Dana Hokana, cont‘d which to brace. The instant you feel less pressure in your hand (meaning your horse has tipped his head slightly rightward in response to your cue), release the contact as a reward. Practice again to the right, then to the left and finally straight back. As your horse’s responsiveness improves (you’ll know, because your cues will get lighter and lighter), graduate to the walk, then the jog, then the lope.
STEP 4: TUNE UP YOUR HORSE’S NECK REINING SKILLS Reinforce your horse’s response to one-handed neck reining cues by asking your horse to move his front end under your rein hand, and therefore turn, whenever you move that hand to one side or the other. I call this exercise “hunt the thumb.� While riding with split reins, center your rein hand just in front of the saddle horn over your horse’s neck with your thumb pointing directly in front of you. At the walk, move your hand two to three inches to Tune up your neck reining the right, to drag your left rein skills against his neck for a cue to turn right. Avoid pulling back at all, as that will only confuse him. Your horse needs to “hunt your thumb,� that is, to respond to the new direction in which your thumb is now pointing; he must turn in order to fi ll that space - the space that has been opened up by the movement of your hand to the right. If your horse instantly moves to the right, release your cue and reward him. If he doesn’t, reach down with your free hand, grab both reins in a fist and drag them to the right, to reinforce the neck rein cue. The instant he steps to the right, release your cue. Walk forward several steps, then repeat until your horse moves to the right the instant he feels your hand move in that direction. Repeat to the left and, again, gradually move up to doing the exercise at the jog and the lope. Also remember that when your hands are in front of the withers, you can control the front end. When they are behind the withers you can control the hindquarters. This is a great exercise to do before going into the show pen. For passing on the rail or skilfully guiding through a trail class, your hand movements will be kept to a minimum while still being responded to immediately by your horse, which means less distraction in the overall picture you are presenting to the judge.
STEP 5: TEACH YOUR HORSE TO OBEY AND ACCEPT YOUR LEG CUES Many responsiveness and control problems trace back to a horse’s acceptance or rejection of your legs. If you have to kick hard to get him to go, he’s ignoring your leg cues. If he HCBC 2010 BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
jumps away from leg pressure, he’s too sensitive to it. If your horse gives you either of these responses, he’s in control and that needs to change. To improve your horse’s acceptance of your leg cues, start with the following exercise. First, you’ll use a turn on the forehand, in which you’ll ask your horse to step his hindquarters around his front end as it stays still. Start by pulling his head in the direction opposite the way you want his hind end to step. This will cause him to swing his hindquarters in the desired direction in order to balance; you’ll reinforce this move by adding leg pressure. With repetition, he’ll associate stepping laterally with a light cue, minimizing your need to tip his head and maximizing his response to your leg. From a standstill, take a rein in each hand. Slightly tip your horse’s head to the right by bringing your right rein slightly back, behind his withers to “plant� his front end and influence movement in his hindquarters. Simultaneously apply light right leg pressure about six inches behind the girth. When you get a single step to the left with his hind legs, release your cues and reward him. If your horse doesn’t step to the left, pull your right rein farther back, toward your right knee, to tip his head farther to the right, until he takes a hind leg step. Release your cues, walk forward and repeat until he grasps the concept. When he’ll consistently do the maneuver to the left, repeat it to the right. Be sure to pick up the September issue of Saddle Up, in which you’ll find Part 2 of this article and learn the remaining five steps to a responsive and willing horse! Dana Hokana is one of the top female trainers in the Quarter Horse industry, training Western Pleasure Circuit Champions and Futurity Winners as well as achieving Top 10 placings at the AQHA Congress and AQHA World Championship Show. Dana’s video series, the Winning Strides Series, is designed to educate horse owners and riders from the basics to competing at high levels in the show arena. (See her listing in Business Services under Trainers/Coaches.)
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Karlee Gibb 250-878-15 580, Westbank, BC kgequinech hiro@gmail.com
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