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How do I get my mare to lope right on both leads?

By DANA HOKANA / Horsetrader columnist - March 17th, 2011

DEAR DANA: I have a 5-year-old Paint mare that lopes wonderfully on the left lead, but when I ask her to lope to the right she can’t hold it together as well — she doesn’t feel as smooth or as cadenced to the right. What can I do to fix her lope?
Anna Olsen, Ojai, CA

DEAR ANNA: That is a very good question! Almost all horses lope or canter on one lead better than the other, and there are many reasons for this.

Dear Dana: What tips do you have for an attendee to a training clinic so that they go home with the most benefit?
Anne Read
Pomona, CA

Dear Dana: What tips do you have for older riders to help keep their balance?

By DANA HOKANA / Horsetrader columnist - December 2nd, 2010

DEAR DANA: What riding tips do you have to help older riders keep their balance?
— Dea Helm, Placerville, CA

DEAR DEA: That is such a good question! For your safety and enjoyment, it is best to be aware of what you can do to maintain and improve your balance while riding.

How do I keep my focus, and not get nervous before a big show?

By DANA HOKANA /Horsetrader columnist - November 4th, 2010

Every competitor has the same challenge! You’ve got to keep focused, keep motivated, and do not let the nerves take over. Once nerves are allowed to take over, they can distort a competitor’s thoughts…which can affect performance.

Here is a very important concept for us to remember: Our thoughts control our actions. I realize that when our nerves are roaring like a lion, it can be difficult to control our thoughts. But it is possible to keep control, and I have a few tips that can help you!

Dear Dana: Can my cutter shift to western pleasure?

By DANA HOKANA - September 16th, 2010

DEAR DANA: I purchased a 10-year-old cutting horse. How can I teach him to set his head for western pleasure classes?
–Susan Meade, Placerville, Calif.

DEAR SUSAN: It’s complicated, but not impossible! Training for cutting is very different than western pleasure, and he will need a lot of new training. First, in order for a horse to set his head he has to use flexion in his head and neck — he must must flex in the jaw, pole and neck to set or bridle his head. When you touch his face with the reins, he must soften in the jaw, give or break at the poll and flex in his neck. Here you will need to retrain his response to his rein cue.

Start with a lot of lateral flexion exercises, such as bringing your hand out to the side asking him to bend through the neck, and bend his head around toward your toe. Ask him to walk forward as you take a hold of him. Start on one side or the other, and if he starts out stiff, keep gently pushing and asking until he gives.

Well, although they are two different things, “feel” and “timing” go hand-in-hand. Timing is knowing when to pick up on your horse, and feel is knowing if your horse “gives” or not — and when to release. You communicate with your horse using your hands, seat and legs, and you develop good communication with feel and timing. An age-old theory says that you either have feel and timing or you don’t, and that neither can be taught. People believed that feel is some elusive, mysterious ability that some great horsemen naturally possess. That is just not true. While there is no doubt that some highly talented people have loads of natural ability in this area, anyone who puts their mind to it can greatly improve. With time, patience and discipline you to can develop feel and improve your timing.

There are five principles to help you accomplish this:

1. Raise Your Level of Awareness
The first and most important principal to remember is to “pay attention”. Pay attention to what your horse is doing underneath you. Learn to read your horse, to diagnose what he’s doing and what you are doing while you are riding him. To start improving your feel and timing, pay attention while riding. You can only fix something if you become aware that there is a problem, so raise your level of awareness.

2. Follow Through
The next important principal is to “follow through”. To follow through means to stay in or bump with your hands or legs until you get the desired response which is a “yes” to your cue! So pay attention because your horse learns by the release. If you bump or take hold of your horse and he pulls down or away from you and you release at the wrong time you just taught him something, maybe the wrong thing, with your release. If you are careful to release each time after you get your desired response he will become lighter and lighter to your cue. So don’t release until you feel him get light and soft in your hands and feel a definite “yes”.

