It's not easy training a horse to be the best mount. I'm aware of a book released by the US Cavalry that goes into great depth about absolutely everything to do with horses: what to do, what not to, and the way to do or not do it. That book, if I can recollect, has something like 1,500 pages. While it was intended for the cavalry, I am not sure if anyone ever read it cover to cover.
But you don't need a 1500 page manual to tell you how to train your pony. You can make it a lot less complicated. Which is not to say it is easier. You still need to work conscientiously at it.
Ever paid attention to a riding event at a horse show, or even a dressage event? It appears to be so very simple, doesn't? That is, until you start trying it out yourself.
When you're doing some casual riding, you can simply turn your horse's head at corners and get him pointed in the right direction. You can be fairly sure the pony will not crunch into the rail. But all that's fine for casual riding.
It isn't going to work for show riding. You are going to upset the judges terribly, to the extent they may get you thrown out after your first event. There isn't any turning corners at these events. There are only quarter circles that involve about twelve cues. It will probably take you quite some time to learn all of the cues, and even longer to get your pony to perfectly make a response to each.
I have come up with a method that makes things somewhat easier. I mean, the way to start the quarter circle. I based my method on the simple idea that horses are literally capable of just eleven movements. These movements are:
1. Moving forward using various gaits; 2. The vital ability of stopping; 3. The vital skill of backing up; 4 and 5. Left and right movements of the neck and the head; 6 and 7. Left and right movements of the shoulders; 8 and 9. Left and right movements of the rump; 10 and 11. Right and left movements of the hindquarters.
Trust me, that pretty much covers it.
You want to defeat the cues for each of these movements, and you need to get your pony to respond like a robot to your cues for each of these movements. You go thru the entire thing step by step: master each cue and response, move on to the next. Just remember: you Do Not attempt to move your horse's neck or head by pulling at the reins. You get this done with the reins draped loosely around your thumb.
The ideal to reach for, naturally, is to attain top coordination with your horse, so that each cue you send to your horse produces the right response instantly. That means that the cues become part of your subconscious, and the responses become part of your horse's.
When you and your horse have accomplished that kind of coordination, you will be capable of achieving the quarter circle to perfection.
But you don't need a 1500 page manual to tell you how to train your pony. You can make it a lot less complicated. Which is not to say it is easier. You still need to work conscientiously at it.
Ever paid attention to a riding event at a horse show, or even a dressage event? It appears to be so very simple, doesn't? That is, until you start trying it out yourself.
When you're doing some casual riding, you can simply turn your horse's head at corners and get him pointed in the right direction. You can be fairly sure the pony will not crunch into the rail. But all that's fine for casual riding.
It isn't going to work for show riding. You are going to upset the judges terribly, to the extent they may get you thrown out after your first event. There isn't any turning corners at these events. There are only quarter circles that involve about twelve cues. It will probably take you quite some time to learn all of the cues, and even longer to get your pony to perfectly make a response to each.
I have come up with a method that makes things somewhat easier. I mean, the way to start the quarter circle. I based my method on the simple idea that horses are literally capable of just eleven movements. These movements are:
1. Moving forward using various gaits; 2. The vital ability of stopping; 3. The vital skill of backing up; 4 and 5. Left and right movements of the neck and the head; 6 and 7. Left and right movements of the shoulders; 8 and 9. Left and right movements of the rump; 10 and 11. Right and left movements of the hindquarters.
Trust me, that pretty much covers it.
You want to defeat the cues for each of these movements, and you need to get your pony to respond like a robot to your cues for each of these movements. You go thru the entire thing step by step: master each cue and response, move on to the next. Just remember: you Do Not attempt to move your horse's neck or head by pulling at the reins. You get this done with the reins draped loosely around your thumb.
The ideal to reach for, naturally, is to attain top coordination with your horse, so that each cue you send to your horse produces the right response instantly. That means that the cues become part of your subconscious, and the responses become part of your horse's.
When you and your horse have accomplished that kind of coordination, you will be capable of achieving the quarter circle to perfection.
About the Author:
Horses are Heather Toms passion and she enjoys sharing her
extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers, like all things about horse show cloths
extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers, like all things about horse show cloths
No comments:
Post a Comment