 8 laps will help you get your horse responding in his left brain.
If you have problems, check yourself and your preparation first.
An impulsive horse has the tendency to push through pressure in zone 1 because they go right brained and just run forward.
A sluggish horse will be harder to motivate forward while an impulsive horse will keep breaking gait to go faster.
The Friendly Game is an important anchor. If your horse cannot stand still while you flog with kindness, go back to this game On Line and with more exposure be able to “win” it.
Whenever you have problems at Liberty, go back to On Line and fix it.
A horse that won’t stop can be helped through disengagement by cutting him off and causing him to turn again and again and again until he looks at you.
If your horse turns away from you when making turns, down worry for the moment. The next level will work on this aspect.
Stage 3
FreeStyle Riding
- Passenger Lessons at the Canter
- One Rein Transitions
- Canter Leads
Respect & warm up phase Ground skills or Liberty
Teaching phase
- Passenger lessons at the canter
- One rein transitions
- Canter Lead
1. Passenger Lessons at the Canter
This is about becoming comfortable and athletic with your independent seat at the canter. the best way to learn is stay out of your horse’s way so passenger lessons work well.
Do this in an enclosed area and if your horse is kind of go-ey stay in a small area, best of all a round corral.
Techniques & Success Tips
- Do your passenger lessons on a loose, casual rein.
- Trot and walk around for a while practicing your hindquarter disengagements and stops on one rein so you know you can get control if you need it.
- The use the four phases to go from a trot into the canter. Keep a loose, casual rein, or if you are confident in going you can leave the rein on his neck or looped over your saddle horn. You won’t use it unless absolutely necessary.
- When you horse is cantering, canter with him. Have just enough energy in your body to be cruising along with him and not pushing on the gas pedal nor be so relaxed the he thinks he’s supposed to slow down.
- Don’t worry about direction. The more your horse weaves around the better it is for you to learn how to ride it in harmony with him. This is what builds a good, independent seat.
- Also don’t worry about what lead your horse is on, this is not important.
Pitfalls
- short reins, they need to be loose as in a casual rein.
- trying to influence your horse’s direction in any way shape or form! Turn loose to where he is going.
- Not cantering for long enough. Horses can canter for half an hour or even more! You should aim for it to go at least 5 minutes! If this is too much for your fitness at first, work up to it over several days. If you are not cantering for very long you won’t get enough experience at the canter to develop your seat will enough.
Troubleshooting
When you go out of a trot your horse tends to run off
Don’t put yourself at too much risk. Some horses that are very excitable, high adrenalin types, so when you get moving faster their emotions come up and they get “lost”. That’s why they get faster and faster and seem to run around blindly and this can make you pretty tight which only makes the whole thing worse!
Stick to a small area, preferably a round corral. Try to keep your seat as un-tense as possible and as he canters try to stay in balance with him as well as you can. If it is still more than you can handle, don’t get overly concerned just do more and more at the trot. Working on the impulsion Programs in the next stage will help you break through this.
Your horse keeps breaking back down into a trot
Remember that horses don’t learn unless they experience consequences for making a mistake. If you try to prevent it happening, apart from not being effective psychologically, you will find yourself working harder and harder to keep and increasingly non-responsive horse going!
When the horse breaks into a trot (not before) go through your 4 phases until you are effective: squeeze, smooch, start spanking your shoulders side to side, spank the horse side to side. Try not to just give one big spank, the horse can get too feeling a bit resentful. Think more in terms of making him uncomfortable so when he responds and you quit, he’ll really feel the difference. Building through the four phases will teach your horse to become more perceptive and sensitive to your communication.
Summary
Be sure to “warm your horse up and get his respect before riding FreeStyle
Then choose 1 or 2 teaching phases per session.
Passenger lesson help you get confident and develop your independent seat.
Do this in a confined area.
Use a loose, casual rein.
Check hindquarter disengagement.
Leave your rein on his neck or over the saddle horn.
Have just enough energy in your body to communicate the canter.
Don’t worry about leads or direction, go where the horse goes.
Canter for a long time. You have to get a lot of practice and build up fitness.
A horse that runs off needs to be ridden in a small corral.
Check your emotions and seat…are they tense?
Allow the horse to make the mistake of breaking into the trot…then do something about it.
Use 4 phases to go, not one big spank.
2. One Rein Transitions
Two reins for communication…one rein for control of the hindquarters.
We’ve already talked a lot (in Level 1 especially) about how effective one rein is for disengaging the hindquarters and gaining control of a horse… and how ineffective and dangerous it is to pull on two reins because it actually empowers a horse by causing the hindquarters to engage.
