Canter leads

So many times when a horse does not pick up a canter lead, we blame the horse. Yet our horses go out to their pastures or turnout every day, and pick up both canter leads; heck, they even do flying changes! Sidenote: it is important to note though that horses, just as people, will have a preferred lead. Sometimes it is a balance issue, particularly with a young horse who is still learning to handle itself and a rider's weight (especially in an arena, with corners). Often however, the reason a horse is not picking up a lead might be because of its rider!

I have been taught, throughout my riding career, a whole variety of techniques to get a horse to pick up the correct lead. Crank his head around to the outside to free up his inside shoulder, push the hind end to the inside, ask him on a corner, canter him on the wrong lead on a small circle until he offers to pick up the correct lead. While some of these do have tidbits of truth to them, many techniques just end up causing the rider to sit in a position that unbalances the horse (like sitting forward over a shoulder) and/or unbalance the horse directly.

So how do we get those correct leads? Some tips and exercises:

Reflect what you want your horse to do

Your horse is a reflection of you, so it only makes sense that what you want your horse to do, you should also do. Translation? If you want your horse to pick up the inside lead, "lead" with your own inside shoulder and hip as you ask for the canter. Place your inside hand just ahead of your outside hand, allowing your outside shoulder to lag. Look to the outside wall even if it helps. Try to keep the positioning as natural and relaxed as possible, remain on your seatbones (as opposed to tilted forward onto your crotch) and evenly balanced, and relax. With a young horse, you can be a little more obvious in your movement and refine as you go along (to the point where an observer would not spot your hip and shoulder movements as you quietly and minutely shift).

Where a horse's weight sits

A horse's weight shifts throughout gaits: from 60/40 (60 percent on the forehand, 40 on the hind) at the walk/halt, 50/50 at the trot, 40/60 at the canter (40 on the forehand, 60 percent on the hind), and 51-70 percent of the weight shifted forward at the gallop. Keeping this in mind can ensure that you also shift your weight appropriately and remain balanced in an independent seat, so as to best help your horse. When asking the horse to pick up the canter, shift your weight onto your seatbones slightly to encourage and allow your horse to do the same.

Keep in mind as well how a horse travels in the canter

First to hit is the outside hind, second being the inside hind and outside fore hitting in unison. Lastly, the inside fore hits to complete the 3 beats of a canter. So, if you aim your horse's hindquarter, you can encourage him to pick up the correct lead. This is why teaching your horse to yield his hindquarters can be so important. I teach the hindquarter yield as part of a three-part maneuver.

The 3-part maneuver:

I do this on a loose rein, in a rope hackamore (no bosal or shanks), but it can also be done with a gentle snaffle (use a full-cheek snaffle on a young horse if you are using a bit).

The bend

1. Pick the reins up high off your horse's neck, in the middle of the rein, and lift the rein directly up - with only one hand (your other hand can be slack at your side). This gives your horse notice that you are about to ask something (because normally the rein rests above the horse's neck in a loose and "neutral" position).

2. Still holding the rein up with one rein, "trombone" your other hand (run your hand up and down softly, mimicking a trombone player) up and down the rein 3 times (this is phase one, lightly asking your horse to bend his neck).

3. Pinch the rein, halfway down, with your thumb and forefinger (phase 2)

4. As you softly draw the rein towards you, slowly start adding your other fingers onto the rein to ultimately create a closed fist over the rein (phases 3,4,5).

5. Draw the rein in your fist to your thigh with your thumb facing out and your fingers facing up (phase 6) - as if you were stabbing the middle of your thigh with a knife.

Remember to keep your body relaxed, your weight balanced and equal, and your hands soft. KEEP YOUR EYES UP. If your horse fights you, go with him - allow your hand to follow, then immediately gently bring it back in a give and take motion. This is called having an elastic elbow. When your horse gives the slightest try, reward him by releasing; eventually ask for more and more. Your end goal is for your horse to soften and to swing his head around by your leg - and keep it there - when you ask, on a loose rein. Do not release on a tight rein (though your elbow can be elastic if your horse is especially resistant - maintain contact and continue to re-ask without release), wait for the release then release the rein.

Turn on the forehand

Once the bend is soft, move onto the next part of the maneuver - the turn on the forehand...hindquarter control. From the bend, lift your hand from your thigh up to your belly button, fingers facing up and thumb facing out in the fist (as if stabbing your belly button with a knife). This lifts your horse's nose up and helps encourage your horse to think about moving his hindquarters. Shift your weight slightly to your outside seatbone (on the opposite side of the bend), just as you are asking of your horse. Slide your inside leg back slightly and turn to glare at your horse's hindquarters. Hold your position. Release at the slightest try, even if it is just a weight shift at first. If your horse doesn't move, make the right answer easy and the wrong answer hard by making him uncomfortable just standing - you can switch hands so that your outside hand is holding the rein (in the same position, without releasing the rein) and your inside hand is free. While holding your position, gently tap your horse's hip with your hand or with a rein end and increase the pressure. You can also bump with your legs instead. If he starts struggling with his head, decrease the pressure down to a pressure that keeps him thinking, but does not over-pressure him. As soon as he tries, release and start all over again. Be careful your weight is not thrown around so that it throws your horse off balance - this is a very common rider error that will greatly affect your horse. The ultimate goal is for your horse's front feet to remain within a small circle (ie, a foot or two in diameter) and to pivot, while your horse's hind legs cross to disengage and travel along the outside of a circle. Your horse should not be taking actual steps forward (or back).

Work on the ground to develop lightness in your horse as well - whatever you have on the ground decreases by 1/2 in the saddle, so if you create a superhorse on the ground, you'll have a pretty responsive partner in the saddle! Developing the Driving game (having your horse move his feet by applying pressure to various areas of his space via body language) and the Porcupine game (teaching your horse to move off of physical pressure) to where they are light and your horse is respectful, will aid in teaching him the three-part maneuver in the saddle. Check out the 7 Games on the Parelli website.

Turn on the hindquarter

The last part of the three part maneuver is the turn on the hindquarter. Once the bend and the turn on the fore are soft, take your hand from your belly button and hold it straight out from your shoulder (so that your arm is perfectly horizontal and straight out), thumb facing forward. This rein position tips your horse's nose up and helps him lift his inside shoulder, which is key. Keep your seatbones weighted evenly, slide your outside leg (the leg opposite the direction of movement) forward slightly (cueing the forehand to move over), and hold. If your horse does not move, you can gently pressure his shoulder with a carrot stick or rein end (something that extends your arm) or by bumping him gently with your legs - soft rythmic pressure that increases until your horse moves. Again, groundwork will greatly contribute to your under-saddle work. The ultimate goal (although not necessarily what you achieve on first try!) is to have your horse's hinds pivot and remain within a small circle, say a couple feet in diameter - his hinds should not travel in actual steps forward or back. The inside shoulder should lift and the outside foreleg cross over the inside foreleg (ultimately).

Another position from which you can ask for the turn on the haunches is from the back up (as opposed to from the turn on the forehand as part of the 3-part maneuver). Ask your horse gently to back a few steps then when you feel him sitting on his haunches, use the aforementioned cues to ask for the pivot on the haunches.

Taking it a step up

Once your horse understands the three-part maneuver and is soft, you can "glue" the three movements together into one smooth maneuver. Once the yields are mastered at the halt, start asking for the hindquarter and shoulder yields at the walk (then trot and canter once the walk is mastered). Introduce shoulder-in's, travers, etc. Once you've mastered hindquarter control at the walk, you can then take it up into the trot to set your horse up to pick up the correct canter lead!

The Bowtie

I'll leave you with one last exercise (from the Parelli Lead Changes DVD) that can get your horse thinking in the right direction: the Bowtie.

