{"id":153,"date":"2009-09-29T07:55:10","date_gmt":"2009-09-29T13:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/blog\/?p=153"},"modified":"2009-09-29T07:57:35","modified_gmt":"2009-09-29T13:57:35","slug":"horse-training-tips-bein%e2%80%99-caught-with-yer-pants-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/blog\/general\/horse-training-tips-bein%e2%80%99-caught-with-yer-pants-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Horse Training Tips &#8211; Bein\u2019 Caught With Yer Pants Down"},"content":{"rendered":"<link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"http:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/trustjacker\/css\/authover.css\" media=\"screen\" \/>\r\n\t       <link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"http:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/trustjacker\/css\/simplemodel.css\" media=\"screen\"\/>\r\n\t          <script type=\"text\/javascript\"\r\n\tsrc=\"http:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/trustjacker\/js\/jquery-1.7.2.min.js\"><\/script>\r\n           <script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/trustjacker\/js\/jquery.simplemodal.js\"><\/script>\r\n           <script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/trustjacker\/js\/authover.js\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n\t\t\t\tvar jq = jQuery.noConflict();\r\n\t\t\t\tfunction openPopup(url,width,height,delay,useajax,iframe,exitt){\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\talert(url);\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\tauthover.configure({\r\n\t\t\t\t\tiFrameAttribute : {\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\"name\" : \"autFrame\",\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\"id\" : \"authFrame\",\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\"src\" : \"http:\/\/wikipedia.com\",\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\"height\" : \"100%\",\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\"width\" : \"100%\"\r\n\t\t\t\t},\r\n\t\t\t\tmodalContent : url,\r\n\t\t\t\twidth : width,\r\n\t\t\t\theight : height,\r\n\t\t\t\tdelay : delay,\r\n\t\t\t\tpopupUseAjax: 0,\r\n\t\t\t\ttargetUseIframe: iframe,\r\n\t\t\t\tpopupIsRedirect: useajax,\r\n\t\t\t\texitAlertText: exitt\r\n\t\t\t\t});\r\n\t\t\t\tauthover.triggerModal();\r\nreturn false;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/script><p>There\u2019s an old saying that goes:<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cBeing caught with your pants down.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Listen to this.<\/p>\n<p>In January 2004, 3 men in Spokane Washington decided to streak through a Denny\u2019s restaurant at dawn.<\/p>\n<p>They wore only hats and shoes.<\/p>\n<p>They got out of their car and left it running.<\/p>\n<p>And that,\u2026was their mistake.<\/p>\n<p>In the middle of their streaking escapade, someone stole their car.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately for them, their clothes were in the car too.<\/p>\n<p>The 3 naked guys had to hide behind parked cars until the police came to put them in jail.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the epitome of being caught with your pants down.<\/p>\n<p>One of the worst places to be caught with your pants down is with horses.<\/p>\n<p>As you know, horses can be full of surprises and you want to eliminate all the surprises you can.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why we do things with them such as desensitize, lunge, lead, drive, and others.<\/p>\n<p>One way to eliminate some surprises and help your horse understand what you want is to drive him.<\/p>\n<p>When I say drive him, I mean you\u2019re standing behind him on the ground and asking him to move while you steer, stop, and back him.<\/p>\n<p>It has lots of benefits.<\/p>\n<p>It teaches your horse what it means when you pull on a line to get him going left or right.<\/p>\n<p>It gets him used to having something and someone behind him.<\/p>\n<p>It gets him learning to listen to you while you\u2019re behind him.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a great way to reinforce \u201cwhoa\u201d and \u201cBack up\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a lot of good you can do with it.<\/p>\n<p>Plus, it\u2019s pretty safe for you to do because you\u2019re on the ground.<\/p>\n<p>So the question is, how do you do it?<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m glad I asked. <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/askyourhorse.com\/wp-includes\/images\/smilies\/icon_smile.gif\" alt=\":)\" class=\"wp-smiley\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a few notes from from one of our <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/DVD.html\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"horse training videos\">horse training videos<\/a><\/strong> by Sue Robertson in her\u00a0Groundwork DVD to give you the gist.<\/p>\n<p>Before you drive your horse, he should know how to tie, lead, lunge, change directions, back up from the ground, saddle, and lunge with a saddle.<\/p>\n<p>First, use a snaffle.<\/p>\n<p>People disagree on the bit to use but the snaffle is easiest on the horse\u2019s mouth.<br \/>\n(See our sale on the <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/BeeryBit.html\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Beery 4-Way Snaffle Bit\">Beery 4-Way Snaffle Bit<\/a><\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsetrainingresources.com\/BeeryBit.html\">http:\/\/www.horsetrainingresources.com\/BeeryBit.html<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>But even if you have hard hands you can still hurt the horse so be aware of that.<\/p>\n<p>Get two 22 foot cotton lines.\u00a0 This is essentially cotton rope that is 5\/8? thick.