How do you teach a horse

[Miss_Fortune]

I must be doing it wrong. I cant get my gelding to set up square or at all for that. How do you teach them to?

 

[lyn_j]

[SIZE=14pt]First you just get him to understand what whoa and stand mean....after he can do that and you can walk around him without him moving....then you start to place his feet and repeat the whoa stand comand. I teach mine on a lounge line in a round pen. they learn to stand and then I back away from them gradually working my way around them about 8 feet away from them. It takes time and doesnt happen over night.[/SIZE]

Lyn

 

[Jill]

Also, once they do understand what woah and stand (in any position, not square) means, I have the best luck when I set the hind feet first, and then the front.

 

[Miniv]

NOT an expert here! And Lyn and Jill have it right for the starters, IMO.

Having the horse know how to stand is half the battle. Another thing to teach him is how to deal with his legs being manipulated to set him up.

I personally have always tried to work at teaching a horse how to set their legs square naturally, using your lead and head guiding them. If you can walk a horse into an "almost" squared stance and praise them, then adjust them if needed......many horses will learn from repetition what you are wanting.

What I still need help with is how to have the horse stay set up (without stepping forward) and arching their neck in just the right way without over-stretching it!

(THAT is where a trainer is worth their weight in gold!)

MA

 

[nootka]

Practice w/whoa, and then make sure that horse KNOWS whoa. What I do at home is I have them whoa and then I walk to the end of the leadline and walk around my horse, not caring at first where the feet are. That horse had better be standing still if he even begins to move one foot, I say "whoa" and tug down on the lead (usually don't use a chain but on some I do, not abusively, just to remind them to listen and focus on me).

Once they can stand for at least three minutes w/out moving a foot and no matter where I walk in front of them on the lead rope, I will work on stepping up and putting feet where I want them. They also had better let me hand set feet if I need to. If that horse does start stepping out or leaning forward, then we are backing up and starting the process all over again.

I'd advise starting work on this now, and keep at it maybe once a week over the winter, and get more intense about it in the month before your show. But a few weeks before the show, cut back and just let them relax. They need to not be "overdone" on this, either, as they will burn out and get nasty many times.

When you are at the show, have a small refresher lesson and then go in the ring and see how your training has worked!!!

Liz M.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I agree with the "Whoa" and "Stand" but I never hand set. Never do with the dogs either, I just cluck and jiggle until the horse moves and then reward when they are in the right place. Takes a bit longer but you have horses that will swing into line and set up on a command and that looks impressive!! My horses know "Stand up" "Feet square" and "Watch me" my dogs know all this and "Tail down" (You don't see it you don't have to judge it

) Can't get a picture of one of my dogs tails to save my life, as soon as I stack them their tails disappear. One day, I promise, I will teach a show dog to wear her tail with pride!!

 

[kaykay]

i also like a horse that sets up without having to have the feet set by hand. But i have to agree it takes a lot more time and patientce. I had bitsy almost there but then we stopped showing due to our move.

I talked to an older ring steward and he said years ago you never saw anyone hand set their horses feet. It was always done thru the lead. He said people now are too lazy to properly train their horses. just food for thought!

Kay

 

[Minimor]

Nothing wrong with hand setting your horse's legs when you're just teaching him at home--that doesn't mean the horse can't progress to setting up without any visible signals.

I always start out by hand setting the front legs (not usually needed for the hind ones) (or back when I was showing Morgans I'd use my toe to nudge a front foot forward) but I guarantee you by the time I take the horse in the ring I do not have to hand set. It's all done with halter cues then; at most I might have to point at the offending foot & the horse places it.

Nothing more frustrating for someone just learning, trying to get a horse to learn to pose without touching the feet!

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

Nothing more frustrating for someone just learning, trying to get a horse to learn to pose without touching the feet!

475072[/snapback]

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I totally agree with this. And one has to remember that it is great your horse stands up and sets up on cues from the halter but.. they might not always do it and when a judge is one horse away and you dont have time to be messing with it sometimes you have to hand set or when a horse is in a hour long or more halter class again sometimes they get bored with listening to you.. like kids they may be great but they sure arent perfect

and I think when just learning halter it is best to do what works for you to understand and then to teach your horse you can always refine it later

 

[nootka]

Oh, I would FAR rather have a horse that did not have to be hand set, and 99% of the time I can get a horse to set up without touching feet, for sure at home it works most of the time, but then we have a case of nerves or memory loss at the show and they decide to rest one foot or cross it over or something really dumb and when the judge is asking for you to move the foot, you do what you have to do. That is why I said you need to be sure they will let you hand set if necessary, but overall, it is worth the time to get them to set up with your cues.

It does take time and patience and it seems it does not happen for me every time even when we know what we're doing, so I am still doing something wrong! *LOL*

Eventually, though, it is my opinion that the horse comes to "feel" what is right and they will pretty much hold that pose and focus on you. The "whoa" is very important, though, and you need to know their body language to know when they are about to step out and when you are losing their attention, etc., to know when to say whoa to them.

