Good horsemanship is taking the welfare of the horse into consideration. Without the goodwill of the horse we would not be able to enjoy our work with the horse. Horses are amazing creatures in that they allow us to do so many things with them.
How to tell if your horse is a jumper? 'the horse willingly goes over a jump. In the beginning, it should be very low, with the horse preferably loose or at least on a lunge line. A horse that likes jumping will not find a way around.
You can't make a horse jump once the fence gets higher. Listen to your horse. Some horses will willingly jump 4' but not 5'. Horses are like people.
Reward your horse for doing what you want. Treats are good for in the beginning when learning but should be replaced by other rewards.
Rewards you can give your horse:
time off. 5 or 10 minutes break then go back. Leave your horse alone if loose, when riding, loose rein.
Do something else that the horse can do
walk on a loose rein (long rein if your horse has issues)
trot or canter on a loose rein after doing something challenging at the trot or canter
do the opposite of what you were doing. eg leg yield at walk... loose rein at walk, collected trot: loose rein at trot
scratch on withers or preferred spot
stoke your horse's neck (long strokes)
Uberstrechen with one hand: give with one rein (inside rein ideally) for several strides after the horse responds to the rein aid
relax your feel on the reins after asking for a transition, half halt. Always.
After work feed your horse a treat. My horses do not consider grazing time to be a treat. They expect some alfalfa pellets in addition to the grass. (so they show me). The great benefit of this is that it ensures you cool out your horse before dismounting. The horse gets its concentrate (the pellets) and doesn't need to be fed again. (limit this to 5 pounds. If your horse needs more considering up the hay ration). The other horses in the barn do not kick their doors because they know it isn't their turn for feeding. (if your horse kicks at the door then don't feed while kicking...be faster. Eventually, your horse will realize food is coming). Feeding while kicking is encouraging the horse to kick by rewarding with food the kicking.
Let your horse roll after working. The roll is a good massage. If your horse is going into ta stall it will also stop the horse from rolling in his stall. You really don't want that (that is how horses get cast)
Brush the dried sweat or hose off (depending on the weather and what you have for water temperatures). One benefit is that your horse's coat won't fade. I love a shiny horse. Even with a full winter coat my horses shine.
shiny winter coat
stroking the neck rewards and relaxes Alex. When this tense she was fed treats from the saddle.
even chestnuts can shine
Benefits of rewarding your horse while training:
* training process goes faster
* horse looks forward to work (not hard to catch)
* horse is happy. (that will be another article)
Downfalls of rewarding your horse while working
* indescriminate treats will teach bad manners. Reward the behaviour no treats because horse is....... (fill in the blank)
Frequency of Rewards
*immediately after the horse responds give a reward.
* in the beginning do not expect perfection, reward the attempt then up the expectation once the horse understands the aid
* change the reward to something less eg from treat with the word "good" to a scratch with "good" to uberstrechen without the word "good" (because you cannot talk in a dressage test and when jumping it might be difficult)
* immediately remains the response time no matter how experienced your horse is. eg release the rein tension after a half halt in piaffe.
Checks
* check that you are releasing the rein enough (youngster to a loose rein, advanced half an inch)
* Follow the nod of the head exactly, without pulling (resisting) but exactly so the reins doesn't loop or interferes with the nod/movement of the horse
* problem behaviours are caused by the rider, handler. Find out what the cause is. Saddle fit, bridle fit, girth, rider not moving with the horse, too much grain, not enough exercise
Frequency of Rewards
*immediately after the horse responds give a reward.
* in the beginning do not expect perfection, reward the attempt then up the expectation once the horse understands the aid
* change the reward to something less eg from treat with the word "good" to a scratch with "good" to uberstrechen without the word "good" (because you cannot talk in a dressage test and when jumping it might be difficult)
* immediately remains the response time no matter how experienced your horse is. eg release the rein tension after a half halt in piaffe.
Checks
* check that you are releasing the rein enough (youngster to a loose rein, advanced half an inch)
* Follow the nod of the head exactly, without pulling (resisting) but exactly so the reins doesn't loop or interferes with the nod/movement of the horse
* problem behaviours are caused by the rider, handler. Find out what the cause is. Saddle fit, bridle fit, girth, rider not moving with the horse, too much grain, not enough exercise
