Free Lungeing by Lynda McCall

ยงSynclironizin9 Horse andMa By JIM McCALL, PhD And LYNDA McCALL

Use your energy and emotions instead of a longe line! Part I: Impulsion

ferent from iscustomary _. free very dif~ HE longeing philosophy ground training. behind Traditional groundwork has been developed over the years as a method of gaining control over the horse. Longe lines, bitting rigs, longeing cavessons, and all the other mechanical paraphernalia have been developed as a means to gain control over the energy of a 1,000-pound body that has the potential to move over the ground at about 42 miles per hour.

Outsmart And Outmaneuver

Free longeing is one step in a training method based on gaining dominance over the animal by controlling his mind -a chess game which demands skill, intelligence, and athletic ability from both participants. Entering an enclosure armed only with a longe whip, the object is to manipulate, outsmart, and outmaneuver the equine athlete to gain his respect and trust. These two expressions are the key to all training. Once you have respect and trust from a horse, you don't need any man-made devices. The horse is yours and he will do whatever you want-just because you asked. For horsemen inexperienced in this type of training, it may seem like a huge step from traditional instruction to this psychological, mind-manipulation type of schooling. Actually, most horsemen instinctively use at least some of this theory in their systems. It is our hope that this discussion will stimulate all of us to relate to horses in a more positive way. Our equine companions can be trained without force and punishment.

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The more that is known about how they think and relate to man, the easier this relationship will be to achieve. A round pen is the perfect place to begin this kind of learning. Once inside the enclosed structure, the human world of the 21st century no longer exists. Imagine you and the horse are the only two living creatures left on this planet. To this situation, he brings over 35-

importantly, as the teacher. With this power comes great responsibility, but the rewards of being one with horses is a "high" few humans will ever know. And the first step to reaching this pinnacle is just through the doorway of the round pen. Step through with us and we will try to help you understand what it means to be a horse.

The Center Of The Ring

~~Onceyou have respect and trust from a horse, you don't need any manmade devices. The horse is yours and he will do whatever you want-just because you asked." million years of equine evolution. To survive and win, you must forget 20,000 years of man's cultural heritage and seek to become one with .your equine brother. Look deeply into his eyes. Do you see what he fears? In order to master free longeing, you must be able to walk in his hoofprints. You must be able to handle his fears, create curiosity, and satisfy his needs to make him calm and secure. In other words, you will walk with the herd as a herdmate-not as a herdsman. Horses will think of you as the provider, the caretaker, the watchguard, and, most

Walk to the center of the ring. Take a long look at your horse. Is he scared, curious, bored, sick, excited ... ? Relax and see if he will come to you. If not, walk over and get him. Begin every session with a moment of togetherness. Relax him. Rub his withers, scratch a favorite spot, talk softly to him and let him know that you are here to learn about horses; that you are willing to be open to his thoughts and expressions. Horses are very communicative animals. The more you listen, the more they "talk." Actually, it would be more correct to say "the more you see, the more they express." Horses listen more with their eyes than their ears. To enter the world of the horse you must do so, too. You must learn to look at the whole horse to see what he is saying-his eyes, his ears, his muscle tone, his tail, the arc of his body, the position of his head, and how he moves in relationship to your position. (For more information, see "Expressions: Language Of The Horse," HORSE & RIDER May '89.) This last factor-how he moves in relationship to your position-is most important to read correctly. The struc-

ture o~j;he eqBiI},eh~rd much <territory each H2rses,}ike peopl e;'have an are, heir body they seek to protect Refe7i'e'({ to as "personal space," the average horse controls about 12 feet in every direction. This means that when intimidated by the personal space of a more aggressive animal, this horsEtwill move himself away from the intruder. Keep in mind that this 12-foot number is just an average. Every horse is different depending on his age, sex, and innate level of aggression. For example, weanlings may only have a territory with a diameter of

Begin every session with a moment of togetherness. Relax and see if he'll come to you (left). If not, walk over to him (above) and let him know that you're here to learn about horses; that you're willing to be open to his thoughts and expressions.

rrHorses listen more with their eyes than their ears. To enter the world of the horse you must do so, too. You must learn to look at the whole to see what he is saying ... " four to eight feet; dominant animals may control 16 feet in every direction while the low-ranking horses in the herd seem to only have the energy for a 12-foot circle. This concept of personal space plays a big role in controlling and manipulating the horse when you enter a ring with a limited amount of "territory." Standing in the center of a ring surrounded by

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The illustration above shows the intersection of personal space. Horses are very sensitive to this, and to talk "horse" you must learn how to use the language.

