Welcome to the “Performance Through Partnership”™ Newsletter!

In this issue you’ll find:

Event and Clinic News
Answers to These Questions about Horse Behavior and Training:
1. How do I Help my Horse Stop Overreacting to My Leg?
2. My Horse Won’t Stand in the Wash Rack

Send in your own questions! Dale will choose at least two to answer in each newsletter. To take advantage of this opportunity to get free horse behavior and training advice, use your password to access the “ask questions” page at http://www.dale-rudin-horse-training.com/ask-questions.html

Also, newsletter back issues will be posted on the archive page. You will receive an URL for that page soon and be able to access it by using your password. Look for details in future newsletters. ________________________________________________________________________

Upcoming Events:

On March 22nd - Dale will giving a “Performance Through Partnership”™ demonstration, "Be the Leader Your Horse Wants to Follow," at the Heartland Horse Fair in Ringgold, GA. This event is a fund raiser for Heartland’s new therapeutic riding program. For more information and directions go to: www.heartlandranchandarena.com

Clinics:

Unfortunately, the March 7-9 clinic at Timber Ridge campground was postponed due to inclement weather. The good news is that Dale’s Leadership and Connection clinic has been rescheduled for April 25th-27th.

Announcement: The April clinic is almost full! We’re only accepting 10 horses so that Dale can give each participant individual attention. If you are interested in attending, contact Timber Ridge at www.horse-camping.com to see if there are any spots left.

Because of the amazing response to this clinic, the next clinic date has already been set, but it has not been published yet. Only “PTP” newsletter subscribers know about this! If you’re interested in going, now is the time to make your reservation before anyone else knows about it and it’s filled to capacity! The new date is June 27th – 29th.

Horse Training and Behavior Q&As:

How do I Help my Horse Stop Overreacting to My Leg

Once I lope my horse she starts anticipating that every time I put my leg on her she should lope off again so that's why I've been working on the leg yielding a lot after loping. Is there anything else I can do to help her be less sensitive?

Leg yielding is an excellent way to redirect your horse’s attention when she is overreacting and thinks that any leg pressure you give her is a cue to lope. However, leg yielding (moving forward and to the side simultaneously on a diagonal path) alone can increase then energy level of some horses instead of dissipating it. Because it takes a lot of energetic forward motion to execute, your horse will still be wound up after completing the maneuver. Since she’s already been energized by the lope, she needs help returning to a calm state of mind in order to make a lasting change in her behavior.

When a horse’s body is relaxed, her mind will follow. Help your mare become more responsive and less reactive by softening her body. Every time she becomes tense or overreacts to your leg cues, shorten a rein and create a nice deep bend in her neck. Turn her head until you can see the side of her face, or slightly more. You want to both get her attention and soften her neck muscles. Keep your hand steady and hold her head in this position until you feel her relax. Signs that she’s relaxed are a lowering of her head and neck, a “sigh” of air, and quiet mouth. You also want to feel her voluntarily release the rein pressure by putting some slack into your rein. In other words, apply pressure and then let her release it. When she does, let go of the rein completely and let her stand quietly as a reward.

Anytime she gets anxious about a leg cue, take your horse into this position. Also, refine your lope-off cue. Apply your inside calf just behind the cinch to support and move her shoulder over before you apply the outside lope-cue. If she gets nervous about that inside leg, bring her into a bend. In time you will be able to soften her head and neck “on the fly,” meaning that you won’t have to stop her forward motion if she stiffens up. You can bend her around your leg for a few strides as you ask her to continue forward. Once she’s relaxed, release the bend and request the lope. One more thing, only allow your horse to lope off when she’s in a completely relaxed state of body and mind. Also, keep your leg in contact with her side until she accepts the pressure and responds softly to it. Removing it too soon will reinforce the nervous behavior. Be patient and consistent with her and she will learn how to respond to your legs with calmness and confidence.

