The Minnesota Horse Expo: Day Two

On the second day of the MN Horse expo, Nathan O'Connor from the University of Wisconsin River Falls and three of his students from the Colts in Training class demonstrated a few exercises to use on young horses once they've learned the basic aids.

I would love to take the Colts class, but it is a big commitment.  I'm not sure if it will fit into my remaining time at school. While watching the demonstration, I discovered he was teaching the same exercises I had been learning in O'Connor's Advanced Horsemanship class. 

Many things O'Connor said I had already heard throughout the semester, but one thing stuck with me: Don't punish the horse for doing the right thing.

He was describing an exercise used to teach young horses to stop. He emphasized that you shouldn't make the horse back up if it stopped well, only if it wasn't responding or took extra steps. I know I need to improve my rewards with Avalon.

After O'Connor, I watched another presentation by Warwick Schiller. It was nearly identical to the first presentation, using the same principles of energy and focus. Schiller pointed out that horses are lazy by nature, they will always seek out rest and comfort. Think about how we train horses. We use pressure and work to make the wrong thing hard; rest and relaxation to make the right thing easy. He explained that when we walk into an arena or up to a mounting block, the horse knows that they are going to have to work. We train our horses to want to return to the barn. We train them to avoid the mounting block, become anxious in arenas, and want to return to the herd. 

Another interesting point Schiller made was that people get too nervous about a horse that rears during groundwork. A rearing horse is just a horse that is standing still on two legs. Most of the time (as long as both you and the horse are working at a safe distance), rearing presents no danger to a person. Often, according to Schiller, horses are taught to rear when asked to back up. It goes something like this:

Person wants horse to back up, puts pressure on horse.

Horse is lazy or searches for right answer but finds the wrong answer.

Person increases pressure.

Horse rears to escape pressure they don't understand or don't want to accept.

Person panics and releases pressure.

Horse learns that rearing is an escape/right answer. 

Person deems horse dangerous. 

Now this obviously does not mean all horses who rear have been taught to rear. Horses rear naturally in the wild or at play. The important takeaway is not to release pressure when a horse rears. I have been guilty of this with Avalon.

Schiller says not to increase pressure either, which was a new concept for me. He says to match your pressure with the horse's response. If your horse does the wrong thing, but with the right amount of energy, don't increase pressure, just hold it. If your horse does the wrong thing half-heartedly, or even the right thing without really trying, then increase pressure. And of course release as soon as you see the desired response. 

Schiller also explained how to get a horse to release anxiety when you're in the saddle. He pointed out that "you can hold back a little worry, but not much" with direct rein pressure. The best thing is to allow the horse to walk forward on a small circle, keeping a bend in their body. As soon as the horse relaxes, allow them to rest. If the horse tries to stop before it truly relaxes and bends, keep it moving. Schiller quoted Buck Brannaman's saying, "they stop to hold the brace." He emphasized that it's important to practice putting a bend in the horse at a walk. When the horse relaxes at the walk, let it rest and then move on to the trot, likewise with the canter. He made a point of saying that you should practice this exercise before entering a show or spooky place. "Don't wait until there is a problem to find a solution."

Some highlights from my notebook:

• Work where the horse wants to be (i.e. gate) everywhere else, leave the horse alone
• Don't go to bed angry (Don't let frustration toward your horse build up inside of you)
• "Don't wait for a problem to find a solution"
• In order to bend, a horse has to relax
• Watch the inside fore, if it is pivoting, the horse isn't relaxing
• It helps to circle an object (tree, barrel) to keep a tight, round circle
• Reward the slightest try

I watched two drill teams perform at the expo this year. My blurry pictures don't do them justice. It was fascinating. 

There were also some beautiful horses in the breed parades. I didn't get very good pictures sadly. There was one grey Arabian stud that was a champion of something. It might have been dressage, I don't remember. I do remember that he and his rider proudly demonstrated flying lead changes up and down the entire arena during the breed demos. I was impressed. I have barely learned flying lead changes and they are so difficult!

To finish the day, I watched yet another Warwick Schiller demo. This time, he focused on the energy  human beings bring into the equation. The horse he used was a client's horse that he had turned into an "I'm fine" horse in his clinics before he changed his method of training. He created a shut down horse by ignoring its anxiety and not acknowledging it. He showed the audience a horse can look away without looking at anything. This is the horse saying it doesn't want to mentally connect. It isn't distracted by a horse or spooky object, it is avoiding any communication with the handler. 

Again he mentioned passive leadership. I believe he said he found the concept from someone named Mark, so I googled it. It looks like Mark Rashid has a few resources if passive leadership interests you. Basically, it is the idea that you can be the leader and still give the horse autonomy and choices. Instead of trying to force the horse to listen, Schiller asked it to mentally connect. If the horse said no, that was okay, he would just ask again. 

The concept of energy seems to be something Warwick Schiller just discovered. I've been familiar with it for a while, but I'm always glad to see someone promoting it. He said he is learning to be intentional about everything he wants the horse to do and visualize it before he gives a cue. Before anything else, you raise your energy, because in Schiller's words, "Energy is the first ask."