What Makes The World Go Round: Circles, lateral flexion and why you want your horse to bend

If you have ever spent any length of time either riding or training horses, you have likely encountered frozen shoulders, dropped shoulders, stiffness through the body or various other issues which will prevent your horse(s) from being the best they can be. All of these issues and more can be addressed by circles and lateral flexion work. Of course, lateral work should begin way back in the ground work stage before the horse is ever mounted, however that's not always possible. With many trainers, they'll tell you how to begin the training process, but not what to do if you acquire a horse in the middle of that process or if the horse has already developed bad habits.

Here in this post, I'm going to refer to several previous entries which all relate to the training we're wanting to accomplish. Lateral work is essential to opening the lines of communication between you and your horse. Whenever I've got a new project, one of the first things I'm going to do is ensure the horse is laterally flexible. Back in 2009, I published an article on this blog about suppling your horse, here. Flexion then circling, counter bending and asking the horse to lift his shoulders and raise his back are key points in these exercises. But, pulling the horse's face around to my leg is NOT what I'm looking for, to me, that's going about it the wrong way. Often all this does is creates a horse that refuses to accept contact with the bit and pretty soon you have a horse who, with the slightest pressure on a rein, flings his head toward your leg.

Which brings me to the so called "hard mouthed" horse. I wrote a post on these types of horses back a couple of years ago, too. This entry here gets into what causes and creates what some people call "hard mouthed" horses. In actuality, these are horses who have been trained to lean on their riders. They're not soft and supple, they're decidedly not flexible. For this reason, many trainers will suggest to folks (and you see this frequently on those RFD-TV horse training shows...) that they "teach their horses to flex". Doing so does NOT fix the problem, generally it makes the problem worse.

What's the ultimate in performance we want out of our horses? Collection, correct? Trouble is, both laypersons as well as too many trainers think merely slowing a horse down constitutes collection. I wrote all about that on this blog, as well. You'll find that entry here. You achieve collection through a series of building blocks (training exercises), not yanking on the horse's mouth to slow him. This is yet another place where lateral flexion and circles both small and large can help your horse, and thus your riding, immensely.

Before you can begin circle work, your horse must be balanced and to have a balanced horse, you've got to have a reasonably balanced rider. Why are circles important? Because they showcase that balance and your horse's suppleness and responsiveness. These traits are important for any horse, of any breed, in any discipline whether you show or simply ride down the trail. Don't forget to ride your horse front to back, not the other way around. Oftentimes riders get that part backwards. Concentrate every bit as much on the horse's hindquarters as you do on his front end and you'll be rewarded with a soft, supple horse who's a joy to ride.

I begin each exercise at the walk, preferring to stay away from too much flexing at a halt once the horse has a basic grasp of what I'm asking. After he understands how to use his body in a circle at the walk, I'll progress to a trot and eventually a canter, but I don't want to skip steps -- I want to ensure my horses have a decent grasp of the subject matter before moving on and trying to cram too much knowledge into them all at once. Once the horse has mastered lateral bending and simple circles, I'll add figure eights, spirals and serpentines into the routine. Spirals can be accomplished all the way through the canter, as can figure eights (using easy, relaxed simple changes of lead for a vast majority of horses). Serpentines are best used as trot exercises.

Summing up this evening's entry, I'll go back and answer the question raised by the title...why do you want your horse to bend? Because having a flexible horse means a far more trainable horse and generally a more balanced horse (provided you work each side equally, only concentrating on one side slightly more to the horse's "worst" direction).

~SFTS

Project Pony!

Why and how do I get myself into these things?

Here's the story...a friend of mine has a friend who needs to find a home for her small pony ASAP. I tentatively said I'll take him, if he's something I can use for children's lessons. All she knows about him is he's supposed to be "good with kids", however that can mean different things to different people.

Today I took a friend with me over to take a look at him, and while I'd like to say I was not prepared for what I saw or surprised, I cannot. He came trotting up and nickered at me as I approached his paddock. Two things I immediately noticed were how thin he was (complete with wormy belly) and the fact that his hind feet looked to be a good 6-7 inches long. Keep in mind, this is a pony of about 10 hands.