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To ask for impulsion, you direct your personal space toward the rear of the horse so the space in front of him becomes territory into which he may move.

now have a basic communication tool for controlling the horse on the ground. How we move our personal space, along with some subtle body expressions, will tell the horse exactly what we wish for him to do. Anything a horse can dospins, rollbacks, sliding stops, figure eights, flying changes, backing upcan be cued for on the ground using free longeing. It begins with energy. The amount of energy that you carry in your body at the moment you ask the horse for a particular move determines the speed with which he will react. For exam pIe, there is only one cue for im pul-

sion: Step to a position that is behind the shoulder of the horse and swing an arc of energy through his body from the tail to the head. When the energy of the cue connects with the inherent energy of the horse, movement begins. If this sounds metaphysical, it's not. Horses read the muscle tone and energy of herd mates. A nervous horse can trigger a ripple of energy which can spread through the herd like wildfire. Within seconds, a group of individuals will become as one, racing off to escape an unknown threat. Now we have two concepts that are directly related to communicating with horses: Personal space and energy. To free longe a horse, the teacher (you) must be very aware of his own energy level and how it will affect the horse at any given instance on any given day. Nothing is static in horse training. Horses are emotional creatures that change moment to

There is only one cue for impulsion: Step to a position that is behind the horse's shoulder and swing an arc of energy through his body from the tail to the head.

moment, day to day. This does not mean that they are stupid, unexplainable, untrainable, or unpredictable. Actually if horses could talk, they would probably say the same thing about human emotions. To be a living, feeling, sensitive life form equates with being a kaleidoscope of changing emotions and energy levels. To be a teacher of horses means that you must understand and use your energy and emotions to manipulate, outsmart, arid control your student, the horse.

r'Anything a horse can do-spins, rollbacks, sliding stops, figure eights, flying changes, backing up-can be cued for on the ground using free longeing. It begins with energy."

The amount of energy used when giving the cue for impulsion determines whether the horse walks, trots, or canters away.

Dr. McCall puts more energy into his upper body, raises his arm, and the horse responds by moving off at the canter (left). To maintain the flow, use the horse's shoulder blade as a point of reference and don't get into an angle that puts any part of your body in front of his shoulder (below).

If the horse stops, usually it's because you're "blocking" his path. Change your angle and cue for impulsion again. Let the horse be your teacher.

Impulsion Begin by asking your horse to move forward. For the moment, don't worry about gait or speed. Step into a position that is behind the shoulder of the horse. This usually means moving a step or two sideways. Swing an arc of energy through his body from the tail to the head. Point your arm (with or without a whip) behind the horse. Raise your energy and swing the arm forward as if you were pushing the horse forward. If the horse doesn't move as you swing, repeat the swing with more energy, more aggression, or both. Once we have impulsion, it is necessary to maintain the flow. Use the horse's shoulder blade as a point of reference. Don't get into an angle that puts any part of your body in front of his shoulder

blade. The worst body-part culprits are your shoulders, hips, and feet. If the horse stops, usually it is because you are "blocking" his path. Change your angle and cue for impulsion again. Let the horse be your teacher. Ask for what you want, see what you get, make an adjustment and ask again. In the beginning it may seem that learning the various body positions which cue for a particular movement is a very mechanical thing. You must have your body in the right place at the right time with the right amount of energy. Yet free longeing, like all horse training, is an art and like any art you have to start with the basics, the ABCs, in order to develop the fundamental skills. For painters, it's brush strokes and colors. For musicians it's notes and touch, for

horse trainers it's positions and energy. These are the first steps of the budding artist-not the last. With the tools of intraspecies communication fIrmly established, the mind becomes free to create a work of art. Free longeing becomes a dance-a work spontaneously choreographed by the teacher in response to the tune hummed by the student. Wheeling, stopping, changing directions -all the maneuvers have meaning in the subtle game of dominance and submission. All interactions ultimately will blend into the creation of a horse whose mind and body seeks one thing aloneto serve his rider, his teacher-you.* Next month, in our February '90 issue, Jim and Lynda will discuss the turn in free lo~geing.

