MyHoofPrints

Rein contact: Mark it with Vetrap

When my son was little, he struggled to maintain proper contact in the leather reins we were using. No matter how hard he tried, the reins would slip through his fingers, and pretty soon there was little or no contact between him and his horse. Sally Swift beautifully describes proper rein contact in Centered Riding , but trying to describe “feel” to young riders is difficult, mostly because young riders don’t have highly developed abstract thinking skills. Professional teachers know that abstract thinking will come with age, but while they are young, children need concrete examples. Sadly, most of the kinds of tape we tried over the years quickly fell off. At our (awesome!) 4-H jumping clinics this summer however, we discovered a new solution to the marker conundrum: Rein markers made out of Vetrap. All you have to do is wrap the Vetrap around the reins at the spot you want the rider to mark, and tear off the remainder of the roll. The “sweet” spot will be different for flat work (longer reins) as opposed to jumping (shorter reins). Don’t ask your rider to “make do” with one marker for two jobs. The Vetrap marks are only for informal training. Do not take them to a show and expect the judge to look the other way. Of all the tapes we’ve tried in the past, the Vetrap stuck and stayed the best.

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Hair trigger: Horse hates clippers

My Morgan gelding, who is now a solid Level 4 (Colorado 4-H) Hunt Seat and Western horse with a nice show record, started life with us a bit crazed. One of the things he hated the worst was clippers. Even if we just turned the clippers on, he would raise his head out of our reach and roll his eyes at us.
This horse is 16.2+ hands tall, probably one of the tallest Morgans in the registry. When he decided he didn't want to do something, we had to figure out very creative work-arounds. We tried all sorts of bribery and even resorted to a twitch, but nothing worked. Clippings always ended in a violent contest with horse and people traumatized.
Finally, my veterinarian suggested creating positive associations with the clippers by making our horse very relaxed while clipping. He prescribed a tranquilizer for us to use the next three or four times we clipped our gelding. It worked. By the fifth clipping, we could gently clip our boy's bridle path, whiskers and legs without fearing for our lives.
We don't generally subscribe to the "better living through chemicals" approach, but this idea worked for a very tough case, and I would recommend it as long as you consult first with your veterinarian. We now keep this horse and others desensitized to clippers by making trimming with clippers a regular part of grooming, and we find the Wahl Pocket Pro ideal for this type of work.

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Flying lead changes: The foolproof exercise

Our horses are good, average horses that fit well with our family. They do multiple jobs in 4-H at open horse shows. None received specialized training. None broke the bank at time of purchase. When it came to learning flying leads, we faced the challenge of rider inexperience, less-than-perfect horse conformation and in some cases, performance baggage that had nothing to do with the quality of our training. We tried method after method, sometimes with hilarious results: Jumping in a western saddle to force a change, horses bolting at the center of the figure eight fearing heavy leg cues, horses changing down the rail just for the fun of it, horses dripping with sweat due to stress. Of all the exercises we tried, this one from John Lyons Perfect Horse magazines (December 2005 and January 2006) is my favorite. All the horses we tried this exercise on executed a flying lead change by the end of our 4-H mounted ride. Simply put: You construct a chute of cones close enough together to discourage dodging, put a ground pole at the end of the chute, and ride the horse in an “S” through the chute, switching leads at the ground pole, all while using proper seat, leg, and hand cues. Remember, before you can "fly", you must first be able to sidepass, turn on the forehand, and two-track at the trot and canter, all with your horse in a good, light frame.

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Deadly impact: Skull - 1, Helmet - 0

The Thoroughbred gelding had been jumping the green and white, two-foot flower jump for days. This was just another routine schooling. As the horse cantered the line, his rider balanced over the balls of her feet in a classic two-point. She shortened the reins for better contact, looked ahead, and prepared herself for liftoff. The horse pricked his ears toward the jump, boldly cantered forward, then skidded to a halt, swerved right, then left, then right and, feeling his rider come unbalanced, scrambled away from the jump. She hauled on the reins, but the gelding continued his mad scramble. The rider slammed to the ground, head first. She didn’t move. Others in the arena ran to help, but seconds later, she stood up on her own. She was shaken and covered in the mud of the puddle her body hit. Except for a bad case of road rash, and later, a stiff neck, she was injury free. Somebody started laughing. Pretty soon everybody in the arena started laughing, partly in fun, partly in relief. As the rider tried to pull muddy strands of hair out of her face, she unstrapped her helmet. She stopped laughing. A six-inch spiraling crack fractured the helmet’s surface. (Click on picture to enlarge.)
Those of you who think you don’t need one, think again. My daughter’s helmet saved her life today.

Check out this life-saving video: Every Time, Every Ride

Straight from the horse's ear

Horse ears crack me up. They speak a language of their own, defined by angles.  Good horse people take “ear talk” for granted, but respond to it as part of the ride. Challenged horse people ignore ear talk completely and are surprised when their mount does something unexpected. If you watch horses in a pasture grouping, their ears are always busy, partly because they are after all, prey animals listening for predators, and partly because they are signaling each other. Last time I took to the trail, my horse pal began our journey, thrilled  to be on an adventure,  but shortly down the trail moved to, “Uh oh, heading into danger territory, something  will probably leap out of those bushes”. (Both ears at attention, pointing to the bushes.) Then he went into, “No really, are you SURE I have to walk through that opening in the fence with the killer box and weird hanging bag-thing next to it?” (Head slightly cocked so he can see me on his back, one ear flicking forward, one ear back, checking me.) Once past the latest death threat, he downgraded to a conversational, “Well, thank goodness we survived THAT, thanks to my superior senses.” (Neck relaxes, ears go to half -mast.) “This road looks pretty good, haven’t been here in a while. Don’t worry. I’ll keep a close watch.” (One ear pricked forward, listening.) “What do you want to do next?” (One ear cocked back.) Never underestimate the power of an ear.

