Advanced Schooling

As you continue to increase your abilities as a western rider, you’ll want to start training for more advanced movements than just the walk, the jog, and the lope. Remember that advanced schooling applies to you, as well as to your horse.

The movement you’re looking for in your horse first starts with you, whether it’s collection, backing, or a quick change of gaits. Your body and mind set initiate the change. In addition, bringing softness, balance, lack of bracing, and mental focus to your work will go a long way toward training in more advanced techniques. The advances that you and your horse can achieve are boundless if you keep a cooperative, positive outlook that says, “We can do this.”

Following are some ideas to get you started with advanced techniques, including self-carriage, collection, softness, head position, smooth transitions, lateral work, and other areas.

Striving for Self-Carriage

Self-carriage may be a term you’ve heard used with English riding and dressage, but it applies just as much to the western horse and an advanced western rider. In true self-carriage, the horse carries himself in a balanced manner, through all gaits and transitions, without influence from the rider. The rider doesn’t need to continually remind the horse to carry his head correctly or lift his back, for example.

A horse in self-carriage moves softly and quietly in a rounded frame and is able to respond quickly and effortlessly to requests from the rider because he is balanced, correctly aligned biomechanically, comfortable, and ready to do whatever his rider may ask. The western horse in self-carriage brings forth images of the vaquero spade-bit horses (see Chapter 4 for information on spade bits). After years of progressive training and correct riding, these finished bridle horses are extremely responsive to the bit, carry their necks and heads in positions that work best for them without any bracing or stiffness, are light in the front end, and are ready to change direction or speed in an instant. They work from tiny rein movements from the rider and present an overall picture of the western horse that’s ready to do what’s asked of him immediately and cheerfully.

No matter what discipline within the western riding genre you want to pursue, working toward self-carriage can help you attain the goals you’re seeking to accomplish with your horse. For example, in a western pleasure class, the pair that is soft and round and whose work appears effortless will usually place well. The pair that’s stiff and hollow and that relies on yanks on the reins to maintain a certain headset usually won’t do so well. Although the modern western pleasure show horse is not the epitome of self-carriage compared with a correctly moving dressage horse or properly trained spade-bit horse, he should still carry himself in a good position rather than respond to the bumping of the bit or intimidation from the rider to maintain his position.

Horses (and riders) who use their bodies correctly will more easily put in a hard day’s work, such as working cattle, than those that can’t work in self-carriage.

Here a spade-bit horse trained in the vaquero method displays the self-carriage desired in any western horse.

On a long trail ride or when bringing in cattle, the pair that moves together well, using their bodies efficiently and correctly, usually ends a long day in better physical shape than a pair with a rider who braced in the saddle all day or whose horse pushed against a tie-down all day.

This horse is behind the bit. False self-carriage comes from artificial means to achieve a certain headset or way of going.

Once again, good riding is all about the biomechanics of you and your horse. To work most effectively, efficiently, and comfortably, both of you should be soft yet supported in your bodies, move correctly for your conformation, and use only the amount of energy necessary without expending extra effort.

False self-carriage results from the rider pulling or bumping the horse’s mouth to maintain a certain frame or headset, or using a harsh bit that the horse fears and avoids, or from the horse leaning on the reins or a tie-down as a form of support. False self-carriage is generally forced from the outside rather than flowing from the inside of the horse of his own accord.

To move well as a team, as shown here, horse and rider must develop the ability to carry themselves in a supported yet soft manner.

YOUR ROLE

Self-carriage in a horse actually starts with self-carriage in the rider. In fact, the horse can be seen as a mirror of the rider’s self-carriage or lack thereof.

How do you attain self-carriage? Much of what we covered in Chapter 2 leads to human self-carriage. In a nutshell, it means you’re not braced or locked in any of your joints and you allow your skeleton, rather than your muscles, to support you. When you do need to use muscle, you use only what you need and nothing more. Additionally, you feel the horse’s rhythm.

For many riders, the first thing to think about in their own self-carriage is the position of their backs. Many people ride (or were taught to ride) with a slight arch in their backs. Some riders, commonly equitation riders, were taught that this makes them look as if they are sitting up straight, but, in reality their arched backs are hollow.

If we want our horses to travel with strong, lifted backs rather than hollow and arched backs, we must first ride with strong, lifted backs. If we arch our backs, it’s very likely our horses will arch theirs, too, to get away from the discomfort of the feel from our stiff, arched backs.