I am currently working with a reining horse and rider team that is having a very similar problem to the one I answered above. I’d like to make the point that reining horses and performance horses in general (yes, I am definitely generalizing here) are often trained with a specific task in mind and are trained for it as quickly as possible. The horses learn to respond habitually with punishment and reward instead of through a natural progression of communication and conditioning. While this will create results and success in the show pen, it can also produce an intimidated horse that develops problems such as hypersensitivity and nervousness. It also limits the horse’s ability to be used for anything other than that particular task, because he has limited range and his confidence, balance, and flexibility haven’t been developed. Therefore he’s unprepared to perform advanced tasks and maneuvers. I think this is bad for the horse and turns a lot of riders off to “performance training” because the horses seem so mechanical and disconnected. It doesn’t have to be that way and everyone benefits when it isn’t. -Dale

My Horse Won’t Stand in the Wash Rack

Do you have any suggestions for getting my horse to stand in the wash rack? I'll loop the lead line around very loose and just start spraying. Then after about 2 minutes of her standing there just checking things out all calm, she'll just start backing out. If she feels pressure from the lead line at all she gets nervous and throws her head back. I just say whoa and let her back up. As soon as she's completely out she'll stop. I just lead her back in and tell her good girl. The owner told me she flipped in the wash rack before. So I am sure she has bad flash backs or something.

While your horse’s bad experience is the source of her insecurity in the wash rack, fidgeting and impatience while being bathed or groomed is a problem that many horses have. To solve this problem your horse needs to learn to relax when she’s being bathed and trust that you will not place her in a dangerous situation. It will be more difficult to convince her that nothing bad will happen again, but you can help to build her confidence and stand quietly while being bathed.

One thing to do is to use my pressure-release technique. I mentioned it in regard to rein pressure in this newsletter’s other Q&A. It goes like this: you put pressure on your horse and wait for her to release it. When she makes the decision to choose relaxation over resistance, or in this case fear, you remove any and all physical and psychological pressure. That empowers her by allowing her to make the decision to relax or not. When she makes that conscious choice, it will leave a lasting impression in her brain. She will be more inclined to make that choice again in the future. On the other hand, if you try to force the situation, your horse will respond by bracing against your attempts. Also, simply making the situation as pleasant as possible isn’t enough to make a significant change in her behavior, because she needs to learn how to release the tension and anxiety that has taken up residence in her mind since she flipped over.

The first thing you’ll teach your horse is how to release tension. You’ll do that away from the wash rack. With a flat halter and attached lead rope, stand at the side of her head and apply steady downward pressure on the lead. If your horse turns her head, straighten it. If she elevates it, follow her head with your hand, or body if she backs up, until she lowers her head or stops moving away from the pressure. Look for the most insignificant release of pressure at first. It might even be a sigh of air, or she may lower her head 1/10th of an inch. Release all hints of pressure at the moment, and then turn away from your horse and lead her for a few steps. Moving her feet will give her the chance to release more tension from her body and turning away from her will gives her a clear sign that you aren't applying any more pressure. Repeat this randomly whenever you handle your horse, and when she’s responding with more softness than anxiety, head over to the wash rack.

When your horse backs out of the wash rack, she’s telling you that her anxiety level has reached a level she can no longer tolerate. So, what you’ll do is remove her from the wash rack before she gets to that point. Every time you take her out while she’s still in a relaxed state of mind, she’s learning that the wash rack is a comfortable place to be. As you back her out, ask her to lower her head at the same time. She may get a bit nervous, so continue to back her until she’s far enough from the wash rack to feel safe and able to respond to the downward pressure of the lead.

At this point she may resist going back into the wash rack because you’re challenging her to be relaxed. Don’t worry about it. Simply lower her head again and/or back her up until she feels soft and then ask her to follow you in again. You may have to repeat this several times, but it’s important to allow your horse to resolve her issues in her own time. This is a big deal to her and it will take a lot for her to give up this ghost. Every time she responds by lowering her head and relaxing, speak to her in a calming voice and rub her forehead. Stroke entire her body using smooth soothing strokes to increase her feeling of comfort and security when she’s with you.

At some point, and there’s no telling how long it will take, you will be able to lower your horse’s head while she’s in the wash rack and soften her body and brain before she feels compelled to walk out. By the way, it is very important that you hold onto the lead at all times and keep lots of slack in it until you are actively helping your horse soften. If you tie her and she pulls back against an unforgiving tie rail, she will go into a blind panic and be right back where she started.

Look at this process as an opportunity to reprogram your horse’s brain every time you help her make the shift from reactive to relaxed. With consistency and patience she will soon develop new habits and develop the confidence she needs to handle the wash rack with ease.