#brannaman

October 12th, 2012

Here are the notes I took (for personal use, no warranty made or implied) from the Brannaman clinic in West Virginia.

Brannaman Clinic Notes

Morning sessions were “Foundation Horsemanship” and afternoons were “Horsemanship 1”.

Morning 1: This class grew out of seeing horsemanship students needing the colt-starting skills. It's ground skills to bridge the gap between colt starting and horsemanship. It's also one of the most useful classes offered.

Even green people can see tight-bothered horses. This class presents things to do on the ground as pre-ride ground work, skills can also refine a horse and improve your riding skills (as seen in the afternoon class.)

Afternoon class will have homework to improve.

(It would be nice if he repeated people's questions before answering them.)

Giving a horse things to do helps distract him from being herd bound.  Busy horses do not have so much time to be herd bound.

Horse bucks – control the HQ. It's a symptom of a larger problem, though. Many things go wrong before bucking happens – it's just the most visible signal of the issue.

Control of the HQ is untracking. This derails the horse on the issue, gets trouble stopped first. Awareness is key. Stay fixed before the issue gets way out of hand. This is not a catch-up game as much as a prevention game. Rider awareness helps a lot.

Prepared vs. paranoid. People are not observant enough. (Olivia – Punch gets her head down before Olivia sees it, thus she's always correcting AFTER the mouthful of grass and not before. This makes her job harder.)

Horse doesn't like to lunge. Lead rope work may help. Lunging is boring, though, going round and round w/o attention, horse being an ass. This is not a productive conversation with the horse. The horse gets more fit, takes longer to “fix” (tire out) via lunging. Lunging is not productive. Rope work is a positive conversation with an end goal beyond “make the horse tired enough to behave”.

What do if a person is tight? Get horse OK so that he can fill in for the person. Relaxed enough colts do not be nervous.

Average person has no business trying to fix issues with a horse while aboard that horse. Ground work is safer and easier, has less stuff to go wrong.

The goal here with ground work is to have the horse comfortable and enjoying his job.

(Note the infinite patience on the dark grey that Brannaman has, so subtle and quiet with the rope.)

All horses are keen on who moves who. Horse should BE moved, person should demand and get respect for her space. Pushy horse when you're leading it is pushy horse when you're aboard. Same way, respectful horse on the ground is more likely to be respectful horse when you're aboard.

This is work time. No eating without permission. You should have a bubble of space. Many people in the class have their horses right on them. Horses should stand back a bit, not crowd the handler.

Buck prefers a flag to a rope for creation of movement. (I wondered why. He explained later: More an extension of your arm, more control, less floppy than rope, easier for novices to swing successfully.)

Mule is “lazy”. This is in the riding/training, not in the animal itself. How dull you let things get before you step it up is how dull you will wind up riding. It has to do with how consistent you are. Offer the better deal (this is a recurring theme), ask nice first. Get into a pattern where you never have to nag the horse.

Goal not for a crabby or disrespectful horse, but give him the chance to have a better deal. People tend to shortcut the steps to “what worked last time” instead of always offering the good deal first.

If it took a kick last time, people start with the kick every time. People get lazy and skip the steps. This shortcuts the good deal. People need to be consistent in the way they ask. It is not OK to settle for dull and dullness is largely a lack of discipline in the rider.

Follow a feel on the rope – no dragging. Driving (from behind, with a rope or flag) is way better than dragging with a lead rope. Driving is easier, takes less force, and works at a distance, where dragging does not.

If a horse gets anxious, pays no attention to the rider, then offer the horse a job. Get the horse with you. Horse should not tune you out. Occupy the horse. Quiet horses get quiet people. Horses that fuss get more activities.

Many people try to hold down an anxious horse. This is like putting your thumb over a pipe. Not good. Spend the pressure doing meaningful work.

Going in circles without a plan is NOT USEFUL. Horse needs to be accurate and thinking. Pressured horses need to do meaningful work, not just zooming around and around.

Trail riding mostly uses the “herd effect” – you've got one or two people actually riding and the rest of them just follow along. People do not take their horsemanship along on the trail.

“My horse isn't this bad at home” – you need to support your horse wherever you are. “He's really good for me at home” means “He is comforted by his home environment” and not “You have real support and control of your horse.”

Bridling and unbridling issues. Use of setting head down can help with that. Better prepare the horse for this skill. Rope halter can come off and on with bridle in (he demonstrated this).

Impatience: If your horse needs a job, give him one. If the horse is unable to bear the prosperity of just standing still, then he can have more work instead. (This is not vengeful punishment work, just work on stuff that the horse needs to improve at anyway.) Offer respite from work and see if it's taken. If not, more work.

Horse is interested in whether they move your feet or whether you move their feet. A horse's balance point is about where the cinch lies on a western saddle. Stand in front of the balance point and the horse is “blocked” from forward motion. Stand behind the balance point and the horse is free to move forward.

When you are using a flag or the tail of your lead, a horse should be Not Afraid but Responsive.

Flag behind the balance point. If horse needs to go, he should step forward. If he steps forward without being asked, put horse on a corner (yield HQ). The leading hand is in neutral when you put horse on a corner. The flag is used as an extension of your reach/arm.

How to get a horse moving on a feel

1. Offer leading hand first (do not remove all slack from the line – that is pulling)

2. If no forward movement on the offered feel, driving from behind within 1.5 seconds

Remember to offer the better deal first.

(His reversals are so smooth – he rolls HQ 90 then FH 90.) Beginners may need to do more.

FH turns away first. Horse feet move, not people feet. Interesting.

Move to left, drive RT side shoulder over to yield FH. Untrack HQ, horse goes around full circle.