The Bowtie is essentially a Figure-8, with the changes in direction along the rail so that it resembles a "bowtie". Horses are pattern animals, which is why they are so helpful to teaching your horse various maneuvers and getting him to think in the right direction. The bowtie gets your horse thinking in the right direction and thus aiming his hindquarters towards the corner that will enable him to pick up the correct lead. The pattern:

Like I said, it is essentially a Figure-8, but instead of doing the change in direction in the middle of the pattern, do them along the wall. Start at the trot with a soft and supple horse, picking up the canter each time you head toward the wall and dropping it again as you move off the wall. You're looking for the horse's hindquarters to aim for the next corner. Later you can, on a straight line (though start on a serpentine that you gradually straighten into a line), simply aim the appropriate hind foot for the lead you want; for example, aim the left hind for the left lead. Use the cues and weight shifts discussed above...and for a more in-depth description, check out the Parelli Lead Changes DVD...there's only so much that I can describe here, on paper, without you actually being able to see it for yourself :)

Remember: don't tip your horse's nose (at least not excessively) and remember that setting your horse up is only one part of the deal; positioning yourself is equally important (perhaps even moreso). For an idea, I took Cody (our new Paint) out for a trail ride and, out in the middle of some fields (no fence or wall), I asked him to pick up the canter. Each time I asked him to pick up the canter, I positioned my hips and shoulders according to which lead I wanted him to pick up. I used no other cues (he was on a loose rein, I kept my legs even) and we were on a straight line going up and down hills. Each and every time he picked up the lead I was "asking" for, just due to the position of my hips and shoulders! Our position up in that saddle makes a drastic difference to our horses.

Leg yields

Leg yielding with Jane Savoie:



Remember to create a 'tunnel' with your aids - hands on either side of the neck (NEVER crossing over the neck), legs on each side of the horse. The leg yield should be equal sideways with equal forward movement.

When interpreting Savoie's aids, remember that the 'inside' is the side inside the bend, or concave side of the bend (always). The 'outside' of the horse and therefore the outside aids, is the side outside or bulging/convex side of the bend (always).

Personally, I do not vibrate or squeeze and release the inside rein. I like to offer that contact and feel the horse come through and onto the bit without releasing. However both methods work so figure out what works best for you and your horse!

In a nutshell: your inside rein tips the horse's nose just slightly to the inside. The inside leg is behind the girth, specifically instructing the haunches to move sideways - while the shoulders of the horse may lead slightly (as Savoie mentions), it is the inside haunch that drives under the horse to push him over sideways. The outside leg is at the girth and is supporting. The outside rein is also supportive. You are driving inside leg to outside rein - you are driving the haunch beneath the horse and are channeling that impulsion through the horse, over his back, and into your hands - to your outside hand. Contact should be even on both reins - if you find your rein length changes, apply appropriate leg aids to correct the horse, not rein (it is never about the rein, the reins are merely supportive and guiding, so corrections should always be made with the application of leg).

If you feel the horse lead too far with his shoulders (his shoulders 'fall out' - in this case he will also have excessive bend if your reins remain even), drive the inside haunch further beneath the horse by applying more leg behind the girth on the inside, or you can also gently apply a slight amount of pressure or a brief and gentle 'bump' with your outside leg just in front of the girth (just sort of a reminder to the horse: hey buddy, not so far with the shoulders - thanks!). Ultimately, correcting the haunches on the inside will likely be most effective. Do either while also closing your outside hand and essentially 'closing that door' to the horse so he cannot fall through that leg and hand. The preceding drives the haunches further underneath the horse and therefore as a direct result causes the shoulder to lift and corrects their falling out. The latter (applying outside leg) instructs the horse to stop falling out in that moment (then you resume your appropriate aids). If the horse leads with his haunches or is too straight, you are likely applying too much inside leg. Last reminder - do not correct with rein, correct with leg.

If the horse slows, simply open your hands and allow him to move a few steps forward, freely. Then re-ask for the leg yield. Your horse may slow and even resist if he does not understand what you are asking or if he lacks balance and strength to perform the maneuver - that's okay! Expect a lot, reward little. Reward what you do get, even if at first it is only a shift off the track or a few steps of leg yield. When first introducing this exercise to a young horse, ask for only a few steps at a time - few steps leg yield, forward a few steps, few steps leg yield, few steps forward... do not drill. Ask, reward, move on to the next exercise. If your horse resists initially, maintain the proper position (ie, aids) and wait - ask, ask, ask, (WITHOUT RELEASING) then reward (release!) as soon as there is some progress, even if it is only the slightest try. Reward with a release of pressure (allowing the horse to move forward or even walking on a loose rein and allowing him to stretch afterward). Most young horses are not going to perform the maneuver as nicely and correctly as Savoie's horse does in the above video, initially. Ask for the maneuver and refine it with a straighter, more correct and through and supple horse, as you develop the maneuver over several sessions.

To set the horse up initially, you may circle at one corner of the arena, achieve the appropriate bend, then drive the horse sideways from there. Initially I teach the leg yield at the walk but proceed to the trot rather soon - as soon as the horse 'gets it'. At the trot, you have more impulsion to channel and guide. Most exercises are easiest when performed at the trot.

To teach the horse the appropriate skills and aids for the leg yielding exercise, you can start on the ground with teaching the horse to release to pressure - turns on the forehand and turns on the haunches, specifically. Remember to apply pressure in phases - phase 1, 2, 3, 4... make your phases long initially as you teach the horse, then you can increase your expectations and move through your phases of ask quicker. A light rider makes a light horse. Though certain horses have certain tendencies, it is the RIDER who creates either a light or dull horse. Don't fool yourself in blaming the horse.

On the ground, for the turn on the haunches, place one hand and apply pressure (via your FINGERTIPS) either on the horse's nose, jaw, or neck - whatever works for that horse. Where the nose goes, the body follows, hence the pressure up front. Under-saddle, the nose is controlled by the rein. Place your other hand at the girth (where your leg would be under-saddle) and apply pressure simultaneously with your other hand, which is directing the horse's nose and neck. Release at the slightest try and build off that. See how light you can get your horse, and - eventually - how many steps can you get - can you achieve a full 360 degree pivot on the haunches? The horse should be crossing its front legs - ultimately and there should be absolutely no steps forward, no forward movement. You should be able to draw a circle in the sand around your horse's hind feet (say 2-2 1/2 feet in diameter), and though the feet will shift as the horse pivots on the circle, the horse's hind feet should not be actively stepping forward outside that circle. Understand this is your ultimate goal but may not be what your horse is capable of giving over the course of initial sessions. Having the horse cross his front legs and pivot in place on his hinds is your goal, your ultimate destination. Not your expectation on Day 1 or maybe even Days 2, 3 or 4.

For the turn on the forehand, apply pressure on the big thigh muscle of the horse's haunches. Though your leg will not slide back this far (obviously) under-saddle, if you apply the correct aids under-saddle the horse will make the connection between this ground application of the TOF and the under-saddle cues. Same as with the TOH (turn on the haunches), the horse should ultimately be shifting and pivoting on the front end this time, with no forward movement. The hinds should - ultimately - be crossing over (again - this may not happen at first, but it is ultimately what you will look for).

Here is an overview of the 3-part maneuver I teach a horse when applying the TOF and TOH under-saddle. Reminder - the TOF and TOH allows you shoulder control, and control of the haunches... which is applicable to the leg yield and other exercises.

Next, I proceed to teaching the horse to sidepass. Again, I teach this on the ground. You can apply pressure with your fingertips or - what I do - I ask the horse to move sideways, out of my space using body language. It gets the horse thinking sideways, while your other exercises on the ground such as the TOF and TOH (and more) teach the horse to move away from pressure, which the horse will learn to apply to a variety of situations (including to sidepass under-saddle).