I always thought it must be the easiest thing in the world to show a horse at a stand, but then I learned just how difficult it can be.



Liz M.

 

[minih]

For us, the first thing we have been teaching ours now is PATIANCE, it was really hard to get them to stand when they didn't understand the concept of just standing for no reason (at least to them

). It has been easier teaching them to stand since we started tying them up and just letting them stay there for a while. It makes it ALOT easier at the shows also when you have more than one horse to get ready at the same time if they will stand patiantly while you run around like a chicken with your head cut off (at least I do

).

 

[susanne]

We (Mingus and I) are a work in progress, so I can give you a sort of midway report.

One is to know your horse. For all of his orneriness, Mingus is a pleaser. He is smart and willing to learn, and takes great pride in giving me what I want. My yearling Flash is more of a happy-go-lucky sort, confident that whatever he does is good and correct.

Getting a solid whoa is critical, and the biggest problem we had this year. Mingus would stand beautifully at home, but get antsy at a show and want to bury his head in my stomach. We have been working on whoa by walking/trotting/whoa-ing in halter and at liberty -- simply by voice command, up close and at a distance. Once I stand him, I make him hold that position until I release him. I back away, circle him, give treats to the other horses (that's a real test!), and and stand away from him with a loose lead.

I also learned from Liz (Nootka) the importance of maintaining a good pose at all times in the ring, and then really sparking when the judge is right there.

Mingus understood "stand" right off the bat, but it took awhile to position his feet correctly. Since he is AMHR and looks very Shetland, he looks best slightly stretched, and he tends to do this naturally. Remember the old saying with kids of catching them doing something right? When he stands at the fence, he stands beautifully, neck stretched but arched, back legs slightly parked, front legs perfectly square, so I tell him to stand and reward him for what he is already doing. It works like a charm.

As for placing feet, I tell him to stand, then if necessary hand place his feet, all the while saying "Feet." After I position his feet, he tends to not put his weight back on that foot, but Liz showed me the trick of pressing down slightly on that hip so that they distribute their weight evenly. He now moves into the correct position upon command on his own most of the time, and if a leg is out of position, I say "Feet" and he corrects on his own. We're not 100%, but he's getting there.

At one of our shows, a Shetland owner told me that they give their horses treats over the stall gate or over the fence, thus encouraging them to stretch and "hook." This is working well for us, but then our fence is just the right height.

A trick I learned from Amy (Clickmini), is to use clicker training to get them to touch their chin to your hand, and then slowly move your hand back so that they arch their necks nicely. Mingus picked up on this one instantly.

Mingus is such a ham, and responds to the word "BEAUTIFUL!" as if I had said "Here's a wole bucket of grain just for you!" I'm using this to get him to really spark when he trots beside me. He has such a fast extended trot that I think he finds it boring to trot at my pace -- but with "head up" and "BEAUTIFUL," he's getting the idea to turn it on.

I really like playing up on his unique character. He's a very spirited horse, a bit on the hot side, but quick to learn and very bonded to us. I want to harness that energy and make it work for him, and make certain that he always enjoys showing off.

It will be very interesting training Flash -- he's such a cuddly puppy dog that I have to use a different approach, but he, too, is a quick study and very focused. And talk about an extreme change from relaxed, lazy pasture pet to upheaded show stance...and all the while, Thelonius gets treats and kisses for nosing the soccer ball and for just being my darling.

This winter is going to be fun!

I hope this helps just a little bit.

 

[Miss_Fortune]

Thanks for all the information. Ill start working on it soon. Hopefully tomarrow. Thanks again.

 

[Marty]

I set up my minis the way I taught my quarter horses and that's by the halter and I give them a cue at the withers to move the left side or the right side, front or the back.

Cause I don't wanna have to bend over and manipulate with my hands too much. It's way to risky for a lady with a big fat rear ya know? The law of gravity takes hold .................. Help! I've tumbled over and I can't get up.......... Not a pretty site......

You should see me clean feet.

It's criminal.

 

[Erica]

You have to have the horse respect you and your space and understand the concept of Whoa. That is basically it I think - from that point, you either has a horse that enjoys and wants to show (as in ears and neck) or one that would rather not be out in the ring.

And I for one Prefer to hand set my horses -- just because I want them perfect....even if I have a horse that gets close to setting up themselves, I still want to make sure they are standing as close to perfect. JMO

 

[choklitbean]

How I was taught to get them to set their feet right (after they learn to stand still) was to tap the hoof you wanted moved gently with your toe until they set it where you wanted, then you praise them and pet them. After they learn to place it correctly you tap further and further back from the hoof until you can stand in front of your horse and point with your toe to the offending foot (front or hind) and they will automatically place it correctly. You combine halter cues with this until they'll set up with a little jiggle in the right direction.

I was also shown how to set the hind legs by using pressure points on the chest. If you press on the right side at the very base of the neck you can move the left hind and vice versa. I didn't like using this method as much personally, but I know a few others who prefered it.