Our goal is to carry our bodies effortlessly in supported, soft, and correct manners and for our horses to learn to do the same. For us, this often stems from using our core correctly, which can take time to develop. Moving in self-carriage starts with being aware of how we affect the movements of our horses.

TESTING

When you’re riding your horse and he’s moving softly and well balanced, test to see if your horse is in self-carriage. To do this, keep your legs, seat, and upper body in the same position, but move your hands forward and release your rein contact with your horse’s mouth. Ride for a few strides and notice what your horse does. Then pick up your reins again and continue on. You may want to try this a couple of times.

When you give the reins, what happens? If he carries on in the same softly balanced manner, then he is in self-carriage. If he rushes forward, falls on his forehand, pulls the reins out of your hands, or shakes or raises his head, then he’s not.

When you take the reins back, does he poke his nose out or brace his back, neck, poll, or jaw? Does he toss his head? These actions also indicate he’s not in self-carriage and is not comfortable with something about the way you’re riding him. It could be the bit, dental issues, saddle fit, back soreness, your hands being hard (too heavy, rough, or insensitive), your body having braces, or other areas that concern him when he’s asked to use or carry himself more correctly and raise his back.

By keeping her body position but giving the reins for a few strides, this rider confirms that her horse is correctly in self-carriage.

This test helps you determine your horse’s balance and how his self-carriage is developing. If he’s unable to stay in the soft, balanced frame that you started with, you know he’s being held in position or influenced by you in some way. This is normal for many horses and riders who haven’t yet developed the muscle and balance to attain self-carriage, so don’t worry. Just keep working on it.

Building on the Self-Carriage Foundation

A well-trained western horse that carries himself correctly is a picture of beauty and an example of the principle that form follows function. He’s got a nice line from his withers to his poll that’s either quite level or nicely curved, depending on his breed and conformation. He breaks naturally and comfortably at the poll; he covers ground well but doesn’t rush; he travels straight; and he has a happy “let’s get to work!” look on his face.

Although different show classes and breed requirements may call for slightly different looks, every western horse can benefit from the same foundation that helps a horse develop the ability to carry himself correctly. Let’s take a look at the main areas.

A calm, confident rider will develop the right mind-set to achieve their riding goals.

COLLECTION

You may hear people say that “collection” means that a horse is going more slowly or taking shorter strides, but this is incorrect. A horse that is collected can be thought of as a spring that is being tightly wound. He raises his head from the base of his neck, telescopes his neck from his withers, and lifts his back so his legs can come more under his body. With true collection, this coiled spring develops an energy and eager explosiveness that is ready to be unleashed at the rider’s suggestion. Because he’s moving in a biomechanically correct way, the horse moves effortlessly. He’s ready to go from a standstill to a gallop in a heartbeat, then slide to a stop, roll back, and gallop off in the other direction. He can change gait, direction, and speed in an instant because he’s balanced and ready.

False collection is when a horse’s back is shortened or hollow. No matter what his head and neck are doing, if his back is hollow and he’s not lifting through his body, he’s not truly collected. In addition, traveling with false collection for many months or years can lead to pain issues in a horse’s hocks, his back, and even his front legs.

This horse softness actually comes from the inside and from an understanding and trust of his rider.

SOFTNESS

Some horses are very responsive. In fact, they are so responsive they’re almost like automatons. They offer up what they think you’re asking of them very quickly, very mechanically. If you don’t let them know that they’ve done something correctly, they may worry and offer another movement in quick succession, just in case the first movement wasn’t the right answer. Horses responding out of fear or intimidation often look worried. Frequently, their faces and eyes show worry, showing up as wrinkles around their eyes or mouths. These horses may be responsive, but they’re not soft.

But what does soft mean? Rather than responding reactively to your requests, a horse that’s soft responds willingly, easily, and thoughtfully. He’s not worried. Instead, he is thinking about what you’re asking and offers his response based on trust, not from fear of what might happen if he doesn’t. Softness in a horse also allows him to respond very quickly and to seemingly imperceptible cues. He responds not with a frantic look but with one that is self-assured.

Softness, as with most aspects of advanced riding, starts with the rider. Actually, it comes from the heart of the rider—rather than the hands or the body—and with a commitment not to get into a fight or a pulling match or to train from a negative emotional state.

