Things you taught horse but couldn't explain how?

[soulfull]

The hooling around on the lunge post. Got me thinking about Beacon. As I said in that thread I taught him once side reins were on play time was over. If I raised the lunge line he was to stand still no matter what
Came in useful a few different times

But how did I teach him that side reins meant work? No idea. The raised whip, well that I do know

There are no doubt lots of things some of us teach our horses, yes I could and do teach or explain some of them to someone how to do but not them all?

 

[pennyturner]

We have taught ours that if the rein is placed around the saddle or stirrup when the rider dismounts, it means 'park'. They will do so at the side of a road, whilst you adjust stirrups / pick up child (or pop into the shop, although I've never tried that ), or in a school whilst someone else is getting the attention.

Used it the other day to retrieve a loose pony following a fall, and my 5yo stood like a rock as the other pony shot past him in a panic - resulting in the other pony deciding to stop too!

Very useful for driven horses, when I tie the rein to carriage, and they know to stand whilst I get off the carriage and do whatever.

The carriage piece I can explain, as if they were to walk off, they would walk into the bit, but there's nothing stopping a riding horse wandering off with his rein behind his stirrup. Originally I just did it to stop the rein falling over their ears.

 

[Orangehorse]

You know what people say - every time you handle your horse you are training it.

 

[Nugget La Poneh]

Somewhere along the lines Nugz has learnt, or the sharer has taught him, to stop dead when the feet come out of the stirrups and not move until told to. Fine, until you discover this fact during a lesson where you get told to take your feet out of the stirrups while in working trot

Only once tried it at a canter, as I came out the side door after getting over a jump. While he didn't stop immediately, he did after 2 strides

 

[Supertrooper]

Couldn't understand why the shire x I shared kept stopping on a hack and swinging his nose towards my boot. That was until I realised I'd been giving him a treat once I'd mounted so he'd been getting it when his nose was by my boot.

Felt a right twit!

 

[Love]

My connie can do a lovely rein back - the thing is neither me nor the people i bought him off who backed him taught him to!

 

[AdorableAlice]

The cob mare was very very tricky in the school and had to be kidded into doing everything. She was so sour that every tiny bit of good work was rewarded. She is now controlled not by aids but by the words 'do you want a polo'. Even funnier was when she recognised good work and pulled herself up to say "I want a polo".

I am going to devise the only dressage test that has polo stops ! she does an awesome leg to the centre line and off again but get to M and it's a polo.

 

[Love]

The cob mare was very very tricky in the school and had to be kidded into doing everything. She was so sour that every tiny bit of good work was rewarded. She is now controlled not by aids but by the words 'do you want a polo'. Even funnier was when she recognised good work and pulled herself up to say "I want a polo".

I am going to devise the only dressage test that has polo stops ! she does an awesome leg to the centre line and off again but get to M and it's a polo.

Can't stop laughing at this! Bless her.

 

[diamonddogs]

I've accidentally taught mine that you have to walk in a circle round the mounting block before your rider gets on! Try to get straight on and she'll swing her quarters and take any avoidance tactic she can think of, but walk her round once then line her up and she'll stand like a rock.

 

[misskk88]

I once learnt the mistake of jumping with a canter that was too big (on a 17.2, not a great idea). He sent me so far into orbit I thought I was never coming down! All I could think was 'I am gonna hit the deck hard!', but on landing, he gently stopped, propped his head up and put me back in the saddle. If he hadn't I would have been eating sand with a very sore body!

It wasn't the first time he saved my bacon, or other riders. He would just slow or come to a gentle halt if he felt riders slightly unseated. He was never taught this, I think from riders habit, he just learnt to save our unbalanced asses!

My mare also begs for treats like a dog. No idea where she learnt it, but at feed time she just stands with her front leg up until she is fed. Even when I fetch her from the field, sometimes she will spot me coming with a polo, and the leg goes up!

 

[splashnutti1]

i used to let my lad chew the end of my whip in the ring when he was younger to keep him occupied but now as soon as we stand anywhere he insists on holding my whip.No longer chews it just holds it lol) handy out on rides if i have to stop or if we stop for a drink as he holds the whip keeps my hands free haha!

he also has learnt to stand anywhere if his reins are hooked round his stirrup x

 

[Annagain]

Our local common is open to the road. My old boy would stand like a rock on the road but as soon as one hoof hit the grass he'd shoot off at a gallop. Then at the other end he'd stop dead as soon as he got level with a bush about 20 yards from the end (made for good viewing if anybody who didn't know him rode him and they weren't expecting the emergnecy stop!) I know the people who owned him before me and he was the same with their daughter. When she outgrew him and moved on to their other horse she took him to the common, let him go and expected him to stop dead. He ran out in front of a (luckily stationary) bus! Both horses had been ridden by the mother to begin with so were ridden exactly the same way and asked to go and stop in the same places but only the one did it automatically.

