Horse training: 5 tips to create impulsion

Photo by Bob Haarmans

Think of impulsion as the horse’s willingness and energy to go forward. Almost like a car – when you put your foot on the accelerator you want it to move forward immediately. Power would be great too. So how do you create impulsion when schooling your horse?

1.  Use transitions

Transitions can help get your horses hocks underneath him or her. They can help get your horse pushing off his or her hock. A good exercise is to trot, walk for one step and then immediately trot again. Repeat this at least 8 times on each rein. Do more if necessary throughout your session.

2.  Lengthening and shortening

Choose a pace e.g. trot. Then lengthen for 4 strides, shorten for 4 strides and keep repeating the exercise. The constant changes mean that you have to be quite demanding of your horse. You have to collect him or her on each shortening. If your horse is more balanced, do this exercise on a 20m circle.

3.  Pole work

Walking, trotting or cantering poles help make your horse think where her or her legs are being placed. They also help build strength and improve balance.

4.  Ensure you are giving the correct aids

Impulsion is created from behind and into the hand. You may need someone on the ground to check the balance and timing of your leg aids to your hand.

5.  Ensure your horse is listening to your aids

Don’t nag with your leg. You should not be closing a leg with each stride. If you are, your horse is probably not working with impulsion. Your leg should generally be at passive your horse’s side. Your horse should be working into your hands and you should be using your legs to instruct or correct your horse once in a while. Then you know that your horse is working with impulsion. If you are nagging with your legs your horse is not listening to your aids. If this is happening you should apply leg and give a tap with your whip to get a response.

“The blog is the personal opinion and views of the author. It contains general information and may contain inaccuracies. You should always seek the advice of a professional horse riding instructor on your own specific situation and circumstances.”

Horse training: What do you need to do to train a young horse to jump?

There is nothing quite like a young horse learning to jump. You can feel them “finding their feet” underneath you. Sometimes they give much larger leaps than are necessary over tiny poles. Other times they don’t pick up their legs. It’s just all part of the learning process. As riders we have the responsibility to:

1 – Help the horse stay relaxed and balanced into, over and after the obstacle

2 – Develop its best shape over the obstacle

3 – Stay and/or become increasingly confident over different obstacles

4 – Stay injury free

Training a horse to jump, specifically a young horse, means that the horse rider needs to ride with correct technique and method. We can assist our horses by:

1 – Riding in balance

2 – Riding with confidence

3 – Maintaining rhythm before and after each obstacle

4 – Not over facing the horse – that is taking things slowly

5 – Exposing the horse to a variety of obstacles

6 – Incorporating obstacles as part of regular work

I regard obstacles as show jumping poles on the ground, elevated poles, logs, etc. Working over poles on the ground a few times every time you ride is excellent for horses and riders. Do not over jump your horse. This can make your horse stale and lead to injury.

As we build our blog we will provide more details on how to achieve these aims. They will also give specific exercises.

“The blog is the personal opinion and views of the author. It contains general information and may contain inaccuracies. You should always seek the advice of a professional horse riding instructor on your own specific situation and circumstances.”

Exercises at a walk with a show jumping pole to increase your horse’s flexibility and obedience

Whether you are a show jumper or not, it’s really important for your horse to place its hooves exactly where you want them. The exercises below help:

• You as a rider gain a better feel of where your horse is under you.
• You as a rider gain a better feel of how your horse is moving under you.
• Improve your ability to give clear aids.
• Increase your horse’s obedience and flexibility.

The training exercises seem simple, but are quite difficult if you do them properly. Make sure that you are in the correct position and applying the correct aids. This includes:

• Keep your hands as still as possible. Hold a neck strap if you need to, in order to neutralize your hands.
• Look in the direction you are going to help get the turn you need.
• Use your legs to help turn and maintain impulsion. The outside leg must be back and turn the horse. The inside leg must drive the horse forward. Keep your legs long and out take them out of the stirrups if you can.

Exercise 1

1. Walk your horse in a figure of 8 over a show jumping pole on the ground
2. Ensure that you cross the pole in the centre
3. If your horse is young or not supple keep the circle large
4. Else, make your circles as small as you can
5. Identify which front leg is going over the pole without looking down.

Tips:

1. Is one circle larger than the other? Is this the result of the horse’s stiffness or are you giving the aids differently on different sides?
2. Are you leaning in or are you maintaining or balance?
3. You should not be using your hands for the exercise. Your inside rein should be soft. You should be using your legs to turn your horse.

Exercise 2: Semi serpentine over a pole

1. Do a shallow serpentine over a jumping pole one the ground.
2. As your horse has walked stepped over the first part of the pole, use your legs to get your horse to step back over the pole
3. Do the exercise again and again on each rein.
4. Try and come back to the pole in the shorted turn possible. Remember to turn using your legs and eyes and not your hands.
5. Are you able to tell when each leg is going over the pole? Are you able to control each leg?

(See the same tips and instructions for the exercise above).

“The blog is the personal opinion and views of the author. It contains general information and may contain inaccuracies. You should always seek the advice of a professional horse riding instructor on your own specific situation and circumstances.”

