I wanted to share one of my most favorite exercises for suppling a horse.

I also use it to help them make the right choices by offering it as a more difficult alternative to their current “choice”, if that choice is not what I want them to be doing.

Let’s say for instance your horse doesn’t want to stand still. Every time he moves a foot, you softly pick up the reins and back him in a circle (as the videos below show) with his nose and butt to the inside.

This is very difficult for them, it’s hard work.

After you back a few circles, stop, pat him and drop the reins, giving him the “opportunity” to move his feet again. When he does, quietly pick up the reins, soften his face and back him around some more.

The beauty of this exercise is that it’s a lot of work and as soon as they put it together that every time they move their feet, they have to work, pretty soon they don’t want to move their feet.

It’s their choice and that’s why it works. You’ve stacked the deck in your favor and the house always wins!

And meanwhile, he’s gotten much softer and more supple and thoughtful.

So, it’s a win-win-win, which is the best kind of win.

So, here it is:

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I get a lot of questions about how to hold the 2-rein outfit. There are a few different ways, so I’m going to go over each.

The great thing about the year spent in the 2 rein (during which you can also show your horse straight up in the bridle) is that’s it’s legal to put your fingers between the reins! I used to show my horses in both the 2 rein class and the open bridle on the same day so I could school in one and show in the other. 

Here’s a photo of the easiest way. In this, you hold everything together in one hand. However, when you do this, you don’t take advantage of using your fingers between the reins. 

This one is my favorite. You put one finger between each of the 4 reins and then turn your thumb up. 

Some folks like to have the romal reins come up through their palm from the bottom up as if you were straight up in the bridle and the mecate reins would be held going from top to bottom. 

Here’s a photo of putting your fingers in a position to help guide your horse as needed. 

It’s a lot to manage, but hopefully, this is helpful!

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Training a horse is like painting a car.

You’ve probably seen one of those incredible “show car” paint jobs – where the smooth, rich color looks as if it’s 10 feet deep.

Here’s how that’s done:

After the foundation is perfect, with all the blemishes filled with lead and sanded smooth, the painter applies a primer, which he also sands until it’s perfectly smooth.

Then comes the first color coat. After that’s dry, the painter will sand it until it’s almost entirely gone; just a few molecules of color remain.

Then he applies the second color coat, lets it dry, and sands it until just a blush of color remains.

He’ll do this 20 or more times, building up the color just a few molecules at a time, over a period of many days, until it’s as clear and as deep as an alpine lake.

Well-broke horses are made the same way.

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When a horse is soft (resistance-free) in the face, you can communicate through his whole body right down to his feet through your reins and seat.

I always strive to “connect their lips to their hindquarters” meaning that when I picked up a rein, I could feel them engage their hindquarters, soften their poll and allow me to connect to all 4 feet.

The horse needs to learn to respond to every nuance of pull, kick, nudge from the rider.

In response, to the degree the rider can feel every softening (lessening of resistance), every try, is the degree the rider is “connected” to the horse. Then, it’s a matter of interpreting the horse’s response to determine if he can handle more pressure, is mad vs confused, hardheaded or a bit slow to process, etc. But the rider has to be able to feel those responses before she can interpret them.

Both of these components comprise what we call “feel”. To some degree, feel is intuitive. Either you have it or you don’t, but it can also be learned.

When we try to teach a horse collection, it is by very tiny, incremental degrees, with the slightest try being rewarded with a release of the pressure we’re applying. It is by that release that they learn, not the application of our aides.

If we miss that small give and fail to release, there’s no incentive for the horse to try next time. They learn to hang on us as we hang on them, both of us getting duller and number (and both probably getting madder and madder!)

For collection, we’re trying to get our horse to operate in a more compact box, not pushing on the bridle or either of our legs and willingly driving up from behind all at the same time.

We accomplish this “shortening of their wheelbase” by making them reach their hind feet further up under themselves, causing their hips to lower, the abdominal muscles to contract causing their backs to raise and round. This elevates their shoulders and causes their neck to lower and curve, allowing them to break at the poll and carry their head at the vertical.

All of this, just to shift the center of gravity a few inches back from its normal spot right at the cinch area. This allows the horse to balance more on its hindquarters making him more agile and quicker moving the front end.

When a horse isn’t willing to learn to respond to our cues, unfortunately, it’s usually the rider failing to give clear, understandable signals (appropriate for the horse’s level of education) and/or failing to release when a try is offered.

If we do release when the horse tries, we’re making what we want easy and desirable, and what we don’t want more uncomfortable. That’s the #1 premise of horse training.

So, if your horse starts to feel confused, instead of thinking he’s dumb or not trying, be sure you’re “explaining” what you want on the level of explaining something to a child. Then reward the try with a nice release, allow a short recovery before asking again.

In the beginning, you’ll only be asking for a stride or two. This helps the horse understand that if he complies, the release is right around the corner. He’ll be more willing to try the next time. And as his “infrastructure” gets stronger, he’ll be able to hold his frame together longer and longer.

When there is little or no physical or mental resistance, you won’t feel any heaviness on the bridle as his back rounds and lifts, and he responds from head to tail.