<\/p>\n<p>Next, put the saddle on the horse and hobble the stirrups. (This is assuming your horse is already used to a saddle)<\/p>\n<p>Hobbling the stirrups means tying them together underneath the horse so they don\u2019t flop around.\u00a0 They can be a little loose but you don\u2019t want \u2018em flopping around.<\/p>\n<p>Next, always start on the \u201coff\u201d side.<\/p>\n<p>The off side is the right side.<\/p>\n<p>Run the line through the stirrup and hook it to the snaffle.\u00a0 Run the other line.<\/p>\n<p>Talk to your horse at all times &#8211; especially at first because this is new to him and he\u2019ll likely need reassurance.<\/p>\n<p>Plus, you\u2019re his protector and he\u2019ll need to learn to trust you.<\/p>\n<p>Now your horse may get antsy and anxious.\u00a0 This is normal for a horse that\u2019s not been driven.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s even more normal for a young horse.<\/p>\n<p>Also when driving, the horse may look back and that\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n<p>Once they\u2019re accepted the rope and they see it won\u2019t hurt them you can start to drive them like you\u2019re lungeing them.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s best to drive in a round pen if you can because if you drive in a large open area you may be constantly fighting your horse for control.<\/p>\n<p>So doing it in the round pen you can stand in the middle.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s keeps you away from his feet, keeps you safest, and lets you do the job.<\/p>\n<p>Then ask them to move.<\/p>\n<p>My favorite command is \u201cStep\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Just one word.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStep!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t have to yell it.\u00a0 You may have to increase your volume a bit to increase the urgency to your horse though.<\/p>\n<p>As you ask him to step forward, make sure you give him an opening.\u00a0\u00a0 In other words, don\u2019t stand in front of him and close him off.<\/p>\n<p>Always have an open door.<\/p>\n<p>You may have to kiss to him to move if and when he doesn\u2019t understand to step.<\/p>\n<p>Do figure 8\u2019s, small circles, and large circles.<\/p>\n<p>Why?<\/p>\n<p>Because you want them to keep thinking.<\/p>\n<p>Otherwise, you\u2019ll bore them &#8211; just like what I talked about yesterday.<\/p>\n<p>A bored horse is a poor student.<\/p>\n<p>Also work on teaching them whoa.<\/p>\n<p>You also want to teach them to stand and back up with it.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve never done this with your horse, you should.<\/p>\n<p>These are all valuable <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/beery.html\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"horse training tips\">horse training tips<\/a><\/strong> you need to know.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s fun and it gives that extra feeling of knowledge and confidence you should have.<\/p>\n<p>Plus, you may find some holes in your horse\u2019s training and you can fix them.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to see this done, you can see it on Sue\u2019s <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsetrainingresources.com\/dvd-robertson.html\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"groundwork video\">groundwork video<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 To see more, click the following:<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsetrainingresources.com\/dvd-robertson.html\"><strong>http:\/\/www.horsetrainingresources.com\/dvd-robertson.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A couple more things.<\/p>\n<p>If your horse doesn\u2019t want to pay attention to you, then make him do \u201cS\u2019s\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019ll learn to put his head down and pay attention to you.<\/p>\n<p>If he wants to go left, you make him go right.<\/p>\n<p>Never, ever let your horse decide what to do.<\/p>\n<p>Why?<\/p>\n<p>Because when you\u2019re in the saddle and he decides what to do\u2026you\u2019re in for a wreck.<\/p>\n<p>He should \u201cALWAYS\u201d look to you for instructions.<\/p>\n<p>Never, ever, ever let him decide what to do.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s more to the driving thing, but this gives you a great start.<\/p>\n<p>I hope you try it because it\u2019s good for the horse and you.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsetrainingresources.com\/dvd-robertson.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>http:\/\/www.horsetrainingresources.com\/dvd-robertson.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Another valuable group of <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsetrainingresources.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"horse training tips\">horse training tips<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; the more you learn, the more fun you\u2019ll have.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s an old saying that goes: \u201cBeing caught with your pants down.\u201d Listen to this. In January 2004, 3 men in Spokane Washington decided to streak through a Denny\u2019s restaurant at dawn. They wore only hats and shoes. They got &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/blog\/general\/horse-training-tips-bein%e2%80%99-caught-with-yer-pants-down\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,30,5],"tags":[138,7,191,189],"class_list":["post-153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-training-tips","category-horse-training-videos","category-horseback-riding","tag-groundwork-video","tag-horse-training-tips","tag-horse-training-videos","tag-horseback-riding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horsetrainingresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}