This method of starting a circle adds (1) bubble of space and (2) same respect that yielding HQ in untracking does. More useful.

Big bend in neck during untracking, NOT A PULL, a drape.

Can use lead rope tail in place of flag but needs to land SOFT. Flag has better control (and offers opportunity to feel rather than to be hit)

Throw, startle, corner. The rope has to land soft, not wrap around horse to whap him in belly.

Important, offer first the good deal.

Horse's responsibility is to put person behind the balance point at the girth. Horse must step through (with HQ). Not trying to hit horse, trying to get to not-hitting. Use the “air cue”.

When untracking, the leading hand comes back to the chest. If there is trouble, keep untracking until the horse lets down.

Sweeping the front quarter establishes the bubble, bends horse, gets horse to untrack front, which is an otherwise neglected rope skill. This adds a yield front skill.

(Observation: Many people have very ineffective body language. Leading hands are ineffective. Postures are unclear. People are not asking for or getting personal space from their horses.)

People are having trouble with the sweep of the forehand.

To get horse to go left, person GOES LEFT first, bends head/neck in direction of travel, then pressures RIGHT shoulder to sweep through. People do not get using their body to direct the horse. They are all about dragging the head.

People also do not demand. He is very clear about where to be. Horse always has a great big door.

Things for homework:

1. Yield HQ

2. Yield FH (step forward and left, send FH over, bend-before-send, aim at shoulder)

3. back horse – hold halter by knot, thumb down, back and forth with nose band, looking for

1. flexion (tuck chin)

2. backing

Tip head away from you, back in circles/steer

4. ways to put head down: knot / side / hand on head behind ears

5. Bridling practice – familiarity with mouth/ears

Day 1 Afternoon session

Largely mounted, with some overlap with the morning session's material. Questions first.

If a horse is busy with his mouth, the problem is not solved by being in a hackamore. The problem is symptomatic of a larger issue.

Making a bridle horse

1. Snaffle

2. Hackamore

3. 2-rein setup

4. bridle

This is a progression. Each step has clear goals that should be achieved before you move on.

Your horse's ears, tail, mouth are indicator lights. They can tell you about issues but they are not the issue themselves.

Once a horse can do movements and understand them, the mouth may quiet down on it's own.

Lead issues. Know your “lead” at the walk or trot before you cue to the canter. Also work the bad side more than the good side. Lateral evenness is key to getting both leads.

Classical riding – looking at engagement in pursuit of collection after a classical frame. This happens by elevating the withers and the HQ come forward and engage.

Exercise: Head around to both sides (while mounted) You are looking for three things:

1. Ears level

2. poll higher than withers (with Arabs, this is not a problem)

3. vertical flexion (hardest)

If poll not above withers, do not pull head up. Makes horses into llamas.

Green horses are optimum because they have less to unlearn.

Soft feel (review from AM session)

elevation is poll above withers. Lots of elevation is for lots of collection. Less elevation for less engagement. Flexion takes place between atlas and axis vertebra (1 and 2 vertebra)

Proper lateral movement originates from the center. Horses need to be balanced to start.

Position of rider's pelvis. Three positions to look at:

1. like to jump or scoot in front of a cow

2. ordinary riding. Sit on seat bones, with floating seat

3. stopping and whoa position (on pockets, heavy on the horse)

Going forward, the good deal is position 3 to position 2, open thighs slightly, horse should roll up into a walk. The good deal is one without physical pressure.

The lower down the leg your cues are, the less of a horseman you are. Higher up the leg makes for a more sophisticated aid and a better rider.

There should be 1.5 seconds between the good deal and reinforcement. It's very difficult for people to keep offering the good deal.

Timing is crucial and this can make aids invisible on a good lively horse.

Horse should back in diagonals, with rhythm, like a trot in reverse. When you ask a horse to back, you should take the gravity away from the horse feeling your legs.

Horse is in a rectangle of your control. You can move the FH, the HQ, or both at the same time. The horse's job is to stay within your rectangle. This (again) is body control for humans.

In the beginning, you use a leading rein and a supporting rein. As you progress in skill, try to use less leading rein and ride with one hand.

Riding with legs. 1000 times. Green horse needs practice. Leg may be exaggerated if needed on a green horse. There should be NO random steering. Steer left when left front is off the ground. Steer right when right front is off the ground.

Legs are offered first as the good deal. The thing with legs is that they will enforce seat bone, hip steering which is more subtle and effective.

On turning the head, remember Ears Level, Poll above Withers, Vertical Flexion.

(Most of the class can manage to bring head around, but their ears are unlevel. How to fix?)

Aim for 90 and 90 (vertical flex and horizontal bend) on these turns. Do not pull straight back, lead out to the side and back to ribcage.

Point of rein coil on mecate is to help people manage their rein lengths. Many people do not manage rein length well anyway.

Exercise: Short serpentine. This looks like ribbon candy that you make with your horse. Bend horse 90 degrees each time. At the directional change is where you can see weakness. If horse moves like wheelbarrow (Thyme turning), he is not engaged.

Time your steering with the inside front foot leaving the ground. This exercise is to build engagement.

The serpentine exercise needs better engagement of rein length. Make sure your outside rein is loose. Use a real short or narrow track, about two horse lengths, maybe 12 feet.

A horse should walk, trot, and lope reliably on a loose rein before you start asking them to come up into your hand for collection.

Do not ride like a monkey on a football. Sit up straight, you bunch of honyockers. (honyocker: old north West cowboy slang for a failed homestead farmer. Almost as bad as calling a cowboy a sheep herder.)

