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Rider Checklists
© 2005-08, Keith Hosman - All Rights Reserved
I'm going to give you three Rider Checklists today.
Together they'll keep you safer and accelerate your training to boot.
How accelerate? They'll keep you rational; they'll keep you from
"losing it" – which has the effect of setting your training back. The
fact is, when we don't have an objective means of approaching our
training, when we simply "ride," reacting emotionally to what's
happening, we're asking for a wreck – or at the very least, a bad day.
The horse gets confused and we get frustrated or lose our temper. Not
an environment conducive to a proper education, would you say?
Each of the following lists will cover small things you can simply
check off in your brain. Basically, has something happened or not? If
the answer is "not," I'll tell you what to do. Your answers to those
questions will, flowchart-like, tell you how to act in the moment or
how best to form your day's game plan.
The lists were created to be done in order.
Checklist One: How To Keep From Totally
Losing It
Before you ever get on your horse, back when you're approaching the
barn, ask yourself one easy question: "Am I training today or am I
joyriding?" If you answer "training," skip to Checklist Two. If you
answered "Uh, I'd like a day off from training, please. I got a horse
to have FUN, Mr. Wet Blanket Trainer Man" – that's great, too. It's
great as long as you can honestly say that not once in the last few
days or months have you turned to a friend and said something akin to
"Flicka nearly bucked my teeth out back there" or "This (expletive
deleted) horse keeps trying to eat grass. What's the number for the
tiger sanctuary?" If there are known issues, then it doesn't matter
where you ride (trail or arena), the fact is, you need to be training
as opposed to joyriding.
At clinic after clinic, here in the states or in Europe, I get a
version of the same question: "I'm out on the trail. On a cliff. With
a ten thousand foot drop to my right and cactus on the left. My horse
hates plastic bags – but one blows by and he freaks. What do I do?" To
which I answer something akin to "Say your prayers." See, training is
not a widget that you carry in your back pocket and pull out like a
parachute when the plane goes down. It's about practice and
preparation. Ignoring warning signs and riding into potential disaster
is like eating a cake every night and suddenly freaking when the scale
reads "300."
If riding your horse has become an aggravation or something that –
even at times – frightens you, then you gotta answer "training" until
riding is fun again. Following this simple thought process will have a
bigger impact than if I told you to specifically do a, b, or c –
because there are trillions of horse/rider combinations and situations
that might be described. So, with a nod to the ol' John Lyons axiom
"Ride Where You Can, Not Where You Can't," we'll consciously pick a
reasonably safe place to do our training and get at it. Example One:
Is your horse "jiggy"? Then you need to capture his attention by
improving his performance. How do you do that? By being a proactive
rider. Keep giving the horse something to do. Make him spin enough
plates and he'll hand you control. Example Two: Does your horse keep
munching grass? Then develop a zero-tolerance policy toward any
resistance on the part of your horse. Be on the lookout for resistance
in the form of a stiff neck or a horse that won't move forward when
asked. Don't wait till his head's on the ground. Test constantly and
the instant you feel reticence, correct the situation. If you feel an
ounce of stiffness in the neck, apply pressure and get the horse
moving till he relaxes, then you relax. Teach the horse that the way
to get you out of his mouth is to stay soft and obliging. The answer
is the same if he drops to a speed you didn't ask for. Be ready with a
good kick and swift reward. If you just thought to yourself: "That's
what I do and it doesn't work" then what's happening is that you're
keeping pressure on the horse's mouth all the time (example one) or
kicking all the time (example two). The horse has learned "I get
punished no matter what I do so I might as do what I wanna do." Learn
to be more aware of when you're applying pressure. It doesn't matter
what you think you're doing, your horse's actions tell a different
story.
Checklist Two: The Best Advice I Will Ever
Give You
Emotion is a wonderful thing when the sensation you're experiencing is
elation – but it's a total bummer when you're feeling anger or
frustration. In that respect riding can be truly feast or famine. I'll
explain: As rider/trainers, we've got great days and we've got blech
days. A blech day happens when we allow our emotions to creep into it
our training. The horse doesn't get it or just doesn't give a darn and
we get angry. That's bad mojo there – because what happens is that
anger causes us to let go of the reins not when the horse simply gives
to pressure – but after we've really made our point. Or to give them
an extra kick after they've sped up to "really teach them not to slow
down." Things go from bad to worse and we walk back to the barn
dejected. We spend the rest of the day depressed or wondering what
we're doing with a horse in the first place.
But you can have a great day every day! A great day is any day that we
make an improvement, however small, and keep our negative emotions in
check. Doing so will keep you and your horse on the same page and
build a positive relationship. Get busy with your training and react
objectively to any roadblock your horse (or nature) might erect and
you'll find yourself enjoying the heck out of riding that day.
So Checklist Two only has one question on it: Are you keeping things
objective – or letting negative emotion creep into your reactions?