HEAD POSITION

A lot of show classes call for the horse’s head to be in a certain position, often called a headset. In stock horse breeds, this usually means the neck is parallel to the ground, with the ears no lower than the withers. The head is flexed at the poll, with the nose either vertical or a couple of inches in front of the vertical. In other breeds, such as Arabians and Morgans, the conformation calls for more curve in the neck, with the head in relatively the same vertical position as the stock horse’s head.

This is an example of a correct head position stemming from the horse’s conformation and correct use of the hindquarters.

However, even if you never enter a show pen, a correct head position developed patiently over time (rather than forced from heavy hands or a harsh bit) enables a horse to carry himself in an efficient and biomechanically correct manner for his conformation.

Logically, you may think the head position comes from the front end; done correctly, however, it starts in the hindquarters. That’s why it’s not helpful—and actually can be harmful— to ask a horse to carry his head in a certain position before he’s comfortable with lifting and lengthening his back, collecting, and moving with a soft, balanced full and forward stride. If you ask your horse to set his head by pulling on the reins, you’ll jam him from front to back, and he’ll often respond by going behind the vertical to avoid the discomfort of the bit. He will often hollow his back and shorten his stride, as well. All this can lead to pain and to training issues related to pain. So when first working toward a nice head position, be less concerned about how your horse looks up front and more concerned with how he feels behind.

When a horse is moving correctly and with a lengthened topline, you’ll feel him push from his hind legs. He’ll be easy to steer and maneuver. If he’s hollow in his back or has more weight on his forelegs, he’ll feel heavy and hard to turn. If he’s also raising his head, which usually goes along with a hollow back, he’ll likely have short, choppy gaits, and his forelegs will hit the ground with more force.

The positions that a horse carries his head in the show ring can be misleading. His front end may look as if he’s moving correctly, but if you look at the entire picture, you may see that his back is hollow. You can see whether the head position is right for the horse or whether he’s in an artificial position imposed by the reins or the bit.

Smooth Transitions

As mentioned in Chapter 2, transitions get you from one speed to another within a gait, as well as from one gait to another. As with anything concerning riding, transitions can be done any old way just to get from point A to point B with little finesse. Or they can be used as an exercise in working together with your horse. Done well, transitions help a horse develop strength and athletic ability, and they encourage him to move in a balanced manner that leads to self-carriage.

For the rider, good transitions help develop body control and refined cues. The faster you go, the more difficult it can be to maintain good position. Practicing many transitions allows you to ride at a slower gait, then transition to a faster gait for as many strides as you can maintain correct position, then transition back to a slower gait before you lose position.

TRANSITIONS WITHIN GAITS

It’s good practice—and it takes the monotony out of training—to vary your speed within the gaits. For example, try transitioning from a slow walk to a medium walk to a really ground-covering walk and back to a slow walk. Or pick up a jog, flow into a normal trot, then into an extended trot, and go back to a jog. Go from a lope, roll into a gallop, and move back to a lope again.

Doing transitions within each gait increases your horse’s responsiveness to cues and helps you work on refining your cues so they become as small as possible. These gait variations also give you more opportunities to practice working with your horse as a team.

To speed up and slow down within each gait, start by getting in time with your horse’s footfall and rhythm, which we covered in Chapter 2. Let’s start with the walk. Remember to always start with the smallest cue possible and the cue you eventually want to end up using. You can always increase the pressure of the cue if you need to. Here, we’ll just try to use a rhythm change to ask your horse to transition to a bigger walk.

Pick up a normal walk. Do you have the 1-2-3-4 rhythm in your head? Are you feeling the swing of the horse’s barrel pushing your legs out, alternating right, left, right, left? Remember not to emphasize any particular movement in your body or exaggerate it; simply be aware of it.

Now, increase the tempo of the 1-2-3-4 rhythm a little. See whether you can get a bigger walk just by changing the rhythm of the tempo in your head. Keep breathing and stay soft in your body to allow for the extra movement your horse will need to make to increase his stride. This is advanced work, so it may not happen the first time you try it.

If he doesn’t increase his stride with the change of tempo, gently use your legs to encourage him to pick up the pace. At the instant he starts to increase his stride, release the cue and let him continue on.

