95 Gentle Horse training



Sweet Girl, following with no lead line!

     Some have asked about how I train a horse, This post will be all about horses and training so if you don't have an interest, just skip over it. 

     Remember, some of my writing may be in the hopes that a descendent may someday read it. (Just a warning as it could be boring to you.  I found it is much easier to show somebody a technique then try and write it down.)
     I found this to be very difficult to describe an action with enough detail to be accurate.  When I return home this summer I will try and do a short video to attach to clear things up.  In the meantime if you have any questions simply post them in comments or send me an email.

     The pictures and examples will be during our winter trip February 2014 to Naples Florida.  The horses were rescued and adopted by Val and Starlene.  A friend on Facebook surprised that I trained horses asked how long I had been training, I joked and said three weeks.   I was new at it however the horses had never been ridden so they wouldn't know the difference.    The truth is I grew up on a farm where horses did the work and from as long as I can remember I have been riding and working with horses.  At first my father would put me on the work horses and I would hang onto the harness's as they worked.  The first saddle I used my legs were so short my feet went in the leathers above the stirrups.  I just started training the horses I was around as I grew. 

    

Sweet Girl,

 

  At some point I read and used training methods found in western magazines and books.  Training one of my horses to rear, lay down, bow and kneel.  I copied my TV hero's doing trick riding, pony express mount, hippodrome stand, single and double vaults on a galloping horse.  I preformed these in and around my boyhood farm often on a gravel road with a standard single cinch saddle.  It was very fortunate that I survived this with out proper equipment or backup.

Sweet Girl, Good for You!

  I trained horses with kindness and persuasive methods, modifying my methods as I found out what horses were capable of understanding.  I was never consciously abusive to animals as some are.  However I know at times thru ignorance and improper equipment I caused them pain.

My Method:  I try and think of the end result we want to achieve and think backwards,  what little steps to reach that goal.   I ask the horse for a response, Apply enough pressure (pressure can be as little as turning to face the horse to throwing a rope in its direction) to the horse to cause a reaction,  remove the pressure (immediately) when he responds. And praise, praise, praise.   

Sweet Girl

Sweet Girl, When she stopped I told Val
she was already for her!

     Val's horses.  An older rescue mare "Sweet Girl" and her two colts 3 year old Phoenix and Kanda 4.  When Val adopted her she was 600 pounds in foal with a colt by her side.  She is now a beautiful 1100 pound well conditioned mare.  From the Adele song, "Rumor has it" she had been ridden at some point in her life however during her training she never gave any indication of  being ridden.     Within the first session I chose Kandi as my primary riding horse for Val.  Sweet Girl is the unknown since she was an older horse when rescued.  She also showed a dangerous side after foaling Phoenix. 
     Phoenix had already shown a bad side, in an instant she can pin her hers along her head and show her rear to you.  A mean look, she is showing you what she is thinking.  On one particular day Val was standing up ahead of her shoulder, normally a safe place from the rear legs. Not with this little gymnast.  She "cow kicked"  bringing her hind leg forward she caught Val's arm just below the elbow cutting it to the bone with so much skin damage it could not be sutured, Repaired with glue and surgical tape she still has some nerve damage.  Yup, I think Kandi's the one.


Phoenix the baby, looks innocent enough now.

   Now lets put it to practical application. The first thing we want is a horse that will allow us to approach and halter them for training.  We want them to look and turn to face us if requested.  This will be a lot of detail however it will set up the training method for all future lessons.  When you step in the corral be aware of the presence you are presenting.   The horse has survived by being aware of everything that can effect it.  Right now he is sizing you up, I often tell owners their horse is like a two year old little boy.  He will get away with just as much as he can.  Some one in the corral is going to lead and some one will follow.  You better decide which is which before you open the gate.  Okay if your not sure, lets fake it, maybe we can fool him.  Square your shoulders, look him in the eye and walk in there.  Good job, I think he is buying it.  Step towards him beckon him with a come here wave of your hand reinforce with a verbal command. "Come" and away he runs, now the training begins.  A stern "No" and perhaps a toss of a rope in his direction to keep him moving around the corral, 3-4 trips around the corral, step in front of him, point in the opposite direction and say "switch"  throw the rope and get him traveling the other way around the corral.  In the beginning I will allow any turn, later on I will insist on a turn toward me.