Both on the ground and under-saddle, I initially use the fence to block forward movement when introducing the sidepass - it sets the horse up in such a way where it will succeed easier. On the ground, you can send the horse out on a circle and allow his circle to intersect with the arena fence or wall. The reason for sending him out on a circle is to give you momentum to play with, to push sideways. As he comes to the arena wall, pick up your energy and drive him sideways. Focus on the front end of the horse - his nose - and the haunches simultaneously. Whatever end of the horse (nose or tail) lags behind and presents itself toward you as the horse moves sideways, drive that end to straighten the horse so he is again at a 90 degree angle to the wall. To start, use the end of your leadrope or a stick or whip to back up your energy and intent. Remember to continue to ask in phases - use your body language then wiggle your stick or swing your lead, and increase in intensity before finally applying 'touch'. The same exercise may be done but by applying physical pressure to the horse in lieu of using intent and body language. Apply pressure with your fingertips in the areas that cause your horse to move sideways ie, shoulder and hip.

Under-saddle, ride the horse up to the fence with impulsion. Upon reaching the fence, without pause, apply the appropriate aids:
1 - Outside hand - the outside being the direction of travel in this case (ie, left hand if you are asking the horse to sidepass left) - out from the side of the horse's neck, about level with the horn or withers. This is your 'opening' rein, inviting the horse to move in this direction.
2 - Inside rein supports and prevents the horse from actually turning toward the outside, the direction of travel (sideways). It should also be about horn or wither height and should be firm. The horse's nose may be tipped slightly toward the inside with this (inside) rein and - primarily - with the inside leg. Ie, the horse is bent around your leg.
** both hands are closed to inhibit forward steps, forward movement. This is in preparation for the fence to later be taken away. The legs initiate movement in the horse, the hands guide, in this case, by closing a door to the horse by closing.
3 - Inside leg slightly behind the girth, pushing the horse over. The inside leg initiates movement in the horse by adding energy and impulsion to the haunch.
4 - Outside leg relaxed at the girth.
Weight should be distributed evenly in the saddle and should be centered, though to initially introduce the exercise, you can weight your outside seatbone slightly. This encourages the horse to step back beneath you to center your weight, therefore leading him to move sideways in the direction of your weighted seatbone. As soon as the horse 'gets it', your seat should be centered and your even lightened slightly (imperceptibly) in the direction of travel, to free the horse on that side to move in that direction.

The sidepass should be all sideways and no forward. If the horse tries forward as an answer when you take away the fence, allow him to come up against your closed hands and apply leg to direct sideways movement - wait and release as soon as the horse gives. As soon as the horse steps sideways in lieu of forward, soften your hands. If the horse falls out in his outside shoulder, apply the same aids as you would in the leg yield. Ultimately, the key is the haunches (as always) - apply outside leg just behind the girth to direct the haunches to 'catch up'. When you have reached the stage where you are no longer using the fence, your leading or opening outside rein will be less so to where both hands are about even and equal distance from the horse's neck on either side. The horse should be bent only slightly - neither shoulders nor haunches should lead and the horse's body should ultimately be moving straight as the horse moves sideways. Ultimately, both front and hind legs cross simultaneously. Of course, same as in the leg yield, the movement will not be 100 percent correct at first. At first, reward sideways thinking and tries. Refine later.


While a horse moving off a rider's leg may be referred to the horse yielding to the leg or leg yielding, the actual leg yielding exercise is performed as above - in both western and english disciplines. With the leg yield, the horse's shoulders lead a little and the horse moves with equal forward and sideways. In the sidepass, the horse's body remains ultimately straight with only a slight bend and all movement is directed sideways with no forward.

This all starts on the ground and progresses to under-saddle. Under-saddle, start with real basic exercises such as the TOF and TOH then proceed to the sidepass and finally, proceed to the leg yield.

The leg yield is a great (rather) basic exercise for the young horse that introduces hind end engagement and their moving 'through'. It allows the rider a lot of control, including as it pertains to suppling and relaxing the horse, and is a stepping stone for a variety of other exercises. Your horse does not have to be a show horse for this exercise to be both beneficial and necessary. Whether a trail horse or a working horse or a show horse - control of the horse is vital. The sidepass and leg yield and TOH and TOF allow a rider to perform simple tasks on their horse such as opening a gate, directing the horse over or past a spooky object (a bridge or stream, for example), and much much more. If you have control of the horse's shoulders and haunches you can prevent the horse's shoulders and haunches from ending up somewhere you do not want them - off the edge of a cliff, into a crowd of people, etc. You might not understand the importance of teaching your horse to confidently and thoroughly yield off your leg until the day he spooks sideways while riding next to a road and you need him to stop before his sideways leap puts him in the middle of traffic - in such a case, applying leg on the side of the road and having your horse respond, might be a matter of life or death. Teaching the horse these exercises makes them more obedient to the rider and gives you tools. Tools that you can use to relax and supple the horse and tools you may use to maintain the horse's focus - all this can be very crucial even in a non-show environment. You can never have too many tools in your toolbox - you never know when one day you might need to grab for one tool. For the competitive horse or the horse who will continue training, this is an important elementary exercise from which to build off of for canter leads and more.

Follow the feel

How do you teach your horse to “follow the feel” of a leadrope or rein to be softer? I play a number of games and exercises with young horses to teach them to be responsive and light from the ground…here are a few:

Teaching a horse to “lead” by its mane or forelock:
Gently pick up a piece of forelock or mane and apply gentle pressure in phases – hold.
Reward the slightest try (the thought, a weight shift, or a step) by releasing your hold and rubbing, then re-ask (start over through all the phases of asking again), gradually expecting more and more from your horse.
Your horse might not understand at first your request, in which case you may use the leadrope or halter to hint to the horse to back: apply gentle pressure (in addition to continuing to hold pressure on the mane or forelock) to the lead or halter until the horse responds, then release both the mane or forelock and the halter or lead.
I find it also helps if you take a step back as you apply mane or forelock pressure, as then your horse naturally tries to follow you.
Your goal is to develop the exercise to the point where your horse is responsive and light to the feel you apply. This is a handy exercise if you are bringing your horse in sans halter or other like situations, and it teaches your horse in general to release to pressure of various sorts.

Teaching a horse to “lead” by its tail:
For this one I highly recommend teaching your horse the 7 games first – the yo-yo game in particular.
1 - Start by teaching your horse to yo-yo backwards to a light phase while you stand in front of him.
2 - Teach your horse to back while applying the yo-yo exercise standing at his nose or neck and back with him, maintaining your position
3 - Apply the yo-yo exercise standing at your horse's shoulder
4 - Apply the yo-yo exercise standing at your horse's barrel
5 - Apply the yo-yo exercise standing at your horse's hind
6 - Finally, apply the yo-yo exercise standing behind your horse. When you stand behind your horse be sure to stand off to the side and not directly behind him, in his blind spot, for safety reasons.
7 - Next you can pick up a piece of his tail and gently hold it outward, applying increasing pressure - then hold. Be careful with the tail – always keep the pressure steady and light so as to not damage the horse's tail.
8 - If your horse does not respond, you can gently progress through your yo-yo phases with the leadrope until your horse is backing appropriately when you simply rely on the tail.
Reward the slightest try by dropping the tail and releasing the yo-yo – expect a lot but accept little!
Be sure to play with and manipulate your horse's tail - friendly game - other times in such a way where you are not asking for him to back, between exercises and at random times. It is important your horse understand the difference in your intent when picking up his tail so you can pull, groom, braid or manipulate his tail for massage purposes without his mistaking the manipulation for a request to back. This exercise teaches the horse to release to pressure in another form and can be useful for asking your horse to back out of a trailer or in other similar situations.