Now we’re going to take this one step further and learn how one rein used in the indirect rein position can take the hindquarters partially of of her to cause a downward transition of gait.
Techniques & Success Tips
- As you are trotting around on a casual rein, reach down by pumping the rein three times, close your fingers gradually and start bringing the rein towards your belly button (the indirect rein position). Think of lifting the rein rather than pulling it.
- remember to quit riding with your seat and your molecules!
- The horse will start to bend his neck, then move his hindquarters and will finally break down to a walk. Hang in their patiently until he does.
- Release and walk a while so the horse realises the purpose.
- Repeat this over and over (be able to do it on both reins equally) until pretty soon your horse will begin to slow down as soon as you start pumping the rein. Note: Even if your horse does slow before you bend, practice getting the bend all the way most of the time so your horse learns not to brace.
- When you can do trot-walk transition, try canter – trot transitions. And lots of them to really learn it and teach your horse thoroughly. When its feeling consistently good is the time to quit.
- Try one rein transitions while following the rail. Use the rein closes to the rail to make the transitions and notice how the rail will keep your horse a little straighter through out the exercise. This is leading to straight line transitions.
Pitfalls
- not using a casual rein. You need to hold just the middle of the reins and allow them to be loose.
- not releasing when the horse makes the transition nicely. The release is his reward.
- grabbing the rein too quickly and roughly. Think graceful and slow motion.
- releasing before the horse has made the transition and while his neck is still stiff. Wait unit it feels good.
Troubleshooting
Your horse has a tendency to brace his neck and get stiff, even a little panicky.
- When asking for the bend, think “graceful”. You don’t want to snatch and grab at the rein as it will cause your horse to panic and brace. This is where pumping the rein three times is really effective. The more panicky a horse is, the more you should use the pumping technique. Going quicker will scare him more. Also, make sure your seat is really relaxed and doesn’t tighten when you find your horse pulling against your rein.
- Use only three pumps, no more and no less, before you bend or you’ll be too inconsistent for the horse to recognise what’s coming). Pretty soon just the pumping will cause the horse to start slowing down.
- To convince a horse that he doesn’t need to brace (which is a sign of fear and defensiveness) hold the bend until he gives and it feels soft. By this time you will also have waited long enough for the emotions to come down and the horse will start to use the left brain. Repetition will teach a horse not to worry and the transitions will actually help to calm him down.
Your horse slows or stops as soon as you even think “transition”
- This is not as bad as you think! He’s being ultra perceptive which is something you’ll want to nurture so don’t make him feel wrong. You might have to just keep a little more life in your body to keep the walk or trot going rather than allow him to melt to a stop.
- The big picture is being able to just relax enough to communicate slow down, lift the rein slightly and your horse will transcend a gait. But don’t be impatient for this to happen and also, don’t eliminate asking for the bend. Even after the bend is no longer necessary you should ask for it every now and them to check that it still works.
Your horse bends better on one rein than the other
- Not unusual! Horses and people are often “one sided”, so it may be that the horse is a little more resistant to the bend on the right side (this is the eye they least like to look at people out of), or it may be that you handle your rein better with one hand than the other or your balance is better with one turn than the other. Whatever the case, persist over the days and weeks that you practice one rein transitions to become absolutely equal.
Summary
Two reins for communication, one rein for control…of the hindquarters.
Pulling on two reins empowers the hindquarters.
Take the hindquarters partially out of gear to cause a downward transition.
Use a casual rein, pump the rein three times and close your fingers gradually.
Quit riding as you lift the rein and start to bend him slowly.
Release as soon as you feel the transition.
Repetition will lead to a response when you start to pump the rein.
Build confidence and results until you can do canter-trot.
Do transitions on the rail, allowing it to keep you straight.
Think graceful.
Don’t release while the horse’s neck feels stiff. Wait until it feels good.
The more “panicky” a horse is, the slower you should pump the rein and bend him.
Do the transitions until the horse is calm.
Relax enough to communicate “slow down” not “stop”.
Ask for the bend until over time it is really soft. Then you can accept transitions without the bend.
Make sure you horse bends equally well to both sides.
3. Canter Leads
When a horse canters, there is one foreleg and one hind leg that reaches further in front than the other. This is called the “leading” leg. If the right leg is leading, the horse is on the right lead. If the left leg is leading, the horse is on the left lead.
Why and when are leads important?
Horses running by themselves will naturally select their leads by themselves according to the direction they are going. If they are going right they will usually be not he right lead and vice versa for going left. This is to maintain balance and athletic ability.
