Spring time fun

[jen judkins]

Jean, I looked at your video as well. Kruiser is a nice looking and moving horse. He also looks like he is willing to please. You have some nice things working with him.

I give you alot of credit (and you have my admiration) for putting your video ‘out there’ for critique. I have done this before… and although it made me uncomfortable, I can’t say I regretted it…as it always led to very big breakthroughs for me. So, I believe your willingness to accept feedback is evidence of your commitment to your horse and your horsemanship.

I noticed two ‘behaviors’ in your video that caught my attention. Let me say first, that when it comes to round pen exercises, for me, it comes to having a place where you and your horse learn to communicate. Two way…he reads you, you read him. However, it falls on us as the human (the ???more evolved species) to learn the horses language. I think the round pen (or simple lunging) is an excellent vehicle for this process.

First, In the beginning of your tape, you are backing away from Kruiser (I believe triiing to set him up for a cue to send him out on the circle…correct me if I am wrong). If you watch horses play with each other, you will see that no one moves their feet until the game is over. Horses stand their ground until its clear to them that they are not dominate (or my new favorite term, indominable), then they move away (usually backwards) and the game then resets. The horse that moves away loses, so to speak. It would be to your benefit (from a leadership standpoint) to figure our how to set Kruiser up to leave on the circle without giving up your space. Set it up so he gives way to you…not the reverse.

Second, and this relates to Donn’s points, your energy is constant…if I may say so. Look at a herd of horses and how they interact. An alpha horse, when they want a horse to give way, will first pin their ears or swish their tail (frequently very subtly), then if they are ignored will lash out with teeth or feet quickly, then rapidly (as the other horse retreats) go back to business as usual. The point being that they give a subtle warning (cue) expecting a response. If they don’t get a response, they dish out something EFFECTIVE, then go back to neutral. People, myself included, have trouble with this. Its hard to be effective without getting mad first. Then if you get mad, its hard to let go of the anger and go back to neutral.

So think about how subtle you could be in asking Kruiser to respond to what you want, but be ready to make an impression, if you need to….without emotion or frustration, then go back to neutral. Neutral is your horse’s release or indication that he is doing the right thing. You need that to look different from your ‘asking’ body habitus, for it to have the desired effect on him.

Again, video is an awesome tool to assess your progress. Look at the video again and see it from your horse’s perspective. Nice job, Jean!

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