Synchronizin9 Horse aru!Man By JIM McCALL, PhD and LYNDA McCALL Part

II The Turn

This natural means of communication establishes dominance without intimidation!

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gral part of breaking but isn't an end unto itself. It longeing is an inteis a part of the means used to attain a beneficial relationship with a. horse. For centuries, horsemen have used groundwork before introducing the young horse to a rider. Longeing on a line and driving with long reins hel p prepare the horse in increments for control from the back. There is no doubt that this stepwise approach is a much better teaching system for the horse than the wilde West method of rope 'em down, blindfold 'em, saddle 'em up, and buck 'em out. Yet, there are still certain inherent drawba.cks. The use of mechanical devices to control movement is foreign to the horse's mind. The advantage given to the human by attaching a line to a horse's head allows the inexperienced trainer to use strength instead of finesse in "taming the beast." Another flaw with this method is that in this early stage of developing the

FREE

When asked to do an inside turn, this stallion pinned his ears to show the cue was interfering with his "personal space." Dr. McCall aggressively stepped in towards the young stud colt in response. The position of his body forces the youngster to finish the turn.

Sometimes an inside to go all the move along it the horse off

when first teaching turn, it is necessary way to the wall and until you can "peel" it and into the turn.

~~Bynot using lines and physical restraints, we allow for more freedom of movement and expression from the horse, and the trainer must exert his own mental and physical abilities to gain the position of control .. " equine athlete, a trainer can impair the horse's natural balance by pulling and jerking on the line. This can cause the animal to become intimidated as his movement is restricted, which too often drives the young horse into a panic. He may become overactive or uncoordinated, perhaps causing a self-inflicted injury such as stepping on himself or hitting a leg with the opposite foot. The most noticeable drawback to the traditional approach is that it allows a person to control the horse without controlling his mind. Obviously, this doesn't always happen but the opportunity is more prevalent with a longe line than with free longeing. By using natural means to establish communication and eventual dominance over the horse, we can make a smoother transition from the untamed to the trained animal. By not using lines and physical restraints, we allow for more freedom of movement and expression from the horse, and the trainer must exert his own mental and physical abilities to gain the position of control-a situation which is more natural to the horse.

Dominance is achieved through the interplay of asking the horse for the appropriate maneuver at any given time on the ground. Cues which ask for specific performances force the horse to interact with his trainer. How willing or how much "try" the horse puts into this response will reveal his attitude towards being controlled by man. For example, let's pretend you are longeing a young filly with the intent of getting her to the point where she is willing to be ridden for the first time. The filly is spirited, sassy, and a bit headstrong. You ask her to jog off, and she complies. A few rounds later, the filly breaks into a canter and flies around the ring. You didn't ask for the canter, so obviously she isn't going to be receptive to any cue to slow her down. The cue of choice is a turn into the wall with a change of direction-a maneuver which will put her attention back on you and, at the same time, slow her down. It will be easy to get into position since the hyper filly will not be particularly sensitive to your body angle moving in front of her shoulder. So that's what you do-change the angle of projection from a point on her shoulder to a position in front of her shoulder. Step in towards her head and twist your body (both hips and shoulders) in a movement that will spin the filly into the fence. She should now be going the opposite way. If she ran through the signal by running up on the side of the pen as the energy ofthe cue went by her, you made a mistake. Go back to the center of the ring and get into position again, but this time give the filly more room to make the turn. Get way out in front of her, give the turn signal with the message, "This is my space. Turn or suffer the consequences." . When the filly turns, she is submitting to your dominance. If she wheels around and kicks out defiantly, a good swift lick with the longe whip over her rump is most appropriate. She has been reprimanded for her actions. Now the young filly will begin to wonder if you aren't higher ranking than she is. You take ground and defend your space. She should start to look to see what you would like her to do. Give her a maneuver that she can do well-a stop, perhaps, followed by a back. The goal now is to get a performance that can be rewarded. It is imperative not to let the energy of the training run wide open. Most horses, especially fillies, cannot handle uncontrollable energy. It makes them more nervous and fractious. One cue that is particularly effective in developing precision with controlled

energy is the inside turn. The inside turn starts from a similar position to the outside turn-a body position that is in front of the shoulder. The next critical step tells the horse which way to turn. When asking for the inside turn, step back away from the horse, enlarging the space between you. When the horse looks at you or starts to turn in, hook your body as if you were pushing his outside shoulder off the wall to turn him around. Sometimes at first, if the horse doesn't Below, a student in the round pen asks Dr. McCall for the next cue. How willing or how much "try" the horse puts into his response will reveal his attitude towards man.

