In my last article, I shared the story of the girl who did a month’s worth of practice in 6 minutes! In it, Daniel Coyle explained (from his book The Talent Code) how that happened. In the Talent Code he explains how deep practice, ignition and master coaching cause accelerated learning, all of which we can apply to improve our technical riding skills as well as increase our feel and timing.
Deep practice means slowing down, making errors, correcting them and moving through the sequence again. To me it means we have to be willing to embrace mistakes and learn from them rather than beat ourselves up when we fail. Then have the patience to start again from the beginning.
Deep practice also utilizes the “chunking” method that Barb and I teach at our high-performance clinics. It’s a version of what the girl did who was learning to play the clarinet that helped her do a month’s practice in 6 minutes.
Chunking is dividing what you’re trying to learn into chunks or segments. Let’s say for instance a reined work pattern could be divided up into maneuvers, each one being a “chunk”. You develop the skills necessary to perform the circles first. Then as you execute a circle you work on making it round, hitting the middle etc. If you miss the middle, you’d stop working on the circle and work a bit more on steering your horse, being more accurate with your arena placement (ie correcting the mistake). Then start at the beginning with the circle and aim more carefully for the middle. If you were successful, you could start on your big fast, but if not, you’d work on your steering some more, then start at the beginning again. Then maybe you start to increase your speed for your big fast, your steering is good, you hit the middle, and all goes well until you try to slow down. You’d stop the pattern and work on slowing down from different speeds, collection etc. Then, you guessed it start back at the beginning again.
Each time you do this, you reinforce on a deeper level the skills that you’ve been building on. After you get the circles/figure 8 done, that’s one big chunk and it should be able to perform it very well.
Now you’re ready to work on the next chunk, say rundowns and stops. After you have all the chunks very solid and easily done, you put them together. Once again, if the wheels start to come off anywhere, you work on that skill and start at the beginning again.
This creates deep learning from deep practice and you and your horse will own these skills forever in a much shorter time than you think. In fact, he proved that it is the fastest way to gain mastery of any skill. In my next article, I’ll give you his take on ignition and then master coaching. If this intrigues you, you can read the Talent Code (available on Amazon).
I was rereading the Talent Code for the 4th time last week and in the introduction, I remembered one of the most fascinating parts of the whole book. He was talking about “talent hotbeds”. These are places where for no apparent reason, fantastic athletes magically bloom in large numbers. This happened in the Dominican Republic with baseball players in the 1950’s, in South Korea with women golfers in the late 1990’s, and even in the Renaissance when Florence, Italy produced an explosion of genius! Daniel decided to study where this extraordinary talent came from and how did it grow?
He began by studying a 13 year old girl who was studying the clarinet and didn’t appear particularly talented. In her 6 minute video, she was classified at “musical mediocrity.” (How depressing!) She lacked a “good ear”, sense of rhythm, and her motivation was subpar. Her strongest reason for practicing was because “I’m supposed to”. What was crazy was that in 5 minutes and 54 seconds, she accelerated her learning speed by 10x, and she didn’t even know it.
She was trying to play “Golden Wedding”. She played 7 notes and stopped, stared at the music sheet, and sung that phrase. She then started over from the beginning, making it a few notes further before missing a note, patching in the fix, backtracking and starting again. That time the notes had some verve and feeling. When she finished that phrase, she stopped for 6 long seconds, replayed it in her mind as she fingered the clarinet, leaned forward, then started again from the beginning.
She played that phrase again and again, each time adding spirit and rhythm to it. She was creating a blueprint in her mind, fixing the errors and fitting parts into the whole (chunking). This was a highly targeted, error focused process. The scaffolding was being built and a new quality was growing in the girl. It was not talent created by genes. It was six minutes of an average person entering a magically productive zone where more skill was created with each passing second. This targeted practice was causing accelerated learning.
What they later learned was when we fire our circuits in the right way, our neural insulator called myelin responds by wrapping layers of insulation around the neural circuit, with each new layer adding a bit more skill and speed. The thicker it gets, the faster and more accurate our movements and thoughts become (think riding a bicycle). Everyone can grow it though it grows more swiftly in childhood. It’s indiscriminate, and its growth enables all manner of skills. The more time and energy you put into the right kind of practice, the longer you stay in the zone and the more skill and speed you gain.
So, back to the hotbeds of talent where world class soccer players, violinists, artists, tennis and golf players, even skateboarders developed and flourished. They all got better by gradually by improving timing, speed and accuracy, by honing neural circuitry and growing more myelin. There are 3 parts to this- deep practice, ignition and master coaching. Each element is essential to creating skill. Combine them, even for 6 minutes and things start to rapidly change.
I’m going to delve deeper into this in my next few articles because it’s so relevant to how we can all become skilled with our horses and grow our timing and feel which before was believed that you either had it or you didn’t. You can absolutely grow both! Great news isn’t it??