Sweet Girl

(we are discouraging a turn of his rear toward us.). Keep repeating until you see a softening of his attitude, perhaps a licking of his lips or a chewing.  Then when you do a change of direction back up and relax your stance and eventually he will pause,  At that point tuck your shoulder away from him slightly and give him a verbal soothing tone, I use "good for you, or way to go" so much my children mock me with it now.  You have to be very aware of his movements and watch for the slightest signal that he is trying to respond correctly and you have to praise him immediately with voice and body language. 

Sweet Girl-Val, up down,  up down, now other side!

  When he pauses we will stay in front of him and move to the side reassuring him verbally , almost with our back toward him and looking over our shoulder we will move parallel to him.  If he turns his head away or doesn't look toward us we will square our body to him and say "no". When he looks toward me you turn away and "good for you" repeat, repeat, repeat, soon you will be able to move further and further until he will turn his head completely to the side to watch you.  Keep his head turned and eventually he will find it easier to move his feet to face you, now we are talking.  Now we can walk by his head and circle and he will turn with you, then start walking in a straight line if he stops repeat the circle soon he will be following you on command.  If you can operate a lariat you can use that to reinforce the commands and cut the time in half.  With the lariat on give him the verbal cue, then tightened the pull on the lariat very softly, wait for one count and then jerk it, repeat, soon he will respond to the soft touch and then the verbal cue.  Always hesitate between the cue and reinforcement to allow time to respond.

Phoenix, Just curious?

Now we can approach and pet him, smother him with kindness, rub and soothing tones.  To some one watching it has to be very boring.   We want him to feel when he stands beside us to be a safe comfortable haven.  And out of our circle to be work.   Start adding things rub him with the halter, a rag, a blanket. Baby steps keep rubbing over larger parts of the body and different items, he moves away, it is back to circles, switching directions until he wants to return, no such luck, horses don't make decisions regarding training,  a couple of more direction changes and then ask him to return to you.  Keep repeating, he will figure it out stand quiet beside you = no work and comfort.  move away or behave badly = circles, change of directions, and work.  He will figure it out, training is going well.  Now he will stand and we can put a blanket on him, put the saddle blanket on from both sides many times.  Now introduce the saddle let them smell it, tie the stirrups and cinch up so they don't hang and scare him, sit it on his back,  from both sides, repeat, repeat, if they run,  well then it's back to circles

Val at the reins.

and the dreaded round pen exercise, better come back beside me where it is safe and comfortable.   When you can sit it on his back, he stands still with no concern for the saddle.  Rub him from both sides in the girth area, stand by his shoulder with the lead rope over your arm for control.  Slowly reach underneath and pull the cinch up and fasten it, make sure it is tight enough that it will not dislodge when he bucks.  Try and back away and let him ponder the situation.  The longer he

Phoenix and the plowing game.

stands the better.   Then move him away from you with the smallest pressure that will get movement.  We would like him to just walk off.  Most likely there will be some sort of moderate bucking, the first time saddled I let them buck until they are satisfied.  I will say one half hearted "no" and just let them go.  When he settles down I will verbally try and calm him down.  Then switch and more circle training until it doesn't bother them at all.  That is the last time I will ignore aggressive behavior, if he bucks next time there will be a sharp pull on the rope, a change in direction, turn and face him, point directly at him and



Phoenix the baby, looks innocent enough now.

a "NO".  Bridle:  Most of the time this is harder than saddling, you are messing with their head and as I like to say "you control the head and you control the horse".  You can cure or promote some bad habits during this step.  At any point the head is raised continue exactly what you were doing and increase the intensity, his head will raise higher, increase the intensity, up it goes,

