Silver Fiddle Ranch

Lola's Musings

Feb 28, 2007... Thoughts on horse training -I'm heading off to Harry Whitney's in Arizona for a week-long clinic next Friday and while I was packing my gear, I was thinking on horse training and what it means. Ya know, I think most people get this training thing a little backward. Ever hear someone say about their training method, "First I break the horse, then I train them to walk, then turn, then I might push here and pull there to get them to do whatever"? Think about this for a second (don't think too hard it might hurt). I guess first off, I really don't want to break my horses - then I might just have to fix them. Then I think, well, my horse knows how to walk, and she can turn pretty good on her own. She also moves in all these pretty ways all by herself that I sure would like to experience from her back. Ever see a horse operate in a herd? They walk, trot, canter, side pass, turn off the haunches, piffaer, passade, levade, herd, sort, stop, you name it! So I guess what I'm saying here is, I want to learn how to communicate to my horse in a way that she understands so that I can ask her to do those pretty things without breaking or forcing or struggling with "training" her to do what she already knows. I can teach her what I'm asking, but I shouldn't have to train her to do something that she can already do. She knows it already, I have to learn it, and to learn how to ask her to do it. So I really think that horse training involves me learning how I can best communicate to my horse so that she can figure out what I'm asking, and then do it for me. Hey, this works, and I've got tons more to learn about it so I'm off to Harry's - see ya later!

May 23, 2007... Well, it's been awhile. Got back from Harry's and what a trip that was! My mind is boggled, my mare is getting it. Lots of practice and thinking what I learned then I spent a total of 8 days with Ross and Michele (here and at Shea's). I'm thinking on what I said on Feb 28th and it still holds, but some of the pieces are coming together. A big thing that I've picked up so far this year from working with these wonderful, talented horse people is that the way to work with a horse to get and feel that natural movement is to direct their mind through the reins. This kinda sounds technical but to me it's all feel and observation and feel (again). Lots of natural horse trainers I've been talking with talk about how you gotta move those feet, keep them moving, direct the feet. Well, think about that one for a second....ok, second is up...how do you move your baby finger. Look at your hand and move your baby finger. Do you know where that comes from? Well, it comes first from your brain - it's all based on biology and physiology and how we are wired. We cannot move our finger unless our brain tells it to move (and that is assuming all the nerves are intact to do the movement). OK - so how do we direct the horse through the reins? It's all a matter of observing and feeling where the horses mind is at any point in time. If the horses mind is with you, lifting the rein to the left will allow the horse to give it's head to the left and step off with it's feet and go left. your horse is thinking left. No pressure, no "brace", just a nice soft wonderful give throughtout the horses body. Now if the horses mind is off to the right (she's thinking about that other horse off to the right) and you are asking her to go to the left it sure is a different "feel". You'll feel that pressure on the rein, the head and maybe neck and shoulder too will kinda bleed off to the right. Kinda like a magnet pulling her toward that horse on her right. Your horse might just step off left - but the feel is completely different - it's braced, hard, not giving through their whole body. Yes, her feet are moving, but not her brain and not with you and where you are asking. Anyway - try it sometime, or come on by and I'll show you how!