Most of you have heard by now that we have lost a great cowboy, trainer, dear friend and one of the finest horsemen ever. Doug Williamson passed after a long battle with cancer. He will be missed by many but forgotten by none. My 2 favorite quotes from Doug are, “When a horse’s head is high (well above its withers) all its brain dribble out and he can’t think properly!” and “You should never apply more pressure to the bit than it takes to back your horse up.”
I think of Doug every time I quote him and whenever I do the exercise I’m going to share with you below. I smile now thinking all the awesome horses he’s riding out in that great pasture in the sky!!
Circle-Stop-Sweep I’d like to share one of Doug’s favorite exercises to do on a horse with you. Doug used to say, “The circle-stop-sweep, warms up my horse’s body for any situation. It doesn’t matter if I’m reining, cutting or doing fence work. The drill allows my horse to get his physical and mental game tuned in.” Doug used to begin the drill by loping in easy, relaxed circles, coming to an easy stop, then backing a couple of steps, loading up the horse’s hindquarters for action. With the horse’s feet squarely up under his center of gravity, the horse is ready to sweep, or turn move out in any direction with propulsion. The main cue that Doug would give was just enough direct rein to barely see the eye in the direction the horse was traveling, and using the indirect (outside) rein towards the opposite hip to prevent too much bend. The neck rein laid against the middle of the horse’s neck in line with the opposite hip helps keep the rear end engaged and keeping the front end from getting too much bend. The “sweep” is an approximately 180* turn before loping off on the other lead.
It’s a great exercise for all purposes, but here’s how it works for the cow work. Loping an easy circle, then stop, loading up on the hindquarters and a 180* turn towards the outside (where the cow would be), teaches him to think stop and back up before making any turn. A 180* turn is all we ever need on a cow. It’s important for the rider to balance without squeezing his knees or clamping his legs, as that will cause the horse to go forward towards the cow. That causes the horse to roll up into the cow and get behind it, losing control and chasing it across the arena. Doug also said, “It’s important to keep some weight in the outside stirrup so as not to lose your balance.” He might use the direct rein to hint at directionality, but once the turn is initiated he likes to let the horse have the cow. Because the repetition of this exercise, the horse thinks stop and rock straight back before turning on a cow too and will automatically load up his outside hind leg in preparation for the turn. This puts a slight arc in its body with nose and butt being slightly closer to the cow and rib and shoulder slightly moved away. Without that slight arc, the horse is likely to turn on its inside hind leg, which tends to push the horse towards the cow instead of exiting parallel to it. “When the cow takes him, my bridle reins are loose and the cow draws him through the turn.”
This is how the circle- stop- sweep helps Doug with the cow work. It reminds him to always back up before turning and he’s got to back up straight with the butt towards the direction he’s going to turn. If all goes as planned, the horse will be pushing off on the outside hind leg. He is physically prepared to go with and stay with the cow.
We love you Doug and you’ll be sorely missed by all!
Here’s a question that you may have heard before: If you had to pick between receiving $1,000,000 today or the value of $0.01 doubled every day for 30 days, which would you pick?
I’ve heard this question before, but recently a mentor of mine who worked in finance challenged me to prove the benefits of compounding interest to myself.
Doing it took a few minutes, but it provided some valuable insights.
Here are the calculations (my insights below): As of Day 10, the doubling penny is worth only $5.12.
As of Day 20, the penny is worth approximately $5,000. At this point choosing that doubling penny still seems like a poor choice.
On Day 27, which is 3 days before the 30 days ends, the penny is worth approximately $670,000. Now, that’s a lot of money for that penny to have turned into but still a lot less than $1,000,000.
But on Day 28 is the first time the doubling penny’s value exceeds $1,000,000. At that point, the penny is worth approximately $1,300,000. Until 2 days before the deadline, that penny seemed like a bad investment.
As of Day 30, that doubling penny is worth an incredible $5,368,709.12.
Approximately $4,700,000 of that growth occurred between days 28 through 30.
So, what’s my point?
My point is all of us strive every day towards pursuits that we have and we love (our horses and our riding), and sometimes it feels like we’re not making progress, especially during the tough times when progress is slow and success is elusive.
The reality is that the doubled efforts will eventually add up to huge gains. Sometimes, it just takes those few extra days for those gains to exponentially increase! So, rise to the challenge and persevere through the times when it seems like you’re not gaining with your horse and you’ll be rewarded when you least expect! Remember slow and steady wins the race and as Greg Ward used to say, “If you improve your horse 1% a day, in 100 days, your horse will be 100% better!” Now that’s doable and well worth striving for!
I hope that you find some inspiration in that like I did. Be well. Be safe.
The summer show season is upon us! And while it brings longer days and time for more shows, it also brings warmer weather and its own set of challenges for you and your horses.
Any animal expected to perform at its top level should be regularly evaluated by a veterinarian during show season. This will allow you to stay ahead of any impending lameness issues which could become problematic under the different training and footing conditions at a show. Hot weather can present additional risks to the horse which you can help prevent with your trainer and veterinarian ahead of time. The two most common clinical problems we see at summer horse shows are colic and shipping fever.