'Wrapping' your horse in ropes:
1 - Start by standing behind your horse and just off to the side, holding the leadrope
2 - Apply gentle pressure in phases and hold until your horse releases by turning towards you – do not pull - hold and allow your horse to release. This should result in your horse doing a 180 turn to face you. Comb the rope (as in the yo-yo game) as your horse turns to encourage your horse to not just turn and face you, but to also walk up to you.
3 - Do the same exercise while standing on the opposite side of your horse, at his hind, the leadrope looping behind your horse at his hocks. Maintain a safe distance where you may not be kicked in the case your horse is startled.
Note: please make sure your horse is comfortable with being touched and with ropes all over his body before attempting this exercise. Use the friendly game to prepare your horse.
4 - Perform the same exercise standing at your horse's barrel on the opposite side - the leadrope looping from the horse’s halter, behind the horse, and to your hand.
5 - Perform the same exercise standing at your horse's opposite shoulder
6 - Perform the exercise standing at your horse's head so he ultimately does a full 360 turn away from you and finishes facing you
In step #6 your horse starts out facing you, does a full turn away from you, and finishes facing you once again as he follows the feel of the rope. When your horse is comfortable with the aforementioned steps, you may progress to 'wrapping' your rope twice around the horse so he has to do two 360 degree turns to finish facing you. Apply gentle pressure in phases and hold until your horse releases – the goal is to have your horse turn and face you as he follows the lightest possible feel.
As noted above, please first make sure that you have played enough friendly game with your horse so that he is comfortable with the feel of the rope around his hind end, legs, and sides, and do not 'wrap' your horse if he is showing any signs of right-brained behaviour (reactiveness). Wait until he is relaxed with the previous steps first prior to progressing to asking more of him, including the 'wrap'.

Leg ropes:
Get creative with your ropes! Start by looping a (soft, thick) rope around one of your horse’s legs - anywhere on the leg whether at the fetlock or the knee or hock - and asking him to release to the pressure. I actually use this exercise to teach young or 'problem' horses to pick up their feet, from a safe distance where I cannot be kicked. Make sure the rope can loosen and come completely free immediately as soon as you release pressure, for safety reasons. Once your horse is comfortable with ropes around his legs and releasing to pressure with the rope looped around the fetlock, knee, hock, etc, you can move on to teaching him to “lead” by his feet or legs.
1 - Casually loop a soft and thick rope behind your horse’s fronts (I usually allow the rope to rest behind the horse’s knees) and apply gentle pressure (in phases, as always), particularly on the leg poised furthest back – the leg the horse automatically will want to lift if he’s to move forward.
2 - Hold pressure and use the halter or leadrope to encourage the horse to step forward if he does not initially respond to the leg pressure.
3 - Repeat. Apply pressure on the legs first then the lead or halter if necessary, with the goal of ultimately only using the rope on the legs.
The goal is to apply gentle pressure (imagine yourself using a tailhair) and have the horse step forward and ultimately walk forward. Start with the front, then work on the hinds, having the horse back according to light pressure on his legs (you can use the yo-yo game if he doesn’t respond to the pressure applied initially). Be careful with the hinds - only ask if your horse is properly prepared beforehand (calm and relaxed doing the preparation exercises) and ask at a distance where you are not within kicking range.


Other ways you may teach your horse to follow the feel:
Under-saddle, work on a loose rein and teach your horse the 3-part maneuver - keep your hands light and soft.
If you are playing the circling game, allow your horse to get “caught” on the wrong side of things such as barrels, trees (provided no branches are in the way), etc. When the horse goes to the wrong side of an obstacle, he runs out of rope and is forced to follow the feel to figure his way out of the situation (like teaching a leashed dog to go around a tree when he goes on the opposite side of the tree from you). Be sure to not give your horse too much rope length on the opposite side of the obstacle - set him up for success so he may solve the puzzle easily. If your horse gives the wrong answer, first look at your own cues and how you have set your horse up in this exercise or prepared him with prior exercises.

The goal is always to have your horse focused, responsive, and light – always ready to respond to the lightest feel of a rope, your energy, your legs, etc. Some of these exercises may not seem useful under-saddle however if you create a horse who is light and follows the feel on the ground and in general, he is more likely to think light and follow the feel under-saddle as well. Everything you desire in the saddle can first be taught on the ground. The above exercises also teach your horse to problem solve and to think outside the box. This is an advantage at times when your horse is faced with a challenge he has not experienced in the past.

If you are ever unsure of something and are struggling with it, stop, take a deep breath, and relax. Seek professional help. Don't annoy or frustrate your horse or yourself! If it is not something the two of you are ready for, take a break and come back to it another day.

Developing the haunches

Still in the process of organizing and editing but thought I would get to a post in the mean time! Expect a brief Buck Brannaman post Monday and hopefully regular posting thereafter and especially January onward. Although I try to maintain a list of blog-able topics, any suggested topics are always appreciated!

So the topic at hand: helping a horse who was raised in a small (really small) flat pen for 5 years and does not know what to do with his rear end.

In my opinion the best thing a person can do when raising a horse is turnout turnout turnout - 24/7 preferably. Even in mud, icy footing, and in freezing rain - horses adapt. Most of the time I feel we stall our horses for our own comfort and benefit, rather than the horse's. Research shows that turnout not only benefits our horses mentally but also physically (which should be obvious). Regular physical exercise translates to stronger bones, ligaments, and muscles, which help ensure long-term soundness and health. Lack thereof produces the opposite. Keeping a horse stalled so many hours a day, or keeping a horse in a very small pen, will also contribute to a lack of physical strength and also development. Turning such a horse out after being cooped up regularly/daily and especially if the horse has spent an extended and long-term period of time cooped up without sufficient physical exercise, can lead to injury. Hence the benefit of 24/7 turnout. Should you acquire a horse who has spent an extensive amount of its life cooped up, the ideal would be gradual progressive exercise. Starting with progressive turnout time and space, hand-walking, then riding at the walk for a long period of time prior to including the trot and (much) later, the canter. When a person starts riding such a horse or even a young horse, their shoulders should be back but their seat light - they should not be sitting on the horse's back yet.

The focus of the horse's training should - generally - follow the training scale (regardless of discipline), which commences with relaxation, rhythm, suppleness. Next comes contact (which the horse initiates by reaching down into the bit as a result of a loose back and drive from behind), impulsion is developed, straightness may be developed, and finally, collection occurs. Each of the steps, or blocks, of the training scale pyramid, relate back to one another and as the foundation in particular is progressed and developed, the following step naturally and harmoniously begins to also occur as the horse's mental collection and their physical strength and balance develops. Elmar Pollmann-Schweckhorst presents a wonderful 'alternative' training scale that he refers to in his book 'Training the Modern Jumper'. His version of the training scale is presented as balance and responsiveness to the aids being at the center of a number of inter-related circles. The 6 inter-connected circles are collection, impulsion, contact, suppleness, rhythm, and alignment or straightness. This is because, for example, as impulsion is developed, contact is improved and as say collection is developed, so is rhythm, suppleness, and relaxation. Each step of the training scale relates back to other steps and vice versa.

With the above in mind, the first goal after relaxation, rhythm, and suppleness (or even as these steps are developed), should be to develop 'pushing power' - this is the horse's hind end. Only AFTER sufficient pushing power is developed, can a rider develop 'carrying power'. Pushing power represents the horse's ability to push forward off his hind end. Carrying power relates to the horse's ability to carry itself (using its neck, back, and abdominal systems) as a result of sufficient pushing power.

Three important exercises a person can do to build hind end power in a horse - 'pushing power' - is to use ground poles, cavalletti, and hills. The reason these three exercises work to develop the horse's hind end is because they encourage the horse - naturally - to push forward and drive from behind. With ground poles and cavalletti and also hills, it is very important to allow the horse to reach over his back and downward into the bit. The rider should be quiet, soft, and independent. Their role should be to guide the horse but not to specifically tell the horse what to do. By guiding the horse only and using exercises such as the aforementioned to encourage the horse to move a certain way, the horse is the one to initiate the movement, which develops a more natural, pure, true movement borne of harmony.

When I first get on a horse's back, the first three exercises I teach that horse is to 1 - bend its neck nose to my foot and to relax, 2 - turn on the haunches from the bend, and 3 - turn on the forehand from the turn on the haunches. The TOH's and TOF's are specifically taught first on the ground, where the horse learns to move away from pressure, among other things. Developing the TOF and TOH allows me control of the horse's shoulders and hind end. Control of these allows me to progressively develop the components of the training scale and, specifically as it relates to the topic at hand, to teach a horse to move off its hind end.