Many horses showed improvement on neck bending, etc. but most people did not work the front leg coordination effort (pick up rein with inside front leg)

Exercise: rolling 180's (HQ and FH rolling)

Bend head to 90 (rein to left pocket), roll over HQ to right (left leg, slightly behind girth), leading rein only.

Transition to FH by moving rein straight out from hip, about 8”. Change to RIGHT LEG near front of girth.

Also following rein picks up to do FH.

HORSE STAYS BENT THE WHOLE TIME, BENT THE SAME AMOUNT.

Problems with this exercise:

1. Neck not bent

2. loss of forward motion

3. hand not moving from pocket

English riders are having too much contact and not trusting the horse to operate on a loose rein.

The interesting thing in this exercise is the switch from moving HQ to moving FH, wherein the HQ come up and take weight so that the FQ can elevate and move.

Next exercise: Teardrop

½ circle back to the track at a walk. T his is a teardrop shape. Forehand needs to reach more than HQ. Better 1 way than the other, then do bad way more. Long on reins is better than short. Offer leg-only first as the good deal. Match rein timing with front inside foot off the ground.

(People's timing sucks.)

Leave the horse alone a bit after movement. This is better than continual nagging. Horses would like peace.

Six or so plates in the air – lesson planning for your horse. Don't just drill one thing over and over, work on it a little bit (until improvement) and then go do something else for a while and then you can come back to the first skill again.

Exercise: rating at the walk

2 goals: position 2 means stay forward, soft feel of your seat.

When backing, soft feel is inseparable from rhythm. Each halt, a horse needs to be ready to do stuff. Backing after a halt is helpful.

Control of speed at walk. Soft feel and seat, not just pulling. Slow your body first, see if the horse gets with you. The good deal, here, is the soft feel of your body.

This exercise is about getting and releasing feel/contact at the walk. Seat responsiveness at the walk is a goal.

Down and up transitions at the walk, off the rider's seat. People need help learning to reward and get out of the way.

Be able to differentiate between soft feel at the halt and “back up”.

Soft feel at walk-slow exercise cues horse that body of rider is going to do something interesting.

DAY 2

When backing, poll or feet, which comes first? Odds are good that the feet are going to engage first. Once moving the feet works OK and reliably on a soft feel, then ask for poll bending. If you get poll first, then work on feet next.

Soft feel: Not just a horse tucking his chin. Starts at mouth, rolls through horse to feet. It's a whole body thing, not just the head.

Get out when you have something to reward. Don't burn the cue.

People keep hammering away because there is no release or they release wrong. This is very frustrating to the horse.

Gate problems (ring sour)-- there is benefit to sending the horse forward.

Regimented exercises provide a framework for learners, but checking out skills can happen whenever you think about it.

Elements of proper flexion: ears level, face vertical, poll above withers

The bending-from-the-ground exercises (“what reins do”) for green horses, does more with it than we do. Maybe there is more to get out of this than we currently get out of it?

Exercise: Rock forward and backward with slobber strap to teach lightness like one-step rockers. Horse fanning to left and right is wrong. If there's an issue, flag to drive. You should be able (when good at this) to shift horse's weight without having him move a foot.

Respect starts on the ground.

Backing:

1. Hold onto slobber strap or hold onto halter knot.

2. Mecate rein shake or halter rope jiggle (not a shake like we do, a gentler jiggle)

3. rein back with mecate, left hand to block (mimics “back up” while riding)

For all of these, having rhythm in the back-up will help.

“Every time I back him up, he comes forward again” – This is a lack of respect. Set a boundary and enforce it.

Horse structured for a herd environment. Ears forward: I got no problem with you, man. When horses interact with people, it changes the horse's status.

Exercise: Half Circles

When you do full circle, we can check out the HQ movement, by stepping close in and working the hind. In the half circle, there's more of a balance between HQ and FH movement. The person walks straight forward, horse does a half circle in front of him and reverses.

Hind, front, hind, front. Rhythm, many more reverses, many more repeats, smoother. This exercise also helps with the horse crowding your space.

People are doing the ½ circle exercises on the track. People tend to give ground rather than taking ground on this exercise.

People are putting on snaffle bits. Elements of flexion with snaffle bits. This is “intro to reins” like we do with our green horses. Ask for bending left and right. Work the side you're on, first. Get the lateral stuff working towards you before you work the over-the-neck side. If horse walks off, then stay with him until he stops walking.

Take the bend to 90degrees and then wait for ears to level up. Make sure you are working with only one rein at a time.

When using a mounting block and horse, the HORSE should move. The mounting block SHOULD NOT move.

Mounting and dismounting. Smooth and nice is better. Left rein is made shorter, mane hold is taken, barely use stirrup (foot should not be perpendicular to barrel).

Some horses can be taught to pick you up from a fence. There are steps to making this happen. Send horse between you and fence (you are on ground), have horse break over behind as you step forward. Once that is working pretty well, then stand on fence, bring horse alongside fence. Sack horse out at fence location. When HQ swings out, left lead/rein should bump rope gently and annoyingly. Wait for horse to move your way, then stop. (This will take some time to teach.) Once aboard, move head left and right at the halt, looking for elements of proper flexion. Horse should stand still quietly.

Homework for foundation class:

1. Short serpentines

2. walk straight with half-circles

3. roll out (in time with HQ) 100x each side

Horse that cannot stand still needs active work. Use a variety of exercises, different things that are non-forward (NOT running in circles), spend the horse's energy on useful exercises.

Use the principle of Do Less Sooner. (Stop little issues before they become big.) Also make sure releases are fully released.