3. Push Through Resistance
When you raise your level of awareness and demand the desired response you may encounter resistance. I encourage you to stay with it until you get your desired response. If he becomes extremely resistant or dangerous, stop what you are doing and seek the help of a professional. I must say that sometimes a horse argues with me right before a big breakthrough. Once I feel him give, I drop right away to teach him that that was what I wanted. Remember a horse learns by the reward.

4. Use a Fair Approach with Your Hands and Legs
The next principal is to pick up fairly. To pick up fairly means do not snatch your horse out of mid-air. If you need to bump or correct your horse sharply you can do so but first approach your horse fairly. That means draw up on the slack in your horse’s reins slowly until you feel his mouth and he knows you are there, and then you can bump or correct or lightly jerk. A horse can take correction if it is given to him fairly with a warning that you are there at the end of the bridle reins. It is unfair to hit the bridle reins with no warning. He needs to feel you coming and good feel means your approach is slow. I tell my riders to draw up on the reins until they feel the horse’s mouth. Teach your horse to trust your hands and take your correction. He will get softer and lighter than ever in your hands. The same applies to your legs or your spur. If you give your leg slowly and then give your cue, he will be more likely respond willingly. If you learn to ask or speak softly through your hands and legs you will develop a willing partner. Of course there are times you need to get tougher to get your point across, but make that the exception — not the rule.

5. Learn to tell the difference between a refusal and an “I don’t understand”
Be open to the fact that you may not be giving a clear cue, or that your horse just doesn’t “get it.” Make your cues extremely clear and easy to understand.
I hope that helps. Once you’ve pushed to this new level and you know what it feels like, don’t settle for less than that! Refine your feel in your hands and legs and rise up to a relationship with your horse that leads to better performance. It is truly awesome when your feel becomes so good that you can feel your horse trying under you and you and your horse become a team!

To read more from Dana on “Feel” and “Timing”, click here.

Dear Dana: How do you get a horse soft in the face?

By Dana Hokana / Horsetrader columnist - August 4th, 2010

Let me start with giving you some principals to proper flexion. First, in order for a horse to bridle his head, he must flex or give in the poll and the jaw — and also in the neck. This will enable him to have the profile and head carriage needed for our Western and English classes today.

You can use several exercises to gain suppleness and control of your horse’s head and neck and enable you to teach your horse proper flexion. In order for a horse to flex or give in the poll, jaw, and neck, I must be able to take a hold of his face and ask him to soften in my hand — and give me his face. I have discovered an easy way to get control of these parts of my horse’s body.

I start with teaching my horse lateral flexion of his head and neck. I do this by asking for my horses face laterally or off to the side. I ride two handed and take one hand out to the side, asking my horse to really bend his neck, bringing his face out to the side. Then, I ask him to step forward while having the bend through his head and neck. As I have a hold of my horse, I do not jerk unless he is pulling away from me. If he’s giving his face, I stay soft but keep my pull constant while pushing with my legs to keep him moving forward. I pay attention to the cadence of his steps — if he’s jerky or very uneven in his motion, I work at this until he is fluid and cadenced.

I also pay attention to his body language, as in his tail movement, mouth, and ears. The quieter he is, the more willing he is. I will ask for a few steps in this maneuver, then I will drop off of him, giving him a break, letting him walk in a straight line. Then I pick him back up and ask for the maneuver again. If I get a lot of resistance, I will often drive him forward to the trot. The use of forward motion will often break through a stiff or resistant horse. I have found that when my horse’s cadence becomes consistent, a new level of willingness is achieved.

I never do this exercise with draw reins or a training fork, as I’ve seen horses bite at these and get hung up — extremely dangerous. If at any time your horse shows too much resistance, stop and seek the help of a professional. I always work both sides of the horse’s body equally, unless the horse is exceptionally stiff one way.
When that’s the case, I will work on the resistant side longer until I feel them get soft in my hands. My goal is always that my horse becomes soft and flexible.

When done correctly, this first exercise will teach your horse to flex through his neck and jaw and give in the face. It will help a horse that has a tight-looking neck and one that is intimidated in the face and behind the bridle to “stretch out and let go in their neck” — and to have a nice, level profile.