To slow down, bring the tempo in your head back to the beat of a more sedate walk and slow your body’s movement. Think about how your body would transition to a slower speed if you were out for a walk; then use this same feeling to communicate with your horse. This is different from bracing and resisting to slow down. This is more like slightly slowing the movement of your hips and pelvis. Your horse may feel the difference and slow down to match your new pace.

Every horse is different. You will need to find what works best for you and your partner. There aren’t any set rules here, so play and experiment to see how little you need to do to get the changes you’re looking for.

UPWARD AND DOWNWARD TRANSITIONS

Basic transitions upward (halt to walk, walk to jog, jog to lope) and basic transitions downward (lope to jog, jog to walk, walk to halt) are good exercises to help your horse develop a more muscled topline and the ability to carry himself correctly. They also help increase the horse’s responsiveness as he waits for your next cue rather than continuing on in a single gait for many minutes.

After you’ve perfected the basic upward and downward transitions, you can start working on transitions between gaits, such as halt to jog, halt to lope, walk to lope, lope to walk, and jog or lope to halt. Use the same ideas you have been exploring in transitions within the gaits, including increasing or decreasing the tempo of the footfall, slowing or speeding up the movement in your body, and changing your breathing to increase or decrease speed and tempo in your horse’s gaits.

Lateral and Other Work

In addition to going in straight lines or around an arena, it’s good to incorporate lateral and other advanced movements into your training. Lateral work means sideways movement, and it can vary from a slight sideways movement in a leg yield (while also maintaining forward movement) to an entirely sideways movement, such as in a side-pass.

Lateral work—as well as turns on the forehand and hindquarter, backing, and other advanced work—also encourages your horse to use his body correctly, as it’s quite difficult to move in these ways if he’s heavy on the forehand or braced in his body. In addition, lateral work helps you refine and clarify what you’re looking for before you ask, so you know when to reward your horse. You’ll become more in tune with each other as you refine these movements until you are able to ask for them with tiny cues.

With lateral work (and all work, for that matter), it’s best to incorporate short periods of these exercises into your training rather than to drill them over and over. Drilling runs the risk of undoing your good training. If your horse is doing something well, you may want to keep doing it because it’s rewarding and fun. But asking him to continually perform the same task, may make him think he’s doing something wrong. (Otherwise, you wouldn’t keep asking him, right?) He may start changing what he’s offering to see if another answer is the correct one, and you may just undo the good work that you have done by confusing him. Instead, ask for a few steps of a movement, get a good response, then reward him and move on to something else.

Basic transitions

and lateral work (pictured) can help strengthen your horse.

Remember that there are stages to teaching anything new, so you’re not looking for perfection or for the entire movement to begin with. You simply want your horse to try to do what you’re asking and to respond quietly. Slowly add more pieces of the movement while both of you stay soft and balanced.

Before you begin a movement, create a mental picture of what you’re looking for. Imagine what this movement will feel like. Keep this picture and feeling in mind as you ask your horse for a movement; then reward the smallest effort in that direction. You may not get the entire movement the first time, so praise your horse for taking the first step or even thinking about or shifting weight in the correct direction.

BASIC PIVOT TURNS

When you ask for a turn on the forehand, your horse’s front legs stay in the same general position while his hindquarters pivot around them. In a turn on the hindquarter, his forelegs pivot around his hind legs, which remain relatively stationary.

When you train for these movements, it’s helpful to think of your reins as directing the front of the horse and your legs as directing the rear of the horse.

Turn on the Forehand

For a turn on the forehand to the left, your horse will move his hind legs around his front legs in a clockwise rotation. The pivot point is the right front foot, though he will need to lift and set down this foot from time to time so he doesn’t torque his leg. The left front foot will walk a small circle around the right front. The hind legs walk a circle around the front legs, with the right hind crossing in front of the left hind.

To ask for a turn on the forehand to the left, halt your horse and flex his head a little to the right by shortening your rein. Apply your right leg behind the cinch and ask him to move his hindquarters to the left. When he’s learning, he may also need to move forward a little, but try to keep the forward movement as small as possible. As soon as he shifts his weight to the left or takes one step, release your cues and reward him.

Try again, building on that first step and rewarding him when he tries to offer movement that is close to what you’re looking for. Eventually, he’ll be able to take several steps with his hindquarters until he’s able to complete an entire circle.