understand what you want, you may have to go all the way to the wall, slithering along it until you can tap his outside shoulder with the end of the longe whip to send him into the turn .. Control is the key in free longeing. We begin with a horse that has varying notions of being controlled by man, and by the end of each session, we should have a horse that is at least one step closer to believing that he wants his trainer to be the leader. This transformation is absolutely necessary during the preparation of the young equine for his first ride. Can you

imagine how easy it is to take a horse who willingly performs every maneuver cued for from the ground through the transition of having his trainer ask for maneuvers from his back? A horse like this expects to be asked to perform. He expects to receive signals which will tell him what to do. He's not afraid. He is ready to try and figure out what the cue means. He is ready to learn this next step and is confident that he will succeed. He wants and needs the continued positive experience of learning. Free longeing will give you and your horse all this but it does not end with

breaking. For instance, there are many times our horses need to be exercised but we just don't seem to have the time to do the whole riding routine. Free longeing can provide the needed exertion plus the companionship treasured by horse and human. Free longeing is a great deal of fun. Horses look forward to the sessions and it is hard to imagine that anyone wouldn't get high from having a horse anxiously waiting to perform every cue. This makes it a perfect way to conduct a preride warm-up. A horse, full of fire, can use his excess vigor during the

To cue for a turn into the wall, step in towards the horse's head, then twist your body (both hips and shoulders) in a movement that should spin him into the fence (far left), thus heading him in the opposite direction (middle). Repeat the cue going the other direction (far right).

longeing session. The energy burns under the control of his human master, and soon the pair are ready to move as one with the horse under saddle. And don't overlook the advantages of using free longeing to reschool problem horses. Apart from attitude adjustments that are more easily and safely made during groundwork, horses can also begin to work through their problems on the ground. Take, for example, the horse that won't back up. We would begin to fix this problem during a longeing session. By asking the unrestrained horse to back,

the horse is allowed to show us exactly how he feels about this maneuver. Is he uncoordinated? Does he resent the cue so much that he locks up instead ofmoving backwards? Does he want to flip over when asked to back? His response to our free longeing cue would allow us the privilege of gaining more information about his problem from a relatively safe vantage point. This is an important part ofreschooling the problem horse because his responses are usually hazardous to human health. By first eliminating the unacceptable behavior during free longeing sessions,

it will be much easier to teach the correct response from his back. As you can see, there are lots of good reasons to master the language of the horse, but the most important one hasn't been mentioned yet. Whether you know it or not, whenever you are in the presence of a horse you are communicating to him by the way you hold your body, the movements you make, the way you lead him, and the way you go to catch him or herd him into a pen. The fact that you don't know what your body is telling the horse compounds problems. Are you inadvertently blocking the horse from going into the stall by standing in the wrong position? Then do you get mad at him for being stupid and not doing what you want? Do you have a hard time catching horses? Do they get apprehensive as you approach, and move away from you? Is your body too tense? Are you moving into their space and pushing them away from you rather than drawing them to you? The body cues you will develop using free longeing are going to teach you the way you should move around horses all the time. Your sensitivity to their needs and wants will increase as your ability to communicate your wishes improves. Since communication is a two-way street, your proficiency in being able to read what horses are saying will also intensify and soon you will know what your horse is about to do before he does it. Every day you'll find yourself more in tune with one of God's noblest creatures as you learn to walk beside the hoofprints of your equine partner.

To cue for an inside turn, the first step is to back away from the horse (far left), then hook your body as if you were pushing his outside shoulder off the wall (middle). As he turns into the space, step into him to push him back onto the rail (far right).

