Buckaroo Texan Blog

 I took my 2 year old filly, Bubbles to the Buck Brannaman Clinic in March.   I rode her in the Foundation Class.   This class is for young horses, green horses, horses with problems needing a restart with the snaffle bit and green riders.   This class never ceases to amaze me on the holes my horsemanship has.  It all starts with the fundamentals.  You can never get these too good.  Revisiting this class from time to time can really help you improve on all those advanced manuvers you have been working on.   You will always find an area in foundation, that needs some polish.

 The first day involved working on flexions from the ground.  Correctly bending the horse with his neck and head even or slightly higher than the withers, depending on the natural conformation of each horse.   With Bubbles, I needed to lift slightly as I asked for a bend to get her to bring her head around with a proper bend in her neck but keeping her head vertical and her ears horizontal.    Without the proper bend, the horse is stuck in the shoulders and out of balance.   Without really feeling of your horse, you are either building a brace just by bending and or setting your horse up to be out of balance before you even take a step.    Flexions also include asking the horse to slightly lift its neck and then roll over into a soft feel off the bit.   The neck should be slightly raised above the withers and the face of the horse vertical.   This is what you are looking for and may take some work and patience to get it.   Once you understand this, you can get the horse working in balance just at a standstill.  You ask the horse for these flexions, you cannot force a horse to do them and get the balance and softness you are looking for.  You give the horse time to figure this out on their own by holding not pulling until they make a gesture in the right direction and you build from there.   You have a really good feel going on between you and your horse when you both find this together.

Over the next three days we added more riding each day, more ground exercises that built on the use of the flexions and flexions in the saddle. With the proper flexions in mind, we progressed to asking the hind end to step over and then the front, backing straight and backing circles.  With out the proper flexions the horse would be out of balance and have trouble moving its feet.  Really feeling the horse try to understand what you were asking is a great feeling and makes the manuvers easy.  After all, we were getting the horses to make moves they do all the time, without a rider.

 Bubble got to really chopping her bit one of the days and I asked Buck about this.   She was processing the information I was asking of her.   I just ignored it, as suggested, it would go away as she felt more comfortable and more confident.  Buck also reminded me to be sure and feel of her and be very aware when she was chopping the bit during a time I was asking for a maneuver and to be sure and not release until her mouth got quite so she would know without a doubt that was what I was asking for.   Releasing while her mouth was real busy could very easy give her the idea to chop her bit every time I asked anything of her.   The chopping was gone by the end of the clinic. 

Photo by: Kathleen Morris

 Last spring I aquiredt a 2 year old quarter horse mare with a couple months of riding.   She is considered to be green broke.  She can stand to be saddled, mounted, walks, trots, lopes both ways and will back a straight line.   Bubbles has a good start riding, but I feel like I am stealing rides, due to she is not halter broke.

 What do I mean by halter broke?  She should lead without dragging behind or running off in front of me, stand tied and be able to move around mostly with her hind end and never tighten the rope.   She should operate off a feel from my hand through the halter rope to her mind to move her feet any direction I direct.  Although you could get her to bend her head softly to either side it had no meaning to her feet or rear quarters.

The first  session I worked with her I introduced her to going around me.  This was all new to her.  She showed a lot of concern, not knowing what I was asking.  I gave her lots of time to take a step or indicate with her eyes or leaning of her weight that she was trying.  It did not take her long to figure out to move around me.  I needed to get her to lead by me so she could pick me up off the fence.   I have a bad knee so I mount all my horses from a fence, block, bumper, log or lead the horse by me to a lower spot than me.  This keeps me from pulling the saddle too much, which I feel is unfair to the horse. Yes, I could insist that they stand for me to climb on sloppy, but I do not.  We got this working for us pretty quick for our first ride together.   

After another couple of sessions I brought out my flag.  This was a big eye opener for her and for me to know she could be pretty scared of things flapping around.   She felt scared enough to bring out some bucking.   It took awhile to work through and let her know she was ok.  Getting her sure about it took repeating the flag work at every session.  She would settle down faster each time I picked it up.  I carried it everywhere we went so she could see that it could be anywhere, anytime.   I really didn’t want to have a plastic sack blow up around her legs and me getting a look at it while sitting on the ground.

She also had a lot of trouble changing eyes smoothly.   She was good about it on one side but when it changed to the other side in front of her face, it would make her throw her head  and jump away from it.   This brace made it hard to get her to take her hind away from me and then cross in front of me and go the other way without being troubled.   She would take off bolting around me hoping that was what I wanted.  I broke it down into bending her neck both directions, taking her hind, one step at a time. We worked on this in the barn, in her pen, just anytime I caught her up.  As this got better and better our work under saddle was smoother and softer.  I worked her from my saddle horse to also get her to take her hind and then her front. She was not able to bolt off around me.  This brace was on her left side only, going counter clockwise, changing back to clockwise.  I also, worked on this against the round pen fence to block her from running from the flag. Since she couldn’t bolt around me and she would stop at the fence, until she felt free to bend her hind and then bring her front, she even tried pawing the ground to see if that worked.  I gently waved the flag and let her figure out where to go.  I worked her in the alley of the barn, going in and out of a stall also, with and without a flag.  This work gave her boundaries and a reason to bend and change eyes.  Now that she has some bend, is confident about the rein meaning to bend and move her feet she has very little brace on either side when we ride.