Val's granddaughter on Kandi 

increase, now he starts to back, go with him, that didn't work so well, at some point his head will drop slightly, stop soften your tone and praise.  It was still two feet above where you need him to be however you taught him that raising his head increase the aggravation and lowering brings pause and release of pressure.  Try pressing on the top of his head between the ears, increase to a squeeze, a slight drop, release immediately rub and praise, soon you will have his head in your lap.  Rub the face and nose put your finger in the corner of his mouth. At hate corner of his lips, there are no teeth, rub his gums now press just a little and his jaw will relax praise and pet, repeat.  This is tricky, practice before you are in front of your horse so you don't look foolish. ( sorry to late.) Holding the bridle in one hand just above the bit (a snaffle not one with leverage) hold it in front of his face, rub his nose with the bit and bridle, your other hand is holding the halter or lead rope, your are beside him.  Rubbing the nose position the bridle so the bit will be in a position to clear his mouthed slide it back until the bit is directly beneath his mouth, with your other hand open his mouth by touching his gums and at the same time raise the bit, do not jam it against his teeth.  This will take some practice, the important thing is to reinforce head position, you raise it and pressure increases,  lower= praise and 

Phoenix, doesn't seem pleased.

petting.  Once you get it on release him and let him get used to the feel, some take longer than others to settle down and relax, you've got lots of time.  Rein response:  Standing on his side lift that rein increase the tension softly, he will probably move his head away, go with him with the same tension, this is not a tug of war.  At some point he will stop pulling or perhaps move his head to ward the tension. Drop the rein or release the tension IMMEDIATLY or sooner!  Pet and praise and rub, good for you , way to go, I knew you would get it. ( I think they love the sound of my voice. Did I mention they appreciate my jokes.) Continue on both sides, they will now move their head further and further eventually all the way to both sides. Your job is to release the pressure so fast that they learn to move to the slightest pressure.  To show one owner how sensitive they are I used a piece of dental floss on the bit to turn their head, now think how cruel a heavy hand on a bit with levers can be. 

Sweet Girl

      Back to baby steps, He is dressed to ride.  Move the stirrups in every direction, start with taps on the seat increase to slapping, apply weight to the stirrups increase to leaning, use the same motions you would as if you were mounting, raise your leg, swing it, march in place, run in place, jump up and down. If he moves pull on a rein bringing his head to the side further and further until his feet stop moving, we are teaching "the one rein stop"  continue until you are satisfied with the stop.  

Driving:  We are trying to cover all the bases and do everything we would be doing if we were in the saddle.  Now after teaching him to stand for hours on end we are going to ask him to move with us at his side.  Stand by 

Lucky Lady

his side, lift the reins like you would if you were in the saddle.  Use the verbal cue you use when you are in the center of the round pen for movement,  Next increase pressure, step back just a little grab a stirrup and wiggle it , increasing pressure until you actually slap him with the leather. If he doesn't move. Step back and throw a rope at his rear, when he moves praise and try to step closer and closer until you are walking beside, not in front.   Now put on long lines or ropes to the bit and thru the stirrups or even better a ring or loop higher up on both sides of the saddle.   Give the command to move step back and use the reins on his rear to get him moving, he will be confused as you move behind him, remember the one rein stop and the length he can reach if he kicks.  When you do a turn he will probably get nervous when the outside rein slides over his rump,  Soon he will be driving like a plow horse take them out in a larger area, plow, plant cultivate. ( just teasing.). think he wants more circle training so away we go, this may be boring for you but I think the horse loves it. (just teasing). I try and keep up a running conversation in soothing tones and I really think the horses love my sense of humor. 

Stellar, And the ground shook!