Synchronizin9 Horse andMan By JIM McCALL, PhD and LYNDA McCALL Part

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Playjn' hard to get

Thjs natural means of communjcafjon estabJjshes domjnance wjthout jnfjmjdafjon!

at liberty seems to be one of the major trials and tribulations horse an of equine ownership. To accomplish this frustrating feat, many innovative techniques have been devised. The sneaky approach: Hide the halter behind your back and nonchalantly walk up to the victim. As soon as you get within reach, grab him and put the halter on. The feed bucket trick: Place a little grain in a bucket and walk towards the renegade. Entice him with the sight, sound, and smell of the treat. When his willpower gives in and he puts his head in the bucket, quickly wrap the halter around his neck and, voila, the horse is captured. Last but not least, the hell-bent-forleather approach: Walk boldly toward the horse. At the first sign he is going to reject your advances, throw the halter at him, scream at the top of your lungs, and begin to chase him around the field. Continue this behavior until either you or the horse gives out. There are many more creative methods for catching outlaws, but the one thing that most of these methods have in common is they teach horses how not to be caught. You see, horses

CATCHING

The signal to "come here" ends a training session on a positive note. Your reward and rel=d attitude will make this your horse's favorite cue.

are not stupid. The first time you sneak up on your horse will be the easiest. Subsequent attempts will get harder and harder as he learns to see through the deception .. Most of the time, your horse is out there with his herd mates, minding his own business. Your appearance triggers his thought process. Are you going to feed him? Are you going to pet him? Or are you hiding a halter somewhere on your person? This is an amusing pastime for the horse that doesn't want to be caught. On the other hand, the feed bucket trick is probably the easiest for the horse of average intelligence to figure out. Unless his stomach overrides his brain, he will quickly ignore all attempts to be bribed into the halter. Food is only a primary reinforcer if the animal is hungry. To get this system to work, you have to have a nutritionally deprived (better known as starved) horse. The hell-bent-for-Ieather approach is the simplest for horses to win. Ninetynine percent of all horses have more stamina, speed, and heart than the angry person storming around the field. What else does a horse have to do on a Sunday afternoon but play chase with his owner? You, on the other hand, are usually not willing to commit two hours to catching the horse before beginning an afternoon ride. Your horse knows that and the battle is lost even before it begins. "Ho~ does my horse know that?" you ask. He can read it in your body language. Anger and frustration tell him

While this position inhibits fOrward impulsion, it is the perfect spot to create the block for a stop.

that he has the upper hand. As soon as fatigue sets in, the horse knows he's winning. So what's the solution? First rule: When you go to catch a horse, don't quit until he's caught. Every time you try to catch him and don't, you've taught the horse that he has a choice. He should never have that option. . Second rule: Be smarter than the horse. Don't try and catch an elusive horse out in a 40-acre field. Feed him in a small lot or stall and then catch him. Build a series of pens and chutes and work him into a small area to capture him. Catch his buddy and lead him into a pen. After the object of your 15

attention follows his friend into the enclosure, turn the friend out and catch your target. The solution for your situation is out there. Think about it and use it. Success breeds success. Third rule: Always ask the horse to come to you. "What?" you ask. "Are you crazy? I can't catch this horse and you want me to ask him to come to me?" No, I don't think we're crazy, but we always ask the horse to come to us first. We want him to know that we want to catch him. Sure, he can refuse but he will never escape. Conditioning a horse to accept your domination demands that you play it straight with him. You say "come here" and he should, willingly, come into your personal space. Free longeing is a perfect place to start retraining the hard-to-catch horse. Over the course of the last few months we have described how to start and turn the horse (see Parts I and II in our January and February '90 issues). Catching the horse revolves around being able to stay with him as he tries to run away (i.e., keeping your body position on him) and mastering the "stop" and "come here" cues. Let's start with the stop. Impeding forward movement is easily achieved by throwing a block in front of the horse's path. Although this sounds like football talk, we don't actually want you to "tackle" him. Remember how important it is when trying to get impulsion not to step in at an angle in front of the horse's shoulder. To get the stop, you must step into this angle (see illustration). Energy is also critical to achieving a halt. Too little energy and the horse will thumb his nose at your block attempt and continue on around. Too Continued on page 21

Energy is critical to achieving a halt-too little and the horse will thumb his nose at your block and continue on around, too much and he will reverse. This is the perfect cue for a hard stop (above); notice how square her body is in relationship to the horse. And the greater the crouch, the harder the stop. You don't have to be close to him to get the stop (left). In fact, the closer you are, the less control you haveprojection is a key factor in free longeing.

