Performance Horse Magazine Article No. 1

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="04b785a3.jpg"> <div> <B>Performance Horse Magazine Article No. 1 </B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="04cd2b03.jpg"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="145b08f0.png" border=0 width="176" height="143" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Equine Communication"><U>Home</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Location"><U>Location</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U>Contact Us</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Our Products and Services"><U>Our Product & Services</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Interesting Reading"><U>Interesting Reading</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Forms to Download"><U>Forms to Download</U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B>The Equine Communication Training Facility</B></div> <div> with Darren Simpson -  Reining Australia/Continental Judge</div> <div> <I>Qualified        </I><I><B> RA           AQHA            HSAA</B></I><I>         Judge</I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" >    </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>........Enjoy the Ride........</B></I></div> <bR> <div> * Beginner to Advanced       * Competition Training & Coaching       * Starting Young Horses      * Problem Solving* </div> <div> ___________________________________________________________________________________________________</div> <div> *********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="742" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 2841 ><NOBR><div> Performance Horse Magazine Article No. 1<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Back to </B><A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Interesting Reading"><U><B><U>Interesting Reading</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Top Performances Require Top </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Quality Partnerships</B></I></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="718" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 2665 WIDTH="714"><div> <B>T</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Arial" >op performances require a team approach. Well-performing teams in sport or business are built on clear and effective communication between all members of the team. Shared understanding and a willingness to work together enhance the effectiveness of teams.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>The same is true of the partnership between horse and rider. To gain and </B><B><U>maintain</U></B><B> top performances you need to regularly review your goals, communication strategies and the quality of your partnership. </B></div> <bR> <div> How do you go about such a review when you have the added challenge of having a horse as one of the partners?</div> <bR> <div> Laura Collier spoke to Darren Simpson of Equine Communication about what makes for quality horse and rider partnerships. He provided some insights into these partnerships and some pointers to help you identify the current state of your partnership.</div> <bR> <div> <B>First, some background</B></div> <bR> <div> The relationship between horses and humans is based on the established rules of nature. Predators see prey animals as food and prey animals see predators as creatures to be avoided at all costs.</div> <bR> <div> Greater understanding for the rider comes from aiming to see things from the horse's point of view - the view of a prey animal. It is important to understand their prey animal behaviour. For instance, we are not surprised when deer are startled by our human behaviour, yet expect our horses, also prey animals, to understand our predatory behaviour.</div> <bR> <div> Predators (humans) are driven by praise, recognition or money, while prey animals are driven to comfort. Nature tells the horse all he has to do to preserve himself. The need for self-preservation in each horse is different and a good trainer will never put a horse in a position where he feels that he needs to preserve his own life.</div> <bR> <div> Partnerships need to be based on trust and respect, not fear and intimidation. As in any relationship, if there is no trust and respect, there is no foundation for open communication. One of the two partners needs to have 51% control, the other 49%. We have to make sure that the human has the 51%! We have to be able to trust our horses as much as we expect them to trust us.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Partnerships - from the horse's point of view </B></div> <bR> <div> Horses have a great sense of justice. The horse needs to perceive the rider as a leader, not a master or `the Boss'. Horses only do as much as is needed to get their point across.</div> <bR> <div> Your horse's attitude to the partnership is reflected in his softness. How willing is he? What is his attitude to humans and the world around him? This will be clear from his responses to your initial approach and when you then pick up his lead rope. His behaviour will reflect his mindset to humans initially. Your horse should follow your lead - no matter where you are and what else is going on. </div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="shandy_1_1"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> Many modern horse owners only see horses in artificial paddock arrangements, where natural interactions between horses are limited. Horses in herd situations communicate with each other constantly through movements, looks and sounds. Foals learn early to respond to the various looks, nudges and nips from the mare (and other members of the herd). Herd members use the same looks, nudges and nips (and bites and kicks, if needed) to establish the pecking order in the herd. Dominant horses will cause more submissive horses to move away by applying whatever level of pressure (look, nudge, nip etc) is needed. In this way a system of order and communication is established within the herd. If you are able to recognise the way horses communicate with each other, you will be better able to use their language to bring about positive outcomes in your partnership building with your horse.