  A couple of weeks later when we were at Daytona bike week I mentioned to Ruthie that I couldn't get this smudge off my forearm (I think it was my right, you know it's backwards in a mirror) and she informed me it was a  large scrape and bruise and she wondered how it got there.  I told her and Michelle what I think happened.  Kandi and I were out in the large area playing this fun plowing game.  It was going well when I tripped.  (probably on one of the cedar knees sticking out of the ground. (Val had showed me a pile of these she had collected.  When the water rises the tree roots breath thru this projectile sticking out of the ground.  They may be as far away from the trunk as the branches are wide.  Val said wood carvers use them for art.). You can see why I didn't have time to explain this to Kandi. She started increasing her speed, Being off balance and in a forward lean I couldn't get the reins separated to do a one rein pull..  My speed and forward lean both increased.  Kandi must have thought we were now playing a who can run faster game.  She increased her speed.  It was not a fair game.  Obviously she knew where all the tree stumps, cedar knees, palmetto trees, brush and ruts were.  I increased my speed and perhaps a little more forward lean.  I probably shouldn't tell you this, remember I'm a trained professional.  However to get a good feeling for this you need to go outside, do not attempt this in your home.  Find a length of rope, twenty feet should do it. Tie it to something at least twice as fast as you can run.  Now grab the rope (warning, do not attach it to your body permanently,) Next get the object you chose, greyhound (the dog, not the transportation group) neighbor kid on a motorcycle, wife driving your SUV to increase the speed, you will be amazed how fast you can run with a little assistance.  Do not try this when you have 

Stellar, My fault!  I should have told her it was
just a blanket on a rope.

upset your spouse in any way or you will achieve the speed I am about to reach.  We were flying, I really didn't think I could run this fast, my little legs were churning, Kandi didn't seem to be even trying.  Okay the fence, I forgot about the fence, we were going to have to change the rules, She knew about the fence and turned to the right between to palmetto bushes, I let go and without the tension on the reins I was only able to maintain this speed for a few more paces.  I tried to stop my forward lean but my head and shoulders were getting further ahead of my flying legs.  Stick a fork in me I'm done.  Down I went.  Sand, dirt, bushes I don't know what I landed in, I just had to lay there for a minute or three to see if I could fill my lungs back up without artificial assistance.  I don't think I like this game the way Kandi plays it.
       Back in the round pen where I'm safe we start increasing weight in each stirrup until we can stand on each side.  Do this until the horse stands quiet during the procedure.  I pushed this with these horses because I wanted to be up on there back before I left Naples.  Then swing your leg over ( careful not to bump there butt) and sit in the saddle, on again off again now sit and come down the other side.  When you have reached a level of confidence, he turns, does a one rein stop and relaxes.  

Stellar!

The Ride:  Pick up on the reins give a firm verbal cue "Walk" Do a little forward lean with your upper body like you are going somewhere.  He just stands there.  Now lift your legs and stirrups away from his side, sometimes this is enough if you have practiced it enough from the ground, if not wiggle your legs and as a last resort bring them in to touch him lightly, we want a walk not a jump.  He is not used to walking with you in the saddle keep one rein at the ready and if there is any increase in speed or change in attitude bring him in a circle with a one rein stop until totally relaxed, repeat, repeat, repeat.  Ride often, ride safe!  

Starlene's Horses: she had a beautiful herd of what she called "Cracker horses.  A smaller horse bred to herd cattle in the pioneer days in the dense palmetto brush.  One of these "lucky Lady" was her main goal  Star had done a great job of ground work and training. The 
only sticker was for one reason or other every time she got on her back she threw her off.  Certainly not the attitude of a grateful horse.  The first day I was there we had a session and by the end we had a nice ride in the pasture.  A note on riding position on unbroken horses:  Even if your stomach is churning inside you cannot transfer it to the horse with your legs, they will telegraph nervousness to your horse, if your not confident in this ride neither will he.  If he bucks his goal is to get this frightening thing off his back the same way he would a cougar.  He wants it to come off to the front so he can then stomp it with his front feet.  We have desensitized him enough with ropes and blankets that the stomping instinct better be gone.   After the slight upper body lean and cue to get forward movement bring your upper body back to a balanced position, gently move your legs and feet forward of the balanced position, this way if he goes up you can keep your self in the saddle by holding onto the grab handle (I would rather have the horn removed and a leather handle instead) and when he comes down you are braced with the stirrups.  At the same time you bring his head around with the one rein stop until calm.  Repeat. (the ride, not the buck) So why no saddle horn you ask?  A grab handle will give you a better hold and unless you are a roper you have no use for it.  Many have been injured by the horn.  Also I have a bad memory from a saddle horn.  When I was very young I was riding my little horse in the eighty acre 