1- From the halt, I run my hand halfway down the rein and gently (but firmly) grip the rein between pointer finger and thumb. I gently apply the rest of my fingers as I bring my hand to my thigh, resting my fist on my thigh, thumb upward. Your elbow should be elastic - this means that if the horse tries to yank its head back, you follow its movement, then re-ask for the bend immediately without ever losing contact. Like an elastic - stretch as the horse resists, recoil as the horse gives. Ask the horse to 'give' to the pressure progressively to the point where the horse is relaxed and giving (not leaning) to the pressure of the rein, with its nose about by your foot. This may take several sessions. If the horse leans when it brings its nose around, apply a little more pressure at that point and release - teach the horse that you want it to release rather than lean.

2 - From the bend, as the horse is halted and relaxed, bring your fist from your thigh to your belly button, thumb facing outward. As you do this, slide your inside leg (the leg inside the bend) back a little to direct the horse's haunches over, while looking at the horse's haunches. Both hand placement (which tips the horse's nose up and encourages them to shift their haunches) and eye placement (which shifts your body into the correct position in the saddle) are vital.

3 - From the turn on the forehand (or from a few steps of back-up), take your fist from your belly button to straight out from your side. Your arm should be raised to the same height as your shoulder and be aligned horizontally straight outward, thumb facing forward in your fist. Your outside leg (ie, for a turn on the haunches to the right, right arm out, your left leg would be your outside leg) should slide forward a couple inches to be at the girth - apply it. The arm placement is important as it lifts the horse's nose up in such a way that it encourages the horse to lift its shoulder. The leg is what instructs the horse to move over. The horse should roll back onto its haunches and you should feel his shoulder lift as he pivots on his hind feet (which remain still except to pivot - they should remain within a small circle drawn in the sand say a couple feet in diameter), instead of shuffling around his front with his shoulder dropped. The ideal might be to ride a horse already versed in this before trying it on your own horse if your horse does not yet know how to do a correct turn on the haunches, so you can learn the difference in feel between a raised and a dropped shoulder. Be sure, when asking for this maneuver, not to tense your thighs and hips and to block your horse with your inside leg. When applying the outside leg, we might tend to tense our leg to hold the pressure, which will travel to our hips and cause us to almost weight the inside thigh. This 'closes the door' so to speak, for the horse to lift and move its shoulder to the inside for the turn on the haunches because of the counter pressure applied. Make sure your seat remains light, balanced, and centered. If you hold pressure with your outside leg at the girth for more than a moment or two, pulsate your pressure rather than holding. Holding will create tension, whereas pulsating your leg and heel against the horse a little a) increases the pressure to the horse and b) allows your leg and hips to stay better relaxed.

With the horse well versed in moving off pressure, we can take this into motion. As with anything, start at the walk to introduce the exercise, but then move onto the trot as soon as both you and the horse 'get it'. Working an exercise too much at the walk, especially if not done carefully and with a lot of interspersed forward, can only serve to destroy the natural forward walk of a horse.

In general, a horse learns how to use its butt as it learns to balance, bend, and progressively engage appropriately. It is part of an entire progressive process. This can be initially taught on circles, serpentines, and corners and later progress to asking for engagement on a straight line. Circles and corners where the horse is bent naturally teach the horse to balance and engage because he must engage to maintain proper balance. The key is to maintain a soft following feel on the reins (again - elastic elbow) and an independent seat with shoulders back.

Keep your hands at an appropriate height (up to a few inches above the base of the neck) and wide apart. Wide apart, the rider creates a sort of 'tunnel' where the horse can remain 'between the aids'. Whenever the horse moves outside these aids, the rider corrects with leg and hand. When the horse remains 'inside the aids' (ie, along the wall or what), the rider allows - the rider remains quiet. Your outside rein in particular should be a couple more inches away from the horse's neck, horizontally, than your inside rein. Your inside rein may lift occasionally to ask the horse to lift its inside shoulder. Your outside rein is your supporting rein - you create energy and drive with your inside leg, which is captured in the outside rein as the horse almost 'pushes' into it. The result is a lot of channeled energy, recycled inside leg to outside rein.

NEVER ever ever cross your reins over your horse's neck (unless riding one-handed western, in which case collection and lateral flexion should already be developed to a high level) - this is where most riders get into trouble. Your hands remain on each side of your horse's neck. End of story. By crossing your hands over your horse's neck when riding two-handed, you miscommunicate to your horse, lose precision and control, and you allow energy to be lost. An outside supporting rein and an inside rein that aids in initiating bend and softness is key - a key that is lost when you cross your hands over your horse's neck.

On corners, your outside rein out from the horse's neck and your inside leg driving into that outside rein is especially important. As the horse relaxes over its back and drives forward, the head will naturally drop as the base of the horse's neck raises, as the back is raised (pulling the vertebrae at the base of the neck toward the horse's pelvis) and the pelvis tipped as the haunches are engaged. Start with corners and circles. Progressive Schooling Exercises for Dressage & Jumping by Islay Auty is a wonderful book - even for the western rider - full of progressive exercises from which to build off of to teach a horse to engage his behind and progressively develop collection. In such a way, we can progressively teach our horse to use its haunches more.

When the horse is ready, the rider can also start asking for shoulder-in, which benefits in that it creates greater relaxation and suppleness and also straightness. It also asks the horse for more engagement from behind. The shoulder-in however should not be asked for until the horse has developed sufficient strength. A couple future blogs will cover the topics of shoulder-in, counter shoulder-in, travers, renvers, and half-pass, as well as the correct leg yield. Leg yields are a great 'introductory' exercise to also engage a horse from behind. The horse's shoulders should just barely lead and his body (or spine!) should be almost parallel to the track we are leg yielding toward (ie, the long side of the arena if leg yielding from the centerline). Most horses want to fall out at the shoulder (close the door - close the outside rein in that case and even briefly apply a little outside leg at the girth to stop the falling out) and leave the hind end trailing (ask for more engagement - inside leg back behind the girth to ask the haunches to keep up with the shoulder). This is normal - just pick at it and do not ask for too much from your horse at once: this might mean only asking for a few steps before moving on to the next exercise. Often when introducing this exercise I will ask for one or two steps, then lots of forward. I open my hands and push the horse forward if necessary. When I feel the horse is fully forward and he has mentally moved on from the exercise, I ask for another one or two steps. Each time, each session, those one or two steps become better (maybe included with 3 or 4 'bad' steps but important tries), and we start asking for more steps. It takes time to build. More on this in future blogs, including how to obtain a proper leg yield and how to start teaching it.

Another exercise that can be of great benefit is to spiral your circles in and out - this also introduces the half pass. Start at the walk with a 20m circle, then later progress to the trot (or jog, if western). Ask the horse to maintain correct bend on your circle - nose should be slightly tipped to the inside with a little inside rein and inside leg (at the girth to prevent the horse falling in on the circle), spine should be bent evenly. Outside rein is supportive and firm and prevents the horse from falling out. Outside leg should be applied behind the girth to direct the haunches. Apply increased outside leg and push the horse - gradually - into the center of the circle. Spiral your circle down over several laps of the circle (I especially love to do this in fresh snow or freshly-harrowed sand so I can see even spirals). When you get to the center of the circle, spiral your horse back out - again, in the same gradual fashion, this time using your inside leg to push your horse out. Maintain your aids in the proper position and do not use rein to pull your horse in to the spiral or to pull him out. Leg and seat! This maneuver develops greater engagement and suppleness from the horse.

