Be your horse’s leader
LIKE LOTS OF young horses, Leah’s ride, Renoir, is smart. In fact, he’s as sharp as a tack and this can be the cause of some spookiness in training. “Your horse might be spooky, and whether his spookiness stems from his intelligence or not, keep in mind that the biggest tool in your possession is that you’re always going to be smarter than him,” says Leah. “As the smarter one, it’s your job to let him know that it’s okay, that he’s safe and that he can trust you.”
Leah suggests that to help build your horse’s confidence, start by riding around strange objects at home.
“This will build your partnership, as well as his confidence, and means that when you meet unexpected things, you’ll both be better prepared.”
Easy to access objects that are great to train around include banners, cones, flappy bags and various other things that you can usually find around the yard.
“When horses spot something out of the ordinary, like a new banner, they become tense, distracted and their survival instincts switch to high alert,” says Leah. “If you try to ride with force in an attempt to overpower this natural reaction you’ll either make him push back further or rush past. In either case, he won’t accept the hazard and he’ll completely ignore your aids.”
1 Yield towards the object
When approaching something you think your horse will react to (or if he’s already reacted to it), Leah recommends riding shoulder-fore. “Riding shoulder-fore you’ll be keeping an inside bend and bringing your horse’s shoulders slightly in from the track,” she says. “You can then yield him towards the object, pushing slightly out through the outside shoulder and away from your inside leg. This strengthens your inside leg aids and gets him onto your outside aids.”
THE AIDS FOR SHOULDER-FORE:
Keep your weight on your inside seat bone so that your inside leg remains long
Use your outside rein to bring your horse’s forehand in (take care not to pull on your inside rein)
Once his forehand is in, half-halt on the outside rein and apply your inside leg in exactly the same position (don’t bring your inside leg back as this will push his quarters out)
2 Slow the pace
Leah also explains that it’s important to try and slow your horse down so that he can’t run away from you or your aids. “Try and make his brain slow down so he can think and not panic,” she says. “Make him take one step at a time and be very reassuring so that he finds the scary part of the school a safe and relaxing place to be. Every time you go past it expect him to behave better and better. But be ready to repeat the process when you change the rein and he sees it from another view.”
3 Keep your cool
While in the heat of a spooky moment, some riders might be tempted to pull for the whip and reprimand their horse for his behaviour, Leah advises against any knee-jerk reactions. “If a horse is genuinely fearful, using a whip or getting cross with your horse will only reinforce the idea that the current situation really is dangerous and frightening,” she explains. Instead, Leah advises that being firm and calm, and only riding when you’re in the right mindset to react calmly and with confidence should he play up, is important.
4 Perfect your timing
“A great tip I once picked up is that if your horse’s ear prick, take this as a sign that their state is changing,” says Leah. “This signals that they’re moving from relaxed to alert and you need to get onto this change as soon as possible. Ask your horse a question at that exact moment to get his behaviour back on side.” Try these… Immediately ride a downwards transition, regain your horse’s focus, then ride forward again Between the paces or within the paces ride slight leg-yields, shoulder-in, shoulder-fore or quarters in – anything that breaks down his loss of concentration and brings his focus back to you