If they change from right to left, they will change leads in one of two ways:
- without breaking the canter = flying lead change
- by breaking down to the trot = drop to trot or simple lead change
(you will learn how to elicit both these types of lead changes from your horse in subsequent stages)
Why do you need to be able to select a specific lead when going into the canter?
When riding a horse you are the one that chooses the direction, not him. For this reason you need to take on the responsibility of telling the horse which lead he will need for the task. If you don’t do this you set the horse up to be unbalanced on the curve and unwittingly teach him to become less respectful of your decisions. A horse will respect you more and more if you prepare him well so it makes a task easy.
Asking a horse to take a right or a left lead is important when you are traveling in an arc or a circle to the right or left, but if you are on a straight line, the lead is irrelevant until you come to a curve. (In subsequent Levels you will learn how to do “straight line strike off’s” and “counter canters” which means asking for a holding the opposite lead on a circle).
First you must be on the correct lead
If you want your horse to take a particular lead, first your body must assume that lead. The easiest way for you to see this is to canter on the ground yourself (without a horse). On a right lead, with your right leg reaching further in front than your left, your pelvis and your shoulders are angled too. The right side of your pelvis is in front of the left side, and the right shoulder is leading while the left shoulder is trailing. Exaggerate it so you become really conscious of it. Then try it to the left.
While you are at it, try cantering on the right lead while circling to the left and see how much more difficult it is!
Most people are right handed and right legged. Their right side is stronger than their left. (Remember how hard it was in Level 1 when you had to try mounting from the other side of your horse for the first time?!) Consequently their pelvis is slightly crooked and they are always positioned as if they are on the left lead. This is why so many people get left leads every time they ask their horse too canter, and have such trouble when learning to get right leads.
Now that you’ve become conscious of this, start observing people just cantering around on their horses for fun and see just how many are on the left lead!
Getting even: mount more often for the off side of your horse for a month or two. Believe it or not , this alone can have an effect on realigning the angle of your pelvis because it helps your muscles to get more evenly developed.
A natural way to ask for specific leads
There are two important concepts to understand.
- the footfalls of the horse in a canter
- the lead comes from the hindquarter, not the front end
1. Footfalls at the canter
- When catering on the right lead, your horse’s stride goes like this: left hind…right hind and left front together…right front. It is a three beat stride with a moment of suspension in between strides.
When cantering on the left lead, your horse’s stride goes like this: right hind…left hind and right front together…left front.
The two feet that hit the ground together are called the “diagonals” because they are diagonally positioned to each other.
By knowing the footfalls in theory, you must then realise that to get the right lead you must influence the left hind…and vice versa.
Now! Don’t get yourself all bamboozled here, just get the concept and the details will come clearer to you the more you get to observe horses cantering. You’ll start to see those footfalls more and more clearly. Slow motion video will also help you.
2. Getting the lead from the hind end
Here’s a simple way to set it up naturally for you and the horse:
To get a right lead, hold your reins in you right hand, stretch that right hand straight out forward while you are trotting and spank your horse with your left hand. If you horse jumps into a canter you will usually get the right lead.
To get a left lead, hold your reins in your left hand, stretch that left hand straight out forward while you are trotting and spank your horse with your right hand. You will usually get a left lead.
The reason we say “usually” is because it will happen unless your horse takes to long to break into the canter (then the lead becomes his idea) or if there is something in the way or a corner going the other way, them this will influence your horse’s choice of direction and will choose the lead instead of listen to your request!
As you get more mentally coordinated on the whole idea of leads, you’ll find that almost all the time you’ll be able to set it up just right to get the lead you want every time.
Technique & Success Tips
- Before even trying to select canter leads, make sure your horse will go into the canter from the trot willingly. If he doesn’t, you won’t be able to get your leads reliably. Work on your “go” button for this (use the 4 phases).
- Use a casual rein, holding it in the centre with one hand.
- When you stretch your hand out for the lead, focus kind of high and just off straight ahead: 1 o’clock high for the left. By looking high and lifting your hand higher than level you will put your weight back where it needs to be and onto the “outside” too. Whatever you do, don’t look down!
- Make a point of reaching back and spanking your horse, even if you don’t need to spank to get going, reach back and touch your horse on the hind quarter. The reason this is so important is that when a horse is cantering, 60% of his weight goes onto the hindquarter. Reaching back will put your weight right for the horse as well as set your shoulders and pelvis up naturally.
- Learn to do these in an open area or arena and dont worry about what direction your horse goes in. The only thing you want to try to do is ask for the canter when your horse is facing an open space or going into and around a corner in the same direction as the canter lead you are asking for.