Afternoon class (riding group)

Bridle horse is shown in working cow horse or similar. Skill set should include (but is not limited to) the following items:

1. Jump 3' to 4' over fences

2. showing 4th or 5th level dressage

3. reining

4. cow work

5. good to rope off of

6. nice enough for a kid

There is not an age-based time line for this. Horses are started to ride a lot at 4 or 5. The progression is an ability-graded program, not a time schedule. Skill sets are critical.

He is a fan of redirect before issue.

In the exercise for short serpentine, bend in the neck is critical.

Lead at the walk and trot – what does this mean? He practiced trotting in “straight” to a lope to see what lead the horse was going to pick up. Horses are not ever truly straight. If you can tell which way the HQ are canted, you know what lead the horse is going to take. Most people use a diagonal cue for lead (inside rein, outside leg). The horse's HQ shifts to the inside to take the lead. Long trotting outside may help you learn to feel what lead the horse will take. This can be done sitting or rising trot.

Sitting trot could use help for most people: Less pelvic thrust. Floppy ankles are ugly.

On moving forward – our kids (and we) can offer a better deal than the current deal. Not necessary to start with the heel. Look up. Open chest. Pick up legs. THEN offer heel.

All horses should be offered the good deal at the outset and each time you ask for stuff. Time between the good deal and the reinforcement is 1 to 1.5 seconds. There must be follow through.

You need life in order to direct the horse. You need to direct the horse at all before there is timing. If the horse is standing still, your timing is not useful yet. FIRST get life. THEN direct, THEN work on timing.

Starting rig is a 3/8” snaffle mouth. He starts 2 yr olds with catch, saddle, ride a little at the walk, trot, and lope. Swing a rope a little. Then wait until horse is 3. At 3, do fifteen or twenty rides on them. Four year olds get more skill sets. A five year old horse is ready for adult work.

Things your horse needs to do in the snaffle:

w, t, c on a loose rein (on course, controlled, steady)

soft feel in all gaits

perfect simple changes of lead

start on flying changes of lead

leg yield, half pass, shoulder in

walk-canter transitions

rope work

cow work

gentle

This takes (ideally) about a year and a half of steady, productive riding. (Most normal humans do not ride their horses anywhere near enough or with anything close to the level of skill/consistency that is needed.)

Hackamore. This is a bosal (bow-sal) Point here is to separate all the flexions. Spend about a year or so in the hackamore, do much more riding in one hand.

2-rein setup. This is a small, narrow bosal plus also a halfbreed bit. This is largely a one-hand setup. The hackamore is a backup tool. 2-rein takes a year and a half. Do not be in a hurry here.

Halfbreed with a neck rope. Bosalita is traditional dress for a bridle horse, not appropriate to do without one.

There is nothing wrong with riding in a snaffle but the goal of classical western horsemanship is to have a bridle horse. This takes substantial effort and ongoing commitment.

Horse requires physical and mental development in order to carry himself properly as a bridle horse. This development takes time and it's why you can't rush the stages.

Is it appropriate to try the hackamore and revert to the snaffle if there are issues? Yes. Particularly when you are learning how to do this. Once you have some experience, then you will be more able to know when the horse is ready.

Horse is able to go back to “lower” grades just like you could still do 5th grade work even though you passed 5th grade ages ago.

4 methods for operating HQ

1. Bend and offer minimal leg. Move HQ. Take leg off and wait for horse to stop while keeping bend.

2. Roll into soft feel. Then leg over nicely (neck straight). Roll into soft feel means “gather up into light contact”

3. No reins, no feel. Use just leg to send horse over, not forward.

4. No legs. Pick up hand and wait for roll over. (This is using your butt. He doesn't say so, but when you take your hand around, it shifts your butt bones.)

He can make his horse's butt dance with weight shifts. We need to learn that level of finesse.

Hobbles: Uses a 3 way rig (includes a back foot) because he wants a horse to stand still in hobbles. Horses can go a pretty good ways in just front-feet hobbles. Horse should stand still in hobbles. Start with fetlocks, move to cannon bones when horse is solid in a 3 way rig. Horses feet need to be OK with ropes and stuff before hobbles can be started.

Exercise: Short serpentine to start, after several turns, trot out on a loose rein and then bend to a stop on the inside rein. Work both ways.

Exercise: Pick up a brisk walk and practice getting a soft feel, then releasing the feel. Keep a good, cadenced walk. DO NOT hold the feel at this point. Just practice getting it and releasing it.

Walking out via ruining the jog. (Brannaman is not a fan of the jog.)

1. Be bad at jogging (flop around like a sack of potatoes)

2. ask for jog and suck at it

3. eventually the horse will not-jog but instead offer a big walk. Yay.

Retry at the walk via seat, then pick up soft feel until the feet come through. Practice rating your horse off your seat and feel at the walk, it will do wonders for your canter.

More. Walk to canter transition. RH RF LH LF is the cadence. If you can call out the foot, you can select the proper moment to ask for a canter departure.

Feet can only be directed when they leave the ground.

Movements at fast walk with soft feel on and off. The breaks in feel (rests where the horse is trusted to keep walking briskly by himself on a loose rein) are important.

Exercise: 180's with HQ FH

HQ: Rein at pocket

FH: Rein out to side, add a supporting rein as well.

LEG CHANGES when you switch from HQ to FH

Break into a soft feel, forward walk between efforts.

This is helpful with a wall.

Use timing. When the right hind is leaving the ground for rolling the HQ over to the left... when the left hind is leaving the ground for rolling the HQ over to the right.

3 ways to leg-yield.

1. leading FH

2. leading HQ

3. even front and back

Be distinct in which one you want and you can then get the one you ask for. Which one you want is determined by where your pushing leg is when you ask for the yield.

