Good Reads- Karen Rolf

http://dressagenaturally.net/reading-room

Float Loading

Set up for success: Float Loading.

If you cannot load your horse the worst things you can do are:
1. Force them
2. Get angry and frustrated
3. Try to teach them the morning of a show

To understand the concept of float loading you first need to understand the psychology of the horse.

Horses are claustrophobic by nature, there is nothing more unnatural and foreign to a horse than being shoved in a metal box and being driven around!


Set yourself up for success with these following tips:
-Allow your horse to explore the float without being forced
-Do not growl them for pawing at the ramp- this is them testing it
-Leave float in their paddock
-Learn about pressure and release and apply this concept when teaching the horse to load (also see out blog)
-Make sure your horse knows how to back up before trying to back them out of the float
-Do not take them the whole way in before backing them out, take them up a bit and then back them off etc
-Have a long lead
-Use a stick and string
-DO NOT shut the gate until they stand in the float FULLY relaxed

Jigging Horses

Don't like your horse jigging- don't let it!

One of the most frustrating things for riders is a horse that jigs!

For most horses jigging is easily fixed, for others though it can take quite a while of consistent, patient training.

The first thing I do is ask myself, "why is the horse jigging?"

Reasons could be

-Nervous in new situation

-Rider has reins too tight

-Horse is in pain

-Rider has a tense seat

-Other horses are emotional

-The horse feels rushed

Before I try to 'fix' the horse, I fix myself, I make sure I am relaxed and that my reins are not so tight that they are causing my horse to feel coiled up. I always make sure my gear fits my horse well and that there is no pain any where. I then consider the intensity of the reasons why it jigs. I always work on the problem in an area where the horse feels safest- e.g. NOT out on a trek with 5 other horses!

One thing I might try is:

Step 1: Make sure my horse stands still while I mount (see blog for tips on how to fix this)

Step 2: Walk on a loose rein

Step 3: As soon as the horse starts to jig turn it in small circles until it comes to a stop

Step 4: As soon as the horse stops let the reins back out to a loose rein

Step 5: If the horse walked off without being asked repeat the steps

Step 6: Continue the steps repeatedly every time the horse jigs

Success Tips

-Make sure your horse can flex its head left and right (see blog: Lateral Flexion)

-Do not pull hard and fast (this will scare the horse)

-Be patient- this can take ages to fix
-Have the horse keep his head turned around once you have stopped him (like in photo), before you give the reins back to him. This way you are checking he has committed to stopping.

-If you are stuck ask for help

This is one idea, it will not work for all horses, but it is one place to start!

Vertical Flexion: At the stand still

Vertical Flexion: At the stand still

If you cannot get your horse to vertically flex at the stand still (like in the photo), then do not expect them to hold vertical flexion at the walk and trot etc.

I believe, and there are many varying philosophies this is just my one, that a horse needs to understand the cue for 'vertical flexion' at the stand still, before it can be expected at a moving gait. 

The most common way I see people trying to achieve this head carriage is by holding the reins tight and clenching with their legs when the horse is at the trot or canter. In this situation most often the horse is hard in the riders hands (often seem by the BULGING arm muscles of the rider and gaping mouth of the horse). In this situation also, the rider normally has to have ALOT of leg on and grip tightly with their thighs. None of this situation is ever very pleasant for the horse. 

Do not get confused by vertical flexion and collection. Vertical flexion on its own is NOT collection. Collection is when the horses hindquarters are actively engaged (it is NOT all about the face).

To achieve vertical flexion I normally go through the following steps;
Step 1: Hold the rein at the buckle up high in the air with your left hand, then slide your right hand equally down the rein until it is resting on the horses neck
Step 2: Put one hand on each rein at this point and take them out as wide as your hips (make sure they are equal)
Step 3: Hold a steady pressure on the reins- NOT pulling
NB: If the horse was to dip his nose at this point I would completely release the reins.
Step 4: If the horse has still not given to the pressure I would take my hands out wider, which would put more pressure on the horses face.
NB: Again if the horse gives to the pressure let the reins go completely loose to show him he did the right thing.
Step 5: If the horse is still leaning into the pressure I would put a jiggle in my fingers to encourage him to dip his nose. 
Step 6: If he does not respond to step 5 just WAIT, stay doing what you are doing eventually he will want the jiggling to quit and he will drop his nose.

Success tips:
-A jiggle is NOT a saw, it is one finger on each rein moving about 3cm to cause the rein to move a little bit
-Release the rein right out QUICKLY as soon as the horse does it correctly
-Try to ensure that the horse understands you want him to stand still and just move his head
-Use Step 1 method for gathering your reins, the reason is so that your reins are 1, even and 2, that they are the right length

Ride on the Buckle

Ride your horse on the buckle!

It is very important to be able to turf the reins away and walk your horse on the buckle!

Reasons why this is important:
-Safety!
-Allow horse to stretch
-Horse becomes responsible for maintaining gait/direction
-More relaxing for the rider
-Horse does not feel claustrophobic
-Less chance of developing a horse that 'head flicks', 'pulls at the reins', 'jigs', 'bolts' etc.

I am not suggesting you never collect your horse up with your reins, but be CLEAR for your horse. An idea is to have TWO rein positions, one that means something and one that doesn't. 