She had already been through bringing one back from the brink of death recently (Meet Aneela: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aneelas-Page/284752054878493?ref=ts) as well as rescued a 16h gelding who had been used as a pony horse and outrider's mount then abandoned at the Santa Anita racetrack, and she's not inclined to take on any more projects at the moment. Neither am I, my plate is full and the inn is decidedly full! I can make exceptions if the individual would be suitable for my program, just not dozens of those who need serious rehab and training. Sadly, this boy needs both.

This is the adorable little bugger~

So if you happen to be in the general area, he is in Pinon Hills and needs to find a home just about yesterday. Get in touch with me and I will make sure you're hooked up.

Which brings me to a topic that I want to touch more on later, that is folks getting horses or ponies they're truly not prepared to handle and who prove to be too much for them. Without some common sense and at least a little bit of background in equine education, too many people just jump in unaware. It's a miracle more people don't get hurt, particularly children.

There are many predatory people in the horse industry, especially here in the High Desert. They go to the low end auctions and pick up cheap horses, often lame or rank, and resell them to unsuspecting newbie  horse owners who just don't know any better. Suddenly, when they can't handle the horse, the Miracle Pro steps in to save the day...only to charge outrageous amounts for "training" the horse.

Hey, I have an idea! How about NOT selling people inappropriate horses in the first place?

Okay, enough of my rant for one night. You can read more of my feelings on this topic another time, it's a sure bet this is one topic that will be revisited!!

~SFTS

Great Beginnings

Here we are, in the middle of the third week of a new year and I had planned on writing an excellent post about a training topic for today. After a long, exhausting day and a very busy evening, needless to say I did not get around to it! But, I am being more diligent about posting. Right?

Part of that excitement I began writing about last weekend are the new clients and students who are coming into the Sunlit Farm family ~ and I do consider each and every one of them part of our extended family. We are so blessed with amazing people who believe in us, including so many former clients and students who have lined up in support...some of whom have brought horses back into training and some of whom intend to do so in the future. You ALL mean so much to us!

Our year is starting off with a bang, with our first horse show of the season now less than a month away on February 12th down in Mira Loma. This weekend I will be attending the ETI National President's Brunch; the following weekend I am judging the ACTHA Competitive Trail Challenge ride hosted by Mustang-Spirit Horse Rescue; and during the first weekend of February our Sunlit Farm and Rancho Indulto crew will be at Horse Expo Pomona for the entire event.

So with all that said, I'll be signing off for the evening. Happy trails!

~SFTS

In Focus: How To Achieve Your Riding Goals

Today I'd like to address how to reach the goals you set with your horses. Let me start by saying, I begin every ride, every work session, every day with a game plan. For each horse, I've decided what we're going to work on before the saddle ever goes on.

Being focused on what you want to accomplish with your horse is so important, I can't stress enough how having goals (make sure they are attainable goals) is vitally important to your success with your horse. Even if you never intend to set foot into a show ring, setting and reaching goals will accelerate your progress. Depending on your horse, what you request of him during a work session can be as simple as getting a calm walk on a loose rein or as difficult as a flying lead change. Remain focused on the path to your end goal, not the goal itself.

If I have a nervous horse that wants to bolt, my plan is likely to first address calming the horse and getting him to focus on his job, then work on the underlying issue. Such a horse needs to have situations set up for him to address the bolting behavior, but be able to control his trajectory when he takes off. What I mean by that is simple ~ create circumstances which may likely cause the horse to bolt off, because only then you can actually fix the problem. Of course, it helps to know what sets a bolting horse off, and most of them do have certain triggers. With such a horse, each ride needs to start out with the same routine, so the horse gains confidence. The end goal will be a horse that no longer bolts, however the daily goals need to be far more simple, such as getting a nice, relaxed walk and an unhurried, unrushed halt. Then a horse who moves off at a nice trot in a relaxed manner. It's all about using those "building blocks of training" I'm so fond of talking about.

Having step-by-step instructions for how to manage your rides can help many people, but you've got to be consistent. I like structure, and I believe most horses do, too. Horses are herd animals, and they are always looking for the herd leader...in this instance, we (the rider) are that leader. In training, we can use that to our advantage. Each work session begins the same way, with the horse being worked on the longeline or in the round pen (depending on available facilities). Allowing the horse to loosen up before getting down to the real work of the day is essential to having a horse that's ready to learn. That said, eventually I like to be sure I can just hop on without the longeing, and find different ways to warm up.