Hunt Seat: Ride the flying lead change

A key maneuver for a winning equitation pattern or a passing score on the Colorado 4-H Horse Project Level III or Level IV riding test is the flying lead change. To ride the flying lead, you need rhythm, balance and the ability to quietly multi-task at speed. DO: Keep your "building blocks" properly stacked. Stay centered in the saddle, cue as the horse's old front lead leg hits the ground, lift your horse’s shoulder with the rein on the side of the new lead, press with the outside leg, allow your "soft eyes" and energy to flow with the new lead. (Find building blocks, soft eyes and energy focus in Sally Swift's Centered Riding, left.) DON’T: Look down, tip to one side or the other, let your horse drop the inside shoulder, speed up, yank or spur harshly. Get a few lessons on a trained horse so you know what a flying lead is supposed to feel like. PREREQUISITES: To truly ride this maneuver (push-button horses don't count), you and your horse must already be able to sidepass, pivot on the hindquarters and forehand, execute a half halt, two-track at the walk, trot, and canter. You must also be able to counter-canter, and smoothly canter from a halt and trot before you train for flying leads. The flying lead change is a complicated skill, but it adds value to your horse, and gives you a show ring advantage. Check out our video below for details. 

Sponsored by: Poudre River Stables, KarinLivingston.com

Grooming for (your) fitness

Physical fitness takes a hit in the winter unless you have a plan. The sun, limited by natural seasons and the imposition of Let’s Waste Energy (aka: Standard) Time in the United States, goes down depressingly early between late November and April. To cope, I try to integrate exercise into the regular work day. Fortunately, at my non-stable job, I can get up and move around in the course of the day. I wear an inexpensive Wal-Mart pedometer and try to get in about three "routine" miles. The pedometer inspired me to cut back on e-mail and voice messaging in favor of getting up to interract with people, which they seem to like. Stable chores at the beginning and end of the day make up the rest of the winter routine. Our barn is lighted, and routine barn work does keep a person fit. According to equivalents in the Mega Mileage Club brochure, 18 minutes of horse grooming equals about one mile of walking. If you have time to ride, 12 minutes at the gallop, 13 minutes at the trot, and 30 minutes at the walk each add up to about a mile of walking. (Trust me, if you survive 13 minutes at the posting trot, you’ll know you’ve had a workout. Super-duper challenge: Try posting at the trot for 13 minutes without stirrups!)

Sponsored by: Poudre River Stables, KarinLivingston.com

Pocket halter catches 'em

  The awards committee at our saddle club came up with a neat party favor this year, the pocket halter. A finely braided strand of rope, about eight feet long, attached to a metal ring, and boasting a leather “tail”, the pocket halter will be part of my “going out the door” gear from now on. It fits in the large pocket of your barn jacket, and serves many purposes. As the name implies, it becomes an instant halter, ready in seconds to catch the wayward horse or other critter. You would not want to tie a horse in this arrangement because you could squeeze its head off. On th

e other hand, the slip-loop on which the halter is based provides nice pressure for more subtle showmanship training. Click on our Adobe Flash Player Pocket Halter slide show to see how the pocket halter worked for us.

Pocket halter's "Blue" Christmas

Sponsored by: Poudre River Stables, KarinLivingston.com

Right for the job

As with humans, bone mass in horses is important. Case in point: The tragic death of Kentucky Derby filly Eight Belles. A measuring tape wrapped around the top of the cannon bone just below the knee of a 1,000-pound horse should measure seven to eight inches. Good bones go hand in hand with strong muscles and tendons, according to veterinarian Nancy S. Loving. Her book, Conformation and Performance, is a beautiful must-have for anyone serious about horses or considering buying a horse . I attended a talk by Dr. Loving at one of the Rocky Mountain Horse Expos in Denver many years ago. Her point: It is only fair to your horse to ask him to do the job for which he is properly built. I grabbed the book off of the table and bought it right then. I return to Dr. Loving’s book time after time for the top-notch photos alone. The heavy-duty spiral binding and glossy card stock pages make browsing a sensory delight. Inevitably, I find a new tidbit like the one above, which you too can find in the photo caption on page 101.

Sponsored by: Poudre River Stables, KarinLivingston.com

Level III Hunt Seat: The complete picture

Pursuing the Level III Colorado 4-H Horse Project Hunt Seat test requires high-level skills from horse and rider. The problem is that a lot of times, not everybody is clear on what an ideal levels test looks like. Click here for a printable, expanded description of the Level III Hunt Seat test. The neat thing about the higher levels tests is that they build good horses in addition to good riders. In our family, the horse with the highest riding level next to its name is also the horse that everybody wants to ride. That makes a horse properly trained and graduated through the levels tests a more valuable animal.  So go ahead, give your horse a little job security, and push for that next level!

Sponsored by: Poudre River Stables, KarinLivingston.com