Jim Swanner

Have you ever been doing something with your horse and then suddenly you have this thought “I wish I had known that” sooner? The late Ray Hunt said ‘The first thing you need to know is the last thing you find out’. How true this is in everything we do. And sometimes it’s the most important thing until we learn the next thing. To continue progressing with your horse you have to continually learn ‘the next thing’. If the first thing you need to know is the last thing you find out, then the next thing will be equally as important. What I’m saying is, you never stop learning; if you’re serious about your horse(s) you will continue to learn. I am a Learn-aholic. I can’t get enough knowledge. I am continually looking, learning, reading, interviewing people, listening to cd’s, etc.  And, anyone wanting to teach my program will do the same.  You can never learn enough. (And speaking of my program, I hope to introduce it by the end of summer).

Here is a for instance; do you know the rein effects. That is, what your reins do and what the positioning of your reins means? Each rein has a cue for the horse. They are not just for stopping and turning. You can ask different parts of the horse to do certain things depending on the positioning of the rein and how it’s used. Example; did you know you can talk to the left hind foot using the right rein – using it correctly, you can maneuver the hind quarters using one rein. Another example, you can ask your horse to go sideways just by using the reins, and not incorporating foot or leg pressure?

You have a direct rein and an indirect rein or some call it a ‘supporting rein’.  Learn the different ways or exercises you can do with your horse using the different reins effects.

Combining the different rein and knowing the different zones of the horse and how to apply pressure, you can begin to do some good stuff with your horse. It will help your horse to become more obedient, quite, calm and cooperate better.

You will be able to direct their movements with very subtle pressure. It will look like a mystery to people who don’t have a clue to what you are doing. It will be like a dance.

I should say, all this begins on the ground. And will transfer to the saddle. Ground work is very important. Most of the things we do with a horse are from the ground. We halter from the ground, we lead them from the ground, we groom them from the ground, we feed them from the ground, we saddle them from the ground,,,,,got the picture? 95% of the things we do with a horse are from the ground, so why wouldn’t you want a horse that was good from the ground?

But, in talking about the movements we want the horse to do, they are taught from the ground, first. It’s not about technique; it’s about language and understanding. Everything begins on the ground; Controlling your horse’s movements and the respect from there transfer to the saddle.

Controlling your horse’s movements; I’m not talking only about his forward movements; direction of movement or the lack of movement. It’s way more than that. You will begin to direct the horse’s movements and when you can do that, you will begin to make the biggest change in their brain.

The more you progress with the correct ground play, the more you will learn from your horse. And when you begin to learn from your horse you are on your way to becoming a horseman not just somebody who owns and rides horses.

So your horse won’t stand still, not only for mounting but for saddling, picking up his feet for cleaning or for the ferrier, etc. This situation is  more common than you would think and a very unsafe situation.

There are many causes for this type of behavior. Training or lack of training; many horses haven’t been taught correctly to stand. If the horse continues to move as you do these things and you allow it to happen, it’s you that is causing the habit. You must fix this before it becomes a habit. But forcing the horse is not the way to do it.

Horses move from pressure and pain and this could be a cause when cinching up your horse or the pressure of you sitting in or getting in the saddle. So, discomfort is the cause. Make sure you have the right fitting saddle, the cinch is correct (length, size) and there isn’t any foreign object under the cinch causing discomfort. Make sure the skin doesn’t have any spots that would make the horse uncomfortable.

You can imagine the discomfort stepping in a stirrup and putting your weight on one side of the horse would cause. That’s the reason, whenever possible, I use a mounting block. To help take the pressure off the horse’s back and to help lessen the moving of the saddle.

Remember, teaching a horse anything is a process of creating good habits. So don’t try to move too fast and not to reprimand the horse. He’s not trying to do wrong, he just hasn’t been taught correctly. Remember the horse isn’t afraid of being hurt, he’s afraid of being killed. It won’t happen immediately. In teaching a horse to stand still is no different. It’s a process, when your horse tries to do the right thing, reward that. You reward that effort to do the thing you are wanting by gently stroking, rubbing slowly and taking the pressure off allowing the horse to think about what he just did to get the reward and him wanting to do it again.  That’s just plain basic horse training. Everyone who has a horse needs to know these basic things.

Some horses will require more time and some will learn very quickly. So take your time with your horse.

A suggestion for you if your horse walks off while mounting; put your foot in the stirrup for just a second without getting in the saddle then remove it. If the horse stands still reward him, if he doesn’t, move him around and then bring back to where you are and begin again. Each time progressing to getting to the saddle. Progress slowly; there is no reason to hurry. Each time your horse stand still, reward him, each time he walks off help him move then bring him back. After you have reached the saddle and the horse hasn’t moved don’t allow him to move for several minutes while you are setting in the saddle then dismount and start again, the next day. Set the pattern.

This is call making the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult. I said difficult, not with aggression.

To fix a bad habit remember to take your time and fix it permanently and in a way the horse doesn’t become more afraid of you. A scared horse can hurt you really bad or worse. So, people, stop taking chances with your horses, stop riding your horses with your fingers crossed, hoping nobody gets hurt. Work on your relationship first. That’s the single most important thing you need to do.

There is a radio show ‘All About Horses’ each Monday morning from 9:30 – 10:00 central time on WKAC 1080 AM and streaming live at wkac1080.com. You may listen in as the host Jim Swanner talks with people from all around the horse industry. There is some local flavor (Athens, AL) as well as internationally known horse people, clinicians, authors, etc. Something for everybody who has or wants a horse.

You may visit the website jimswanner.com and click on the radio tab to hear past shows. We hope you enjoy listening in.