Starting Your Next Great Horse - Part 2

COWBOY WAY ~ PART 2 OF SIX

HORSE TRAINING

Starting Your Next Great Horse

Part 2: Building Trust

By J.P. FORGET

In the early stages of developing suppleness: the filly is bent and keeps the lead rope loose as I walk towards her hip, but her neck is still elevated and her front legs are stuck in place

Photos Courtesy J.P. Forget/Tara McKenzie

Now that our filly has made it her decision to trust her environment and her handler, she is ready for the next step in developing her full potential under saddle — suppleness and moving the limbs.

To lay a foundation for ultimate suppleness, hold the lead rope short with your elbow close to your ribs. Face the rear of the filly and walk toward her hip. In response to pressure from the halter on her head the filly will bend and move around you. As she moves, continue to walk toward her hip until she steps laterally with all four limbs in a fluid, free manner from a light contact of the lead rope.

Diagram courtesy J.P. Forget

A horse’s ability to move her limbs freely and respond in an athletic manner is directly related to the amount of suppleness in her body. A horse that is stiff and braces against the hand and leg aids cannot respond in a fluid manner to the commands a rider gives her. But a supple horse is limber and able to respond in an athletic and timely fashion. It is because of this fact that our next exercise is an essential part of my colt starting program.

The goal of this exercise is to have the filly move her front quarters and hindquarters around freely while her body is bent and while she maintains a loose lead rope.

Here we are not speaking of bending only the neck of the horse but actually developing the ability for the horse to bend her ribcage and back in response to the tug on the halter. This is important, as a horse which bends in the neck only is not sufficiently supple to perform to the best of her ability.

Simple tools such as a rope halter and an ordinary lead rope are all you need to execute this exercise.

To perform this exercise, stand by the filly’s shoulder, facing her rear. Bend your arm at the elbow and hold the rope in your hand which is the closest to the shoulder/ ribcage of the horse. With the lead rope adjusted at such a length as to let you walk to about the middle of her ribcage, walk towards the filly’s hip.

The filly demonstrates a low neck, lateral flexion through the rib-cage, and an elevated back — longitudinal flexion, as she steps deep under and across her belly with the right hind leg

Photos Courtesy J.P. Forget/Tara McKenzie

The filly will pull on the rope as you walk towards her hip. When you feel her pull, tug on the rope. Do not pull steady against her resistance, but rather give bumps on the rope until you feel her release the pull and bend and move her feet to the pressure from the halter.

Your goal, as you walk towards the filly’s hip, is to have her maintain a loose lead rope while she moves her front and hind feet in response to the halter.

At first the filly will resist the movement and pull on the lead rope. This is a normal response. You need to carry on walking towards her hip and bump the lead rope until she moves just a few steps, at which point you will stop and reward her by releasing the pressure on the rope.

In time, the filly will bend her ribcage and move her feet in a continuous motion as you walk towards her hip. At this point it is time to change sides and repeat the exercise on the opposite side you just worked.

As you change and work the opposite side, remember that all horses are born with the propensity to bend easily on one side and seemingly stiffer or more resistant on the opposite side. Hence, while working on suppleness you will notice that your filly seems to bend easier to the left, or perhaps to the right. This does not change what we are doing to develop her suppleness.

“A horse which is stiff and braces against the hand and leg aids cannot respond in a fluid manner to the commands a rider gives her. But a supple horse is limber and able to respond in an athletic and timely fashion.”

We simply need to be aware of the fact that she finds it easier to bend on the one side. This reality of a horse being stiffer on one side than the other will affect everything we do with the horse in the future; from lead departures, to turning a cow or a barrel, to rollbacks, to flying lead changes, etc. Therefore, by developing her suppleness at this early stage of training, our filly will find it easier later on to work through all the maneuvers, even on her stiffer, perhaps less coordinated side.

As the filly becomes suppler, she will move her feet more readily and willingly, and she will actually keep the lead rope loose as you walk into her hip. You will also notice that as her suppleness increases, her neck lowers and her back rounds up as she steps. These are characteristics of a supple horse: the filly not only bends the ribcage laterally but also longitudinally. This lateral flexion, as well as longitudinal flexion of the ribcage, is both critical to maximizing performance under saddle. These are the flexions necessary for a horse to work with his weight shifted over his hocks and shoulders balanced and responsive.

The filly has lowered her neck, bent her ribcage, steps with her right hind leg, and keeps the lead rope loose as I step towards her right hip

Photos Courtesy J.P. Forget/Tara McKenzie

Keep up the exercise on a daily basis until you feel absolutely no resistance on the lead rope as you walk into the filly’s hip. Since this is a demanding exercise, give the filly lots of breaks and rest periods. Use the rest periods to further develop trust and rapport.

Every time I give a horse a break during training, I take the opportunity to rub her between the eyes and let her know that she is safe when near me

Photos Courtesy J.P. Forget/Tara McKenzie

By working on suppleness in this relaxed fashion, with only a halter and lead rope, this filly will be much better prepared and much more able to give to the rider’s legs and hands once under saddle. More importantly, by having the physical ability to bend laterally and longitudinally before she ever has a saddle and headstall placed on her, the filly will never learn to brace and run into the aids, but rather to give to pressure from the very first ride.

Next lesson: Response and Respect.

PHOTOS COURTESY J.P. FORGET/TARA MCKENZIE