Question for Halter Obstacle showers

[Whitewave]

My questions are ... What do you like to see in Halter obstacle ,please stat why

What do you Do Not like to see in Halter Obstacle , why ?

I am doing obstacle class again this year for our club's AMHR show and think I have the class ready but would love some input from those that show in this class often as I love to show in Halter Obstacle too.

Thanks for your time..Jennifer Hanson - Tomey

 

[Al B]

My pet peeve is the hand waving and finger snapping.

 

[txminipinto]

My pet peeve is the hand waving and finger snapping.

AMEN!

 

[Jessica_06]

Are you asking what type of obstacles we like?

 

[Whitewave]

oh gee sorry should have said "what type of Obstacles do you or dont' you like" LOL

I do agree with the hand waving and finger snaping ...but for some that are hearing impaired it seems to help them tell their horse what to do , i knowa few who are and they use hand slapping on leg and snapping of fingers and I know one who has taught his horse himself using hand signals very cool to watch.

Thanks again Jennifer

 

[nbark]

my favorites are trotting over blue tarp, backing through and L and then sidepassing the long part back and forth, hula hoop for turn on the forehand and haunces and a bridge.

 

[Keri]

I design them for my club also. My biggest thing I found I hate (not even showing in it) is the hoola hoop. I hate how it bounces up and hits the horses legs or I have to half bury it for the driving part (not to mention straightening it every time). I'm going to have hubby cut me a circle out of plywood to use instead this year. And it would be something new as it makes noise when they place their feet on it. Others have used flour to make a wide circle and then you just brush it away when you're done. I had a judge tell me her dislike of the hoola hoop at the first show I ever designed for.

Funny thing....I had horses ground tie on a blue tarp at one show. One gelding decided that was the perfect place to relieve himself while his owner (a cute girl) walked around him. Then she proceeded to have to wait until he was done and then move on. What a wet mess! I had to flip the tarp over so that others could use it. Keeping a tarp handy for instances like this is a great idea!

I built a teeter totter bridge also. Boy, was that a controversial peice! I used the rough side of the plywood and screwed it down to a large log. It raised just a few inches off the ground. I had judges and the steward look at it and they approved. Most people thought the wood would snap (which it was a very thick peice of plywood that they use on floors when building your house). I assured them that I had my 46" shetland gelding bouncing up and down on it and not a thing happened. It wasn't until the exhibitors started trying it that they realized I was right and it actually was a great peice. So use your imagination and test everything for safety at home. Then when exhibitors voice their opinions, you can tell them its already been tested out.

 

[Jessica_06]

I like Obstacles that are tough and creative, it seems that is something this area lacks sometimes, is a hard course, I like to see obstacles like the car wash (walking through streamers), side passing with both directions, jugs filled with rocks over the back, and I'm sure there's plenty of others (mind blank ) I don't think there's an obstacle I don't like as long as you follow the rule book You'll be fine, Good Luck

~Jessica

 

[targetsmom]

I love halter obstacle (or trail in hand in Pinto). I prefer a course that is hard, but not so hard that people get disqualified. I like it when everyone is given a chance to try everything. I also love to see the horse challenged in a variery of ways - something scary (e.g waterfall obstacle, teeter totter bridge, chickens in a cage, shaking a bag of cans), something requiring tight manuevering (backthrough and/or sidepass an L), something that measures obedience (e.g trotting over raised poles or around cones) and something that shows actual "trail sense" (like lowering head to walk over a bridge or tarp, opening a gate).

Now if you want a real challenge, offer a hands-free obstacle class! I haven't done that, only watched, and it was tons of fun to watch!

 

[Naira3284]

I love when it is a bit of a challenge. I LOVE the obstacles at the AMHR nationals, they always have something odd in the mix.

the only thing I hate are ground poles, They always seem to be spaced for the little stepping guys, my horses tent to have a big trot, so they try to take 2 at a time, never works out.

Just use your imagination!

 

[Sandee]

The teeter totter bridge is good for a point show.

Also something that's unfamiliar like the stuffed pretend snake that was about 8-10' long and maybe 10" around, laid curvy (not straight) and they had to side pass over it. A lot of horses didn't like that at all. It was fun to see which ones listened to their handler and which ones didn't.

Putting a plastic bag with cans in it or stuffed animal or saddle pad on their back (pause - remove) was another good one.

I asked them try to side pass over flower boxes with plastic flowers and got flack about it. I was doing this for a FUN show and those not used to showing didn't think it was F U N !

The harder the object the more I enjoy it but to be honest, the easier courses are the ones that are liable to "trip up" those that show a lot. They tend to "see" easy and forget to concentrate on every object.

 

[The Simple Life Farm]

I love obstacle. The harder the better. There is nothing I don't like. When a course is difficult, it really separates the men from the boys.

