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Training Question
Hi Stacy,
 I did not grow up on horseback and have over the last 14 years jumped in with both feet. I have ridden, shown and started cutters and have spent the last three years riding and am now trying my hand at starting reiners.
I have read Bob Loomis's book, The Art of Reining, Sandy Collier's Reining Essentials and have just received and watched your video series.
I have encountered a problem with my colts and thought you could help. When stopping my colts they seem to catch their toes before they get set and slide.
Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
Franklin A.
Thanks for writing Franklin,
That is actually pretty normal when you first start teaching a horse to slide. Two thoughts that come to mind are the footing and the shoeing. If you are using a farrier that does reining horses you are probably all set in the shoeing department. If not then hopefully you are using a farrier that is willing to call others as well as study and learn. There is an art to shoeing reiners.
As for the footing… I generally have to make changes to my footing when I am teaching my colts to slide. When I have an older, trained reining horse they often can slide on a variety of surfaces. I think this is because they have learned how to balance their hind feet-taking advantage of the ‘trailer’ (the part that sticks out behind the shoe).
Part of the learning process is often times the horse putting too much pressure on the toe. This causes the toe to cut downward into the ground and then the foot stops sliding. The easiest way to help the young horse is to ride ground that has a very hard base for awhile.
Often times in the summer months I spend most of my time riding in my outdoor arena. This allows me to let my indoor get a little harder packed and I purposely don’t drag it quite as deep. The combination of the shallower ground with the hard base makes it difficult for the horse to drive the toe down even if they don’t balance quite right.
As they get more practice they figure out on their own that it is more comfortable when they are in a specific position but that takes time.
Check out your farrier work, try a harder base, and let your horse practice. I bet he will figure it out with that combination.
Stacy Westfall
 Dear Stacy,
I rescued Stormy, a 5-6 year old Arabian gelding in January. He was so starved I could see every bone in his body. With help from the Pawnee County Humane Society where I board him,he has gained back much of his weight.
I don't know all of his history, but what I do know is...he was seized in Nebraska, because he was starving, and rehabilitated by a horse rescue group there. He was purchased by a young man in Kansas as a gift for his girl friend. They knew nothing about horses or their care. The relationship ended shortly after that, he lost interest in the horse, and moved away. Stormy was loosing weight and being abused by three teenagers who were supposed to be taking care of him.
Adam, the former owner, had Stormy picked up, by a friend of his, to board him. What he must have suffered there I can't even imagine.
I found Stormy listed on a free classified web sight, and went to look at him. What I found just broke my heart. He was standing in the corner of a tiny, manure filled pen with no shelter. His water tank was frozen and he was being fed what looked to me like straw. His head was down, he had pressure sores on his hip bones, he could barely stand, and his feet looked like he was wearing ski's.
... Click Here to find out what Stacy has to say.
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All my life I have wanted a horse, but I wanted a horse I could ride. At age 53, I knew I didn't want to start with a colt, but this horse looked like he was 30 years old. But I couldn't turn my back on him.
I contacted Adams sister and told her how I found the horse. She wrote up a contract stating if I removed him from the property he was my responsibility. Adam agreed.
Throughout the rest of January, and most of February all I did with him, was feed, brush him, and get his feet trimmed. I haltered him on nice days and lead him around a little, and he seemed like a quiet horse, but he really didn't have any ground manners. Unless I had a bucket of food, he didn't seem to notice me at all, and would just walk right over the top of me. I have been trying to work on ground manners, but really didn't have much of a program. I also have ridden him a couple of times, but it was like trying to ride a horse that was trying to go every direction at once.
I don't know anything about training a horse and knew I had problems to overcome so I ordered your 8 video set and am waiting for it to arrive.
Now here is the really scary problem. Yesterday I was trying to work him in the round pen. I work with him every day. All I was asking him to do was to walk around the pen then to change direction without the lead rope. We have done this before, and he had been alright. He really prefers to go one direction, and will put his ears back when I direct him to go the other way, but yesterday he ran at me, shaking his head and striking out with his front feet. I had to yell, through up my arms, and actually hit him with the lounging whip to keep him off me. As it was he only bumped me with his shoulder when he tried to veer away. He ran around the round pen several times, than came at me again. He didn't try to get as close the second time, and after I chased him around the round pen awhile he settled down and approached me calmly. It took every thing I had to let him approach me after what had just happened. He stopped so I could pet his head. When I stepped forward one step he stepped back one step, then when I stepped back he came forward keeping his distance, just like nothing had happened. I stopped as soon as he did this, gave him his supper and put him back out in the pasture for the night with his friends.