Lesson planning: Change it up and don't hammer on one thing all day long.

Horse should stay cadenced and rhythmic on a loose rein. Should NOT surge forward when feel is released. (The reason you gather up and release feel all the time is to reassure horse that you will release feel and that it will be OK to come in because he can go out again shortly.)

Exercise: Working at soft feel with the trot. Get it, release it. Get it, release it. Horse to stay cadenced and relaxed without change in speed or attitude.

Stop, go back, respect the halt. Do NOT stop, go back, and lunge forward like some sort of out of control yahoo. That's not the point here.

Get feel, get out. Don't get feel and then hang onto it for dear life.

Exercise: Trot-halt transitions.

1. establish a soft feel

2. move butt from position 2 to position 3

3. take hold IF NO STOP ALREADY

4. if not soft at the halt, teeter back.

5. Dwell in the halt. Do not immediately go forward right away.

Not seeing proper posture shift on the people doing this exercise.

The stop-n-roll backwards teaches a proper halt. Halt should come from the HQ, not from jamming the FH into the dirt.

Exercise: leg-directed serpentines at the walk.

Use rein if no success (be sure to time rein efforts with inside leg coming off the ground). This figure is more open that the ribbon-candy shape of Short Serpentine.

The leg guiding on the open serpentine is to help you refine and improve your leg aids so that when you put them together with rein aids, you can get more out of it.

Always try to improve the better deal you're asking your horse.

On the 180 HQ-FH exercise, people need more bend.

Two elements of soft feel

1. elevation of horse

2. atlas/axis flexion

A gathered-up horse is about an inch and a half taller than a non-gathered-up horse. This height change is at the withers, not just in the head.

Exercise: Rolling forward and backward (back ten, walk forward 10, back 9, walk forward 9)

Prepare to position for the transition. Stopping: soften in 2, then move to 3, then (if no stop) hands. Stop should come from the seat.

DAY 3.

Sooty buckskin and light palomino have divorced. Sooty buckskin looks happier.

Lady with chestnut and sheepskin saddle has changed to a snaffle bit, much improvement.

Offer the good deal first but reinforce if nothing happens. When you offer the good deal first, and are ignored, that is NOT ALLOWED.

Use timing instead of retaliation. There is no place for temper in this. Getting a horse to move out when he is refusing to move: Leg, show, tap, repeat. Set up the good deal again. Position 2, show, tap. There's a second and a half delay between the good deal and the reinforcement. Tap on hip, not flank or you might get more response than you really want.

Sometimes the devil you know...

Amount of life needed is directly related to the amount of life you can direct and control. As rider gets better, rider needs more life. But you gradually get this.

Every time you move a horse out, it is an opportunity to improve.

Vengeance has no part in this. People get tired of asking nice first and they go right to the bad deal. If all you ever show the horse is the bad deal, why should he try harder for the good deal. VERY IMPORTANT to offer the good deal.

Rope might be informative for horses. This afternoon, work some with rope.

Horses need to be able to separate “deal with this” from “respond to a cue”. Horse needs to be “used to legs” but also responsive to legs.

You're teaching the horse to read rider intent. The tool you use is not all that important.

Follow a feel is the goal, here.

Ground work for these folks is not good enough. Better ground work = better safety. Get a green light before you get on. (Horse to be with you, calm, relaxed, stepping over with near hind, etc.)

Key concept – horse moving on a feel. This is a pressure-free offering of direction, NO PULLING.

Leading arm offers a feel. No more. If there is not a response to the leading arm, THEN drive from behind. You do not benefit the horse by pulling on him with the leading arm. That is NOT what we are trying to teach with this ground work.

When horse spooks like a watermelon seed, get where they are going. Ride where they are at BUT get ready to block and reassert your rectangle. Getting used to the scary thing is NOT as important as respect. There is always another scary thing.

Your horse's job is to stay in the rectangle.

If horse blows through legs/rein, you can spend your whole life riding around scary things. Horses that blow through legs do not respect the legs.

If blown through leg, be very firm about maintaining the rectangle. Rider (not horse) is in charge of the rectangle.

Fidgety horse for mounting.

1. Soften on slobber strap

2. if feet move, do some work on the strap until horse is ready to stand

3. do not get on a moving horse, there is disrespect from the start

4. work on standing still first

Maintain personal space with the horse. Stop earlier. Do not wait so long to correct. Don't let it get that far. More aware of what is going on so that you can do less, sooner.

Set boundaries for the horse. These rules are “all the time”. Boss horse is always boss horse. You cannot have “sometimes” rules and be successful.

Be firm when you need to be, light when you can. Backing on a slobber strap is a wave back-n-forth thing, not a straight-back-to-chest thing. Straight-back-to-chest leads to more brace from the horse.

Nice rhythmic trot on a loose rein is good for the horse mind. People need to do more of this.

Box as metaphor for the aids.

Stopping with one rein – let horse find the stop. Turn head, leg until the hq rolls over. Take leg off. Soften body (to position 3) and then just wait for the horse to stop.

On backing up

1. Get a feel first. Gather up your horse before asking for reverse.

2. Feel the horse's weight start to shift.

3. Cue should be concise and not confusing. He prefers “open your leg” to applying leg pressure b/c it feels different than asking a horse to collect.

Collection is driving in with legs while horse is in a feel with the hands. The back up cue that most people use is very similar to that. The legs-off backup differentiates this better for the horse.

Backing through terror is not cool.

Exercise: Short serpentine to trot out and stop on inside rein. The trot is to be on a loose rein. (Many people have trouble with concept of loose rein.)