The previous exercise doesn’t, though, address flexion in the poll or bringing in a horse’s chin. This exercise will, though: Ask again for the exercise we just learned, and this time, once your horse is comfortable, relaxed and giving, you will bring your hand up and across in front of the saddle horn and ask your horse to drop his nose down toward your toe. Doing this, you will increase the bend and flexion while still having his head around to the side, but with more control of him. Do this with forward motion, starting at the walk — it’s a harder exercise with a higher level of difficulty and flexion, but it also brings you greater results.Evaluate your horse’s response and watch his body language.When you get your desired response, drop your horse and give him a break and then try again. Your goal is to get him softer and more responsive. Since this exercise has a tighter bend and a higher level of difficulty, it may take weeks to gain as much control and suppleness as we have shown here. Be patient, it is worth the effort!

After mastering the last exercise, here’s afinal one. Take a hold of your horses face with both hands, drawing straight back. Don’t jerk — simply draw your hands back and ask your horse to walk forward, encouraging him to be soft and light in the face. The trick to getting that nice level top line is to hold and push until he drops his head to level with his withers. Also pay attention to his feel in your hands. Your goal is that he not only drops his poll, but he also softens in your hands. Make sure when he does this you reward him by releasing your cue.

Best of luck to you,

DANA

P.S. — These exercises are also shown in many of my DVD’s in my Winning Strides DVD series.

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Dear Dana: How do you know if you have a good seat?

By Dana Hokana / Horsetrader columnist - July 14th, 2010

When you have a good seat, you are able to catch your horse’s rhythm and you are able to flow with your horse. How do you know if you have one?

I’m sure you can just picture watching certain riders who look like they are “one” with their horse? — they make it look effortless and easy. Now, I’d like to help you to develop a strategy to improve your seat. Once your seat is improved, you can get closer and closer to riding as “one” with your horse, and you, too, will catch the rhythm and flow of your horse. You just need some knowledge, a “stick with it” mentality, and a little hard work.

Let’s start with your body and your horse’s rhythm and gaits. Your body consists of many movable parts and joints. You can’t sit still on a horse and never move. Some part has to move with the horse. The key is what part of you needs to move — your hips or pelvis. These need to be flexible and move with your horse as your primary breaking or pivot point. Not your waist. Not your upper body. As you learn to unlock your hips and relax your lower back, you can sit down or back on your pockets and engage the first and most important body part needed in having a good seat — that is, your seat!
Through your seat, you can learn to feel your horse — his rhythm, his motion, and the definite beat to his gaits. I teach my riders to look for, listen for, and feel for their horse’s rhythm.

To become a truly great rider, you need to understand your body and your horse’s body. Your horse also consists of many movable parts and joints, and you must also consider that he has three separate, distinguishable gaits unless he is a gaited horse. Each of those gaits has a separate beat. As you learn about your horse’s gaits, you can look for the feel or beat through your body. When you unlock your body with his, you become “hooked up” (or “one”) with his gaits. The walk is a four-beat gait, the trot a two-beat, and the lope or canter is a three-beat gait.

Since the trot is the easiest gait to catch, let’s start with it. It has a definite “one-two, one-two” beat. The better trot your horse has, the more definite the beat. If you have trouble feeling the gait, speed him up a little to encourage him to engage in his gait. Look for that rhythm, and as you learn to feel it, allow your body to move with or catch the rhythm, remembering to unlock your hips and allow them to catch the beat. The lope or canter is harder with some horses to feel the exact “one-two-three, one-two-three,” but it does have a moment of roll or lift that you can look for and catch. It goes like this: “one-two (hesitate or lift) three.” That moment of hesitation is a moment of lift or suspension when your horse carries all of his body weight on his outside hind leg and it gives that rocking chair feel. You can learn to catch it like a rocking chair. Relax your seat enough to catch that beat.

The walk is a “one-two-three-four, one-two-three-four.” Practice feeling this rhythm while you ride your horse at all three gaits.