You can easily write out a little schedule by the week, I prefer to use a dry erase board. Remember, keep your daily goals simple and easy to accomplish, working up to bigger weekly and monthly goals. Before you know it, you'll have conquered that major goal and have something to celebrate!

~ SFTS

Heartbreak...

There I was, minding my own business on a Saturday night chatting online with friends and clients when I notice a post regarding a Half-Arabian mare that was at one of our notorious Southern California low end auctions. She was a horse I'd looked at for sale several years ago, but she was out of my price range (in the five figures). My hands were tied, she was set to go through the auction ring any moment and I was more than an hour's drive away.

I waited with bated breath to hear any news, when it came I was entirely unprepared: She sold for a mere $205. Having been involved in horse rescue for so many years, I knew the possibility of a good outcome for any horse of Arabian blood, particularly a hot, Half-Saddlebred Country English Pleasure horse, at this particular auction is not promising. So, I have embarked on a search to find out where she went and to hopefully bring her home.

Her name is Baronnessa, and this is she-

Many years ago, I embarked on a similar journey regarding another bay horse in the late 1980's/early 1990's. His name was Kilometer and he was a son of National Top Ten Halter and Park stallion *Perkal, out of a daughter of the *Talal son Taleeze named Monicaleeze.

At the time Kilometer came into my life, I was training out of a facility in Temecula, California called Daamascus Arabians (named after one of their stallions, who was sired by the Comet son *Carycyn). He was a stunning solid bay Purebred Arabian gelding who had National Championship potential in both Halter and English Pleasure. Every day, I had the pleasure of working him and he simply took my breath away. I did try to purchase him, however they had priced him at $5000 which was more than I could afford as a young trainer barely out of my teens. My offer was $2000, which was declined. My departure from Daamascus meant losing touch with many great horses, however I always kept Kilometer in my mind and in my heart.

One day after I'd gotten married and moved on to bigger and better things in my training career, not to mention was pregnant with my daughter, I happened to be at the famous Broken Horn tack store in Baldwin Park. Upon perusing their bulletin board, I noticed a flyer for a dispersal sale of horses in  Temecula. Recognizing the bloodlines and many of the names, I knew it was the Daamascus herd. That evening upon getting home, I called the woman who was showing the horses to prospective buyers and learned some startling news ~ they had all been auctioned off at the ranch only days before in a spectacle of television camera crews and horse rescuers. My heart sank.

That wonderful woman put me in touch with the son of Daamascus Arabians' deceased owner and I was able to find out who bought Kilometer. Three women who were fast friends paid a whopping $500 for him and intended to find him a permanent home. I got lucky and he gave me the name of one of the three who was the main contact, as well as a city she lived in. I was able to not only locate her address, but called the Postmaster in her city to get directions so I could pay her a visit to talk about that beautiful bay horse.

Prior to my heading for Orange County, I sat down and wrote these ladies a letter, figuring if no one answered the door, I would leave it on her doorstep. My story sounded pretty bizarre, that someone would go to so much trouble to track down a horse...especially a gelding. My luck would hold out, she answered the door. I prefaced my tale with, "You may think this sounds crazy, but," and I poured out my heart to her. By the time I went home that day, I had the name and telephone number of the partner who actually had Kilometer at her facility.

My husband and I made an appointment to go visit him and plan his acquisition. He was still the same remarkably beautiful boy I remembered and of course, I immediately knew I had to have him. We agreed on a price and by the time we were on the road for home, Kilometer's saviors had tasked me with writing up a sales contract. They were offering me extremely generous terms, keeping in mind I'd have to board him and was a young newlywed with a baby on the way.

Yet another roadblock surfaced when we discovered that he had never been transferred out of his breeder's name. From when I'd had him in training, I had a copy of his registration papers, so I knew who the breeder was. But upon contacting the Arabian Horse Registry, I discovered she was deceased. Back in those days, long before the widely available internet and prior to AHRA's releasing their stud book on CD (precursor to today's online DataSource), the good folks at the AHRA were reluctant to give out information to third parties with regard to recorded owners. By some strange twist of fate, the lady I spoke with at AHRA's offices that day let it slip not only that this breeder had two authorized signers on her account, but their names and even where one of them lived. Score!!