Difficult ideas:

Kiddie pool w/ water in it (have seen alot of horses refuse to go through it)

Ground tie

Walk an 8" plank

Ground poles (But this really is a difficult one, as each horse has a different length stride)

Hula hoop (again hard for the smaller horses when too large of hoop is used)

One thing that I do not like is having to wait for an acknowledgement from the judges before proceeding to the next obstacle. I don't understand the concept of that one. What does that have to do with the horses performance?

 

[krissy3]

I hate the hula hoop, and so do my horses . But what drives me crazy is watching people push and shove their horses around , like the side stepping , also when the people ground tie , and think its OK to let the horses just eat the grass while they run around them as fast as they can ...I believe the horse hasnt been ground trained at all , just enjoying the grass. Also, I have known people to totally deprive their horses of pasture space to run around in so they will preform well at Liberty

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I get bored with our local halter obstacle classes because it's always the same obstacles over and over and they really focus on maneuvering rather than a good mix of spook obstacles, performance obstacles AND maneuvering. I LOVED big horse trail classes, that was always my thing when I was riding. My horses all know how to do scary real-world stuff like having to carry awkward bundles, going through gates and water, having bags of cans bounced off their rumps and slung over their withers, being flapped with ponchos, doing teeter-totter bridges, etc., etc. But all we're ever asked to do is pivoting and backing and sidepassing, all of which Kody hates. Could someone PLEASE give us a course with a water box, squawking chickens, a llama, something?! I hate it that a horse who in real life will drive through heck or high water without blinking and maneuvers through active construction sites in-hand after dark with ease comes out looking like a novice next to horses who would FREAK outside the ring. It's a TRAIL class, people....

Sorry, bitter.

Still, I really do think that an in-hand obstacle class should test a horse's ability to get around things they might encounter in real life...most of which are scary, not contrived. I love the Car Wash idea, and carrying cans and such!

Leia

 

[Sandee]

................ looking like a novice next to horses who would FREAK outside the ring. It's a TRAIL class, people....

Leia

One thing that I do not like is having to wait for an acknowledgement from the judges before proceeding to the next obstacle. I don't understand the concept of that one. What does that have to do with the horses performance?

Boy, do I agree with you guys and that last one is seen so often at Nationals. What's with that anyway? It reminds me of a beauty pagent - do the obstacle, pause, pose, smile at the judge. I want to gag!

 

[Crabby-Chicken]

The BEST obstaclel I have ever seen was a round fence and in the middle was one tom turkey! The had two of these guys and they were crabby!! You had to trot a figure 8 around them!!! OMG the turkeys would follow ever horse as they went by all puffed up and panting! The judges watched those awesome turkeys more than the exhibitors. One horse knocked a lady right on her butt! NO WAY was he going over there!! It is one of my best show memories.

 

[georgiegirl]

I like the plastic kiddie pool. I got that idea from a thread that was posted earlier about halter obstacles.

I wonder how you make the bottom of the pool more secure so that the horses do not slip on it. My horses have no problem with being frightened of the pool, however, they do slip on it when walking through.

Any suggestions?

 

[Minxiesmom]

We are having an In-Hand Trail Clinic tomorrow. The list of obstacles that we came up with to practice are:

Trot over poles

Off-set back through

teeter-totter bridge

24" bridge w/turnaround

merry-go round trot over poles

rope gate

hulla hoop pivots- fore and haunch

brush on a tarp

sack of cans-pull under horse and set on back

jump

trot serpentine cones

ground tie

I will let you know how it goes and what I would change. Hopefully we will get a lot of people, but the weather is threatening snow, so who knows!!!!! Most people around here won't drive with a trailer in snow.

 

[Keri]

Okay, here's another. I always run out of creative ideas for driving obstacle. What are some that you have seen that you like. I've done the typical driving over a tarp (or backing, stopping, driving over it), driving over plywood (don't have a bridge big enough for the wide wheeled carts, so the plywood acts as a bridge, but I plan to have hubby build one), driving different figures with cones, backing into a space, stopping at a mailbox, pivoting. But what else have you done??? I need to get courses designed this year and like to use a lot of the same thing in driving as in the in-hand so I'm not bringing a lot. Need new, creative ideas.

 

[Jessica_06]

Okay, here's another. I always run out of creative ideas for driving obstacle. What are some that you have seen that you like. I've done the typical driving over a tarp (or backing, stopping, driving over it), driving over plywood (don't have a bridge big enough for the wide wheeled carts, so the plywood acts as a bridge, but I plan to have hubby build one), driving different figures with cones, backing into a space, stopping at a mailbox, pivoting. But what else have you done??? I need to get courses designed this year and like to use a lot of the same thing in driving as in the in-hand so I'm not bringing a lot. Need new, creative ideas.

I know exactly what you mean driving obstacle is very same-o same-o. I'd like to hear too!