Another exercise is to do transitions - between and within gaits. Start on a 20m circle (the larger the circle, the easier for the horse - if your horse struggles at 20m, make the circle bigger so he can perform the task successfully) at the trot. Place 4 cones spaced evenly along the parameter of the circle so you create a square or diamond within your circle. Pick up the trot at cone #1, halt at cone #3 (you should have completed half the circle). Be precise and get exactly what you want - this means your horse should neither be trampling cones nor halting beyond a cone. He should be halting precisely next to the cone and should remain put at the halt (if he keeps moving his feet, be persistent in gently correcting him and putting him exactly back on the spot you wanted him to halt on - then ask him to move out before it becomes his idea). Precision is important because if it is not important to you, it won't be important to your horse. Precision to your aids not being important to your horse will come back to haunt you on every front because precision is required everywhere for everything. Halt for a moment, then ask your horse to pick up the trot (from the halt) to cone #1. Halt. Trot to cone #3. Halt. Trot to cone #1. Halt. Rinse, lather, repeat. When your horse is responsive and successful, ask him to pause at cones #3 and #1 rather than fully halting. More on half-halts in a future blog, but the key ingredients to the pause are: close your hands (with a western horse, close your hands and lift the weight of your reins slightly), take a deep breath in and hold in that 'pause', slightly roll your pelvis and shoulders back in that same 'pause', then release. During this pause, you should feel a slowing in your horse's motion as his front lightens slightly and he steps further beneath himself. Closing your hands should be done as if there were a little bird in your hand - just a very gentle hold or squeeze. When you release, you should simply be able to open your hands and allow the horse to again move out. Some seat and leg may be required initially or occasionally. Do this at every second cone, exactly at the cone. If you are late to a cone and know your ask lack precision, forget that cone and ask at the next cone. The pause should last no longer than half a second. This exercise may later be progressed to asking at every single cone (first for the halt, then the pause) and later by decreasing the circle size to 10m. Transitions between gaits (halt to canter, halt to trot, canter to walk... etc) and within gaits (ie, the 'pause' in a trot or canter) are important to developing pushing power and teaching a horse to use its hind end properly. In the pause or the halt or the downward transition, the horse should engage a little more, driving his hind end beneath him. Then with the forward or upward transition, the horse uses his hind to push off - the increased engagement gives him more drive. This not only physically develops pushing power but it also teaches the horse to engage from behind more.

A last variation of the transition exercises I might do with a horse (one I have been using recently in particular) is to ask the horse to trot, halt and do a rein-back. More about the rein-back, specifically, in future blogs. The rein-back should be a smooth continuance of the forward motion the horse previously had, in a backward motion. The horse should step back in diagonal pairs. The horse should also release and relax his jaw where he engages from behind, lightens his front, and drops his poll - wait for that relaxation and acceptance before releasing if possible however only ask for a few steps at a time. So... trot. Halt. Rein-back. And push the horse back into the trot from the rein-back. Expect a prompt response. Something else I can do to also incorporate control of the shoulder in this exercise (and to change things up) is to do a halt upon reaching the corner of the arena, rein-back, 90 degree turn on the haunches at the corner of the arena to complete the turn, then trot off. Rinse, lather, repeat for the other four corners. Coming out of the turn on the haunches, you already have the horse on his haunches so use that to immediately push him into the trot, thereby making efficient use of his being on his haunches at that time.

Fugly Shit of the Day: Part II

I just recently quickly perused the comment section of Cathy's post I blogged about the other day concerning Linda Parelli - most was just repetitive BS and whining, and no, I did not read all 550+ comments (I do not wish to garbage quite that much time), however I did pay particular attention to Cathy's comments. See, I was never aware of Cathy's existence until maybe a year ago or so when one of her little sheep snarked at me on a forum and quoted Cathy - if Cathy said it, it must be right!! Since then, I admit I have not really devoted a whole lot of time 'researching' Cathy or her past, so I wanted to read her some of her recent comments to gauge what she really knows about horses. The following are my recent findings and a follow-up of Fugly Shit of the Day. I just think people should realize how little she actually knows in terms of horses so they may make an informed decision. Here are a few of Cathy's comments:

(the first part of the following is Fugly quoting a previous poster)
fugly says: March 10, 2010 at 8:33 pm
"“My gelding spent the first 6 months or so I had him spooking into me and he knocked me over 3 times. The third time (last June) I finally got my nerve up and convinced him I was going to kill him (which consisted of backing him up and screaming at him). You know what? He has spooked in place or away from me since that day.”
Amazing how that works, isn’t it? Someone realized YOU were more scary than the silly thing he was spooking at.
Congratulations. You understand horses better than Linda Parelli, already!"

Honestly? Our solution to a fearful horse spooking is to make it more scared of you and your reaction to its fear, than of the object it is afraid of? To quote John Lyons:
"It's unreasonable to ask a horse not to be afraid. That's like my telling you to go into a bad area of town for a walk at two in the morning, and not be frightened."
So if it is unreasonable to ask a horse to not be afraid, by extension, is it not unreasonable to reprimand a horse for being afraid? Why would you want a relationship in which your horse is afraid of being afraid, because it is afraid of your reaction? A horse cannot help being afraid and some horses are more prone to being alert and reactive than others - some require stronger leadership and stronger trust in their rider to follow said leadership without spooking. The solution is simple: gain your horse's trust (not just in you, but in your leadership), guarantee to your horse that you have it's back, and it will follow you wherever you ask. Do you honestly want a horse who is tense and anxious because it is afraid of you? Excuse me while I vomit. I have seen and ridden those horses, and they are an emotional mess because they're constantly trying to read and anticipate you, because they are afraid of your reaction and of doing something wrong. Horses are not spooking at 'silly things' for the fun of it, they are acting like prey animals. They have very different worries than us and they have very different perceptions, thinking, and even vision, than us. Our job is to teach them to think and to follow our leadership, to act less reactive and more relaxed. Not to scare them into submissiveness.

Cathy, for someone who purports to know so much about horse training and horse behaviour, I am ashamed for you and am dismayed at your lack of actual knowledge. I suppose I should not be overly surprised, when your 'training' looks like this though:



That was no 'surprise jump', any idiot could see that was minutes away from happening, simply by watching the first 5 seconds of the video where the horse was observed to be frantic, anxious, and tense. She was looking for an escape route, and found it. Want to know why Pat and other NH trainers have such low-fenced roundpens? So they remember to never push a horse past its threshold, to encourage themselves to create draw and relaxation in the horse. This was not a wild horse, Cathy, this is a poor QH filly that was pushed too far.

I see Cathy removed the video of her unable to effectively get even a green filly trotting under-saddle. It's not for no reason that she is unable to train the supposedly very quiet VLC stallion of hers. I just wish she would then admit her limitations (because that's ok! we all have them!!) and quit criticizing everyone else and methods she obviously does not understand nor know anything about. Cathy, if you do not know enough about training to train your own docile animals, please refrain from 'educating' the public in regards to how to train. That's all - I'm not asking for much!!!!


Here are some more goodies (*sigh*):
fugly says: March 10, 2010 at 8:31 pm
"I have sung on young OTTB’s to distract them from spooky stuff, particularly during the first rides out in the open. But an Appy is just going to laugh at you and walk your knee into the nearest tree.
And I am a huge devotee of the old fashioned butt rope for recalcitrant trailer-loaders. I’ll be damned if I’m going to screw around for 45 minutes when all it takes is 2 people and a butt rope and the horse is in the trailer in 30 seconds flat."