Both the breeder's son and daughter were allowed to do business on their mother's account with AHRA. I had a lead on where the son lived. Calling him was nerve wracking, however his kindness immediately put me at ease and before too long, I had his sister's phone number. She was so happy to hear about how Kilometer was doing and that I loved  him enough to go to so much work tracking him as well as his history down. By the end of that conversation, I had been assured the registration papers would be signed over to me.

As it turns out, he had been put in training with Vittex Arabians in Santa Ynez, the precursor to Daamascus. His owner had fallen ill and fallen behind on paying for his board and training, then passed away. The woman's daughter was then put in charge of her estate and all the horses, but it was too late. Instead of going through the proper legal channels to gain ownership, they simply took him for what was owed when they moved to Temecula. She had been trying to find out whatever became of him ever since he disappeared out of the Santa Ynez Valley. I was so glad to be able to fill in so many details for her.

Then disaster struck. One evening I received a message on my answering machine that I needed to give Kilometer's caretaker a call, she had news I may not want to hear. I immediately called her and my heart sank once more...he was diagnosed as a navicular horse. They had noticed him slightly off when being longed, and decided to have the vet out, who confirmed his status through x-rays. As soon as I got off the phone with her, I called my own veterinarian to discuss my beloved horse's future. While I knew the prognosis was not good, there was simply nothing positive about that conversation.

These women were willing to GIVE him to me, for free. Considering my situation, that I'd have needed to board him (since we lived in a tiny one bedroom apartment) as well as being more than seven months pregnant at the time, I knew I had to turn him down. That broke my heart. When last I heard, Kilometer had found a pasture puff home in Northern Arizona where he could live out his days without ever being asked to work again. Hopefully he led a long, healthy and content life.

Now back to my present situation ~ I just want to bring Baronnessa home. Wish us luck.

~SFTS

Welcome, 2012!

Yes, it's two weeks belated, but no less heartfelt!

We have so much happening that once again, I've neglected this poor blog. I know, I seem to say I'll get better about that every time, and I begin with the  best of intentions. So, no promises this time other than to myself!

So far the month of January has been just beautiful, such a change from last year. Brilliant sunshine, unseasonably warm temperatures and we are gearing up for a phenomenal year in 2012. New clients, new horses in training, a brand new energized board of directors for ETI Corral 88 (with yours truly being elected as President for the third year running...I am truly humbled by the support in our community) and so much hope for the upcoming show season has given us so many reasons to be excited going into this year.

Just a few tidbits of news from this past year:

In February, I took my gorgeous black NV Beau Bey gelding to Equine Affaire in Pomona to participate in their "Ride With The Best" program with Deborah Johnson. What a wonderful experience and I thank everyone so much for all their comments about my boy.

My beautiful daughter, now attending Victor Valley College, made her show ring debut in the Saddleseat discipline and rocked the house both times she's shown thus far. I am so proud of you Lisa!!

We took a client's lovely mare (Purebred Arabian) to a clinic with Diana Muravez hosted by the High Desert Chapter of the California Dressage Society at Hidden River Ranch last August and were thrilled with her performance.

Same mare as above attended her very first horse show in late October and brought home a second place ribbon in her show ring debut, in a fairly deep class. We could not be more proud of you, Belle!

Also in August my black horse made his triumphant re-entrance into the show ring at the Mojave River Valley Horsemen's Association Hot August Nights show, winning three out of four classes (placing second in the other), including the evening's biggest class of 15 horses.

Now on to bigger and better things!! As we begin this year, I want to offer many thanks to all the people who have continued to believe in us for so long ~ my incredible family, my fantastic friends and my amazing clients. Thank you all so much for your support over the years!!

~SFTS

Here We Go Again!

Has it really been almost six months? Sure doesn't seem like it! We have been so busy and with precious little time to be devoting to this blog, however I made myself a promise that starting July 1st (which of course would be today) I'd make a concerted effort to do better about posting. That said, I am not about to make any promises to anyone else about how often I'll find the time to update the blog!!

Things are moving right along, aside from the fact that I've not gotten a chance yet to update my website. Hopefully soon I will have added pages and a lot more information about ETI Corral 88, the farm at Rancho Indulto, new horses in training and our schedule. Thanks to everyone for hanging in there and continuing to look for blog updates. As always, please feel free to drop me an email and we'll go from there!!

~SFTS