To ask for a turn on the forehand to the right, just reverse the steps and ask your horse to walk his hind legs to the right (counterclockwise), making a circle around his front legs.

Turn on the Hindquarter

For a turn on the hindquarter to the left, neck rein to the left; your horse will move his front legs around in a counterclockwise circle. His left hind leg will be his pivot foot, and his right hind leg will make a small circle around it. The front legs will move in a circle to the left, and the right front leg will cross in front of the left.

To make this motion easier for your horse, first ask him to shift his weight to his hindquarters. He doesn’t need to take a step back, just shift his weight backward. As he does this, apply the neck rein and ask him to move his front legs to the left. Stay upright and balanced in the saddle and don’t try to help him by shifting your weight one way or another or by adding leg to push his front end over. Again, reward him the moment he shifts weight to the left or takes one step. Build on his attempts by releasing all your cues. In time, your horse will be able to pivot an entire circle around his hind feet.

To ask for a turn on the hindquarter to the right, just reverse the directions. Your horse will move his front legs clockwise around his hind legs, and his right hind will be his pivot foot.

SIDE-PASS

You can combine the work you did in the turns on the forehand and the hindquarter to ask for the first steps of a side-pass. First, ask for a step of turn on the forehand, then a step of turn on the hindquarter, then forehand, then hindquarter, without pausing (but don’t hurry) between the movements. Staying quiet and balanced is important. Then start to link these separate movements so they become a fluid single movement, transitioning to using light leg and rein aids at the same time to indicate to your horse the direction of the side-pass.

You can help clarify what you’re looking for by positioning your horse over the end of a ground pole and asking for the side-pass so he needs to make only one step sideways before he is clear of the ground pole.

BACKING

Backing can be a useful exercise that helps build strength in your horse’s back and hindquarters, and that helps him learn to raise his back and shift his weight from the front legs. It can also help your horse learn to carry himself forward in a round, soft manner, which will lead to self-carriage.

Help your horse learn to back softly, understanding what he is asked to do, rather than forcing the movement mechanically or without energy. But be aware: Done improperly, backing is a great way to start a pulling match and install a very big brace in your horse that will take a lot of work to uninstall! So start with the commitment to not pull or try to force your horse to back up.

Take mental inventory of your body throughout your backing movement. Many riders tense their backs, especially the shoulder blades, when asking their horses to move backward. This bracing transfers to the horse, which can lead to pulling, so stay soft. Some trainers use leg aids when asking horses to back, but we’ll just use the reins. We want to preserve the leg aid as a cue for forward or sideways movement.

With your body relaxed, pick up contact with your reins, just enough so your horse drops his nose or otherwise softens to the bit. Repeat this a few times, rewarding him each time by releasing the contact. Pick up contact again, then fix your elbows to your sides so your hands are in one place. Avoid pulling on your horse to back him up. By creating a barrier to his forward movement with your quiet hands, you’ll help him learn to back up himself instead of being pulled forward.

This is like self-carriage going forward, except that you’re moving backward. He likely will drop his nose again and reward himself by releasing the pressure. Keep your hands stationary and maintain your mental image, as well as the feeling of moving backward. He may then poke his nose out and bump into the bit, thinking you will release him. Keep still and let him find his own release. Then, add a tiny bit more contact and wait.

Let your horse figure out the correct response to move backward; even a shift to the rear is something to build on. You’re looking for your horse to step backward himself, and he may bump into the reins and back off a few times before he finds the answer you’re looking for. Your reins are not pulling him backward but are creating a boundary of limiting forward movement if he initiates it.

If your horse has a big brace and lifts his head and tightens his neck in response to your request, help him by tipping his nose or bringing his nose to the side and waiting. The idea is to set him off balance a little so that he needs to move, then to direct that movement backward the instant it happens.

Staying soft and try not to brace yourself; you’ll find that your horse will eventually learn to back himself up. He’ll round up, shift his weight, and move his legs backward in diagonal pairs.

COUNTER CANTER

Counter canter is taking the lead contrary to the direction you’re traveling. For example, when loping a clockwise circle to the right, you would normally be on the right lead. With a counter canter, you will instead be on the left lead. The benefits of the counter canter for your horse include increased suppleness and responsiveness to your aids, and the benefit for the rider is the development of coordination. It also is a good exercise in preparation for flying lead changes.

The side-pass can be taught by first linking hindquarter and forehand turns. This is a full step of a side-pass.