Another key point to gaining a good seat is to learn to control your breathing. When you breathe correctly –taking a full deep breath through your diaphragm, your seat aligns itself in the correct position on your horse. Deep breathing expands your ribcage and positions your seat correctly on your horse. A short shallow breath encourages an arch in your back and brings your tail bone up off your horse. This can also encourage you to lift your seat up off the horse and lean forward, which then breaks that communication between your seat and your horse. Good, correct deep breathing will greatly improve your seat and your riding on your horse. It also relaxes you and makes you more aware of your body, your horse’s body and his gaits. You also send a confident message when you are relaxed and in control of your horse and your body. As your seat is centered where it belongs, your balance improves, resulting in hand and leg cues that are smoother and clearer. Your timing becomes better.

I am not discounting the age-old teaching that ideal position on your horse is a straight line from the ear through the shoulders, then through the hip, knee and heel. I agree that proper alignment through your body is important. But it all starts with your seat and knowing where your seat is most effective on your horse.

The key is to first position your seat on your horse, then align the rest of your body. A real good exercise to help you to align your body position on your horse is to stand in your stirrups, making sure someone is holding your horse and that you have a safe horse to use. If you need to, hold onto the horn for balance. When you stand, relax your knees and ankles, driving your heels to the ground, then tuck your fanny and stretch your upper body up to the sky. Relax your shoulders down and back. After you are comfortable holding this position for a moment, sit back down, but — this is really important — don’t sit back down like you are sitting in a chair. Instead, slowly fold down to the saddle, landing first on your crotch, then roll back until you are sitting on your pockets. This exercise helps to keep your whole body in alignment on the horse. When you feel yourself get out of balance or out of position, stop your horse, stand and reposition and try again. I often have my riders do this exercise as well as a series of other exercises to encourage proper body position.

If you would like more information on these exercises, I have produced a DVD titled Take Control Vol. 1-How to be a More Effective Rider, this DVD gives a lot more ideas and exercises to help you develop into the best rider that you can be.

DANA

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Here’s 3 hot tips for building a long-term show horse

By DANA HOKANA / Horsetrader correspondent - June 30th, 2010

Showing older horses is something I value and work toward. All horses deserve to have long-term careers — it takes the Spanish riding school years to develop their horses, and the highest level horses are in their teens before performing the difficult maneuvers. They spend remarkable time layering and building a solid foundation.

That foundation is a key to a long-term horse, along with keeping the horses mind fresh and also keeping them sound.

1. The first tip includes layering and building a solid foundation. I carefully evaluate the horses reactions to my cues. Are they stiff, resistant or cranky? Do they need reminders on how to say yes to these cues? Are they angry at my leg? If so, maybe I need some exercises to remind my horse to be supple, soft and accepting. Are they tough in the face? I may need to bend them around or back them off the bridle. During every ride I practice basic exercises to keep my horses willing and supple. Developing and maintaining a horse who is accepting and willing is very important.

How they present themselves in the show arena is directly related to how this foundational work is maintained in the practice pen. If I am working with a pleasure horse, I do most of my warm-up work in the middle of the arena. I supple, strengthen and lengthen the stride through different exercises as I am evaluating their responses and eliminating resistance. I work on the quality of each gait to enhance the horses movements. If I am riding horsemanship, reining, or trail horses I rarely work on the entire pattern, I separate each maneuver. Varying the horses’ workouts make it more fun and challenging, for horse and rider.

2. The next key to a long-term show horse is to maintain or school him in the show ring.
I do this carefully, as I want to keep the experience a good one. In order to have a successful older horse they must enjoy their job. People and horses will have good and bad days, I try to make the overall experience enjoyable.

Another problem associated with older horses is cheating. Horses who have the opportunity to cheat usually become cheaters. I try to eliminate these opportunities by preventing the horse’s anticipation of my cues. One principle I keep in my mind is the average horse needs correction or schooling in approximately one out of every three goes in the show arena. This may vary horse to horse but it is a good average. I rarely punish a horse severely in the show pen, people who punish harshly while showing develop horses who hate or dread classes. I use subtle corrections like making the horse wait after the announcer calls for a lope, picking the horse up for collection and bridling, or waiting to reverse. In reining classes I may not change leads where the horse is expecting it or I may run them to the fence to stop. If your horse is cheating in the show arena, watch for signs in the warm-up pen — they are often lacking in some of their foundational training. It important to not be disrespectful to judges or to other exhibitors as you are schooling your horse. Also remember do not stop in front of or mess-up someone else’s go, it is an excellent way to upset other exhibitors. I often pick smaller shows or classes to school for this reason.

