Lynn Palm

PALM PARTNERSHIP TRAINING™

Working in Hand

By Lynn Palm

“In hand” work refers to teaching your horse maneuvers from the ground. It builds on the basic ground training started in the stall and can be introduced when the horse is consistent with his responses to the four basic building block commands of “come to me,” “move away from me,” “whoa,” and “back.” In-hand work is one of my favorite training tools. It can help sharpen and lighten the responses of an older, schooled horse, too. No fancy equipment is needed. Even if you cannot ride, you can enjoy time with your horse working in hand. Taking time with this level of your horse’s training has many advantages. Working in hand teaches the horse obedience to his handler’s commands, sharpens his focus, and lightens his responses. In hand work improves the horse’s understanding of maneuvers he will be asked to perform under saddle, but does it from the ground up. It is a “must” for those who are interested in halter and showmanship events. Our goal is to teach the horse to be responsive to our verbal commands when doing these maneuvers, with only the lightest contact on the lead.

The tools you will need for teaching in hand maneuvers are simple and similar to ones we used in basic ground training. Here’s a quick review. Outfit your horse with a properly fitting halter. You can tell a good fit if 1 inch of the halter’s cavesson (noseband) lies below the horse’s cheekbone. The halter should not be so loose that if twisted it could rub over the horse’s sensitive eye area. Snap a cotton longe line with a snap or chain end to the halter using the “longe line over the nose” method. Make sure to place the longe line over the nose or under the chin. A longe line that ends in a snap will be less severe than a chain since the cotton line will be over the horse’s nose or under his chin. Provide your horse with leg protection, like polo wraps. I like using a flat cotton longe because it is easier to keep organized and doesn’t give “rope” burns like a nylon rope. Unlike other halters, my Palm Partnership Halter has side rings large enough to let a longe line and snap easily pass through them. Keep the excess longe line “stacked” in neatly organized loose coils and carry it in the outside hand.

Add a 6-foot stiff, dressage or “in hand” whip. This length allows you to easily touch the horse’s hindquarters from the correct handler position at the middle of his neck. Carry the whip either under your arm or held with the end pointed down to the ground in the same hand that is carrying the excess longe line. Hold it in your left hand when leading from the horse’s near (left) side and vice

versa. Never wave the tip in the air! In hand lessons should be practiced in a small fenced paddock, corral, round pen, or ring. Start alongside the fence to help keep your horse straight and under control. As your horse becomes consistent in performing an in hand maneuver, ask him to repeat it a few feet away from the fence. Then graduate to asking him for it from the middle of the paddock as a test of his consistency and understanding. Each in hand maneuver builds on lessons that should have been introduced to the horse in a stall. Leading builds on the “come to me” command. Chances are you are already leading your horse, but I am going to teach you the proper method for better control and responsiveness. If you are interested in participating in showmanship classes, perfecting leading should be a goal! I’ll teach this lesson as if I were doing it from a horse’s left side. Be sure to practice it on each side!

The key to proper leading is the handler’s position. When leading stand facing forward approximately 1 foot away from your horse. Keep the side of your body and shoulder perpendicular to him and positioned between his throatlatch and his shoulder.

Standing ahead of the throatlatch, at the horse’s head, is the most common error. This causes leading from too far in front. In this position a handler cannot see her horse’s expression or what is happening to his body position. She is too far forward to effectively use the whip. This handler will tend to pull her horse forward with the longe line and use it to maintain her balance, especially when trotting the horse in hand. Standing behind the horse’s shoulder puts the handler in a position to of being “behind” her horse. This handler will pull back on the lead and pull her horse’s head towards her as she struggles to keep up with him. I have stressed how important our eyes are to good horsemanship. When leading, the handler’s eyes should be focused ahead, not looking at her feet or her horse’s hooves. An “eyes forward” handler can see opportunities to be creative with a lesson, such as changing directions, and will be better able to coordinate her actions with her horse.