- You could also learn to do them in a round corral, going left to ask for a left lead and right for a right lead. This will be especially helpful if you have an impulsive horse and have trouble cantering in the open. (In Stage 4 you will learn Impulsion Programs that will solve this problem too.)
Pitfalls
- your “go” button doesn’t work
- Your reins are short and you are holding your horse back. His head needs to be free.
- you are not reaching back and touching or spanking the hindquarter with your hand. Remember, the lead comes from the hind end and is highly dependent on your position being right. Practice this exaggerated technique and refine as you go along. One day, you won’t need to reach back with your hand. Your shoulders, pelvis and leg will do it automatically.
- don’t look down! When you look down to see if you are getting the correct lead you’ll put all your weight forward and onto the lead you are trying to get…this will cause you to get the opposite! Don’t worry about looking or checking until you are several strides into the canter. Best is if you can have a clued in friend or PNH instructor confirming it for you.
Troubleshooting
Your horse has a tendency to take off at the canter
Do it in a round corral! Make sure you can just canter first without him going crazy, just doing passenger lessons. When he gets more left brain about it you can start asking for the lead.
Your horse bucks or runs off when you spank
Don’t spank so hard, or if he still does it when you just touch him, ride around playing the Friendly Game by rubbing zone 4 a the walk, then the trot, then the canter. Once he can accept that, the rest should go fine. However! If there is still a problem sort it out On Line or at Liberty by asking your horse to make snappier transitions into the canter. This becomes a request issue.
One of the leads is especially hard to get
The right lead is typically more difficult to because of the right-sidedness of the rider, their pelvis being always tipped as though in a left lead. There are two things you can do to help this:
- Examine your disengagement. If the horse is bracing when you disengage the hindquarters then he will brace and resist you when you ask for the lead. Get it really soft both ways so you can direct the hindquarters without resistance. If the hindquarters get in your way by shifting into the “spank” you’ll get the opposite lead from what you really want.
- When you lean back to spank on one side, stretch your leg way back towards the flank as well. This means that both your spanking arm and leg on the same side reach back. This exaggeration will help your pelvis to make the appropriate shift.
IMPORTANT NOTE
For the next few stages of Level 2 most of your riding will be FreeStyle. The casual rein is very important in terms of building self carriage in the horse and an independent seat for you, And, until you have “impulsion”, the worst thing you can do is ride with short reins, you’ll only teach your horse to push on the bit and have claustrophobic feeling. Patience and following the program will pay dividends!
Summary
In a canter “lead”, one of his hind legs and one of his forelegs will reach further than the others.
Leads are important for balance. Horses will naturally select leads in relation to their direction of travel.
They will change leads on the “fly” or by breaking down to the trot.
You need to be able to select leads on your horse because you are dictating direction. You need to set him up right.
For your horse to be on the correct lead, first you have to be!
For a right lead: ridge side forwards, left side back. For a left lead: left side forward, right side back.
Most people are right handed and right legged. Their right side is stronger and their pelvis tipped. This make left leads easier for most and right leads more difficult.
Get yourself more even. Mount your horse more often from the off side for a month or two.
Learn the footfalls at the canter.
Understand that the lead come form the hind, not the front.
Canter footfalls: Right lead: left hind, right hind & left front together, right front. Left lead: right hind, left hind and right front together, left front.
The two feet that hit the ground together are called the “diagonal”.
Watch a horse cantering in slow motion video.
Get the lead from the hind end. For a right lead, stretch your right hand out, spank with your left. For the left lead, stretch your left hand forward and spank with your right.
If your horse takes too Lon to jump into the canter, chances are you won’t get the lead you want.
Make sure you can go willingly from trot to canter.
Use a causal rein.
Focus a little off centre and slightly up: 1 o’clock high for right, 11 o’clock high for left. Don’t look down!
Reaching back to spank puts your weight and your body in the right position.
Don’t worry about direction at first. Ask for the canter lead the same as the direction you are already traveling.
You can also use a round corral for an impulsive horse…
Don’t hold our reins short.
Reach way back to touch or spank the hindquarters.
Exaggerated to teach and refine as you go along.
Don’t look down, it puts your weight forward and onto the opposite lead.
Ask a friend to confirm your leads, or check atet several strides.
If your horse bucks when you spank, don’t spank so hard! You can sort it out On Line or at Liberty.
The right lead is typically more difficult to get because of the right sided rider.
Check quality of disengagement so there is no brace when you ask for the lead.
Reach back with the same leg the you spank. This helps your pelvis get in the right position.
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