Colic, which is described as the outward clinical symptoms due to abdominal pain, can be caused by many different factors including the following three common culprits: dehydration, a change in diet, and stress. Since the show environment often exacerbates these factors, particularly in the summer, it is common to see colic at horse shows. Even in a perfect management scheme, horses can still experience colic. Although these are quite variable, many episodes of colic are started by the three factors listed above and then progress to something more severe. There are several key steps you can take to mitigate these factors and decrease the odds of your horse experiencing colic this summer.
Dehydration is one of the key factors that lead to colic. Making sure your horse is well hydrated before hauling and during the trip so that there is less “catching up” to do upon arrival is one way you can stay ahead of dehydration. This can be easier said than done as some horses don’t drink very well while traveling. You can encourage a horse to drink by adding a daily electrolyte powder supplement in their feed 3-5 days before leaving and continuing through the show and trip home. Alternatively, you can administer an electrolyte paste starting 2-3 days before leaving and continuing daily. A salt lick in the stall or feed trough also helps keep the horse drinking well year-round. Be sure to offer water at each stop along the way and when the horse arrives. Some horses do not like the taste of new water at different venues, and you might choose to offer water mixed with apple juice or Gatorade to help encourage them to drink better. If you do this, always make sure to hang a second bucket of plain water as not all horses like flavored water.
Another common way horses colic is an abrupt change in diet. Most of us travel with enough of their own feed to last throughout the show for the shorter ones, but since many shows are quite long, it is often impractical to haul enough. So, sometimes you will have to change the hay portion of your horse’s diet at shows. Something as common as a slight change in hay can stress a horse’s delicate GI tract which can lead to colic. However, if the transition to the new hay is done slowly, the GI tract usually has time to adjust to the new hay and colic can be prevented. In order to ease the transition, start folding the new hay in slowly with the hay brought along on the trip so the change is less abrupt.
Stress manifests itself in different ways in horses, and gastric ulcers is a very common symptom of stress. Gastroprotectants are particularly useful in show horses since a large percentage of them have at least a minor amount of gastric upset during hauling and showing. Omeprazole, found in Gastrogard and Ulcergard, is made up of proton pump blockers that reduce the production of acid in the stomach. This is doubly effective as it heals ulcers that are already present and helps prevent new ones from forming. Pump blockers must be started three days before hauling since they are absorbed in the small intestine and work through the bloodstream.
The stress of hauling can also manifest in another way, which brings us to our other most common clinical problem seen at shows: shipping fever. Shipping fever is a condition where horses commonly develop a fever after hauling a long distance or upon arrival in a new environment. The two main reasons for this are bacterial pneumonia from airborne debris and particulate matter and exposure to a viral pneumonia agent such as the equine herpes virus or equine influenza. Horses have a long trachea, and the cilia that helps them clear mucous and debris from their lungs and airway is not very efficient. They really need the ability to lower their head to help clear their airway. Long trailer rides with their heads tied up make this difficult. Compounding this issue is dry bedding containing urine or manure and hay that swirls around in the trailer and becomes inhaled as well as drier dustier conditions during the summer at show grounds. If some of this dust contains bacteria and settles in the lungs without being cleared out, it can set up an infection. Likewise, exposure to viral agents in new environments around new horses can lead to infection. This pneumonia leads to fever and systemic illness, loss of appetite, depression, increased respiratory rate, and sometimes coughing. Since the fever is often the first sign, this condition has been dubbed “shipping fever”.
It is a good idea to check temperatures upon arrival and call a veterinarian to treat early if any abnormality exists. If the pneumonia is not caught and treated early, it can lead to a very serious and difficult to treat condition called pleuropneumonia which is an infection outside the lungs but inside the chest cavity. In most of those cases the horse will not get to show, they will require hospitalization and longer term treatment, and will have to stay after the show until they are healthy enough to haul home.
Prevention strategies for bacterial pneumonia shipping fever include decreasing exposure to dust by using larger shavings as bedding, wetting hay, allowing horses to lower their head while hauling, and feeding on the ground when possible. Immune stimulants, discussed later, can also help. The chances of viral pneumonia can also be decreased by adequate vaccination. It can be helpful to have your horses vaccinated for influenza and rhino (equine herpes virus) within the 6 months prior to showing (they have to be given at least twice yearly requiring an initial vaccine and then a booster to achieve adequate systemic immunity.) Also, the intranasal product called Flu-Avert can be effective. It activates a local nasal immunity to these pathogens almost immediately and for a short-term period. Immune stimulants given as a series at least a week prior to hauling have been effective at decreasing illness. Your veterinarian can advise to the appropriate product based on your horse and availability. Products like Eq-Stim and Zylexis are given as a series of shots to help boost the immunity of the horse and make them more effective at fighting off infection.
Using a few simple strategies outlined above such as keeping your horse well-hydrated, easing the transition to new hay, modifying your hauling techniques, and administering some preventative gastroprotectant, vaccination, and immunostimulation strategies prior to hauling can help keep your horse healthier at shows, especially during the summer. It’s a lot easier and less expensive to keep your horse from getting sick than to treat him if he does.