Notice the word "reactions" in that last sentence. Becoming emotional
puts you in a position of reacting rather than being proactive. That's
a downhill slide. The horse misunderstands something and you react by
jerking the reins. The horse reacts to that by bracing and stiffening
up. Break this cycle: Every so often as you ride, take stock of the
situation. Are you staying calm and methodical? Are you trying your
level-best to break things down into their simplest form? Or are you
beginning to blame the horse? Blaming the horse is a pretty good sign
we're not being rational. Get off and walk around, cool out. Ask
yourself if you couldn't break down your lesson even more. Then give
it another shot.
The single best advice I can ever give you in the world of horse
training comes into play right here: No matter what your horse (or the
day) throws at you, learn to find joy in it. Short of getting kicked
in the head, you've got to react to your horse's reaction by smiling
and telling yourself two things. One, your horse has given you a gift;
he's told you exactly what you need to work on. No more wondering
"What do I do today"? He's told you. Two, well, there is no "two." Go
back and re-read number one. It all boils down to this: Approaching
your riding with "We're going to do what I want to do" is asking for
trouble. Riding with the attitude of "Horse, what would you like to
work on?" will keep you forever in a positive frame of mind. You will
enjoy your horse's company; he will enjoy yours.
Checklist Three: When Can I Get Medieval On
Ol' Dobber?
Whether you're leading, feeding, roundpenning, riding or just hanging
out with your horse, there should always be two versions of you out
there with the horse. One of you is Dr. Jekyll the other, Mr. Hyde.
Dr. Jekyll is the nice guy, the one who everybody loves, the life of
the party. He's patient, easy-going, fun and kind. Still, nobody
messes with him. Why? Because of his close relationship with Mr. Hyde.
Mess with Jekyll and Hyde comes out of nowhere, delivering his
punishment, vanishing in an instant.
Now, let's not take this analogy to an extreme: Nobody's suggesting
that you get all medieval on your horse. But what I like is the idea
of staying cool the bulk of the time and meting out punishment
quickly, a reprimand served cold, sans emotion.
But is punishment even called for most times? More often than not, no.
Can we simply stipulate here then, that smacking your horse
unnecessarily is just asking for trouble? We must because it's more
than that. Being "rude or disrespectful" isn't winning you any points
either. There are two ways to quickly lose your horse's respect: 1)
smacking them randomly, for no good reason and 2) not dealing
instantly with their disrespect. Be consistent on those two matters
and you'll be fine. Slack off and you'll have a brat that you can't
take to a restaurant and who mouths-off at family get-togethers.
If you find yourself going around in circles, so' to speak, and your
horse just "ain't getting it," begin by asking yourself "Have I kept
things business like and kept emotion out of this?" "Can I break the
lesson down to make it even simpler," as outlined in CL2? If you can
honestly say "yes and yes" then next ask this: Do I have a horse that
is trying at this moment or not?
If you're asking and your horse is trying, then no punishment is
called for. Not ever. I'll type that again, because it's just that
important: If the answer is "He is trying" then you cannot punish
whether he's doing what you expect or not. I define "punish" as any
sort punitive action such as yanking the reins, spurring, screaming
obscenities, etc. If he's trying, you keep asking until he finally
stumbles upon the answer or you find another way to ask. Patience is
the rule here. Smile: Your horse is teaching you to be a better
trainer. Have fun: He can only go 6 directions (up, down, left, right,
etc.) so we know he'll get it sooner or later if we stay consistent.
And keep Dr. J locked up.
If our questions and answers have led us to "He ain't trying and a
reprimand is called for" then try making the "wrong thing
uncomfortable and the right thing comfortable" as Clinton Anderson
likes to say. Apply more motivation in the form of speeding the horse
up, changing the angle of your rein or asking for a different movement
entirely. A classic example would be the horse who won't back up or
the horse that won't move his shoulders: Rather than getting into an
argument, we ask for something entirely different like asking him to
disengage his hips. Above all keep this in mind: Your horse is going
to make great sport out of throwing roadblocks out in front of you.
You can win the day by finding pleasure in successfully dodging them.
This article is part of the "Trail Horse
Training" series. To read more, or to find a clinic or Certified John
Lyons horse trainer near you, visit horsemanship101.com.
About the author:
Keith Hosman: If your horse won't speed up, slow down, stop or turn,
you missed the latest training methods from Josh and John Lyons. Have
you lost your confidence? Want a horse to brag about? Invest one
weekend to make big changes with John Lyons Certified Trainer Keith
Hosman. Keith is based near San Antonio, TX and is available for
clinics, private sessions and training. He frequently conducts clinics
and demonstrations — with an event coming soon to a town near you. For
more horse training articles, or to attend a clinic or find a John
Lyons trainer living in your area, visit
www.horsemanship101.com now.
No part of this article may be reproduced without the express written
permission of Keith Hosman. To contact us regarding reprints or
syndication of our articles (in print or online), please contact us
via www.horsemanship101.com.
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