Don't ride a horse into trouble. Steer in advance of the wreck.

On the one-rein stop, use your leg in time with the hind foot on the inside coming off the ground to roll the inside leg over. Timing and smoothness will help.

Seat position for one-rein stop is 2 when you start. Once you have rolled the hq over and have taken your leg off, go to 3 to signal “stop moving”. This got a “good question” from Buck.

Trotting on a loose rein. If this does not work, one-rein stop and then halt, teeter back, WAIT, and then try again. Each time you'll get a little less trot until your horse can loose rein trot at a speed you want and stay there. Trust the horse, but reinforce.

Use the upper leg (thigh) sometimes to pre-cue. No need to use the lower leg if the upper leg works.

2 reins creates stress for your horse. 1 rein does not create stress.

On the one-rein, take your hand to the same place every time (front pocket) and do not forget to use leg.

With the short serpentine, you need to get the front feet to reach and cross over, not just the hind feet.

People are backing the whole way around the ring on foot, one hand on outside slobber strap. Need flexion at the poll. Back and forth under jaw, not pulling toward chest.

Many repeats of trot on, get soft feel, release fully. When that's working good, hold on feel and ease down into the walk (trying to work off of seat) Many many halt/back10/forward sets.

Position 2 to position 3. If you are backing without softness, keep backing up until there is proper flexion with the backing. Once there is backing with flexion, release pressure every step. Roll the horse forward and back using your seat.

Afternoon session.

Carry the soft feel through the teardrop (and back to track). Then try the teardrop exercise again, with soft feel and flexion into leg yield back to track. Goal here is to change flexion without loosing the feel.

The change in flexion happens at the half circle point of the turn. (I really need illustrations here.)

You hit the rail with the proper bend and then you will get the correct lead every time.

More advanced – teardrop and then leg-yield, maintain lightness in leg yield then strike off in lope. This gets horse into habit of picking up suggested lead on a straight line.

The leg yield on these teardrops should be shoulder-forward. You can also do the teardrop at a lope. It's more advanced. Canter into the teardrop, complete half circle, drop to trot at that point, pick up new bend, and leg yield at trot to rail, then strike off in canter on new lead. Avoid horse's butt end spinning out on these teardrops.

On a green horse with looking for a soft feel, you are using an infinite amount of distance to get it. A more capable horse can do this in a shorter distance.

One handing a snaffle bit. Put four fingers between the reins with the loop. The loop goes over the back of your hand (for easy reloading). Coiled loop is for extra length when you need it. Coil can be reloaded with one pull. How often you reload the coil will let you know how well it's going. (You need to slip the coil for a more leading rein, can work off a more-constant coil for a more indirect rein.)

Coil exists to use direct rein properly when needed.

It is not appropriate to steer a snaffle bit on a short roping rein because it's a yank yank thing. (When you are direct reining to the right, you're short enough to be yanking on the left. Bad.)

Exercise: Yin-Yang Circle direction change

Start exercise 2 handed, progress to one-handed by upending the palm at the middle of the circle. In the beginning, there is no leg yield, only a change of flexion. Once the change of flexion is working OK, then you can start looking for a leg yield.

If horse braces before giving, it might be because of the feel you are offering. Abrupt is not the way.

A horse needs to soften on the short serpentine.

Walk rating, speed through soft feel. Slow but straight, with feel, then transition upwards to faster bigger walk with feel. Horse should clean and quick transition from up to down. Ask with your body first and then use hands to reinforce if no response to body. Remember the good deal.

Exercise: Walk transitions up to trot, soften, back to walk.

1. Move from walk to trot on a loose rein.

2. Establish soft feel at trot.

3. Carry soft feel downward to walk, walk 3 steps, then throw slack.

4. Walk on for a bit. Then re-establish soft feel at walk.

5. Move up to trot

6. Hold soft feel 3 steps at trot, then throw slack.

Soft feel cannot be carried until it is instant on gathering the reins.

Heat: just block it out. Focus is critical.

Exercise: Teardrops

This is the half circle to the inside. Use your legs in between half circles, work on soft feel. The soft feel will come first on a straight horse with no flexion. This is the easiest place to get it and the place where you should start working.

Stop: Soft feel. Move body to position 3. THEN if no stop, take hold.

Clinics are not fun until Sunday/Monday.

Exercise: 180 HQ-FH swaps

1. Short on rein to get HQ

2. LONG on rein to get FH

3. remember to move your hand when changing HQ to FH

4. Use your legs!

Exercise: Soft feel while trotting. Establish, then leg yield toward the rail and regular trot toward the infield. Lather, rinse, repeat.

While trotting, get soft feel and release without a change or surge in speed. If horse insists on surging forward, stop, back, rebalance, and then go onward. DO NOT get angry.

Make sure your release is full and real. Give a real release or your horse will not help. Trust the horse to do the right thing.

We are looking for forward, straight, calm, accurate on a loose rein. Your horse can do this.

Downward transitions with a soft feel.

Ensure everyone is trotting on a loose rein (many people still have trouble with what is “loose” and they're not really letting go. The English seat riders in particular need to work on this.)

Then open serpentine at the walk on a long rein. Offer legs first to steer, then rein reinforcing if not responsive. Time rein to lift of inside front leg.

Exercise: Leg yield to rail, go straight and soft for a while, drift back to infield, go straight and soft, then leg yield to rail.

Many people are not good at this leg yield exercise.

For moving laterally: One rein is for lateral flexion (inside) and one rein (outside) is for longitudinal flexion.

When doing leg yields, switch it up. Do forehand leading, HQ leading, or midsection (even) leading.