I just for once want to see Cathy do that to my Thoroughbred Link. When we first purchased him he wasn't the greatest loader and had you just put a butt rope on him and tried to shove him in (btdt - the barn owner bullied his way into doing so), he would have balked HUGE. He not only panicked and flew backwards, fighting, but he also double-barrel kicked at any people behind him. Now, of course, he loads fine, but the point is not to simply shove the horse in in 30s and slam the door shut! The point is for the horse to be comfortable enough with your leadership and have sufficient respect in you to do as you ask, and for the horse to be relaxed in the trailer and want to go in there. Otherwise you get the horse in there by force and have to deal with something throwing a wreck in there. I realise there are exceptions where you just have to get the horse in or there seem to be no other options in very rare cases - but those cases are not hugely common; most of the time you can work with a horse beforehand until they are comfortable loading. However with a horse who is usually ok with loading and whom I have worked with before (though obviously not enough, if he is balking at the trailer), I am going to take that 45min instead of 30s. 1,200lbs is a lot of weight and is not always physically possible to shove in in 30s anyways, not without risk to the horse. Why is Cathy's answer always force and fear?? I am asking honestly.


fugly says: March 9, 2010 at 6:39 pm
"Then the first thing I would have picked up is a longe whip…before I took the lead.
I’ve dealt with chargers. They are not hard to fix. Once or twice, bam, and they realize that on top of you is not a good place to be. You have to watch them like a hawk, because some will wait for a moment of inattention and then take another dive at you. But all in all, I could have fixed this with one or two good whacks with a whip – at the CHEST as he dove at me – NEVER at the face – and the horse would not have been confused, and it would have been over a lot faster.
This is a good example of “picking at” a horse. Instead of making a simple point, once, and making it clear what behavior was not acceptable, it’s a thousand annoying little pinpricks to the horse."

Honestly, I actually was thinking a carrot stick (or similar) would have perhaps helped Linda communicate better with the horse in question as well. However, what she did worked, and I cannot say for certain that a stick would have been more effective anyway. This horse was not a 'charger' per se, he was not doing what he did out of aggressiveness, he was simply bowling over humans in disregard, because he had other concerns on his mind and had very little respect for his handlers. I think what Linda did was much better than hitting the horse in punishment, because judging from the state the horse was in as Linda worked with it, it would have had to have been some pretty hard hits!! What Linda did took a little longer, however it was effective in earning the horse's respect and it was a long-term solution by engaging the horse's mind (she'd never have to hit the horse, as Cathy advises, or work so hard again). I actually did not see Linda hit the horse directly in zone 1 (the nose area), which is a very sensitive area - had she hit the horse there, it probably would have caused an adverse reaction. Instead, she smacked the horse loudly on the sturdy jaw and on the neck (most people I see pat their horses as hard, or harder, than Linda did! In praise!), to get its attention. You don't see the horse panic, jerk its head suddenly, or act fearful towards Linda or headshy afterwards. So obviously she did not traumatize the animal. In addition, she was not 'picking at', or 'nagging', the horse, she was correcting him whenever he made a wrong move (which, at first, was often). You certainly never see an annoyed horse, and you see a very responsive and respectful horse at the end of the session.


fugly says: March 10, 2010 at 1:32 pm
"I agree – there’s nothing NEW about it. 30 years ago, we knew we had to be the alpha or we were gonna have hoofy-prints on our backs.
It’s all marketing, packaging and unfortunately, it’s laced with a seriously deep thread of bullshit.
What it comes down to for me is this: There was absolutely nothing wrong with traditional horsemanship and traditional training. It did not need to be fixed or improved upon. Were there some jerks that needed to stop training? Sure. They still exist. Only now some of them use Natural Horsemanship, as can be seen in this video.
My main problem with NH is this: It has a culture which discourages people from improving their riding skills. You hardly ever (yes, I know, a few people do it – Chris Cox, I think) hear a NH’er say “ma’am, the horse is fine – you need to improve your seat and develop a stronger leg.” Instead, they tell you that playing this game or that game will develop some kind of magical “bond” with your horse. Do you know what an actual bond comes from? RESPECT. Horses, much like women, walk all over you if they perceive you to be a wimp. They do not love you for it. They may love carrots but they don’t go “wow, this person is so nice to me, I won’t run back to the barn with her any more!” That’s just not how the equine mind works and selling that idea is misleading tomfoolery. Your horse needs to think “wow, I’d like to go back to the barn but I know I can’t, ’cause the last time I tried I just got hauled in a circle and made to chase my tail and really, it wasn’t much fun and I didn’t wind up back at the barn any sooner.” And you can’t BE that confident rider who simply pulls the barn sour horse in a circle and sends it on in the direction YOU want to go unless you’re a good, solid competent rider.
Which takes lessons…and work without stirrups…and that hurts…and makes you sweat…and boy, you have to get off the couch and away from the DVD player and maybe, gasp, get a bit more fit to do it.
Lots of people aren’t interested in buying the truth!"

Pat does not claim to have created something new and gives full credit to his teachers, equine and human alike, both at his conferences and in his books. He also says himself that what he teaches is nothing new (and lists off where and how the methods he teach have been used in the past). Plain and simple. He knows what he is doing is not new, but he knows it is not mainstream (and it isn't, I had heard of Dorrance, Hunt, etc prior to Parelli, however I had never actually seen their techniques nor did anyone in my areas ever use them; I had no idea what they were about). Many people I encounter still know nothing about NH (and similar) techniques; probably a good 90 percent of the riders at any of the barns I have boarded at use very traditional techniques - techniques that are usually as bad as and worse than those Cathy advocates for (though I am going to say that some of the techniques are soft and gentle, yet assertive - ones that I greatly admire and respect). You are right, Cathy, that Parelli is perhaps over-marketed, however that does not take away from the method itself. No, one cannot learns solely from DVD's, however they can still learn from them! DVD's and books can lead to experimentation, correction, adaptation, and learning in one's methods and personally, I see nothing wrong with that. Pat and Linda are not advocating that individuals replace hands-on learning and instruction with DVD's, they are simply presenting a method that includes materials to help the rider. While you (Cathy) might feel that there is no reason to ever improve one's method, I stand by Pat's philosophy: "Good, better, best, never let it rest." Strive to be better and constantly improve yourself and your relationship(s) with your horse(s) - and constantly improve your horses! Furthermore, if Cathy honestly knew anything about Parelli, she would realize they do in fact focus on the rider. In fact, it's all about the rider - there are no problem horses, only problem riders. Which is why they do not focus on the horse, but rather upon teaching the human, which includes proper equitation, among other important skills. Lastly, respect is paramount in PNH - the idea is to create a partnership that balances trust and respect and that is based on love, language and leadership...in equal doses. Pat and Linda recognize that one cannot have a partnership that does not include respect and have developed a program that revolves around earning both trust and respect (just take a look at the 7 games!). Even the carrot stick obtained its name for that reason: it is not supposed to be a carrot (a bribe or 'wimp', not assertive enough), but neither is it supposed to be a stick (aggressive and punishing) - the way the person works with the horse is supposed to be a reflection thereof, always assertive yet never aggressive and never bribing yet friendly. I never have to boot my horses in a circle, but they also enjoy being with me and follow my leadership, so I don't have to struggle with them wanting to go back to the barn, either :) And I don't know about you Cathy, but I never walk all over a man, 'wimp' or not. I have more respect and decency than that.

For the record, I am all for good horsemanship, whatever be its name or technique, so long as it is always in the best interests of the horse. I am also not always in agreement with everything Parelli: I have my own concerns and I certainly do not like the intense marketing. On the other hand, it is a method that works and that gets the word out there. Hell, I even admit to have grossly mis-interpreted and mis-used the method for awhile! Yes, I was one of those years ago (lol!). I made a lot of mistakes. But I learnt. We are not born in perfection nor with 100 percent knowledge of anything. I learnt through reading, through watching DVD's, through playing with my horses, and through whatever instruction or clinics I could afford.


