"Gliding" the trot in halter?..

I was looking into showing this year and have plenty of work to do in hand with the minis. I'd love to get Remi going and of course Coal back in show shape... My question is in halter (or Showmanship) a particular trainer I follow "slinks" when she has the mini trot. I guess, "glide" is a little better term for it lol.

I really like the way this gal gets her horses moving with her body and would give anything to shadow with her for a month!

What do you do in halter/showmanship when trotting? Like the clip, fast walk or jog? I'm clueless and the show I intended to shadow with Coal's old owner got rained out. I'm such a show wuss...

I think one of the cues is her holding the lead rope next to his head. And I think some horses can do this better than others.

One tip told me by trainers is to match my steps to the horse's stride. If a trainer continually does this, the horse learns to lengthen or shorten its stride with the handler's steps. The two work as one. But it is the handler, not the horse, that matches the stride during training.

When I was involved in dog training many years ago, I recall handlers in the class who were fierce competitors. They would go through dog after dog until they found one that was perfect. I remember one handler lamenting that she had finally found the perfect performing dog but, alas, he was not registered.

I personally do not like that ridiculous "shuffle" that you call a glide. it looks silly and even clumsy. In halter it would be about conformation of course but in showmanship if I were judging I would mark down any exhibitor who moved that way--knees bent and body hunkered down. Stand up straight and look elegant.

How I show--I jog properly, so my horse trots out. Too many exhibitors look like they are showing a dog rather than a horse--it is one thing I dislike about mini shows.

Minimor said:

I personally do not like that ridiculous "shuffle" that you call a glide. it looks silly and even clumsy. In halter it would be about conformation of course but in showmanship if I were judging I would mark down any exhibitor who moved that way--knees bent and body hunkered down. Stand up straight and look elegant.

How I show--I jog properly, so my horse trots out. Too many exhibitors look like they are showing a dog rather than a horse--it is one thing I dislike about mini shows.

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While I don't show, I so agree. That shuffle looks awful to me. I wonder if exhibitors are trying to make themselves look smaller or something, since they are showing small horses. [Didn't really think about it til you mentioned it, but it does look like how many dog handlers move, and I don't like it there either.]

Hinestly--a couple years ago I was at a show--I went to the arena and from behind the audience all I could see were the handlers' upper bodies--watching that I would have guessed they were leading dogs, not horses. LOL such a turn off!

I don't like the glide/shuffle either. I show in halter and showmanship stand up straight with good posture and try to trot them out with my gait being as natural as possible, trying to make it look like we are a cohesive pair and are working in sync. But it does not always happen that way, lol. It took over a year for my pony and I to really tune in to each other during showmanship, the minis are still a work in progress.

ETA: In showmanship when it calls for a jog/trot in the pattern the handler should also appear to be changing gait and trotting with the animal. I have gotten marked down (way down) for walking during the trot part of the showmanship pattern even though the mini was trotting.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who dislikes that glide/shuffle. It just looks awkward to me and perhaps a lot of it has to do with the hunkering over to boot and just doesn't flow.

Thank you for the feedback !

I despise that glide/shuffle thing some people do. It looks like you're cowering instead of proud. I think it came around from amateurs trying to not "bounce" when they run. Trainers say bend your knees and absorb the bounce and it turns into the glide/shuffle thing. I find a good fast walk in showmanship usually is enough to have my "A" size crew trotting. New horses need me to jog a bit to begin with to learn to stay with me.

Marsha Cassada said:

I think one of the cues is her holding the lead rope next to his head. And I think some horses can do this better than others.

One tip told me by trainers is to match my steps to the horse's stride. If a trainer continually does this, the horse learns to lengthen or shorten its stride with the handler's steps. The two work as one. But it is the handler, not the horse, that matches the stride during training.

When I was involved in dog training many years ago, I recall handlers in the class who were fierce competitors. They would go through dog after dog until they found one that was perfect. I remember one handler lamenting that she had finally found the perfect performing dog but, alas, he was not registered.

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I agree about the lead rope Marsha. She also uses her left hand to cue movement away from her body as well.

I apprenticed with a professional show dog handler too. I was taught the same thing....match my stride to my dog's to bring out the best in him. In my early days, I lost a group placement when handling a Bouvier in her first group. I'd just finished her final major at this same show...it was my first time to finish a dog's championship and I was excited!! Since she had NOT been expected to take the Breed at this show (timid dog, apprentice handler and 3 Champions in the Breed class) I was allowed to show her in the Group ring. In my excitement, I tried to keep up with some of the other herding dogs, instead of handling her at the gait she showed best at, a smooth ground-covering and business-like lumber. She broke her gait and we didn't place. Fortunately, her owner was just as excited as we were and forgave the blunder.

My point to this bit of a story is...know your animal and show him to his best advantage. Don't do something because the pros or winning handlers are doing it. It might not be the best way to show off your horse.