It’s a pretty awesome feeling of strength and coordination as they gather up under you, ready to do whatever you ask for next.

Interestingly, collection causes even the worst moving horses to be more comfortable and balanced making them much nicer to ride. Therefore, a worthy goal for any riding discipline.

I’d love to hear your thoughts as I plan to dive into this topic some more!

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I thought it might be a fun change of pace to explore the myth vs fact of sworls in our horses.

Sworls are pinwheeled patches of hair that grow in the opposite direction, on the face. On other parts of the body, they are called cowlicks.

Interestingly, the brain and hair are created at the same time, from the same embryonic layer, so there appears to be some science in the correlation of the two as it relates to fear response and trainability.

Several very famous equine folks have studied this (Doug Carpenter, Temple Grandin, and Linda Tellington Jones to name a few).

The consensus of opinion is a sworl located right in the center of the forehead, between the eyes is a tractable, uncomplicated horse.

Below the level of the eyes, can make the horse a bit harder to train, but can indicate intelligence, tending to mischievousness.

Higher than the eyes is fine.

2 sworls, if close together and center, is still ok but might tend to be a bit more reactive, yet indicative of high performers. (If they are further apart, it’s not a good sign). It is twice as common to find double sworls in racehorses and show jumpers. They are generally more complicated and higher strung.

A single long sworl between and extending to below the eyes is a friendly agreeable horse. Check out pictures 1 and 4 in the chart below.

They also make their appearance on the neck.

Up high on the neck within a few inches of the poll, especially if there is one right across from it on the other side makes a horse easy to flex.

However, if they appear further down the neck or only on one side, they won’t have the same neck flexibility. I have definitely found this to be true.

Multiple sworls on the body are signs of an intractable flighty nature.

They can often be found on the left of center on the face.

This usually indicates a horse that’s more complicated, but trustworthy.

I read an account of a farrier who found that off-center sworls indicate stiffness on that side. It was harder for him to pick the horse’s feet up on that side, so it would make sense that training one would be harder also.

They can also go clockwise and counterclockwise, though I’ve never seen much information about what that means in terms of tractability.

The Bedouin’s also put great stock in sworlology. They used them for identification, because like fingerprints, because are unique and never change.

Sworls have also been studied in dogs and cattle, as indicators of temperament.

Look at the photo below and tell me what kind of temperament you think this horse with a wide, loose sworl might have. Then, check your horse’s sworls and see if you find any of this to be true.

I’ll sure be interested in hearing from you about your findings!

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I thought it would be an interesting detour to explore how horses see, and how that relates to our understanding them when it comes to training.

Horses evolved in open grasslands. They’re designed to be awake and grazing day and night. They have excellent low light vision, unlike humans who need to see well in the daytime.

Did you ever wonder why your horse’s pupil looks bluish-grey? That’s the tapetum lucidum which reflects light back through the photoreceptor layer of the eye so that the horse has high sensitivity to light.

Remember, horses graze at night and need to see predators and be able to move quickly over uneven ground to escape.

We humans don’t have that so our night vision is poor, but our eyes adjust more quickly from bright to dark. Horses adjust more slowly, but when they do, they see better than we do.

This is what we see walking into a barn during the day.

This is what your horse sees walking into that same barn.

In twenty minutes, this is what your horse sees – it’s brighter and in more detail than you can ever perceive. Which is why you won’t notice a sudden movement at the far end of the barn, but your horse will.

Which brings us to loading in a trailer. This is what we see.

This is the “black hole” that they see.

By opening up the 2 windows, it becomes much less forbidding.

Many thanks to Terri Golson and her article “In Light and Dark”. I’ll share some more in my next article!

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Do you know the difference?

The term “leg yield”, half pass”, and “side pass” seem to be used interchangeably but are all very different and are indicative of your horse’s level of training and responsiveness. Do you know the difference?

Here you go:

Leg yield – The leg-yield is a lateral movement in which a horse travels both forward and sideways at the same time.

It is commonly used by riders to open and close a gate. The horse is fairly straight through his body in the leg-yield, although he may have a slight bend opposite to the direction of travel.

This is a more basic movement.

Half Pass – The half-pass is also a lateral movement seen mostly in dressage in which the horse moves forward and sideways at the same time.

Unlike the easier leg-yield, the horse is bent in the direction of travel, slightly around the rider’s inside leg.

Side Pass – When doing a side pass your horse moves directly sideways in response to your rein and leg aids.

Teaching your horse to do a side pass, also called a full pass, will make him more obedient, safer, and more fun, because he is must be very broke to do it. A true “side pass“, means your horse moves laterally without any forward movement.

To side pass correctly, the horse must move both forehand and hindquarters directly sideways and cross over in front of the opposite foot and his head is aimed in the direction of travel.

Here is a link to a Western Dressage page that has a cool moving diagram, as well as the aides, used to accomplish these:

http://westerndressageuniversity.org/index.php/component/content/article/25-image1/102-side-pass

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This is a continuation of riding smarter not harder horsemanship skills.

Here are Tips #11-13

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In previous articles, I’ve shared 7 tips for Riding Smarter Not Harder. Now, here’s 3 more!