3. The third tip is to work and perform maintenance to keep horses sound. A sound comfortable horse will be much happier than a hurting or uncomfortable horse. Most older horses have soundness issues. I seek the help of top veterinarian and working in conjunction with them I come up with individual programs for my older horses. The most important part of the program is regular exercise. Hoof soreness and navicular are directly related to blood flow, standing in the stall without exercise can make these conditions worse. Arthritis can also worsen if a horse stands in a stall for too long. Some older horses need corrective shoeing so seek the help of a top farrier as shoeing is important to soundness. When I am not riding these older horses, I make sure they are longed daily. I start with a good warm-up such as walking 5 to 10 minutes, jogging 5 to 10 minutes, then loping 5 to 10 minutes, and finally cooling down for 5 minutes. Turnout can be good as long as the long horse does not play so hard they injure themselves. When riding these horses I also warm them up and cool them down carefully. I also do a lot of medium trotting and stretching. A great vet once told me that starting every workout with 10 minutes of medium trotting will keep horses sound Many older horses get shorter in their stride so I will encourage them to drive, reach, and lengthen their strides. I also spend time driving my horses to their face at the walk, trot, and lope. I practice driving at an arc and reverse acre to supple and strengthen. A physically fit horse is a strong horse who is better able to resist strains, tears, and many lameness problems.

Dana

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Dear Dana: How do you keep cool with a resistant horse?

By DANA HOKANA / Horsetrader columnist - June 16th, 2010

We have all felt the challenge: “How can I keep my cool on this horse?!”

We all have the potential to lose our temper. The problem with losing your temper is it magnifies the problem, making the horse even more resistant to the task. Horses respond best to clear messages. When they are wrong, show them clearly and correctly. When they are right, clearly reward. I like to spend a lot of time showing my horse a maneuver and working on his acceptance to that specific maneuver. There comes a time when I have to demand it. Maintaining acceptance is crucial. If I feel that he has honestly learned and knows what is expected, then he needs to be willing. I should not have to beg for obedience.

Everyone’s personality is different so is their patience level. The goal is to stay within that level while riding. Be firm (without anger) when appropriate and soft when needed. I will give tips and strategies to enhance your understanding of your horse and how to work through difficult times.

Tip #1 – Consider all factors that may affect your horse’s attitude
Let’s start by considering factors that make it hard for your horse to focus on you while training or riding. It may be he has to just deal with it, but these factors still play a part. It is good to be mindful and know what can affect your horse.

Factor #1 – Your horse’s energy level
This is so important! A fresh horse reminds me of a kid that ate a bunch of candy. They are uptight, ready to go and have trouble focusing. If your horse is too fresh to focus, consider lounging or turning him out to expel unwanted energy. Then start your workout. If your horse has a lot of energy and you cannot wear him down, consider what you are feeding him. High carbohydrate, high sugar feed may provide more energy than he needs. Adjust his feed to fit his work level and event you show him in. Too much high energy feed can make it hard for the horse to focus.

Factor #2 – Hormones or heat cycles
If you are riding a mare, be observant of her behavior when she is in heat. Almost all mares change when they are cycling. Some get excessive energy, others become dull and sticky or mad at your legs. Certain mares get angry at other horses. If you are riding a mare that becomes very difficult you may try putting them on Regumate. Some of our show mares are on Regumate to keep their attitude consistent during show season. The most common situation I find is that my mares have a lot more energy when they are in heat. Stallions are also greatly affected by hormones. 

Factor #3 – Young or green horse
Another factor to consider is the age of your horse. Young horses have a shorter attention span than older horses. They also don’t have the self discipline and patience that older horses acquire. Young horses require repetition. They learn by consistency. It takes hundreds of times to perform a maneuver before it is ingrained in their mind for them to become broke. I teach my young horses self discipline by leaving them tied for periods of time. I might also ride them at different times of the day and constantly change their routine. I may ride them at a meal time or in the evening. I try not to get them dependant on a routine. Shows are unpredictable and I may have to compete during a meal time. A horse can become very upset by this. They must realize that they still have to behave no matter what the time of day or what the circumstance is.