Creativity is an important component during in hand training. While horses learn from repetition, they also get bored if a maneuver is always asked for in the same way or same location. Find ways to keep in hand lessons interesting by varying direction, speed, location, and maneuvers to keep your horse focused and happy in his in hand work. Keeping my “eyes up” helps me plan ahead and incorporate more

Leading At the Walk

Let’s start teaching your horse to lead at the walk. Start alongside a fence to help keep him straight. Position yourself at the middle of the horse’s neck, but no further forward than his throatlatch. Keep your shoulders square and the right side of your body perpendicular to the horse. Extend your “lead” arm toward your horse in an open flexible position, rather than locking your elbow close into your body. Maintain a loose contact with the longe line so there is slack between your right hand and the halter. When you are ready to ask your horse to walk, move your right hand forward to maintain the slack in the longe line as you give a “cluck” and the command “walk”. Move with the horse as he moves into the walk. If he is reluctant to move forward, extend your left hand behind you and lightly touch or tap the tip of the whip on the horse’s hip or top of his gaskin. This encouragement usually sends him forward so be ready to move with him and keep slack in the longe line. Keep your body in proper position as he walks forward. To stop, ask your horse for a “whoa”. Slow your walk to a stop as he stops. Be ready to move your hand forward to keep slack in the line if he would push his nose forward when stopping. What if he doesn’t stop? Move forward closer to his head, bring your hand in front of his face, like a stop sign, to block his forward movement, and repeat the command to whoa. This is the same procedure we used to teach him “whoa”

during basic training lessons in his stall. Ask him to repeat this maneuver along the fence until he is consistent in his responses and stays straight. Change speed within the walk and vary the distance between stopping points to add variety to the lesson. When he shows that he understands, graduate to repeating this maneuver further away from the fence until you can perform it anywhere in the paddock or ring. This is when a handler will truly realize the importance of the horse being straight, meaning his body is in alignment from poll to dock, because only when he is straight will he be the most responsive. Change directions, adjust the longeone-over-the-nose to the opposite developed, too. Your Next Step… side, and repeat this maneuver leading from the “off” (right) side. Be patient when working on the horse’s off side. Because we do not do as much with our horse on his right side, he may be more insecure being handled there. Our coordination to lead from this side may be less

Leading At the Trot

Once your horse is consistent with leading at the walk, add leading at the trot. This will be more challenging for you and your horse because you will be moving faster together. The trot’s quicker pace requires you to think and react quicker to keep the proper position with your horse. This lesson will teach you as much about being coordinated with your horse’s movement, as it will teach him how to lead at the trot.

have when teaching the in hand trot is losing their position. Especially at the trot, handlers have the tendency to move too far ahead of the horse. In this position as a handler extends her walk and asks the horse to trot, she’ll either pull on the lead trying to bring the horse along with her OR she’ll lose her balance and pull on the lead to stabilize herself. The horse reacts by bringing his head up to resist the pull. At this point lightness and responsiveness vanish and leading becomes a frustrating tug-of-war for both of you! Here’s the right way to perform an in hand trot. Teach this lesson the same way we introduced leading at the walk. It is even more important to start alongside the fence because the trot’s faster pace can quickly cause you to lose control of your horse’s body position. 1. Start from a walk. When you are ready to ask for the trot, first move your hand forward to maintain slack in the lead as you encourage him to move forward into the trot with a “cluck” and the command “trot”. If needed, give him a light touch with the whip and repeat the command. Use your peripheral vision to see his body movement and be ready to move forward with him.

2. As he increases his forward motion to pick up the trot, extend your walk, but keep your position and slack 3. Only when the horse responds to your command and trots, should you start jogging beside him. Make sure not to balance on the lead while maintaining the proper position. Trot in hand for a few steps, then as him to “walk” in a deep commanding voice. Slow your speed, but keep that all important slack in the longe line. When you are ready to stop, ask him to “whoa”. Praise him and repeat the maneuver changing speed within the trot and direction. Once both of you are solid with the in hand trot, vary the leading lesson between walk, trot, and stop. Do short sequences to keep his concentration.