• Develop great timing.

Remember — horses learn from the release of pressure, not the application of it.

When you release pressure (either from your legs or reins), your horse will associate that reward with whatever he was doing immediately before the release.

So, if you’re a split second late releasing, you’re slowing his learning, or even inadvertently “rewarding” something else entirely.

If you’re asking for a step backward, the instant he even begins to think “back,” you should soften the reins for an instant as a reward, then resume asking. But if you miss that moment, and instead lighten as he’s raising his head or opening his mouth, you’re rewarding him for what you don’t want.

Timing is everything.

Now is a perfect time to release, if I want to teach my horse to lope softly framed up.

(See photo on left)

• Be consistent and fair.

A cue can’t mean one thing half the time, and something different the other half – because you don’t enforce it.

If you’re inconsistent in your follow-through, you oblige your horse to choose whether you really “mean” it each time you ask. That gives him only a fifty-fifty chance of doing the right thing.

Inevitably, he’ll choose the easier, and in most cases, wrong thing and get himself in trouble. This inconsistency on your part is like lying to your horse. You must be honest to gain his trust and respect.

Similarly, you must never lose your temper. When you do need to make a correction, it must always fit the infraction, and never be done with anger or impatience.

Never suspect that your horse is trying to be bad on purpose—he isn’t. You probably confused him, so take that into consideration in your response. A scared and intimidated horse isn’t going to try for you. But if he understands that you’ll always be fair with him, he’ll get confident enough to give his all.

That said, don’t hesitate to “raise your voice” if that’s what’s needed.

• Solve—don’t create—problems.

Any time your horse doesn’t respond the way you want, don’t compound the problem (or create a new one) by taking a hasty or overly aggressive approach.

Let’s say, for example, your horse is getting racy instead of staying in the steady lope that you’ve asked for. You really feel he should be “getting it” by now, but instead of losing your cool, you simply take all slack out of the reins, then draw him to a trot, then a walk, then a stop, then a back-up—all in about six or so strides. Then you sit for a while, give him a chance to relax, then you try that lope again.

If, instead, you jerk him into the ground, scaring him, then the next time he’s going fast, he’ll start worrying about getting jerked, and the problem will have been compounded.

In other words, when you do it the correct way, he thinks, “Oops, I’m racing along here…now she’s picking up the reins to break me down…I guess I’ll give her my face and come to her, because I know she’ll insist on that, but then at least I get to stop and rest.”

But the other way, he thinks, “Oh no!!, she’s picking up the reins and she’s going to rip me a new set of lips…better brace my jaw and get my head up to protect myself.” See how that works?

All of these tips are really common sense ideas, but sometimes we don’t take the time to think through what our actions are really telling our horse, and sometimes it’s just a matter of explaining it to him differently. Deal with your horse like you would deal with a 5 year old child.

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In an earlier article I shared 4 tips for Riding Smarter Not Harder. Now here’s 3 more!

Be a contrarian. This goes along with training every moment. If your horse is wanting to do one thing, make him do the opposite. Is he leaning in one direction? Make him go the opposite way. Is he amped up and wanting to lope? Make him stand still for a moment. Does he want to stand? Make him lope. Is he eager to be at the front of the line? Put him in the back. Don’t let him train you, either. If he’s a spook, don’t forsake trail rides—go on lots of them and get him exposed to all those frightening things. Don’t make excuses for him. By being a contrarian instead, and insisting he do what you want rather than what he wants, you’re continuously reinforcing that you are the boss, not he. Horses crave leadership, and if you don’t provide it, they will.

Train both sides. Whether you know it or not, you own two horses, a right horse and a left horse, and they both need to be trained (thank goodness they both don’t have to be fed too!). Never assume something you’ve taught your horse to do using one side of his body will translate to the other; it won’t. You must train both sides individually. If he can shut a gate working off your left leg, also teach him to do it off your right. Each side will likely require slightly different approaches because most horses are a little stiff (resistant to bending) to the left and hollow (bend excessively) to the right.

Ultimately, you’ll spend about the same amount of time working your horse to each side, striving to make his stiff side more flexible, and his hollow side a little straighter.

Be precise. A horse’s brain is like your website browser. If you enter a command that’s just one letter off, the computer won’t recognize it, and you’ll end up at a completely different website. Similarly, if you want optimal performance from your horse, you must ask for a movement exactly the same way each time. Sometimes we get frustrated with a horse that’s not responding correctly. We think, “You dummy—you did it fine yesterday.” But our horse is thinking, “Yes, but I’m confused now, because I don’t recognize this cue….” A fully trained horse is often able to fill in for a miscue, but while he’s still learning, the more precise and correct you can be, the faster and more reliably he’ll learn. Good stuff in, good stuff out.

True story: A fellow came out to my place to try a seasoned, successful show horse, the kind that takes good care of his rider. The guy’s comment after riding him was that it was like playing pool on a table with huge pockets that just funnel the ball in. When a horse is well broke, you should be able to kind of “aim him” at the maneuver, and the ball should go in the hole, so to speak. But until a horse is very solid, you must be very precise.

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