Remember how important it is not to step in at an angle in front of the horse's shoulder when trying to get impulsion. However; to get the stop, you must step into this angle.

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" '~ â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘ 0o Slowly move backwards, leaning the top of your body slightly back. A hand signal, one hand raised with one finger cuing "come here," may be given.

you moue away you are drawing him to you. If at first he turns toward you and then stops, moue toward him and draw him in again.

FREE LONGEING Continued from page 21

After riding, turn your mount out in a small pen to roll and dry off. When you go to catch him, give the comehere cue-and expect him to come.If he doesn't come but he doesn't run off either, move in towards him until your personal spaces interface. Fade back and draw him to you. The horse understands and will comply. Youjust have to believe it and it will be so. Any doubts will be expressed in your body language and your horse will know. Free longeing works everywhere.You can longe a horse around a 40-acrefield or a 12-foot-square stall. He can only get awayfrom your body position if you let him, or think that you can't control him. Youmay not believethat you have enough energy to throw a block on a horse 20 acres away but you do-and you can, if you'll develop your free longeing skills. We have seen incredible feats performed using these cues. One afternoon a young Morgan filly slipped out ofher stall, threw her tail up over her back, ran out ofthe barn, turned right at the road, and proceededto race up the sidewalk through the middle of the University of Maryland campus just as afternoon classes were ending. Larry Newcom, the student who was training this filly,just happened to be walk路 ing downthe sidewalkon the other side of the street as the fractious filly started to gain speed. He screamed the filly's name and when she looked at him, "threw a block" on her and reversed her mid-stride. He then proceeded to "longe" the filly back down the hill, right into the barn, and back into her stall. It was almost as amazing as the incident which occurred on the racetrack where another former student was working as a pony girl. Early one morning, Kathi Jogan had just finished galloping a horse alongside her pony when the call went out, "Loosehorser' When she turned to pinpoint the location of the potential danger, she was surprised to see the horse running right for them. Positioning herself on horseback she threw a turn cue at the runaway. He wheeled at the gap (the entrance to the track) and headed down towards the shed row. Fortunately, most of us do not find ourselves or our horses in such dangerous situations, but the power that comes from being able to communicate with horses through the body positions used in free longeing are an asset in anyone's barn.

Synchronizing Horse And Man By JIM McCALL, PhD and LYNDA McCALL

The limitations are only in your mind! Part IV Preparing For The Pattern

cutting, Western pleasure, and trail are just a few of the racing, classes reining, which demand performance built upon patterns of precision and consistency. Laying a strong foundation during free longeing can make the more complex maneuvers such as flying changes, rollbacks, and spins easier to master for both you and the horse. Cueing for these performances from the ground

BARREL

Dr. McCall maintains a body position :.'.at blocks forward mOUem",..i, and swings the longe whip towards this filly's chest to moue her backwards. It is crucial to gauge the amount of pressure needed for the correct response to eliminate her fear.

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will help you to develop timing and a feel for the various components. You see, each of these actions is a sequence of steps. A flying change, described as a change of leads midstride, is achieved by cueing for a collection of the hind end, followed by a signal to change to the opposite hind lead, then a cue to reverse the body arc, which results in the front end change-all of this occurring within a span of one-tenth of a second! A rollback is even more complex. It begins with a cue to stop, followed by a cue to collect the hind end and plant the inside pivot foot. Now the signal to rotate the front end is given, and the rollback is complete-again the sequence of cues (for the trained horse) is given within a fraction of a second. Of course, teaching your horse to successfully perform these feats begins by working through each step at a slower speed. But, since timing is always critical, free longeing will allow you to see how the maneuver is built and put together on the ground before you have to perform it solely from feel in the saddle. Let's begin with an easier one',finued on page 53 To encourage your Ii:"'" /0 back straight, point your anl/ toward his hip. You now haue him in a wedge between your arms, and can direct him backwards as you moue your body (indicated by arrows). This filly wants to duck off to th inside as she backs, but her bod) is held in position by Dr. McCall's left hand pointing toward her hip.