Here are three tips when teaching the in hand trot:

It is critical that you look up and use your eyes to help you see where you are going and evaluate the horse’s reactions.

If your horse swings his head toward you or tries to “snuggle” with you while leading, gently but firmly press against the side and middle of his head with your right hand to bring it back into a straight line alignment with his body. Do not pull or push his head into position with the lead! We want to respect our horse’s space by allowing him to work on a lose lead. He must respect our space, too.

Don’t forget that a horse’s hooves really start to It may sound funny, but don’t forget grow this time of year. Call your blacksmith and to breath! Walking quickly or jogging get on a schedule for trims and/or resets every 4-6 weeks depending on your horse’s needs. beside your horse is a physical exertion. Handlers sometimes unknowingly With Springtime’s warmer temperatures and hold their breath because they are with the busy riding and show season here, concentrating so hard on maintaining time spent on training and schooling our horses their position. Breath as you do this increases. Whether riding for the ribbons or just maneuver to release tension. It will the pleasure of being together, don’t forget to reward your horse’s extra efforts by rewarding also help your horse relax. him with some healthy treats. Purina is offering Here are the key points to remember a horse treat that is not only tasty, but good for this week while teaching your horse to your horse, too! Even dogs like it, including my two English Lab pups Sherlock and Watson who lead a the walk and trot: love to sneak them away from my horses! - Always look ahead - Don’t pull on your horse - Use your arm in an “open” position - Keep his head and neck straight - No snuggling—don’t let him push his head into your space! - Use verbal commands rather than pulling on the lead Next week we’ll add more in hand lessons you can teach you horse to improve your partnership from the ground up!

Until then, follow your dreams…

We love to share our Dressage backgrounds and knowledge with you and would love to have you come ride with us. You can join us at our farm in Ocala, Florida, or at one of our Ride Well Clinics on our USA Tour at a location near you. If you would like to train with Lynn and Cyril at home with Western Dressage, take advantage of the following supportive training materials: Books:

• "Head To Toe Horsemanship" • "Western Dressage—A Guide to Take

You to Your First Show" • "A Rider Guide to Real Collection"

DVDs:

• “Dressage Principles for the Western

Horse & Rider” Volume 1, Parts 1-5 • “Dressage Principles for the Western & English Horse & Rider” Volume 2,

Parts 1-3 • “Let Your Horse Be Your Teacher”

Parts 1&2

For more information about Lynn Palm, her clinics in Florida and other parts of the U.S., DVDs and more, visit www. lynnpalm.com or call 800.503.2824.

CONTACT LYNN PALM

www.lynnpalm.com | www.shoplynnpalm.com 800-503-2824

SHOW OFF

A SUDDEN IMPULSE FUTURITY

Brought to you by Brought to you by Brought to you by Brought to you by Brought to you by

Brought to you by Brought to you by

Subscribe Subscribe Subscribe Subscribe Subscribe

Subscribe Subscribe

Be sure to "Like" Be sure to "Like" Be sure to "Like" Be sure to "Like" Be sure to "Like" Show Horse Today Show Horse Today Be sure to "Like" Show Horse Today Show Horse Today Be sure to "Like" Show Horse Today on Facebook! on Facebook! Show Horse Today on Facebook! on Facebook! Show Horse Today on Facebook! on Facebook! on Facebook! Be sure to "Like" Be sure to "Like" Be sure to "Like" Be sure to "Like" Be sure to "Like" Pleasurehorse.com Pleasurehorse.com Be sure to "Like" Pleasurehorse.com Pleasurehorse.com Be sure to "Like" Pleasurehorse.com on Facebook! on Facebook! Pleasurehorse.com on Facebook! on Facebook! Pleasurehorse.com on Facebook! on Facebook! on Facebook!