Weanlings and the Show Ring
(chapter 3)
Patience
and persistence are required to prepare a weanling for the show ring. A
horse starts life knowing nothing whatsoever of what will be expected and each
and every thing that we want them to know must be taught. Each step
prepares him for the next and if his early schooling is not properly handled he
will not make the progress that is expected of him or of which he is
capable. The attention span of a young horse is about 10 minutes. In that
time you must teach, reward and love them so that when you go to the field or
stall each day to get them out they are eager to work.
There
are absolutely no shortcuts to proper training. It takes time,
determination and work which must be balanced against the understanding of the
limitations a young horse has to absorb the information you are trying to
convey to him.
It is
important to understand the behavior of horses in general. The mare will
let her baby play but once the youngster steps out of line, discipline will
surely follow. Before the first lessons can begin trust must be established
with the youngster as well as an understanding of a certain “code of
conduct.”
Horses
learn quickly and easily when they are calm. Once they know what to do to
please, they seem to take pleasure in pleasing us. They not only become
our willing servant but they learn to trust and once
they trust they will usually do what we want even when they might be frightened
to do it.
Some
horses learn faster than others. Athletic abilities also vary as do
emotions, attentiveness and sensitivity to signals from the handler. It
is your job to understand and get to know your pupil because no two will ever
be the same.
In the
beginning stages of working with your baby it is important to provide a
suitable environment where fear responses and distracting stimuli are minimal
and where correct responses can be best ensured. Once the fundamentals
have been learned you can continue your training in other environments.
Parking Out
Teaching
the park is not hard you just have to be patient and be consistent in the cues
that you give to help your baby understand the job.
Always
begin by standing to the side holding the lead and the halter in your left
hand. This frees up your right hand to move the body into position.
When asking for the back legs to be parallel with each other pull or turn the
head slightly towards your body and push the his ribs or side onto the away
foot. As soon as the right back foot moves parallel with the left, push the
head back straight and pat the shoulder, telling him “good job.” If he
begins to move his back legs or changes his position repeat the exercise as
many times as you can without frustrating him. Remember teaching him
widen the stance of his back legs and stand quietly may be all you do for the
first couple of lessons.
After
you have established a consistent quiet willingness to hold the stance of the
hind legs you can begin working with the front legs. Assuming your
position at the side and using your foot, push/lift the hoof nearest you
forward and put it down on the ground. Give the command to “stay” and
praise him with a pat on the shoulder. To establish the placement of the
right foot, put your right arm over his shoulder and push with your fingers on
the lower part of the shoulder pulling him just off balance so that he will
pick up his foot and move forward. You can use your right foot to help
move him into position. Again, as soon as the foot is in place praise him
and give him a pat on the shoulder. This establishes exact cues for your
youngster to understand what you want.
Once he
has learned to park out and stand quietly, bring another adult horse to him and
make him stand perfectly still and pay attention to you and only you.
Have words that you say over and over to him when working such as: “you are OK,
I am right here.” Speak softly and maintain physical contact with him to
provide him with a feeling of safety. Comforting words will help him
handle a perceived bad situation by permitting him to revert back to a calmer
place in his training. Move the adult horse all around the youngster,
front to back, both sides. If he moves, start over with the park and try
again.
LUNGEING AND LONG
When
you begin your training sessions, have a routine in mind. There is no
better work than just hand walking your baby as much as you can. Lungeing, circles and serpentines do not compare to long
walking and relaxation. Keep the sessions short and always remember to
praise when the job has been done correctly. Always keep your baby interested
in the job at hand. A bored baby is a naughty baby. Make the work
fun!
Working
a baby is best done off lead in a round pen so he can move around freely.
Not everyone has this option and lungeing is acceptable
but only in strict moderation taking precaution to reverse or change your
direction often. I am speaking from personal experience and young horses
that are worked beyond their physical limitations on the lunge line or worked
on a lunge line that requires them to move in small circles develop all sorts
of troubles with their legs and these often lead to damage that remains for
life. Keep it short! Keep the circles big!
After
permitting an opportunity for him to relax begin leading him in small circles
to the right and left. Give voice and body commands to teach him the
direction he is going. When going to the right, lift your left hand,
holding the end of the lead in front of your body so he can see your hand and
say: “right.” This is a cue for him to go right. When going to the left, bring your left hand behind your back and pivot left,
saying “left” at the same time.
Serpentines
are great for back end work. Walking serpentines require the colt to
change his hind leg stride causing the inside leg to move more under him.
This will help loosen the stride and result in a more fluid movement.
The big moment…..the
Show Ring!
Preparing
your weanling for the show ring is very tiring for him. You have bathed
him, braided in the ribbons, painted his hoofs and doused him with lots of Show
Sheen, lunged him and walked him. You are excited; he is tired and
mentally fatigued. Be sure to let him rest or have some time in his stall
by himself.
DO NOT
OVER
It will
happen from time to time -- a baby will take off or become very scared in the
ring. Stay calm, repeat your soothing words and try to restore order!
If you
are in a large arena and the judge has asked you only to use a small portion of
it, always remember to use wide curves. A baby that is being asked to
turn sharp curves will hitch in the corners. If everyone else in the
class is making the curve sharp you go wide to get the best performance you
can.
As you
approach the line up, look around for the best possible place to show your
colt. Don’t hurry him into the park and don’t let the judge hurry
you. If you are first in line and the judge approaches do not panic, stay
slow and calm and do your best. Most judges will wait until you are ready
and sometimes they will come back to the beginning. If the judge is
patient and allows you to set your baby up, thank him for showing you that
courtesy.
Don’t
be shy to show your baby off in the line up. Use your whip to touch his
nose, and/or wave it in the air remembering not to scare the other horses
around you. Bring the whip behind your back so he can see it coming up
behind your shoulder. Use the dirt on the ground to entice the
ears. You can put the dirt to their nose and they will often react to the
smell. Another trick is to lower yourself under his line of view.
He will look curiously down at you and perk up his ears. Never stop
showing your horse until you know for sure that the judge’s card has been
turned in for tally. That last glance could be a tiebreaker! This
also instills and confirms the idea that when he is in the ring that showing is
all business.
When
the cards have been turned in, approach your baby with warm praise, a hug or a
soft blow of air in their nose, whatever your sign is that tells him he was
great and he did a good job!