|
Welcome to the January 2007 issue of "Lyons Training 101," written by Josh Lyons (John's son) and John Lyons Certified Trainer Keith Hosman.
Wouldn't it be cool if your horse would stop on a dime? (Or stop at all?) Wouldn't it be great if it were more willing and maneuverable? Does it throw its head up when you ask for more speed or drop its shoulder and blow into a lead...?
This month you'll fix all that yourself with the following easy articles:
• get great stops, smoother transitions & a calmer horse by teaching your horse the fundamentals of collection with the Three Step Stop exercise
• fix horses that root at or pull on the bit
Both step-by-step horse training articles are sampled below. To read each in its entirety, simply follow the links provided. (And remember, our earlier issues can be found twenty-four/seven at Horsemanship101.com/Articles.)
|
| |
|
|
The exercise that follows, "Three Step Stop" will remedy those situations described above. It'll make your horse stop now as opposed to later; it'll make your horse more maneuverable and smoother through its transitions (from a slow jog to an extended trot, from a trot to a lope, for instance) and it goes a long way towards building better manners and picking up the correct lead.
Most importantly, it teaches your horse that when you ask for more speed and drop your legs against its sides, it's to put it's head down, "collect up" and move fluidly — not throw its head up in the air and drop a shoulder as it lurches forward.
You've seen this many times: The faster you go, the higher the head gets. You add speed and with speed comes emotion. This exercise teaches your horse a cue: When you bump with your legs, it should bring its head down. And, more than that, anytime you touch the reins, the horse should know to "get into frame," that is, to carry itself in a correct, collected position.
There are three parts to this exercise called "Flying Time," "Take Off" and "Landing." "Landing" is stopping the horse (from a walk), then bumping with your legs, asking the horse to soften (or relax) it's neck muscles and drop it's nose. You don't want to go forward, (or to move at all, for that matter) just for the horse to soften up and "give to the bit." A "Take Off" is when I've got the horse softened up or in the frame I want and I ask him to step forward. I ask him to move forward and into the bit. "Flying Time" is when the horse is actually giving and traveling at the same time.
keep reading "Three Step Stop Exercise" |
| |
|
|
Ninety percent of the time "head tossing" and "rooting at the bit" is caused by the person riding the horse. If your horse "roots at the bit," that is, he drops his head and pulls or tugs the reins out of your hands, then he's learned that when he pulls you give. That is, he knows that when he yanks the bit, he'll get a release from bit pressure because your hands will move in kind. The head-tossing horse has learned the same thing....
keep reading "My Horse Roots At The Bit" |
| |
|
Find trainers certified by:
• John Lyons
• Pat Parelli
• Richard Shrake
+ Our U.S. map shows all Lyons trainers at a glance |
|
|
The Reins John Uses
• Get the same reins we use in our clinics for just $42.99
• Get the bit John recommends: $29.99
• Buy both for $72.98
|
 |
+ |
|
 |
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Training by Topic
Find answers fast:
• rider confidence
• young horses
• trail riding
• pushy behavior
• tying / pulling back
see 200 more topics
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Shop Online
• Books
• Video
• Tack
• Products by Topic
• Recommendations
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Better Together
• Save $9.99 when you buy "Bringing Up Baby" (the book) with "Foal Handling" (DVD)
|
 |
+ |
|
 |
• Save $39.96 now when you purchase all five DVDs in the "Josh Lyons Teaching Series"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Our Newsletter
Comes out monthly - & covers lessons taught in our clinics.
Here's a sample from
"Snaffle Bits vs Shank Bits"
"The snaffle bit allows me to work his head side to side and get him to begin to utilize his neck. The difference is that, with a snaffle bit, if I pick up the reins and I putt ten pounds of pressure on the rein, that's exactly what the horse feels, ten pounds of pressure. It's pound for pound. If I pull a pound here he feels a pound there. With a leverage bit, if I pull 1 pound he feels 10 pounds down there. That's a big difference. When I train my horses, I'm always using a snaffle bit. Do I ever ride in a shank bit? Yes, because I show my horses and when I show it's required.
"What a leverage bit does is give me the feeling of having more control than I actually have. But it doesn't. The leverage (or shanked) bit doesn't give me any more control than any other bit."
Our articles are online and available 24/7 |
|