 

[debserofe]

On a hack, my boy always wants to go to the left to poo and if another horse is to the left of him, he gets quite agitated and won't go until they get out of the way - we used to have to ride a lot on the roads and he would literally climb up the verge or get as far over to the left as he could! Also, at competitions or just at home in the school, after the warm up is finished - we do something different everytime so I don't know how he knows - he siddles up to the top right hand corner and poos. I have been told so many times to make him walk and poo but who needs the mess! As long as he doesnt stop in front of a jump, which he has never done, or in the middle of a dressage test, which he has never done, I will let him carry on and keep car drivers and myself happy!

 

[my bfg]

My girls "litter trained" herself lol, I always leave an empty skipping out trug in her stable an one night she pooped in it, gave her a huge fuss the next day and she keeps on doing it, if she poops in it an it falls over she now backs up to the door and poops outside, mucking out is so much easier x

 

[Slightlyconfused]

One of mine knows its work time when i pick up the reins and he starts to go into a contact and march out....drop them.and he plods along like a dope on a rope.

 

[WhiteMagic]

Belle knows that when I say "Belle what's this?!" I've got something yummy and when I'm mucking out (on shaving with matts so on a half bed) then when I say "off" she moves to the front of her stable so I can bring her bed down
Shes a clever girl!

 

[fabscd]

Mine picks her feet up when i stand next to her and say 'foot'. Very useful for studding up at competitions!

 

[micramadam]

My youngster who is currently being slowly broken in knows that when I drop the lunge whip when lunging it is her cue to come to me in the middle. I hadn't realised this at first, I used to drop it and say 'come' and now i just need to drop the whip without saying anything. She is very receptive to voice commands and can be lunged loose and responds very nicely to all commands. Now teaching her to pick up her feet when I say foot.
Very happy with the way she is progressing.

 

[nuttychestnut]

As a bored teenager I taught my late pony to kiss when I tapped my lips, smile (curling her top lip) when I said smile. She would open the door when I said open. When you took your feet out of the stirrups she would stop, also neck reining.
She taught me that you could get a horse to stop, change pace or change pace within a gait with just your seat.
Also used to play hide and seek and tag.
She was one that you just had to stand by her leg with a hoof pick and she would lift her foot and hold it whilst you picked it out.
Ground tying save a great trick whilst out hacking or just general riding.
I really wish I knew how I taught her all this as I really could do with teaching my new horse.
She was truly one in a million and missed terribly

 

[soulfull]

Some fabulous posts. Thanks

Isn't it funny what they learn and how.

 

[now_loves_mares]

Neither originally nor advisedly, I've taught my horses that hand in pocket = treat. They stalk my pockets when poo picking, which means I keep getting "cuddles" and slows me right down, but as they aren't nippy it's kinda cute. But, heaven help you if you want to take their picture. They might be standing 20 feet away and doing something cute, but if I put my hand in my pocket to get my phone, they both appear at my side as if by magic. My phone is full of extreme close up pictures of their noses!

I must find ways to use this for useful things though.

 

[Shantara]

I taught ned to stop when I take my feet out the stirrups! Comes in handy when he's blown his brain and is no longer listening. The other day two horses trotted away from me and he couldn't cope, so started going backwards, nothing I did helped, so I took my feet out and he stopped!

 

[Equilibrium Ireland]

I'm old so I think I just forget. I move Abba by pointing a finger. Normally a snap, point at hind end, and over she goes. Mine lunge off the headcollar with no hoolies. Now and again I might get a happy buck without missing a beat or pulling on the lunge and continuing perfectly on the lunge. I don't get annoyed as it is happy and never under saddle. Others may see it as bad behavoir but it's not all the time. The lunging w/o a headcollar all started when I stripped back all tack and wanted to see where we could get movement wise and holding themselves on their own. Took awhile but now they work better than when in any gadgets.

Few other things unique to each one but can't think of them at the moment.

Terri