If you have contact with the horses face/mouth, then make it mean something. You should only have feel on the horses mouth if you are asking for collection/softness/flexion of some sort, too often I see people use tight reins to 'control' their horse. Holding a horse in like this just makes them show all of the negative behaviours listed above.

If you are not asking your horse to do anything, then LET THE REINS GO (or learn to)! The belief that holding the reins tight 'control your horse' is so wrong. Every single person SHOULD be able to and CAN ride their horse on the buckle. If you cannot do this you are on borrowed time and not supporting your horse in having correct posture.

I can hear many people saying, "gosh if I let my horses reins go I would be..... in the dirt, or on a bolting horse etc.... If you are in the situation of not knowing how to ride your horse on the buckle, do not worry you are NOT alone and you and your horse CAN both learn :) I know from experience as I used to be a 'tight rein' rider.

If you want to know more, drop me a line and make a booking for a lesson or clinic.

Trust YOUR Judgement

Trust your judgement

Only you can feel what your horse is telling you, others can make judgements, give suggestions and interpret things. 
Stand strong in you ability to stand up for your horse. Be open to learning and suggestions, but do not do things just for the sake of someone saying so.

To be REALLY good with horses you NEED to rigorously analyse what you think- eg: why do you think it? what does your horse respond best to? what are you most comfortable doing? how far is your stretch zone for learning? what other ways could that one thing be done?

This line of questioning is the key to understanding when and why you do things with your horses. Don't do things just because some one said so, make sure it is right for you and your horse!

Often we put 'rules' on ourselves with our horses- eg I cannot put my leg there, hand there, move there, slash the rules and free play with your horse!!!

No One Can Learn For You

No one can do the learning for you.

My biggest fear of delving into the world of a being an educator of horse people, is that I am then relied on as the fountain of knowledge and the one that solely helps you progress.

I see myself as ONE avenue on a persons path to being the best they can be with horses. I encourage people to do their own research, critically analyse current philosophies and expose themselves to as many different ways of thinking about horses as possible. Too often I hear people say, "oh no I cannot do that with my horse because 'anonymous' said so", or, "'anonymous' has all I will ever need in a method". All power to these people, I really do hope that way of thinking does provide them with every opportunity they could possibly imagine.

For those that are not happy to just accept current theories and subject their horses to them, please read on :)

In the world we live in today ANYBODY could learn to train a horse. There is SOOOO much information on websites, facebook, youtube, the library and in world renowned clinicians 'clubs' (eg NWC Club, Savvy Club, Ride the Journey). What people need to do now is learn to break down what makes a good horse, horseman and partnership, to be the best they can be with EVERY horse they interact with.

For example a talented horsewoman recently said to me that her horse was worried about one corner of the arena. I asked her what strategies she used to try to help 'fix' this. She replied that her first strategy was to push the horse forward, and forward, and forward etc until the horse would get to that corner. When she discovered this was not really getting the desired result (horse was less willing, losing confidence and she was not feeling good about doing it to her horse), she chose a new strategy. 

The new strategy was to walk her horse towards the spooky area, as soon as she felt her horse about to brace, she made it her idea to walk the other way, then she turned back around and did the same thing, attempting to get closer and closer and not putting herself in a position where she was fighting the horse or where the horse felt a need to get defensive and develop a brace. She felt much better about the 2nd strategy as she didn't feel like she was fighting the horse so much, felt like her horse had more of an understanding and was getting a bit more confident. 

So I said to her: what was your thinking about doing it that way? What psychology of the horse did you apply there? What gave you that idea? She thought about it for a moment and had some ideas but was not 100% clear. 

In my eyes what happened was that this fantastic lady saw innately, that her horse is a prey animal. She showed she understood the concept of pressure and release and that retreat builds confidence. She could see that at that particular moment the horse was not being naughty or nappy, it was simply doing what mother nature told it to do- GET TO safety! In thinking of another option she was not pig-headedly blundering though at the expense of the relationship she has with her horse. I felt it was a fantastic display of horsemanship.

So any way.... when I work with horses I do not just do something with/to my horse because someone said so or I have seen it done before. Instead I look at the situation from many different angles and choose the option that is best for ME and for my HORSE, in that PARTICULAR moment in time. It might not be the way a horseman better than I may do it, it might not be the way I do it tomorrow, but I KNOW that I have given the concept thoughtful consideration, which in my eyes will always be right for my horse. If on reflection down the line it wasn't, I will log it in my memory to add to my 'analysis pool' to draw on next time I have a similar thing to consider.

I feel I have this awareness because I do not just 'accept theory', I research widely, watch and assess many different trainers and listen to what my horse is telling me. I am fascinated in the way horses and people think and learn.

So when people come to my clinics I am not there to teach them 'how to do things', I am there to teach them how to think about things, how to be effective learners and how to reflect on things to grow as horse people. Yes you will come away with a whole raft of different activities, techniques and methods to use, but at the end of the day it is up to the person to take what is relevant to them, in that particular stage of their horsemanship journeys.

I hope this makes sense, it really is a bit of a novel I am sorry! I would love to have a discussion with like minded people, firstly so I know I am not crazy and secondly as I believe I can learn something from each and every one of you!