On Holes in Training

[FrittSkritt]

[QUOTE=enjoytheride;8386964]
My mare has a lack of go forward that has really put a halt to our training. She came with it previously installed and I have been able to make improvements but when push comes to shove she will put her feet down and refuse to go, and she will back up or go up if you push her. We have been trail riding to fix the issue and I spent two hours going 2.34 miles because she kept stopping on the trail and refusing to move down that scary path or past that scary log or away from the trailer, or over that ground pole. She jumped 10 out of 11 fences on our 2nd XC course ever in October and then reared straight up in the air causing me to do an emergency dismount because she decided she was done and wanted to go back to the barn. Scared the shit out of me. She has amazing gaits and jumps really really well but if I can’t get her to go forward what good is she? It’s one thing to make the horse go forward, it’s another to make them go forward knowing they are going to act like an ass and possibly hurt you.

I knew that she was quiet and had a good sense of humor about some things which is why I bought her, I also knew she had a little bit of “nope” in her that I thought would go away with training, but now that I’ve stepped up the level of what I want from her versus what her previous owner wanted from her the refusal to budge has reared (HA!) its ugly head. I’m either on the verge of a breakthrough or the verge of selling her to someone that expects less.[/QUOTE]

ETR - have you thought of sending her to a cowboy? I’m sure other COTHers can share recommendations. Life is too short to have a horse that’s a rank asshole, but if you wanted to sell her you might as well try to remedy the behavior first.

[silverdog]

Love all of this. I have a young horse that has had a lot of medical issues/injuries - mostly over the last 3 years. He was solid jumping and had great flying changes before the long vacation started. However his flatwork was always really poor (ended up being related to his kissing spine). Once he was all fixed up I got to work teaching him things he had missed out on. One of the biggest things I do is ask him to comeback to a more collected gait in all 3 gaits just from seat and leg. He is very, very good at it and I did get a compliment from an UL event clinician as to how good his gears were. The hole for us now is me - I wasn’t maintaining even contact on the reins. So I have worked like crazy on that and in just a few weeks, his flatwork is way, way better. As is my riding. I look up more, my hands are quiet and in front of me. It is amazing!!

[BaroquePony]

^ that will help his kissing spine problems, too if he rounds his back up.

[silverdog]

Yup. He is really coming along so nicely! Have our first dressage lesson in over a year this weekend. I am a bit leery of the dressage community (overflexion and drilling) but I feel like my horse is ready to step it up and I’m ready for confirmation that I am headed in the right direction. This instructor is someone I really trust but she does not live in my area.

[BaroquePony]

Whatever you do, don’t be afraid to stand up for what you think is best for your horse. Just in case your instructor turns out to be the Wicked Witch. Trust your instincts. There is a lot of forced work in some circles. Force doesn’t work if you want your horse to stay healthy and sound. Sounds like you have looked into this instructor, though, so hope things go along smoothly

[silverdog]

BaroquePony - I hear you on that!!! I have a list of things I need to work on. Most of it is me. This is a wonderful instructor - I have ridden 2 horses produced by her - one she was not crazy about but still did a lovely job with. I have watched her teach and ride. One of the things I am not good about myself is taking breaks during a ride so I am going to tell her to put plenty of them in to my lesson - for my horse…not me!!

[SomedaySoon]

[QUOTE=LookmaNohands;8384344]
Also, using lots of praise. This is something you must incorporate into all of your other work. Just “giving” after a halt helps get the halt but adding a good amount of praise in what ever form useful in the moment can help the horse really understand that that was the right thing to do. I find they catch on faster and are more happy about it![/QUOTE]

LOL, it’s funny you mention this, because I actually have the opposite problem in a way. So, I have a very dominant mare who came to me thinking that people were not worthy of being leaders. I always gave her lots of praise for doing anything right or when I asked for it, but she never believed me or my trainer. My trainer regularly commented that it was sad that Molly didn’t understand when she was a good girl and wouldn’t accept praise. So just this week my trainer and I figured out why–I praise her too much, all the time, for doing things she should just be doing. She’s not a baby horse or a green horse anymore, and by saying “good girl” all the time for stupid little things (like standing still while I pick a hoof, adjust a nose band or fix a stirrup, or she goes through a mud puddle), I have taught her that my praise doesn’t mean much. So, now I am having to retrain myself to just verbally praise her when she actually does something difficult correctly, the rest of the time her “praise” is just the release or lack of correction. So, I do agree that lots of praise can work when teaching a green horse something new (or, I guess, fixing a hole), but make sure you save it for when it matters and not for just everyday proper behavior

[Winding_Down]

[QUOTE=SomedaySoon;8390959]
So, I do agree that lots of praise can work when teaching a green horse something new (or, I guess, fixing a hole), but make sure you save it for when it matters and not for just everyday proper behavior :)[/QUOTE]

Absolutely! And this is true for not only horses, but for all species. And not just for praise. Consider praise similar to other aids: if you are constantly pulling, or constantly kicking, the horse becomes dull. Same goes for praise, the horse becomes dull to praise if it is used too frequently. Same for people, dogs, and others. Behavioral conditioning principles at the basic level.

[merrygoround]

[QUOTE=whbar158;8383861]
I rode a horse not too long ago that didn’t have a half halt, he had zero clue what it meant either ignored it completely or if I was firm just broke into a slower gait. Horse was just learning to jump and is probably one of the most easy going horses I have met, he has a natural steady pace and was western broke but still fairly green to moving off ones leg and flat work, he caught on quick but it was a funny feeling at first![/QUOTE]

I find it interesting, that the horse was “western broke” but didn’t understand your half halt. Every western horse I have ever ridden half halted and halted from my seat alone. Some were so good that I couldn’t eve think of a transition, because I’d get one. It sharpened up my aids.