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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 702
 
Location: MN | I'm working on a new prospect and wondering how you all teach yours to "shape" or travel with their nose tipped in. She moves off my legs and flexes well. I've also heard some don't agree with this. What's your thoughts and methods?? |
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 I'm Cooler Offline
Posts: 6387
  
Location: Pacific Northwest | I start small.
I teach everything separate first. I work with them on giving me their nose from a stand still. I like them to be able to do it instantly, but also I like to be able to control how much they give. I don't like when I ask for their nose and they whip their head around and slam their nose into my boot. So sometimes I ask them to just barely tip, sometimes I ask half way to my leg, etc.
I make sure they can move off my leg. Sideways, lateral, haunch turn, etc.
After that you just put it together. Some horses can't hold a nice shape for more than a couple steps, so that's all I ask before letting them walk straight. If the horse is overly flexy and noodly I won't overwork them on this. I bought an already patterned horse that was overly shaped in her turns and it was actually making her turns so much slower. I had to go back and square her up a lot. You want a happy medium, where they aren't stiff as a board but they aren't overflexing to the point their losing their hindend.
Ideally I've heard people say that when you're shaping around a barrel you just want to see the side of their eye, not their entire face. It all depends on the horse, though. My super stiff horse I would flex as much as I could when I practiced because I knew he was going to be stiff when I ran. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 702
Location: MN | Thanks for the advice. She's a little stiffer of a horse so I want to make sure she understands all this. |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12841
| I two track a lot but I also tip my horse's nose in and move in a straight line. I always work in circles with the hors's nose tipped in. Watch this horse run to the first barrel. She has had hours of slow work moving in a straight line with her nose tipped in. she is like this going to each barrel but it is most obvious on the first.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baywR2IYvb0
This is Lindsey Sears on Martha. Lindsey has this down to fine art. I guess my favorite pair to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl2lxVGwzMs |
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Teaching your horse to "shape"??