The Basics…

Going Forward

  You will recall that in the Summer 2001 Newsletter I talked about discussing the importance of the “basics”. 

“It’s all about the Basics.

The better the horse goes forward, backs-up, moves sideways, and particularly disengages, the better he will do everything else.”

For the Fall issue let’s examine

Going Forward

brilliantly!

As one of my mentors, Dennis Reis is fond of saying…”Without forward you don’t have anything.”  And for any of you who have tired to ride a horse who didn’t want to move forward, you know exactly what Dennis is talking about.

It is somewhat of the rolling ball theory…Things in motion tend to stay in motion;  Things that are stationary require a tremendous amount of energy to get moving.

Why is going Forward such an important basic?

At first glance, getting your horse to move forward either on the ground or from the saddle sounds like an easy proposition.  But going forward brilliantly, with straightness, rhythm, timing, balance, and enthusiasm  complicates the maneuver.  As with most of the basic principles of good horsemanship, I would suggest we establish this “brilliance” first by practicing from the ground, and then transfer the feeling to the saddle.

To begin, THINK about what you would like the horse to do.  ( i.e. Move forward, with straightness with his four feet tracking-up on the railroad track.)

I visualize this happening with the slightest suggestion of the human’s body.)

 Second, THINK of the rhythm  of the gate with which  you wish for the horse to depart. (A four-beat march for the walk; A two-beat Irish jig for the trot;

A three-beat waltz for the canter.)

Third, PREPARE your body for this transition, and apply the body language energy to get that ball a-mov’in!  Body language aids include:

• Preparing your posture, coming to attention, and breathing

• Focus your eyes on the desired direction of travel;  For ground work, focus use your belly button eye to push the drive-line or where your leg would rest if you were riding

•  If you are in the saddle, PREPARE your seat  aids (which is mostly accomplished by preparing your posture), your leg aids by encompassing the barrel of the horse, and finally SUGGEST the horse move forward.  Lift the belly up with your calves and squeeze the energy from the butt to the bit.

Fourth, ASSIST the horse in refining the movement forward so that it is rhythmic, balanced, shaped with good lateral & vertical posture, and maintains the requested gate.  Fix, refine, and adjust with your hands and leg aids, ultimately effecting the eyes of your horse, so that both eyes are seeking the direction of travel.

You have accomplished all of the above, but the horse still isn’t moving!!!  Here’s the fifth step…ALLOW it to happen!  We get into a BIG hurry and our humanity takes over. We forget to just set it up, suggest, suggest a little more firmly, and as a final step – make it happen or get a reaction.  It is easy to go directly to…make it happen, and forget the all-important progression of getting there.  Here’s where your consistency is so important. 

The final step is, as always, REWARD.  You can let the horse know he has done a good job in a number of ways:

·         Let “going-forward” be the reward, by making other options more difficult

·         Give her a verbal..”At-A-Girl”

·         Soften your body and mind

·         Last, give her a rub on the neck (BUT, be cautious you don’t change your seat and leg aids, and send mix signals to the horse)

WOW!  Who would have thought that a simple request to “go-forward” could be so complicated!  But then again, as aspiring horsemen we all know..

The further we go…

       The deeper it gets!

In this case, going forward brilliantly, with enthusiasm, is certainly the human’s reward.  It doesn’t get much better than riding a horse who listens to your slightest request of

Go Forward!

Yippee – Yahoo!

What’s Coming UP!