5 Horse training tips for your horse to be confident on trails

Some horses are naturally brave. Others can learn to be braver. So if you have a horse that is spooky and nervous on trails, don’t worry. With your help, patience and guidance, your horse will become a more confident and happier trail horse. Here are some methods I have successfully used on how to train your horse to be more confident on trails. Give them a try:

1.       Be confident yourself as the horse rider

Your horse will take its cue from you. If you are nervous it will wonder what there is to worry about and start looking for things to worry about.

Also remember that what concerns us usually doesn’t worry horses. Horses have horse brains, we have human brains. We do think differently!

2.       Ride with another confident horse and rider

Horses are herd animals and they get their confidence from the herd. If you ride out with another confident horse and rider, your horse will learn to relax and enjoy himself or herself. Keep the group small – to two or three horses, if your horse is very nervous, as a large group may overwhelm him or her.

Let the other more experience or confident horse lead your horse when you are experiencing a problem. For example, if your horse does not want to walk through a puddle, follow the other horse through the puddle.

3.       Walk on a loose rein

It’s always tempting to shorten one’s reins when a horse is tense or jogging. I’ve found that the sooner I lengthen my reins, the sooner my horses learn to stretch out and relax when on a trail. It’s almost as if I’m giving the message “don’t worry – there is nothing there, I’m not worried, and we are just having a quiet walk”. I also consciously relax my body. It does sound counter intuitive – especially if your horse is dancing around – and I have had a lot of that – but it does work.

4.       Give your horse constant praise

Each time your horse walks past the smallest thing that they normally would have spooked at and didn’t; or looked at and didn’t, really make a fuss – give them a pat and praise them. The more you do this, the more confident they will get. They will also feel more secure with YOU as their rider and protector.

If they won’t go past an object or are being spooky you need to assess if they need to be reassured to get them past, or if they need to be urged on more strongly with your voice, legs and maybe get a smack. This really depends on each horse’s temperament and their relationship with you. I have found that some horses respond well to strong urging once or twice, and then, once they realise they are safe with me, respond well to praise and don’t need strong urging again. Other horses will test me once in a while and need a stronger hand. While others want to be your friend from the beginning, try to please and respond very well to praise.

5.       Regular trail rides

It’s very important for you and your horse to go on regular trail rides in order for your horse to gain confidence. You should go at least once a week so that your horse sees it as “every day” work and not something out of the ordinary. Your horse should look forward to it and see it as a regular break from work in the equestrian school and his or her usual routine and training.

Wishing you and your horse happy trail riding!

“The blog is the personal opinion and views of the author. It contains general information and may contain inaccuracies. You should always seek the advice of a professional horse riding instructor on your own specific situation and circumstances.”

Horse training series: Clicker training

Training your horse: Clicker training

Clicker training rewards your horse or pony’s good behavior. It can be used for most horses; young horses, older horses, nervous horses, horses that can’t be ridden and horses that are bored and need extra stimulation etc. You can use clicker training when riding or from the ground.  You can train your horse in a range of activities from basic manners to schooling movements and building confidence. Clicker training is great horse therapy; you get to spend time with your horse, increase obedience, understand him or her better and strengthen your bond.

What is clicker training?

Clicker training involves identifying the specific action you want your horse to do. Showing them what needs to be done, in a way that they can understand. And rewarding them for doing it properly. The method is similar to a game, it’s very kind and affirming for the horse when done correctly.

What do you need to clicker train your horse?

1. You need a clicker.

If you don’t have one you can make a verbal click that sounds like a clicker sound.

2. You also need small treats to give your horse.

Carrots cut up into tiny pieces work well. The treats must be easy to hold.  Keep them in a bag that you can reach fast and easily. A fanny bag works well for this.

What is the basic process?

1. Decide what you want your horse to do

Make sure you have broken the process down into clear and separate actions.

2. Being as clear as you can

Ask your horse for the action or behavior you want. Remember to place him or her in the best possible position to provide this behavior. If he or she responds in any way that is towards the behavior that you want, click the clicker and give a treat.

3. Be consistent

Use the same method of asking for the behavior.  Being consistent is important, ask the horse for the same behavior again. If he responds, click the clicker and give a treat.

4. Repeat steps 2 & 3

Make sure your horse has made some progress, is having fun but is not getting tired or bored.

5. Remember: Your horse will not get it all correct at the beginning

Clicker training, like any other training, takes time and patience. You need to reward your horse’s good intentions and efforts.

Example: Teaching your horse to load into a trailer (or box)

First do the clicker training so that your horse places his front hooves on the ramp. Once he or she has mastered this then do the training for him to stand fully on the ramp. The final action you will train for is loading into the trailer. Let him or her stand still for a minute or two before your either walk out or go for a drive.

Be sure to…

1. Keep your sessions short.
2. Click at the exact moment your horse performs the behavior you want. This will help him or her understand what behavior you want and are reinforcing.
3. Ignore behavior you don’t want.
4. Be kind and patient and keep it fun for your horse.

What should I do if the clicker training isn’t working?

1. Check that what you are asking your horse to do is a clear and simple action that is easy for him or her to understand. You may need to break the action down further for your horse; especially if he or she is scared of something.
2. Check that he or she is able to do what you are asking at this stage.
3. Check that you are asking your horse clearly and positively. You must be confident and positive to help your horse feel that he or she can do what you are asking.
4. Don’t train over mealtimes when your horse could be distracted.