FREE LONGElNG Continued from page 20

backing up. Before we can ask a horse to backup, he must come to a complete stop.Granted, this stop may only occur for a fraction of a second, but in order for the horse to get into position to move his body backwards, he must eliminate any forward momentum. So the back begins with the stop cue, projecting a block in front ofhis shoulders (see Part III, HORSE & RIDER March '90). To move the horse backwards, we must maintain a body position that stops forward movement. Then, from this position we need to apply "pressure" to the front end that will make the horse want to back away from the block.This pressure may take several forms depending on how light and sensitive the horse is. For example, a very coarse horse may need the longe whip swung towards his front end, while a very sensitive horse may need only the movement of a hand. It is up to you to know your horse well enough to use the correct amount of cue to encourage him to move away from the pressure. Notice the word "encourage." This does not mean beat, bang, or whip. It means: Use just enough pressure to keep his attention so that he will want to figure out what you are asking. When first presented with this cue, most horses will, at some point, try to turn around rather than back. When this happens, it is usually your faultyou made an incorrect gesture. Perhaps you were too threatening, you asked for too much, or you simply did not maintain the correct body position. Whatever the reason, don't get frustrated. Reverse the horse back around and stop him as close as possible to the place where you originally asked for the back. Work on getting the intensity of the command just right and don't expect him to run backwards the first time the cue is given. Backing up, like many maneuvers, should be taught using successive approximations. What this means is first be willing to accept any backward movement-the rock back of his hips, the movement of one foot, a half-step. Whatever it is-reward it! Release the cue and relax. Build the backup one step at a time and each side separately. Don't get frustrated because the horse will give you three steps back when he is going clockwise, but only one when he is going counter-clockwise. Horses are one-sided, and just like people they can do maneuvers easier to one side than the other-initially. They must be

The two-year-old in the top photo shows off his natural athletic ability when asked to roll over his hocks and reverse. The colt below is setting up for a tight lBO-degree inside turn. Following this maneuver with the cue for an outside turn (into the fence) would create a spin.

taught to do each side equally as well. This one-sidedness leads to another problem you will probably encounter asking him to backup. Most horses naturally want to "duck off' to one side as they back. They don't back straight. This happens because one side oftheir body is stronger and more dexterous than the other and it pushes the weaker side around. Teaching the back from the ground Continued on page 56

FREE LONGElNG Continued from page 54

While using both arms to keep this horse in position, the whip is scaring him. If the trainer doesn't lighten up, the horse will reverse into the fence instead of backing up.

can help strengthen the weak side. To encourage your horse to backup straight, point your arm toward his hip. This will exert pressure on the .side that is backing towards you. In fact, you now have the horse in a wedge between your arms and can direct him backwards as you moveyour body. We now have all the pieces in the sequence which enables us to ask for a rollback: Stop, rock back (a subtle hint of a back), and turn. The key to getting precision is timing. The choreography goes like this: The horse is cantering around the ring. The cue for a hard stop is given. As the horse slides to a stop, step in and twist your shoulders and body around asking for the turn. When the horse's body is just finishing the lBO-degreeturn, step up and "push" him off into a canter (on the correct lead, of course). Voila, a rollback. And a spin is just two rollbacks put together-one turning into the wall fol路1 lowedimmediately by one turning into the center. The place where the rollback turns into a spin is during the follow-through. Instead of asking for a canter out, you fade back toward the center of the ring (inside turn cue) and pull the horse back around. Once his body has started to twist in, step路 ping back in towards his hip will Continued on page 59

FREE LONGEING Continued from page 56

sharpen the turn, resulting in a 360degree spin. The list of signals can go on and on. Every move you make dictates a specific action to the horse. Whatever you want to do on his back can be first taught on the ground by developing a sequence of cues which will explain the performance to the horse. Stringing these commands together can allow you to free longe a horse through a pattern such as around poles and over jumps. The limitations are only in your mind. Open up and seek to achieve the highest possible working relationship with your horse. When starting to teach a new move, be aware of exactly what you are doing and the precise response of the horse. Learn from your mistakes. Be creative and trust what your horse is telling you. Horses are much more fluent in body language than we are. By listening and watching, we can all learn more about how to "speak horse."