How Far How Fast How Little
July 10, 2014
Written by: Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
Written by: Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
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The following example is appropriate for horses of any discipline. Let's say we have a reining horse - and we want to make his spin better. We have a recipe to improve his performance and there are three ingredients in this recipe. They are "further," "faster," and "less."
Here's a quick and simple recipe for improving any horse's performance from Josh Lyons and John Lyons Certified Trainer Keith Hosman 
To begin, I don't worry about anything except "further." I do whatever it takes to make something go further. (In this case, the spin "action.") So I look at his front feet and I see that the step they take covers a distance of, let's say, two feet. I make it my goal to go further, maybe to two and a half feet. I'll then spin my horse; I'll kiss or kick with both legs or do whatever it takes to make that step bigger - and that's all I'll concentrate on. I'll only work on that for about thirty seconds, just till that one step is "further." (Maybe it sweeps and covers three feet.)
The next part is "faster." So now I keep the "further" - and I make it "faster." As soon as he gets faster, that is, as soon as he covers that same three feet in less time, I quit. Again, I do whatever it takes to make it faster - and for only about thirty seconds. Pretty soon, the step is further and it's faster. Then, the last thing in the recipe is "less." That means that I want to do what I've been doing - but with less pressure. So I ride and I ask him to spin. If he doesn't do it ("further and faster" as he's been doing) then I'll pick up the reins and get after him till I get that quality of movement. Then I'll go back to asking with less pressure. As soon as he does, I quit. That's the recipe to use. Ask for further, faster and with less. Now, we don't ask for this all the time; it's too much for the horse and you're not doing much for "correctness." Remember, it's always more important to make everything correct than it is to do something fast. I'd much rather stop correctly in three feet rather than stop in ten feet incorrectly. So most often, when I train, I want to work on keeping everything correct as far as how he carries himself (position of his rib cage, head, feet, etc.), what he's thinking and so on. Better, I want to work on making things "more correct." "Further, faster, less" is for once in awhile when we need increased performance in a short period of time or when we want to change things up and approach our training from a different angle.
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Wanna teach your horse to drop its head and stay relaxed? When you're finished with this article, click here to read about the "Classic Serpentine."
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