Counter canter doesn’t simply refer to being on the “wrong” lead, however. In a good counter canter, your horse is slightly bent in the direction of the leading leg. So, if you’re circling to the right on the counter canter left lead, he will still need to bend slightly to the left. If he’s bent to the right, he is on the wrong lead for the circle, which won’t help him develop physically the way a proper counter canter will. This is advanced work, however, so don’t expect your horse to be able to stay on the counter canter lead and bend slightly toward the leading leg when you first start asking for the counter canter.

There are several ways to ask for the counter canter, and you can increase the difficulty as your horse becomes more balanced and experienced. This movement also asks your horse to listen to your cues rather than picking up the lead dictated by the direction he’s traveling in an arena. When you’re first starting out, you’ll need to help your horse understand that he’s not wrong when he picks up the “wrong” lead you ask for. It’s also best not to do small circles of counter canter early on. Initially, it is a difficult maneuver, and he may want to switch to the “correct” lead to maintain his balance on the circle.

Perhaps the easiest way to start a counter canter is to jog the short side of the arena, round the corner, and then ask for the counter canter for a few strides on the long side of the arena, praising your horse as he does so. Then, before you reach the next corner, return to the jog. Do this a few times so your horse understands he should take the lead you ask for.

Next, try maintaining the same counter-canter lead on a very shallow serpentine, down the long side of the arena. Before you head into the corner on the short side, pick up the correct lead. Then, keep this lead as you make another shallow serpentine down the long side. As you get to the next corner, stay in the lead and continue on.

Backing should be as soft and fluid as forward movement, as shown, not a result of pulling.

When these maneuvers are easy to execute, you can add difficulty by picking up the correct lead while going into the corner before the short side of the arena. Keep this lead as you cross the short side and round the corner. Then go across the diagonal, still in this lead, and start a large circle at the other end of the arena. Keep your horse flexed slightly into the lead and complete the circle on the counter canter. This is more difficult to do because your horse will need to keep his balance on the circle. Start with large circles and gradually make them smaller. Eventually, try riding a true serpentine, staying in counter canter.

FLYING LEAD CHANGES

If you’ve ever watched your horse perform a sequence of lovely flying lead changes out in the pasture, you know these movements are completely natural for a horse. Flying changes of lead are required in reining, horsemanship, and western riding classes, and they are an essential part of some speed events, such as pole bending and barrel racing. The secret to getting your horse to perform a flying lead change is to correctly set him up for the change and then allow it to happen.

Many of us experience problems when asking for flying lead changes because we get in our horses’ way somehow. Whether through imbalance, conflicting aids, timing, or pushing for the change rather than allowing it, we make the change more difficult than it needs to be. It’s easy to make flying lead changes very technical and complex, requiring lots of leg aids, weight shifts, and abrupt changes of direction. However, all of this extra input generally just makes it more difficult for our horses. Instead of adding complexity, see if you can decrease complexity and make it easy for your horse to understand you. You can always go back and add cues if you need to.

Before you start working on flying lead changes, be sure your horse is comfortable with the counter canter on progressively smaller circles. This will help him gain balance and build the necessary muscles to support himself correctly. Be sure that he’s comfortable picking up either lead equally, as a horse that finds it difficult to pick up one lead will find it difficult to change to that lead in midair.

When you’re ready to try flying lead changes, envision a figure eight in the arena and pick the spot at the center of the figure where you want to change leads. Pick up a lope on a circle on one half of the figure eight and on the correct lead. Ride a lap or two so your horse is working softly and quietly. Be sure he’s breathing rhythmically and in a relaxed manner. Horses sometimes hold their breath similar to how we do when we’re under stress or anxious. Be sure you’re breathing regularly, too, taking long, calm breaths. Try inhaling for three strides and exhaling for three strides, or whatever is comfortable for you.

Ride with your center pointing in the direction you’re going. If you’re traveling to the right, your center should be pointed around the circle to the right. As you round the circle, stay balanced in the saddle. When you start the middle of the figure eight, switch your center to the left, exhale strongly, and keep riding to the left on the other circle of the figure eight.

Your horse may just have done a flying change for you! If he has, keep riding and praise him profusely. If he hasn’t done the change, he may switch leads as he continues on the circle, so that he is on the inside lead. Give him a few strides to see whether he switches. If he doesn’t, bring him back to the jog, then pick up the lope again. Try switching your center again, as you come to the center of the figure eight and before you start the other circle. If you don’t get the switch, try again.