Stellar,  A soft golf club cover on a stick makes a great gentling
extension.  Out of harms way.

woods on our farm.  I must have been playing cowboy, practicing with my lariat and herding the milk cow herd.  I threw my lariat and caught one of the milk cows.  Probably was a good feeling for a minute until the once calm cow took off running.  The rope was tied to the saddle horn.  A trained roping horse will stay in line with the roped object brace its feet and bring the animal to a stop.  An untrained horse weighing less than the object will just be pulled along with its rider where ever the object decides to go.   At some point my horse fell as we went thru the underbrush the cow then dragged both of us until she went between two trees and horse and saddle were wedged and able to stop said cow.  The cow eventually stopped pulling and relaxed I was able to get the rope off the saddle horn.  I spent some time chasing the cow to remove the evidence from her neck so my parents wouldn't find out what happened, and they never did!  See the trouble a saddle horn can cause.      And now Starlene introduced me to her second horse.  Stellar:  I almost feel like every word I write on her should be in bold and capitalized.  I hope you never have the opportunity to see a horse like this. (because of the cruelty she had to endure)  however at the same time it was such a privilege to be able to work with this creature.  The facts, she was a wild mustang living on the range until she was approximately 8 years old.  She has a land management identification number on her rump and a freeze brand on her neck.  She was adopted by a hoarder who couldn't care for her properly and now at twenty years of age she has been rescued and adopted by Starlene and her children Aaron and Ginger.  Rumor: She may have been in a rodeo wild horse race and she may have been transported by herding her into a trailer and then the trailer filled with grain so she couldn't move.  Because of her distrust and fear every transaction with humans had been accomplished with extreme force in most cases.



Stellar, Talk to the hand, Aaron probably got tired of me
telling him it was his ugly gloves she was
afraid off.  He did a great job with her. 

 I was told later that Aaron sent this text out.  This guy either knows what he's doing or is crazy, he just went in the pen with Stellar!  Aware that our transportation was a trike  when Starlene was at Church or work she made sure Aaron or Ginger were always there with a car to take me to the hospital.  Comforting thought.  On one of her returns from Church I asked her the question everyone always wonders, "Did the Corinthians ever write back?" She never did find out.  Now on with her training.  She was not a mean or vicious horse, she was just so frightened that she was dangerous.  Her wild mustang instincts had been heightened to a level that most of us cannot imagine.   I was cautious yet I had to show no visible fear and be a calming influence.  I kept talking to her, she didn't seem to care.  Ruthie keeps saying she has never seen a horse that snorted the way she did, the first session was four hours and I don't think she ever stopped snorting.  I soon knew that the circle training to touch her would take to long without a rope on her to reinforce my cues.  Not wanting to lasso her as then I would be committed to reaching a point where I could remove the lasso on the first session.  Instead I used a long cotton rope and by throwing it over her and then going to her other side I was able to twirl the rope around her neck for 

Starlene with Stellar

control, now when I finished this session I could just un-twirl it to release her.  I have included a poor quality photo because it shows something you don't often see.  If the rope fell in front of her she would attack it by stomping it with her front hooves. The picture shows the extreme height she could reach, and you thought you were safe in front of your horse.  Lots of weapons this one!  The picture is probably blurry because I felt the ground shake every time she showed me a new move.     At some point when I was positioning my self to her side I passed her comfort zone and she spun away from me sending both rear feet at me in a parting gift.  I was one inch to close and she caught me in the leg and hand.  Lesson learned, she is scary fast.  If I haven't mentioned it already both Val's and Starlene's mares have scars from fighting off panthers to protect new born foals.  The picture with her pouncing on the blanket will give you some idea of her level of fear aggression.  In that picture she was so fast she reared to pounce and kill the object and just before she hit the earth she realized it wasn't an animal relaxed and ran away.  One time when I threw the rope she used her front feet to stomp in so fast it sounded like a machine gun.  I was impressed.  And so it continued, I would inch closer talking softly and perhaps sharing a numerous story with her. Then she would spin, I would pull hard on the rope with a stern "NO". Then she would stop and I would continue, "Yes, Yes, Yes, good for you  I would apply a little pressure to the rope and hold it until her head moved to ward me, and then verbal affirmations.  And on and on and on.  Seemed like hours, actually it was.  I was finally able to touch her without tension on the rope.  And the text went out. "He is the first one ever to pet Stellar!"  I could now get her to lead, sort of.  Time for both of us to rest and recuperate. 