*** Haunches-In. Leg yield out to rail, remove inside leg, drop outside leg back, step hips over a couple of steps, and throw slack and move on. This is a progression of the leg yield. Remember to keep the bend the same from the leg yield to the haunches-in.

Now do this leg-yield exercise at the trot.

Body positions, review.

Position 1: jumping position, very forward

Position 2: regular forward, balanced

Position 3: halt, back on your pockets.

Exercise: Backing a half circle. Note that lateral bend on horse is opposite direction of the circle bend. Swing rein in time with the (inside bend, not 'inside of circle') front foot to sweep that foot out. You can also do this in sections, like a quarter at a time. Back-n-swing sets very valuable for balance. (This is called a Reach Offset) Be smooth and relaxed. Back-two-three-four, roll the front through.

Trot on, soft feel, pos3 halt, back half circle to other direction.

Watch on teardrop to half yield example, see that horse does not anticipate the change in flexion.

If you are feeling a brace when transitioning from the trot to the walk, ride on at fast walk. It will take lots and lots of transitions. Use soft feel down into walk. Trot on loose rein, get soft feel gong down. Get soft feel downward first because it is probably easier.

Horse gets stuck on backing – soft feel is not just in head/neck. It is to go through to the feet. It is to be meaningful, not just “tuck your chin”.

Backing with effort

1. soft feel 100% of steps

2. start slow

3. speed up out of rhythm

4. need good timing

5. release is critical

On life: You can bring it up, but can you shut it down? You need to be able to work that dial BOTH ways.

On a horse dull to your leg: Offer a good deal but then do what it takes to get a result. Always offer the good deal first.

On feel: We need to be looking for the feel and the proper weight. Horse should weigh no more than the rein.

Monday, Day 4

Engineering a divorce

1. When near buddy horse, more work

2. recheck back to make sure it's still good

3. herd bound horses are not tolerated

4. eliminates insecurity

5. makes first ride with colts a lot easier.

The deal here is that you trot around. Horse does not have to leave his buddy, but he does have to work to be near buddy. Has to trot circles around buddy. Can only stop away from buddy.

The benefit of cows: Maybe we should explore this. We have cows.

Do not rope bears.

The deal here is that it does not matter how well you can one-rein stop if you get too far behind the game. Do little sooner. Get on the problem when things START to go south right away, then try again. Right away. People get paranoid and expect terrible. It's hard for the horse to do the right thing. Hand over the loose rein.

People ask for “forward” and then are like “whoa, not so much”.

In the one-rein, HQ has to roll over first (90 to 180 degrees worth) THEN take the leg off and shift butt to position 3. Keep holding the bend until the horse stops.

When practicing stops, throw the slack. See if horse honors the stop. If not, one-rein the other direction, roll over, throw the slack. Horse needs to respect the stop.

Many people one-rein-pause instead of one-rein stop. (Nick needs this exercise.) Shut down bad stuff more quickly. Be exact and consistent.

One rein stop on the ungratefuls, too – the only tool you have to help a colt is the lateral stop.

If horse has a head of steam, your one-rein stop may have to taper in before you can have the HQ step over. You need that clean break (the step over) on the HQ.

Exercise: Half Circles on the ground, person walks forward.

This exercise will help you isolate the FH and HQ on your horse.

HQ first, then FH. Easier to settle and relax the HQ before you start looking at FH movement.

Horse is NOT to crowd you with a flag or ground work. Get them off your body, with as much vigor as is necessary.

A horse moving up to trot is reacting to more life in the rider. Offer the good deal. The good deal is NOT KICKING. It is not “Kick a little”. It's more of an “open your leg/seat and see if that works” The goal here is to do AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE and still get the result. Kick first is NOT a good deal.

Bringing life down is difficult for people. More than bringing life up. The dial-it-down skill is crucial, particularly for our critters.

Dialing down comes from feel. You need to quiet your own self. Throw some slack, trust horse to behave. Rest space is important.

Mecate coil, recall, is to allow for adjustable rein length. This is to help people figure out rein management, like when they need both long and short rein distances.

Snaffle horses need both long (clear lateral cues) and short (feel, longitudinal flexion) rein lengths.

The “hop down reins” is also rein management. These nuances will help people to do better at riding mostly because they improve the people's own skills. More constant, more exact, more useful.

Pig farmers ride with halters under their bridles.

Buck uses parachute cord and makes a lot of his own gear for using.

Mecate is 22' or thereabouts. That's probably longer than we need for our critters. (I should measure with Nick.)

Exercise: Short serpentine. Much practice is needed with this and it's an exercise that keeps giving. On the serpentine, the fronts should cross. Both ends should work for the turns. Better timing on the inside front leg && rein coordination. Remember to use your legs, keep neck bend more than 90 deg.

Exercise: 180 HQ/FH swaps. Keep bend in horse throughout turn.

Using a flag to move horse around – helpful if legs are not that effective.

Half circle to the inside, should have less bend and a floaty front end.

The half circles on the ground (with advancing human) will help a lot with the 180 HQFH stuff in the saddle.

Maintain same bend for HQ and FH when you move your hand out to the side.

This 180 exercise needs a free and forward walk. People are stalling out in the middle.

Exercise: Rating at the walk. Slow down with soft feel, then loose rein walk out. The walk rating exercise works on several levels:

1. slow down and pick up soft feel – people kind of turn off their seat and quiet their bodies when they're doing this

2. walk out on loose rein – people look up and relax, kind of go “OK, that's what I want”

Strive for more control, more finesse.

Exercise: Back and forward. Look for straight and precise. Back ten steps, come forward ten steps. Back nine, come forward nine. Stay straight. This is good rectangle practice.

