Ample Prosecco
Still wittering on
Yes I feel so lucky that I get to have him as a regular trainer.
Mylo & Myka
- Thread starter Ample Prosecco
- Start date
Ample Prosecco
Still wittering on
It also all fits in so well with the Ross Jacobs stuff I am reading. It's not about moving their body but engaging their mind. Compliance with the body while the brain is worried about other 'stuff' is not the goal. Ross and Joe both teach that the route to connection/harmony is by ensuring the horses is mentally completely with you.
I was also talking to him about different approaches to backing - I have been getting a lot of advice on when and how! From get on in stable so there is less space to run off, buck; lean over and get led around so they can't see you above them; get on on the yard so they are worried about the concrete and so won't explode. All of that probably works fine. But within this approach the focus is always on the horse's mind being with you. So getting on on concrete might stop them exploding but only because they are worried about slipping. Not because they are 'with' you. Getting on so they can't see you means they don't really undertsand what is happening etc.
I am not criticising those approaches at all. I know plenty of horses who were backed like that and they are doing fine. But those strategies aren't consistent with this way of working. I am keen to learn a way of training as much as just getting the job done, which can be achieved in many, many different ways.
I was also talking to him about different approaches to backing - I have been getting a lot of advice on when and how! From get on in stable so there is less space to run off, buck; lean over and get led around so they can't see you above them; get on on the yard so they are worried about the concrete and so won't explode. All of that probably works fine. But within this approach the focus is always on the horse's mind being with you. So getting on on concrete might stop them exploding but only because they are worried about slipping. Not because they are 'with' you. Getting on so they can't see you means they don't really undertsand what is happening etc.
I am not criticising those approaches at all. I know plenty of horses who were backed like that and they are doing fine. But those strategies aren't consistent with this way of working. I am keen to learn a way of training as much as just getting the job done, which can be achieved in many, many different ways.
Caol Ila
Well-Known Member
I like the flag. Hermosa is trained to the flag, though I haven't used it in a while. Did a little groundwork a couple days ago mid-schooling session, to demo some stuff for a friend who was curious about it (joys of the hackamore...the in-built lead rope), and half-arsed waving a dressage whip/your hand works too.
When she was a baby, she was really reactive to things flapping around her legs. Would levitate. So the flag was very helpful because you could touch her legs with it and not be in the way if she did a harrier jump thing. Only after she couldn't care less about the flag touching her anywhere did I train her to move in response to it.
And talk about payoff. One thing about the hackamore is that the end of the lead rope sometimes unties itself from the saddle and winds up around her legs. She just does an emergency stop, then, "Mum...uh...fix it." But very calm. Nae drama.
I did the desensitisation part of the flag work with Fin, but not the moving part. There are only so many uphill battles I want in my life. If I could achieve the same goal with the horse, but with less work.... But making a horse like Fin into a functional citizen in the equine-human collective is all about triage. Different from bringing on youngsters.
For backing Hermosa, I just got on in the 30x90 outdoor arena with someone holding the lead. I had spent * a lot* of time lying sprawled on my stomach across her back. The first person for the first ride was a friend who had a fair bit of experience with backing babies, having worked at a raicing yard when she was young. Then the second one was a friend who had backed her own horse but that was it. Then I started using OH. In hindsight, I probably should have used OH or friend #2 for very first ride, because friend #1 was very tense, anticipating the horse exploding and probably visualising some of the antics of the baby racehorses. OH and friend #2 were very much, "It'll be all good." Luckily Hermosa isn't bothered by that sort of tension in humans who aren't me, so it was fine.
Our third or fourth pony ride was on the trails. I was fairly certain she wasn't going to buck me off. OH at the end of the lead, taking the photo.
When she was a baby, she was really reactive to things flapping around her legs. Would levitate. So the flag was very helpful because you could touch her legs with it and not be in the way if she did a harrier jump thing. Only after she couldn't care less about the flag touching her anywhere did I train her to move in response to it.
And talk about payoff. One thing about the hackamore is that the end of the lead rope sometimes unties itself from the saddle and winds up around her legs. She just does an emergency stop, then, "Mum...uh...fix it." But very calm. Nae drama.
I did the desensitisation part of the flag work with Fin, but not the moving part. There are only so many uphill battles I want in my life. If I could achieve the same goal with the horse, but with less work.... But making a horse like Fin into a functional citizen in the equine-human collective is all about triage. Different from bringing on youngsters.
For backing Hermosa, I just got on in the 30x90 outdoor arena with someone holding the lead. I had spent * a lot* of time lying sprawled on my stomach across her back. The first person for the first ride was a friend who had a fair bit of experience with backing babies, having worked at a raicing yard when she was young. Then the second one was a friend who had backed her own horse but that was it. Then I started using OH. In hindsight, I probably should have used OH or friend #2 for very first ride, because friend #1 was very tense, anticipating the horse exploding and probably visualising some of the antics of the baby racehorses. OH and friend #2 were very much, "It'll be all good." Luckily Hermosa isn't bothered by that sort of tension in humans who aren't me, so it was fine.
Our third or fourth pony ride was on the trails. I was fairly certain she wasn't going to buck me off. OH at the end of the lead, taking the photo.
southerncomfort
Well-Known Member
Yes, i also don't understand the handler feeding treats while a rider gets up for the first time
Why would you want the horse's focus anywhere else but on the rider?!