First thing I noticed, the "little old lady bent over with arthritis" shuffle looks silly and detracts from the horse. The second thing - after attending shows for the better part of 50 years, the last 25 with minis - when going over an obstacle, you become an obstacle for your horse when you hold their head so close up and tight. The horse's eyes are not in front like humans. They have to be able to tip their head and lower it a bit to see where to put their feet. This horse probably has been over the same obstacle a million times to it is muscle memory but when confronted with something brand new, they have to be able to see it. I quit watching at that point because it annoyed me.

The horse isn't actually attached to the lead in the video, it's folded in the gal's hand and held close to his head.

chandab said:

The horse isn't actually attached to the lead in the video, it's folded in the gal's hand and held close to his head.

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I think that is part of the cue. I think I will try that with mine. If they think they are on a lead rope, they pay more attention than if I am just walking beside them.

Actually, the horse in the video does not look happy and relaxed; he looks rather stressed. He might have been trained on a stud chain, which isn't a bad thing, just something to think about.

Marsha Cassada said:

I think that is part of the cue. I think I will try that with mine. If they think they are on a lead rope, they pay more attention than if I am just walking beside them.

Actually, the horse in the video does not look happy and relaxed; he looks rather stressed. He might have been trained on a stud chain, which isn't a bad thing, just something to think about.

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I didn't think he looked very happy either, but he's not a lead, so conceivably could leave.

I haven't read everyone's replies yet, but I personally do not like the look of that bent knee waddle. My mother learned to show (QH's) that way and they called it the "I've messed my drawers" walk. I will never understand why you do that with the big horses as well, you can get a good gliding run without the weird stance. You just need to place your feet as gently as possible, and yes bend your knees to absorb your movement, but not noticeably.

I am NO pro, just been showing a long time, but to get my horses listening to my body is to gesture. If I want to move up to a jog, I BRIEFLY bend at the knees and lean forward SLIGHTLY and that cues that we're moving up. If we're slowing down or stopping I posture my top half up just a bit higher than it was and relax my hands just a touch and that cues them to pay attention and slow.

For the mini, I do the same thing, but instead of me moving up to a jog, I just stay at a speed walk haha. Hope this post makes even a little bit of sense.

Silver City Heritage Farmstead said:

My point to this bit of a story is...know your animal and show him to his best advantage. Don't do something because the pros or winning handlers are doing it. It might not be the best way to show off your horse.

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A great point indeed I was really impressed with how responsive her horses were to moving with her and around her. I'm lost in the world of Halter/Showmanship or in-hand obstacle courses. I don't know what is right or wrong so when it appears someone is quite fluent I'm quick to want to jump in and shadow. When I shared the video with a friend of mine she mentioned the same thing, reminded me I didn't need to shadow her to accomplish what my guys are capable of. Just time and commitment. When it comes to showing I just want to know I'm doing my horses a favor, the ribbons are nice, but not what I want to go for. I want to get comfortable in the environment and continue to grow where I'm unfamiliar.

I didn't care for her posture or movement, but was impressed by the horses ability to move with her so fluidly. Even when her stride/posture was quite a distraction. It caught my attention, but not in a way that was favorable. It just didn't look like it was comfortable or complimentary toward the horse. It was just a distraction, almost like she was in slo-mo and the horse was moving normally. It tweaked my OCD a bit

Coal's old owner has offered to school me in in-hand classes/obstacles, she is very traditional in her approach and I do look forward to being educated.

All I remember is doing halter class once and I did miserably. I tried to stay out of the judges way and kept getting in the way. I'm not one that handles disappointment well and I was very hard on myself because I knew I was clueless and wrong. Probably didn't help that the gelding I had kept kicking out for some unknown reason O_O.

KLJcowgirl, that is how I get my guys to spend up or slow down, with a slight change of posture. It's amazing how some of them can tune in to the subtleties of body language.

I can't bend my knees though unless I want to fall flat on my face! Age do something to them.

Has no one but me been penalized for not "trotting" with the horse during the trot part of the pattern. I am curious about that.

Squeaks, google "showmanship quarter system" and you will find some good videos showing how to work around the horse when the judge is judging.

It is THE hardest part of the class for me. I still goof it up sometimes if the judge is quick or backtracks.

I show in mostly unrated shows and this is the "system" that they usually judge by. I do not know if it is used at the rated mini shows.

Cayuse said:

KLJcowgirl, that is how I get my guys to spend up or slow down, with a slight change of posture. It's amazing how some of them can tune in to the subtleties of body language.

I can't bend my knees though unless I want to fall flat on my face! Age do something to them.

Has no one but me been penalized for not "trotting" with the horse during the trot part of the pattern. I am curious about that.

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I haven't showed my mini long enough to find out haha, only been to two shows, and messed up enough during the last one that my walking wouldn't have even mattered haha.