Be confident that he can do this and keep what you’re looking for in mind. After a few tries, if he isn’t getting the lead change, stop and do something else. Let him stop and catch his breath. Jog around the other end of the arena or go for a quick trail ride, then quit for the day. Just don’t become frustrated or upset. He’s not being bad or resisting what you’re asking for; he’s just confused or is having physical discomfort doing what you’re asking. Try a flying lead change again tomorrow or the next day.

You can also break the command down further by asking for the lead change through a simple change of trot steps between the leads. Decrease the number of trot steps you take while asking for the lead change, then ask for the change in the same place. This may also help your horse understand what you’re looking for.

Keep Things Interesting

Just as you would get bored walking on a treadmill at the health club day after day, your horse gets bored doing the same old routine day after day. Whether you’re training for western pleasure, barrel racing, or cattle events, it will do you both good to experience an occasional change of pace from your everyday training schedules. Cross training and trail riding can be good ways to break a routine.

CROSS TRAINING

Cross training (working a horse in more than one discipline) helps a horse be a better athlete, develop a broader range of skills, and balance the physical demands on his body. In addition, you may just find that your horse is a natural in an area you haven’t considered before. This is especially true if your horse just doesn’t seem happy in his work, or if he is lackluster about his job, or if you feel resentment from him at being asked to do this form of work. He may be trying to tell you something.

That said, if your horse is content with his job, you should be mindful of which other disciplines you expose him to. For example, if you are aiming for high levels of western pleasure competition, you may not want to introduce your horse to pole bending or other speed events. Introducing him to cattle work, however, may be a great idea. Similarly, trying to practice western equitation on a speed-event horse may not be a good match, but endurance riding or competitive trail riding might give him a good diversion and a break from the clock and the all-out performance he’s expected to give while in an arena.

Good basic dressage training will benefit any horse and help him become more supple and more responsive, plus it can help foster a stronger partnership between you and your horse.

Your western horse might like to take his turn as a hunter with English tack. Horses can tell the difference between types of tack and will know to jog in a western saddle and a curb bit or to trot in an English saddle and a snaffle bit. Rather than ruining his abilities in one area, cross training can give him a fresh outlook so he goes back to his primary job with more zest.

TRAIL RIDING

Heading out of the arena can do wonders to improve your and your horse’s outlook and attitude. You can take a break from the rigors of regimented training and enjoy each other’s company.

If your horse has rarely been out of the arena, take it slow or he may become completely overwhelmed—just the opposite effect of the relaxing trail ride you envisioned. If he’s a newcomer to trail riding, start by working him in the arena, then take him outside for a few minutes afterward to cool down. He should be a bit tired, more relaxed, and able to enjoy the short trip. Once these trips become commonplace, you can start increasing the length of time you’re out and the distance you travel from the barn. Eventually, you can travel a long distance from your horse’s home environment, and he’ll be secure about leaving, confident that he will be coming back.

If your horse is comfortable going a distance from the barn, consider hauling him to a trail where you can explore new sights for a few hours. For the first few times, going with an experienced friend who has a calm trail horse can help your horse adjust to the wide-open spaces. Just be sure the other rider understands your need to go slowly and to expose your horse to new things gradually.

If you have access to an open field, practice some nice transitions and flying lead changes as the terrain dictates. Side-pass over a log, do a turn on the forehand, back up to move through two bushes, or ask for a bigger walk to get to the next gully. Having real obstacles to negotiate gives your requests real-world applicability and helps increase your focus. Working outside helps your horse to develop confidence, surefootedness, and athletic ability—traits that benefit any horse in any discipline.

Keep in mind that a trail ride isn’t an excuse to abandon your expectations for your horse’s behavior or your consistency in riding your horse. You can still ask your horse to avoid snatching grass along the trail, to work in a soft and balanced manner, and to respond promptly to your requests. You can still ride your horse with as much awareness as you have while training at home. By all means, enjoy the scenery, but keep your thoughts on your horse and how he’s responding. In the event something startles him, you will be with him mentally and be able to help him calm down rather than be caught off guard.

Cross training can include anything that’s a change of pace: trail riding, jumping or working cattle.