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Partnerships - from the rider's point of view</B></div> <bR> <div> Your attitude to the partnership will influence the quality of the partnership and the successful performances it enjoys as a result.</div> <bR> <div> It is important to honestly evaluate what you bring to the partnership and what learning and changes you are prepared to consider to improve your partnership.</div> <bR> <div> Your role in the partnership is to provide leadership for your horse through clear communication and an understanding of his view of the world - the view of a prey animal. </div> <bR> <div> Partnerships can only be as rich and as strong as your leadership allows. Quality leadership demands emotional, mental and physical stability from the rider. Your horse will be more willing to try hard for you if you have demonstrated this stability.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Principles of Horse Training to </B></div> <div> <B>Build Positive Partnerships</B></div> <bR> <div> Training horses is more about attitude than about techniques. This explains why you can watch two trainers use the same technique on the same horse and get two totally different responses.</div> <bR> <div> Working with horses is not so much about knowing <I>what to do</I> as it is about knowing <I>when</I> <I>to quit</I> doing it. If your attitude to the horse is right, you gain a more objective view of the way the horse is performing.</div> <div> If you reward the smallest change and the slightest try, that is the first thing the horse will offer the next time you ask. Be careful not to ask a trying horse to try harder, especially when you are asking for something new.</div> <bR> <div> You need to remember that horses can feel a fly land on them. If you put that into the context of how much leg/bridle you put on your horse, are you doing more than you need to?</div> <bR> <div> It is important that control of the horse's feet be clearly established before meaningful training can begin. You need to know the physics of the horse and the footfalls in each gait, so that you can influence the movement of the feet at the most opportune time to achieve the desired manoeuver. You also must remember that a horse has two ends and four corners - you must be able to influence the movement of each part of the horse.</div> <bR> <div> A horse can do only seven things - move forward, backward, up, down, left, right and stop. If you as rider can do all seven things with each foot - there's probably not much you can't do with a horse. </div> <div> Operating a horse's hindquarters is paramount to any manoeuver as it is the hindquarter that puts power to the manoeuver.</div> <bR> <div> If a manoeuver is not coming together, you must break the manoeuver into sections, work on each part of the manoeuver, then put it back together - hence, isolate, separate and recombine. For instance, when preparing a horse for moving through a gate, you need to break the whole task into parts, which can be worked on one at a time.</div> <bR> <div> Remembering that a horse has four feet, you need to ride with a rhythm to the manoeuver that you are asking for. For instance, when you ask for a side pass do you ask with the leg on and off in time with the movement of the horse's feet?</div> <bR> <div> You need to train in a way that encourages your horse to do things for you, rather than because of you. For instance, when you ride a horse to a gate, does he put you at the latch or do you have to ride him to the latch?</div> <bR> <div> Ask for lateral flexion before vertical flexion. Lateral flexion is usually for control and vertical flexion is for communication. You should be able to ask your horse to bend its head and neck left and right past 90 degrees, before asking for in and down.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Vertical flexion</B> is only one part of collection. Just because a horse gives at the poll, it does not automatically mean that he is also lifting his back. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Collection</B> is mental, not just physical. The horse should change pace or gait when the rider picks up the bridle and then lets it go.</div> <bR> <div> The horse should stay with the bit, not on it. While in motion you should be able to change the shape of your horse's, neck and body with the bit without breaking gait or changing tempo.</div> <div> No matter what type of riding you do, the solid foundation provided by a quality partnership is a necessity.</div> <bR> <div> Having clear communication and a horse that wants to work with you can only improve your performances. </div> <bR> <div> <B>About the Authors</B></div> <bR> <div> Darren Simpson, together with his wife, Sharon, established Equine Communication at Mt Delaney, via Woodford, to enhance the relationship between horse and human. They aim to develop quality partnerships through clear communication and a better understanding of the horse and its view of the world.</div> <div> Laura Collier teaches at a Brisbane high school to finance her passion for horses. She first met Darren Simpson in 1999 and has worked with him since then to develop a quality partnership with her quarter horse mare, SR Special Effects.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Back to </B><A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Interesting Reading"><U><B><U>Interesting Reading</U></B></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>