A horse will not be light to your hand if it is dull to your leg.

Two hands and going forward straight does not help the tight horse. Go to ONE REIN and bend, bend, bend. Bend the horse a lot, enough to exorcise the demons. More bending.

Constant pulling on the forward horse is not bloody well helpful. (I need to work on this.) Throwing the slack to a horse is an underrated skill.

Basic half circle to the inside, help by timing your inside rein with the inside front foot.

Loose rein trot to one-rein stop, to bending at the halt. Repeat, repeat, repeat. MOAR TROTTN.

The hind breakover is important because of balance.

Trotting – get the soft feel and then get out.

Note that soft feel exercise comes at the trot after we've done loose rein trot for rather a while. Horses are not super-fresh or forward at this point.

Human evenness helps with horse evenness.

Takeaways for the morning class:

Practice on foot.

More ground work.

There's a book. On ground work.

Personal things to work on: Slack rein. Relief of pressure. OK to throw reins to the horse. Self-rating. Get out of horse's way. Less bottling up of pressure.

Afternoon session.

On back foot, unweight the foot you want before you go to lift it. (This is for picking up feet) Olivia and Punch could use this. Peake and Te already know to do this.

Pick up and hold for longer and dink around or move foot into simulated shoeing positions. Uneven hips are not comfortable for the horse.

Short serpentine is more hands-based and the open serpentine is more legs-based.

In the teardrop exercise, legs work on the bending, etc. Hands work more on the lat/long flexion.

Remember, the teardrop exercise builds to flying lead changes.

He starts with the complicated advance-the-horse exercises when the horse is fairly fresh. Short session of new stuff and then done. End on a good note.

Perfect is not useful to pursue in the short term. Be more happy with incremental progress. Asking for perfect discourages the horse. Ask for IMPROVEMENT, not perfection.

Failure to give attention is disrespectful.

Teardrop exercise he does is at a finite distance because the horse is more ready to get in and get soft. Beginner horses may need more space to get r done.

If you cannot pick a soft feel at the trot on a finite distance, do more work on an infinite distance and a straight line.

You need to be able to go from a loose rein to a soft feel at all gaits before you are ready to ask for collection.

The one-rein stop shuts down trouble when you are looking for a straight, loose trot, easy and relaxed.

Also, the long trotting is to start the concept of self-carriage for a horse.

When you pick up a rein, have in mind what you are looking for. Keep in mind incremental improvement.

I think more ground skills for the ungratefuls. Backing in circles. That arc thing.

Make straights straight and bends bendy. Be exact.

Let horse have some responsibility for staying straight and steady.

You need to not let the idea “steer every single footstep” rule your life. Horse does not get responsible without the opportunity to BE responsible. This takes practice.

“Don't ever let anyone see you train a horse.” Adjustments should be small and barely noticeable.

Rider expectations before the hackamore. They're quite solid before he moves up. Hackamore is for longitudinal flexion, not for beginner skills.

Exercise: Short serpentine to 180 HQ/FH's. Smooth on HQ and FH.

Leg position controls leg yield position. Leg more forward makes a shoulder-lead leg yield. Leg more backward makes a HQ lead leg yield.

Trot and establish a feel, leg yield to rail, ooze back over, soft leg yield in softness. This should not be yanky.

On the straight sides, lope the straight but not the corner. Use a diagonal aid for the canter.

Backing the circle on a green horse. Legs are not much used for this. Horse is bent opposite the bend of the circle, legs are off, leading rein only. OPEN inside leg (inside of horse bend) to move the door open.

HQ movement is a forward move, and so is the FH movement on the 180 swaps. Horse does not shift weight backwards for either part.

This mounted backing-a-circle builds off the backing-on-slobber-strap exercise you do on the ground. If horse can do that on the ground, he can do it while you sit on him.

Tip nose outside the circle, do not bend horse in line with the circle.

Going backwards is sort of an outer bend. Going forward there is not much space for a counter bend – only in very specific cow-working conditions.

On the 180 swaps, you do not NEED a roll backward between HQ and FH turns. When you roll the HQ over, the horse is ready for the FH swap.

Different exercise: Back to right, as right front leg leaves, sweep across and teeter back. Back quarter circle, sweep FH across, teeter back. When you shift to sweep the front, use front leg and leading rein together, put rider leg on at girth. NO LEG while backing.

The 180 swap exercise does NOT have a rock back between the HQ and FH sweep. Rocking back in the middle of an 180 swap makes the front foot step BEHIND the other front foot, which is dangerous and bad.

This (new) exercise, the quarter-circle backup and sweep FH over, is called “outside turn”

Check lateral flexion before the FH sweep but it should be there from backing already. DO NOT over turn.

When backing arcs, only do until you get a nice and pretty arc. Do not set out for half a circle or whatever. Set out for “correct”.

The back-a-circle thing is preparation for the turn. As horse progresses, less is needed. Use feel, not pulling.

These exercises are not stuck in the arena. Do things outside. Go out and do stuff.

Exercise: Mirroring the “cow”. Make one person the cow and one person the horse. The “cow” does stuff. The “horse” follows the cow. Use this to try to make the horses better. Mirror each other.

People who ask questions are not very solid on what they want to accomplish with their questions.

Buck Brannaman is a genius! Both with horses and with people. The real life horse whisperer is renowned for helping horses with people problems. This Documentary directed by first time filmmaker Cindy Meehl is extremely powerful.Buck won the official audience award at Sundance in 2011 and made the top 10 list at HotDOCS. 

"The Horse is a mirror to your soul. Sometimes you wont like what you see. Sometimes you will," Buck Brannaman.