LMAO while I do not 100 percent side with what this commenter said, I loved how they said it...particularly at the end:
redroanpony says: March 10, 2010 at 1:51 pm
"I disagree, but I think I’m going to disagree with pretty much everybody here on this one. I mean, there are things the Parellis do that I think are just ineffective and/or stupid, and I don’t think this was a great example of the kind of work they do. I did watch it again, and here’s what I saw: the horse doesn’t respond to pressure. At all. Linda asks him to back, and he ignores the pressure or moves into it. He is nervous and unable to stop moving his feet. Linda asks him to back and stop moving his feet. He doesn’t. When he moves, she tries to put him back again and get him to stop moving. When she’s hitting him on the butt with the rope, she’s trying to get him to yield his hindquarters, not move forward, which is why she’s checking with the lead line. She doesn’t do either very well. She is NOT lunging this horse or in any way asking him to lunge, so I’m not sure why everybody is jumping on her “lunging” technique, but whatever.
Did Linda do a good job with it? No. She should’ve stopped very early on and gotten her hands on a carrot stick, because she needed the stick to be more effective in her communication, and it would’ve led to her being much less emphatic and repetitive with the rope. (Or maybe she should’ve just stopped and called Pat. ) She also needed the stick to be more clear when asking him to yield his head, because she’s not tall enough and he’s too tall for her to properly do what she’s trying to do. When I first watched this, I do recall wondering whether that was her first time working with a half-blind horse, because she didn’t seem entirely certain on how to account for his blindness.
But did she scar the horse for life? No. Did she make him headshy? No. I’ve used that same technique — much more gracefully, mind you — to teach countless horses to yield their forequarters. It’s part of teaching them to lead and to yield to you, and it’s no more than a tap on the cheek… even with the hardest cases, a good bump with the heel of the hand is more than enough. And what I’m seeing here isn’t Linda beating the horse in the face. She’s ineffective, but that doesn’t exactly make her a monster.
At the end of the video, there actually *is* a change: the horse is able to stand. He’s not exhausted, and I wouldn’t say he’s “frozen” at all. He appears less nervous than he began and doesn’t feel the need to constantly move his feet. He actually puts his head down of his own accord. When she asks him to back or yield he’s doing it instead of completely ignoring the pressure. It’s not huge progress, but it is progress.
I’m sure my fellow commenters will now write me off as a moron, but I see nothing worse here than a trainer letting a situation get a bit out of control, which happens to everybody now and again. I can’t really believe the amount of histrionics in these comments; you’d think everybody else just watched a video of Linda gutting a horse and eating its heart. And I thought NH people were hysterical about what *they* consider to constitute “abuse”…"


fugly says: March 9, 2010 at 4:03 pm
"Every single natural horsemanship trained horse I have ever worked with REFUSES to stop on the circle on the longe. They ALL spin toward you, if not dart in and try to run you over. I have never seen an exception to this, and many other people here will tell you they have had the same experience.
And the whole basis of all this NH crap is the idea that you can do it yourself without hiring a trainer – that somehow going to clinics and watching videos will be enough. That is the foundation of the entire Cult of Natural Horsemanship. I don’t NEED a trainer, I’m the only one who can “bond” with my horse, and if my horse “bonds” with me, he won’t do bad things to me.
That spinning sound is my eyes rolling around in my head."

I am not surprised Cathy cannot accurately communicate with a horse enough to tell it to stop on the circle and not turn and face (and what's the problem with the horse turning and facing anyway??). See the above video, though too bad some will miss out on seeing the ones of her riding she had posted on youtube in the past. I will say this: all my horses who are Parelli trained will stop on the circle should you ask. The point of the turning and facing though is this: it is not about facing you, it is about the horse disengaging their hind end, which robs their hindquarters, their engine, of driving power (since their hind legs are crossed as they disengage), and thus forces them to stop. It is also an act of respect and trust (if you cross your legs, you cannot effectively run from a predator, so we are in effect also asking the horse to relax and trust us to ensure their safety, plus we are driving their hind end away, much as a herd leader would do in dominance). Teaching them to stop in such a way makes it easy to then relax the tense or reactive horse on the ground in the future, by having them disengage. The maneuver is also taken into the saddle to either halt or calm a horse. Should you wish the horse to not face you, simply ask the horse to stop. Without asking them to disengage. And if a horse is darting in and trying to run you over, you have not been clear in your direction and/or have not been sufficiently assertive, and/or the horse has not learned to be respectful and thus is lacking in its training, Parelli or not. Pat has never told anyone using his methods to train or re-train a horse using his methods without hands-on education - in fact I have personally heard him say the exact opposite, that training is an advanced skill and requires intense one-on-one learning with a professional. His intent with his program is to help riders improve their communication (and thus partnerships) with their horses, to better themselves and tweak their way of doing things with horses, or to even look at things from another perspective, approach things differently, and change how they do things. His intent is to teach riders better horsemanship and he definitely recommends as much hands-on learning as possible. In the event someone cannot do as much hands-on instruction with a trainer as they would like though, is it not better for them to have the appropriate materials to help them, as opposed to stumbling along blindly by themselves? It's not about bonding with the horse at all, it is much more than that. Cathy, you seriously sound like some of the traditional riders I talk to sometimes, who claim they already have a bond with their horse and thus do not require anything more.

Show me "Parelli-ruined" horses, or "NH'ers mishandling horses", and I'll show the same, or more, "traditionally-trained" ruined horses or "traditional trainers and riders ruining horses". I own several such horses myself and see it every day at some of the barns I ride in. It's about the people using the technique rather than the technique itself, in this case. Piss-poor training, bad techniques, bad riding, bad horsemanship - happens across the board, no matter the method (for the most part) or discipline.


Okay, I can't help it, I thought the following conversation was just absolutely hysterical (video embedded below):
kmathews says: March 10, 2010 at 12:55 am
"Now this is a horse that has been trained well and NOT by any Parelli fanatic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHQczRbBHxI
Just goes to show you, you don’t need to be whacking a horse in the face or jerking his halter and whatever else those idiots do to train their horses."
shadowsrider says: March 10, 2010 at 1:49 pm
"I don’t really care about the tricks he does, or how he trained the horse, but I would kill to have his seat!!"
rollkursucks says: March 10, 2010 at 5:58 pm
"OMG that halfpass at 1:15 looks so cool, I really wish the video would have shown it going for more than like two seconds! Passage at the end was cute too. Didn’t like all the laying down and crawling around at the beginning– to me, that’s just begging to get your spine broken, but just my personal opinion. I’ve seen the horse agility videos before and thought they were cute. Not my cup of tea, but something I would respect as long as people train it the right way and the horses enjoy it."



Snicker snicker. Most fellow PNH'ers can understand the reason for the snicker. The sheep failed to notice the carrot stick being used. Honza Blaha's site here. Honza credits Pat Parelli's methods as the reason for the turnaround in his Gaston, who was previously very dangerous. Gaston was Honza's first horse of his own, I believe out of a Czech mustang and by a Czech warmblood stallion. The horse grew increasingly dangerous, to the point where Honza's mother and sister (who were caring for Gaston while Honza was living away at school) could no longer even leave the house for fear of the young stallion. Honza eventually took Gaston to Parelli and spent two years studying under Pat, turning Gaston into a superhorse (after gelding him!). I cannot find the story but recall reading it on the Parelli site and watching Honza on youtube tell the story himself. I love watching those two! And, if you want to see sporthorses and serious competition horses (show jumpers in particular) being raised and trained Parelli, Honza is your man too. My goodness, I just find it amusing that the sheep are admiring the very technique they are criticising. If you want to see similar trainers, check out Jonathan Field (former Parelli instructor with whom I have attended clinics with my boys) and Mike and Red Sun (and his other horses of course), on youtube. Then get back to me and tell me that type of partnership is not useful at the competitive level!


Last point was in regards to the Yo-Yo game specifically: some seem to be misunderstanding its purpose and are criticizing the fact that the horse's head goes up and their back hollows during the game. Yes this occurs when initially teaching the game, however it is not the goal as the game progresses over time. Over time the horse backs with a lowered head, at the lowest phase of 'ask' possible (preferably, an assertive body posture and a glare, with maybe a slightly wiggling finger - no ropes!). Parelli has discussed over and over the importance of the contents of the dressage Training Scale as well as the importance of teaching the horse in such a way that they carry themselves efficiently and develop correctly. Hence programs such as "Hill Therapy" and such - working your horse over hills to develop topline.