Factor #4 – Poor Attention Span or a spooky horse
Some horses have a poor attention span. Often they are horses that spook or ones that want to look at things. This personality type may be genetic; some of it could also be a learned behavior. You can teach your horse to be spooky. This happens through body language and subtle signals through your body that there is something to worry about as you approach a scary or challenging object. If your horse feels your fear, this tells him that it is a big deal and he may react or spook, which causes you to react even more. You may be unconsciously causing a pattern of learned behavior. Become aware of your signals. Breathe and relax while approaching intimidating obstacles. When he reacts, act as if it is no big deal. Keep going back and forth by the object until he can relax. Stop your horse by the scary spot, stand there until you hear him breathe and relax. Do not overreact! If you are able, tie them out in different places and leave them there until they can relax can stand quietly.

Factor #5 – Negative past experiences
This is a really important factor, because if you have a horse that you did not own during all of his training he may have some negative reactions to your cues or pressure, it might be because of his past training. As an example, if he overreacts when you pick him up in the face and he becomes unreasonable, it may be that someone who rode him jerked him or scared him. You can undo negative past experiences with time and patience, but the first step is diagnosing the problem. To repair damage you must turn the bad experience in to a good one or in the least an okay experience.

Factor #6 – Soreness
If your horse is sore somewhere he will have trouble focusing. If something just doesn’t feel right, seek the help of a professional. An uncomfortable horse can not be expected to give you his best.

Tip #2 – Do not get emotional
I have a saying, “stay out emotionally.” This can be very difficult and I know that all too well. Most people show or ride because they enjoy their horses and it means a great deal to them. When you are riding a horse and you can not figure out what is going wrong or he is fighting you, it is easy to get upset. This can turn into anger, which your horse can feel. Your emotions truly come out in your cues in how you communicate with your horse. If your horses is unwilling or refusing you, try to approach it like it is his problem, not yours. Separate yourself emotionally. Your horse is making his choices and he can have the consequences. If you feel that your horse has bad past experiences, does not understand, or is confused, then take your time. Isolate the problem or refusal and deal with that one thing until you break through. I have been on horses for long periods of time until I had a break through and started to get to the other side of my problem. Sometimes breaking through in a small area paves the way and builds the relationship (or respect), until he goes ahead and gives up the fight.

Tip #3 – Isolate and work on the body part that is refusing you
This goes back to understanding and diagnosing the problem. I often see people label a horse as ‘bad’ or being a ‘jerk’. That tends to promote you to a state of anger leading to jerking or spurring the horse to solve the problem. I want to isolate what part of their body said “no” and then correct that body part rather than the whole horse. Ride intelligently and be mindful. Be smarter than the horse! For example, if he is refusing to give his face, then work on getting his face and focus on that until you conquer it. Often, I find horses that are angry at or resisting my leg or spur. I will put my leg on them and perform exercises or maneuvers to get them to say “yes” to me until I get on the winning side of the argument. Attacking and fighting the whole horse often snowballs into a bigger problem. Many horses are angry because someone mistakenly diagnosed the problem and then attacked the whole horse instead the body part that refused.

Your horse can not control his circumstance but you can. Create an environment where he can learn. Where he can receive what you’re giving him. Evaluate yourself and how you are asking and teaching, “your delivery” so to speak. As you work as a team you slowly build a relationship and you will create enough authority in the relationship that you can take him into difficult places. He will still listen to you and obey your cues. Keep your emotions in check and you will go farther with your horse.

Dana

Have your own question for Dana? If so, click here! If your question is used in “Dear Dana”, you will be entered into a monthly drawing for a FREE “Winning Strides” DVD!

Sign up for Dana’s newsletter and keep up with Dana’s updates, new products and clinic schedule! When you register, you are automatically entered into a quarterly raffle for great prizes, including a FREE personal training session with Dana! Click here to sign up now!