The man who owns the property where Stormy is boarded, trains hunting dogs, not horses. It was his suggestion to get your training videos, so we could watch them together, and establish a training program for Stormy, and his horses.
I talked to a friend of mine, who has trained horses, and who helped me rescue Stormy. Her suggestion was to cut back his Purina Strategy by 1/3, and see if that might help him to be a little calmer.
Do you have any suggestions, or should I just leave him alone until I can get him with a trainer. I do know of a great trainer I just don't know how long it would be before he could take him.
Thank you for your time,
Glenda E
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Dear Glenda,
It sounds like you have done a great thing helping this horse. I think that the DVD’s and your friends help should go along way.
Having said that you could also be experiencing some of what I experienced when I was in my teens. A friend rescued a horse, similar conditions, and you could tell the horse had been abused. Long story short-the horse recovered but as his weight went up so did his energy level and all of his problems were magnified.
He had been head shy when he was thin but with weight and energy he was head shy and angrier. His energy was also up and he demanded more work and was more of a handful than he had appeared to be when he was thin.
We worked with him for over a year. He became an OK horse but didn’t fit the program of having multiple, inexperienced riders using him so he was sold. He needed a special home where he could fit and the place I worked was not that place.
He did find a good home. Keep in mind you may do all this work and still decide in the end to help him find a great home. The choice will be yours as you move forward. Stay safe. Horses are very big and very strong.
Thanks for writing,
Stacy Westfall
Westfall Horsemanship
 Colt Starting Time!
It is that time of year again. Just after Thanksgiving is over many young horses around the country get their start. That is true here at Westfall Horsemanship, also.
If you have been visiting the site for very long you may remember little Chloe, the first foal of Roxy's, who was part of a major 'Name that Foal' contest a couple of years ago. Time sure does fly! Now it is time for Chloe to get started under saddle. She has been here for about two weeks now and she has been doing great.
I started with all of the steps shown on the Basic Groundwork DVD. Now that I have been through those I am using the techniques shown on the Starting Young Horses DVD. The nice thing is that they go together and that means that each day I am reviewing the steps done in the ground work as I am moving forward. She has been saddled now about five different day, has been carrying the snaffle bit for about ten days (while I work-not in the stall) and she is getting pretty consistent in understanding what I want.
Today was the first day of ground driving. Because of the preparation of tarps, flopping the stirrups, and bending while standing still and moving things went well. I did some bending and standing still while jumping next to her today. I will do it again tomorrow putting more weight on the saddle as I use it to jump. Today she figured out how to keep her legs spread more so she wouldn't loose her balance while I jumped. I'll keep you updated...especially if you write in and say you want more!
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Well, now I have taken Chloe through all of the steps in the Basic Gro undwork DVD as well as the Starting Young Horses DVD. This means that she has been sacked out with balls, tarps, stick & string, tarps on lunge whips and things dragging near her. She was sacked out standing still and sacked out in motion (important for emotional control). She has had the saddle pad on and I have made it fall off, same thing with the saddle, all to teach her how to respond correctly when something falls from her back (just in case :) She knows how to lunge over and around things, how to turn both directions, how to disengage her hind end and how to come to me when I back away. She accepts the bit and the saddle. Was accustomed to the cinch because of the use of a rope before I saddled her. She can bend and stand still and she can bend and move...and she knows when to do each because of the use, or lack of, leg pressure.
Chloe also learned to ground drive. She can walk, trot, and lope while ground driving. She can turn right and left and trot figure eights as well as reverse directions. You can toss a small tarp under her feet (tied to a lunge whip) and she has stopped striking at it. You can wrap the same tarp thing around her hind legs as she trots and she is quite about it (many kick a lot).
And all of this was done before I mounted the first time.
By the first ride so much was done that the ride was easy! Now I am walking, troting, and loping on her. The first day I walked each direction a few steps. The second day I walked and trotted both directions. Repeated this on day three and four and then I added loping. I don't ride long. More time still goes into the prep than the acutal ride. I double check the things listed above to find any 'holes' that may have developed in the training. You would be surprised at how the horses will sometimes have a little memory loss and suddenly be surprised by something (tarp, ball, etc) just because they are having a bad day. |
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