Ep 102: Maintaining Speed & Momentum in Your Turns
Every day, your horse is going to tell you what you need to work on. Part of great horsemanship is understanding that most things in horsemanship are not a simple fix. It is your job to be open-minded enough to look at the small things that are the root of the problem instead of searching for a ‘quick fix.’ Almost every issue in a horse’s performance must be adjusted through correct repetitions of fundamental exercises over a period of time.
In the performance horse industry (specifically, barrel racing), there are two areas of a run that I get questions on quite often.
1. Why is my horse stalling out on the back side of a barrel?
This question has to do with collection. Any time a horse starts to associate going into a turn with extending and reaching (meaning--its back is hollowed out and its front feet and head are elevated), it is going to lose its momentum.
I compare it to riding a bike. On most bikes, there is a front brake and a back brake. If you are going into a turn with your bike and you hit the front brake, you aren’t going to be able to make that turn smoothly. If you hit the back brake, you’ll be more balanced on that back tire, and the front wheel will continue moving, allowing you to make the turn smoothly.
So, how do you get your horse collected going into a turn? You do the fundamental exercises that create collection before you ever get to that turn. Collection is a habit. When teaching collection, you are teaching that horse to get soft and balanced on its hindquarters and freed up in its front end. There’s not any one thing that creates collection. It’s a combination of exercises that create lateral and vertical flexion. And, these exercises must be repeated over and over until ‘collected’ becomes that horse’s default state of being.
2. My horse is losing momentum going into the barrel. How do I fix it?
The root of this problem is your horse’s thought process. Horses tend to lose momentum and forward motion when they anticipate a change in speed or direction. Horses are smart, and after making the same pattern over and over, they know what is coming next.
In this instance, the solution lies within rewiring your horse’s association with pressure. Your horse needs to understand that when you apply pressure with your legs, that means go forward. This problem is not something that is fixed on the pattern, but rather through a series of exercises that help your horse learn to stay light on its feet.
Understanding horsemanship begins with understanding that there is a prerequisite to everything you do. Whether we like to accept it or not, we are all trainers. Every time we interact with our horses, we are influencing their behavior and habits. If we are experiencing a pattern of undesirable results, we have to be the positive change for our horses.
Most of the time, this change begins with implementing a solid system of fundamentals. When working on fundamentals, I don’t work on it just until I get it right. I work at it until I can’t get it wrong. Our horses need that level of stability and consistency, so it is up to us to put in the time, effort, and investment in ourselves to fine-tune our training systems.
To watch step-by-step demonstrations of the exercises discussed in today’s episode, enroll in the Foundation to Finish online training program. Enroll as a VIP to get access to exclusive group and private coaching with Phil.
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