Happy Holidays from Rail and Pattern Horse

Rail And Pattern Horse

The time you spend with your horse can be more fun when you understand the way a horse communicates with you and you with your horse.

Voice

• You teach your horse certain words of command: walk, trot, lope, trot on, whoa, easy, and more.
• The tone you use with your words determines what your horse does as much as the word itself.
• A soothing “whoa there boy”  is a totally different command than a “Whoa There Boy!”

Touch

• Touch your horse with your legs to tell him to go forward
• Pull back on the reins to apply pressure on his mouth to tell him to stop
• Swing your legs to tell him to speed up or to keep going
• Rub his neck, his back, his flanks to soothe him or show him affection

Sound

• You use sounds like a sigh or an intake of breath to tell your horse how you are feeling
• He uses sounds like a “whicker of welcome” or an angry “whicker of why are you late feeding me”
• He uses a squeal of ” get out of my way” to another horse and to you

Emotions

• You feel fear when your horse goes into the lope…your body tenses up…your horse senses your feeling of fear and feels your body tense…he is immediately on high alert to danger and responds instinctively by being excited and fast to react to any cue quickly and forcefully.
• The sun is warm, you are relaxed and feeling lazy…your horse senses your relaxed emotions and relaxes himself…you may have to nudge him along with a spur to get him to perform.
• You are getting ready to go into the show pen…you are nervous, tense and your body is more rigid…your horse senses your tension and responds in like…he doesn’t know why you are tense but if his master is tense then there must be a reason…so therefore he starts looking for the boogy man in the show pen.

This by no means covers all the ways you communicate with your horse. As a matter of fact it barely scratches the surface but it’s enough to get you thinking about all the ways you and your horse communicate with each other.

Equine specialists at the Louisiana State University Ag Center teach us how to train a horse for lead changes. Lead changes are one of the most popular event for a western horse.

“In this video, made possible by extension specialists at the Louisiana State University Ag Center, Clint Depew discusses teaching a young horse in training to perform a lead change and lead departures. For more horse information, check out www.extension.org/horses.”
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Cle Elum is located just over the Snoqualmie Pass off I90. The Horse Park has 3 big outdoor arenas now but the plans are to add an indoor arena. You can keep up with the Horse Event Schedule at the Horse Park web site.

I’m looking forward to events here on the sunny side of the mountains. Less than two hours from Seattle, this Horse Park is a great addition for horse lovers.

Whether you’re interested in Western- or English-style horseback riding, some simple information can help you learn to ride a horse fast.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

This is a quick clip from an online 2 year old western pleasure horse training clinic with multiple Western Pleasure World Champion Trainers, Cleve Wells, Rusty Green & Shane Dowdy. This is a quick tip from Cleve Wells on teaching a horse to lope properly in the side-pull.
Video Rating: 5 / 5

Learning how to ride a horse isn’t as easy as the trainers make it look. For instance I use my hands and reins to control my horse and rate his speed way more than I should.  Now I know better and I’ve spent years learning how to ride a horse but, still when I get nervous my reflex is to lean forward and use my reins to control my horse. How about you?

I, like many of you have been told by coaches and trainers that to learn how to ride a horse I need  to sit back, relax and use my legs to control my horses body. And I have practiced doing just that. But today I had a ride that proves I still have a lot to learn about how to ride a horse to get the results I want.

Riding my horse today for about an hour, I had some success but I also had some issues with getting him to slow down and come back to me when I asked him to. So after an hour I told my trainer, Teresa Sullivan that I was finished and slid off. I say slid off because my horse is 16:3 hands and I’m past my youth so I don’t bounce off my horses anymore and certainly not one who is as tall as my horse, Snickers…

Anyway, Teresa decided to hop back on him to tune on him a bit. When she got on him, she tied the reins in knot and wrapped them around the saddle horn. Then she proceeded to ride him around the arena and over poles using just her legs to guide him. She walked, jogged and loped him around and around. She used her legs, seat and spurs to slow him down and cue him to perform his gaits.She was demonstrating how to ride a horse to get the results you want.

He looked incredible.

Her words to me….Snickers has told on you. His issues today were yours and not his. To learn how to ride a horse you need to learn to let go of the reins and use your body to guide him. Long story short, I got back on and rode him around for another 30 minutes or so and while I was a bit nervous I let go of the reins and used my legs and seat to guide and direct him. I’m not sure I have ever had a horse back ride that was more fun. The moral of my story, if you want to learn how to ride your horse then let go of the reins. ( in a safe environment and safe horse of course.)

Do you have stories of learning how to ride a horse? If so then share them with us. Click on the comment section below and leave us a comment.

The following are great videos on training your Horse to give to pressure:

Train Your Horse to Give to his head from both directions.

Well that’s not exactly right. Your horse can’t read your thoughts but he can and does read the energy in your thoughts. To achieve success with your horse your horse back riding begins first in your mind.

It goes like this. Each and every thought you have carries emotional energy with it. This energy begins at your subconscious level. As your sub conscious mind has a feeling, thought or sense emotional energy attaches itself to it.

It it this energy that communicates with your horse. Before you ever even think of giving a physical or verbal command your horse is already responding to this sub conscious energy. This emotional energy transmits itself to your body and your body transfers it to your horse. In this way your horse back riding starts in your mind and communicates to your horse before you can even get a word out.

Think of it like water that is beginning to boil for your cup of coffee. The water is hot long before you actually hear or see it begin to boil. So if you try to touch the water, you can still get burned.  ( I know, not such a great example, but it was the only thing I could think of at the moment.)

Your successful horse training for the show pen, trail or horseback ride for pleasure begins in your sub conscious mind first!

If you want your western pleasure horse to move slowly and correctly then your subconscious mind needs to do the work before your body gets in the picture. Horse back riding is a ton of fun but remember to achieve success get your mind right before your body gets in the game.

Horseback Riding

To ride and show your horse in the western pleasure class it’s important to understand what the western pleasure gaits are and what they look like. AQHA has released an excellent video showing these gaits.

This is a great video from AQHA on the Western Pleasure Horse. Even though it is a 2006 video the principles are the same. Take a look at it.

Western Pleasure Horse