Down The Fence with Richard Winters
Article IV

I’m back again to share with you the progress of our two-year old Quarter Horse stallion, Rocky.  This palomino colt has now been in training for ninety days.  Our ultimate goal for Rocky is to be a reined cow horse.  I’ve attempted to lay a solid foundation these last three months that will serve him well as he continues his performance horse training.

Rocky has really turned a corner this month in relation to his maturity level.  In the first couple months he struggled with being easily distracted, a little forgetful, and having a short attention span.  Have I just described your preschool or kindergarten child?  We know they are going to spill their milk, put their shoes on the wrong feet, and sometimes say the wrong thing at the wrong time.  These are generally not willful acts of defiance or disobedience.  It’s simply the result of an immature child trying to figure out how this world works.  And just as with children, horses mature at different rates.  It’s not fair for me to expect the same response from every colt every time.  They are all individuals and it’s important to tailor the training program to where they are mentally.  In the last four weeks, I have seen Rocky mature and develop some consistency in his attitude and movement.  He’s feeling pretty good to me.

Let’s talk about a part of Rocky’s training that I’ve been working on this last month.  It has to do with the softness and yielding he gives in his head and neck when I pick up on the reins.  Much of my communication goes through the reins to the bit.  When I pick up on the reins, I’m looking for a soft feel in his face as he breaks vertically at the poll and yields to my hands.  At the beginning, it is important that you ask for just the slightest try and only at the slowest speeds.  A horse will get frustrated and resentful if you insist on too much vertical flexion too soon.

No matter what maneuver you are attempting, whether it be a sliding stop, spin, or flying lead changes, if your horse is not soft in the face you’re not going to be happy with the way the maneuver feels.  If I pick up on my reins, I need a respectful soft feel.  In essence, I want my horse saying, “Yes sir, what can I do for you?”  Unfortunately for many folks, when they pick up on the reins all they get is a “busy signal.”

How can you get this softness?  Don’t try to achieve it by using only your hands.  Your legs can be a tremendous aid in developing a soft feel and ultimately collection.  Hold with your hands and drive with your legs.  Collection is a combination of vertical flexion and impulsion.  Some trainers refer to this as “driving your horse up into the bridle.”  Bumping with your calves in a rhythmic motion while holding your horse’s face with your hands will cause them to pick up their back, and if your moving forward this will create more drive from the hind end to the front, thus creating a more collected, athletic frame.

Once he will yield his face at the standstill, then I’ll “drive” him with my legs and ask him to walk off while holding that feel.  When I get some steps with my colt staying soft in the face, I’ll simply let my reins go and allow him to walk out relaxed.  I’ll also see if my colt can hold this feel from a walk down to a stop and back up.  Often when we say “whoa,” a horse will get bracy in the face as they stop.  I won’t release if they’re pulling on me.  If I do, then I will have trained them to be bracy and pull.  I’ll simply hold and work my legs until they’re soft and then I’ll release.

Rocky is now pretty comfortable carrying this feel at the walk and trot consistently.  He can also handle it at the lope.  However, I don’t insist that he hold it at that speed for very long.  Vertical flexion with impulsion (i.e. impulsion) is physically and mentally demanding.  It’s our job as trainers to know when to ask and when to quit.  This softness and responsiveness in his face is something that I will continue to develop throughout Rocky’s training career.  Remember, if they don’t feel good in the face, you’re not going to like how anything else feels.

In the future, I’ll talk about control of each body part, starting with the head and neck, then the shoulders, rib cage, and hindquarters.  Being able to manipulate each of these body parts independent of each other at any speed is what professional horsemanship is all about.  Until next month: Happy Trails!