|
| |
Move over from hand pressure
|
|
|
|
Move Over - By John Lyons with Francine Acord
|
|
| Move over from hand pressure |
First we will teach the hindquarters to move over from hand pressure. This is the easiest place to start. The horse will be bridled with a lead rope attached to the bit ring.
What I will be looking for is that when I apply hand or finger pressure to the hip, a hind foot will step to the side. Each time there is a shift of weight or a step, I will give the horse a release of pressure and reward him. Here is how I start the lesson:
1. Standing at the horse's left side near the head/shoulder area, I face looking to the rear of the horse, the left hip.
2. My left hand grasps the lead rope approximately 2" - 6" from the snap. The right hand holds the remainder of rope with a 2' tail to use to motivate the hindquarters to step away, if needed.
3. I ask the hip to step away from me by taking the slack out of the rope/rein, lightly pulling the nose toward me. I add only the amount of pressure needed to get the hip to step away. When the horse steps away, I release the pressure from the lead rope. Ideally I am looking for the left hind to step in front of the right hind and the left front leg should pivot or step in place. As I apply pressure to the lead rope and ask for the step, I use the “kiss” signal to encourage movement, the end of the lead rope or a dressage whip if extra encouragement is needed to cue the hip to step away. Praise is given when the correct response is seen.
 Picture 1
Cue the hip to step over.
4. I repeat as many times as necessary until the horse responds to light rein pressure to step over. Switching sides about every 5 repetitions is a good idea. When the horse steps over with little rein pressure on each side, I am ready to move on with adding hand pressure. If there is any doubt that the horse may kick me, I do not do this part of the lesson. I change my lesson plan and work on that problem. If your horse may kick, do not continue with the lesson. Your horse needs further training to stop this problem. I advise you seek help from a professional trainer if you do not know how to handle this situation.
5. I will now combine the rein cue with hand pressure to move the hip. Standing at the left shoulder I will reach to the left hip. Taking the slack out of the lead rope, I apply light pressure with both the lead rope and my hand at the same time to ask for a step of the hind foot. When the horse steps over, I release both the lead rope pressure and my hand pressure. As soon as the horse begins to step, I release the pressure from my hand. Gradually, I put less pressure on the lead rope and get the horse to respond to step over from the pressure from my hand only. If the horse tries to walk forward, I use the bridle to stop any forward movement, if necessary. I continue to work on asking one step at a time with just hand pressure. I will ask about 5 times then repeat this step on the right side of the horse. If the horse becomes less responsive to my hand pressure, I go back to using the bridle to ask the hip to move over.
6. The goal now is to get the horse to respond to the lightest pressure possible from my hand, to the point where I can use one finger, or even just reach to the hip and the horse will step over. To do this I slowly raise my hand before I apply the cue to see if the horse will start to respond from my reaching movement to the hip. I then add pressure a little at a time.
7. After the horse will move to my finger pressure, I ask for a specific number of steps - 1 step and release the pressure; 2 steps and release the pressure, etc. Give the horse "mini" releases in between steps if you are asking for more than one step.
Next I will ask the shoulders to more over to the touch. Horses tend not to be as responsive to shoulder movement because they are carrying more weight on the front end. It is very important that the horse is responsive to the touch with the shoulders, for one simple reason, to keep you safe. It is the front end that steps on you. You need to be able to get and keep the shoulders responsive to your cues to move over. In order to get the shoulders to move to the touch with your hand, you must first get the feet to move from the bridle. If your horse has been taught the "clock lesson" or "connect the rein to the shoulders" you may practice that now and then continue with the lesson.
 Picture 2
Connecting the rein to the shoulder using the bridle will help to speed up the learning.
8. Stand at the horse’s left side, at the head and neck area. Face the head and neck, with the left hand holding the lead rope near the bit and the right hand holding the remainder of the tail of the lead rope.
9. Ideally, I teach my horse to move the shoulders with the bridle doing one of the lessons mentioned above. For purposes of this article I will give you another option to teach this lesson that is not as effective but can get the desired response. I will use my right hand on the shoulder and the bridle at the same time. Applying pressure to the bridle with my left hand in a diagonal back direction away from me, the space between the chin and the chest, I also apply pressure to the shoulder with my right hand (just above the point of the shoulder). I look for a lean or step away from me with a front foot and then release both cues. Praise the horse.
10. Build on this step little by little, switch sides every 5 repetitions or so. Ideally you want the closest front foot to cross in front of the other foot as the horse steps diagonally back.
11. Follow the same principles as you did with the hindquarters, working toward getting a light response from the bridle pressure and hand pressure.
12. Once you get the horse to step with the shoulder to the side from the rein and shoulder pressure, work toward getting the response with hand pressure only. Begin to fade out the use of the lead rope. Then gradually decrease pressure from your hand, expect¬ing a response that requires a light touch. Get the horse to respond to one finger.
13. After the horse will move to my finger pressure, I ask for a specific number of steps - 1 step and release the pressure; 2 steps and release the pressure, etc. Give the horse "mini" releases in between steps if you are asking for more than one step.
Now that you have your horse moving to the touch with the shoulders and the hindquarters, practice often. When you ask your horse to do this on a different day, you will have to put him "back to school" and may need to use the bridle to get him responsive to hand pressure again. This will be normal. Apply the same principles when asking your horse to back up from hand pressure. Use the bridle to assist you in the training. |
|
|
|
|