Stellar, seems calm enough, we will discuss
her later. Note the Id# on her.

     Before the second session I got Star's permission to use some 6X6 beams I had seen in a goat pen to make a safety barrier, I didn't want Stellar to get hurt ( who am I kidding) and also put some more panels in place to increase the size of the corral, we both needed a larger safety bubble.  Turned out kind of funny, I think in the end Stellar liked having the barrier between us, maybe she felt safe behind it.   Her training continued as with Val's only that every step took 5 times as long trying to overcome the fear that horses raised around humans don't have.  This time I lassoed her making the commitment that I would be able to touch her and take it off.  She reminded me of a warning I should give you on loops.  You should make every effort to avoid having an object, be it a rein, rope, or lasso that can form a loop

that could cause and injury.  A couple of times I stepped on the rope I was doing and it wrapped around my leg and one time I flipped the rope over the rail as an aid, I then grabbed it below the rail (I think I was getting tired) Stellar jumped back and tried to run, I 

Stellar, this is far enough for today.

 couldn't hold her or remove my hand fast enough and she pulled it up against the fence.  My hand was acting as a wedge and I was very fortunate she was far enough along in her training to yield to the pressure and relax.   As of the writing of this:  I can now clench my fist without much pain, thank you very much stellar. The one step I did different for Stellar was train her with a target.  I knew this would be necessary for Starlene and Aaron to be able to halter her.  You can train a horse to touch an object and then use that object as part of their training,  I used my hand held ridged like a policeman's stop sign.   Now instead of me reaching to pet her I changed it and used the come cue and rope pressure until she touched my hand with her head.  I then released the pressure and verbally praised her.  It became 

Now why would you be afraid of Ruthie?

 interesting to see her try to work with this new concept, Okay that's what you want, here you go, I will leave my back legs in place and slowly move my front legs forward stretching my nose out to touch it.  There now are you happy and I was.  More praise.  Remember baby steps. Now I move my hand further away, it looks like she is going to break in the middle if she doesn't move her rear legs and finally she does.  Fun game, I think she is enjoying this.  This continued until we left Naples.  By that time she could be caught, haltered, led, a blanket thrown on her back, a saddle sat on her, her face handled and petted.  She could be rubbed and brushed on the neck and shoulders, as far as the top of her legs and her back as far as a saddle would touch and half way down her side.  It is hard to imagine how big a deal this was before I met her.  With her it was desensitizing a half an inch at a time.  It was very gratifying to finally have the snorting stop and seem at ease with the caressing.   The highlight was when both Aaron and Starlene were able to pet and halter her for the first time.  They love this horse.   Thank you for introducing me to Stellar and the wonderful letter you wrote.  

Update,  It is gratifying to see owners continue on with their horses training.  I have received several updates from Val regarding her riding and training. 
This an email from 3/28/2014  

     Back with daily training. Kandi is doing good. As far as I can tell. We are teaching each other. Tomorrow we will try to venture down the road.  Sweet Girl is doing better. We walked around the pen one time yesterday. Today 3 times.

As for Phoenix. She is having her temper tantrums. Three times she tried to throw me. I won the three times trying. She had one time of mission accomplished. No injuries. Except for pride. she was proud. My pride was hurt. So the score is Val 3, Phoenix 1. Do you think the banjos are a distraction?  
My reply:  

     You are doing great, just spend more time with phoenix , up and down on the side over the top, do not even worry about forward movement until you can mount, dismount and go over the top, lets say 30 times, continue driving her until calm.  
And yes it is probably the banjos , I know I heard them very plain when I fell when trying to run as fast as Kandi.
Be safe.

Vern and Ruthie

 

Val and Kandi