She is a smart little horse who works at new things at her own pace.  She is one that is very graphic on how she feels about something.  It is great fun to watch the cogs turning and her mind accepting and figuring things out.  She will be bolting, pawing the ground one minute and then licking and chewing with bright eyes the next.   When she licks and chews and her eyes get bright,  you really know  that she is on the right track.

I am looking forward to riding her in the Foundation Class at the Buck Brannaman Clinic in March.  We will get lots more groundwork with a group and Buck can help me refine our movements and work on the braces that are still there at times.

Each session with a foal or horse should be pleasant and build the relationship between the buckaroo and horse. Think about what you would like to accomplish each time you are with your foal or horse and let the situation develop as you go.

The sessions so far, with Sassafras our yearling foal, have been very productive and she is becoming a mannerly young horse. She is starting to feel really confident around humans and relates to them with respect. She will come over for a scratch or a pet but stop at a respectful distance and no try to run over the top of you or give you a big push.

To keep this confidence, is a big job for the human and can be destroyed easily if you do not stay mindful of what you want to accomplish each time you are around her. We want her to like being with humans but also respect us and look to the human as the leader.

Sassafras needs her feet trimmed so we start this session like the others. We watch her and catch her as described in previous post. She actually comes over to me today and I just slip the halter on as I have many times before. She has been haltered with quality enough times, that she has no fear what so ever about the halter being placed on her head. I brush her and handle her feet as in previous sessions and she is very receptive so we can move on with a goal of trimming her feet. 

I have enlisted a helper today to just hold the lead rope and keep her from following me around when I pick up her feet. The helper does not try to hold her, just direct her. Sassafras has learned to balance on three legs pretty well from previous sessions. I pick up the left front foot, hold it a few seconds, tap on it with the hoof pick then set it down. She may not be ready to have a person hold her front leg between a person’s legs so that the person has two hands free to use the nippers. So, this takes some skill, to use the hoof nippers with one hand, while holding her hoof with the other.

You may think that you should just grab her foot and got to trimming. You need to be mindful of the horses thinking when their feet are trapped. We have worked with her so that she will allow us hold her foot for about 30 seconds or a little more, gradually working to hold her foot longer each time we hold it. You strive to let go of the foot before she takes it away from you. Otherwise you are teaching her to jerk her foot away each time you hold it. The secret is to pick it up often and hold only for a moment and give it back.   The timing here is to turn loose when you feel no resistance from the horse.  It may only last a half second at first but if you give her back her foot before she pulls she  will catch on real quick and let you hold it longer and longer. The horse then understands that you will give them back her foot and it is not trapped. Sometimes you will need to hold onto it if they try to take it back.  Try to wait until there is no resistance. This is an experience thing. You need to know when you can hold it a bit longer due to the horse is just trying to take it away compared to the horse being scared and jerking it away out of panic.

My helper holds the rope but there is no pressure or energy on the halter. Sassafras is standing free on her own, a result of her previous halter training.   I pick up it and proceed to nip the hoof. I make one nip with the hoof nippers and set it down. Due to preparatory work, she is not scared of the sound. I pick up her foot again and nip a couple of clicks. She is fine, a slight struggle for balance, before I set it down.   A good horse try. I pet her and pick it up again, and nip the rest of the way around her hoof. It is now ready for rasping. I pick up her foot again.  She is a bit squirmy, as she seems to think we should be done with this foot.  I hold it a moment and set it down. I take the lead from my helper and lead her around a few steps to let her legs relax and for her to relax inside. I pick up the foot again and rasp around the edges of the wall and get it smooth. We are ready to move on to the right front foot.

I repeat the process on the right front foot and it goes smoothly. By the time I get the nipping done and start to rasp, I can tell her little baby mind has had about enough for this session. To keep things relaxed and keep her in a good frame of mind, I stop the hoof work .  Equine babies are like a lot of other babies; their attention span is short.  Short sessions with quality keep the youngster learning and looking forward to each session with the human. Giving them a little bit more challenge each session is fine; the idea is to not overload them. Change the subject often lets them refocus on something else.  Let them search and figure things out.  On a colt or young horse, only one or two new things per session are enough to not overload them.

Late in the afternoon, I get my helper to help me again. I catch her with ease. She did not have a bad experience with hoof trimming this morning. I brush and pet her a moment, then pick up a front foot, hold a moment and then set it down. My helper keeps her from trying to follow me, by taking the slack out of the lead rope, as I approach her left rear leg. I walk to her rear leg and pick it up. I let the leg rest in my lap and start to use the nippers. I let her leg down. She is ok with the procedure. I pick up her foot and finish nipping this hoof. Then set it down again for a brief rest before rasping. The same process is done on the right rear and it goes smoothe.

Job well done, our first hoof trim and she is happy about her experience. This sets her up for hoof trimming for the rest of her life. She will remember that it does not hurt her.         Jeannie

If you would like help in developing the try in you and your horse contact me. My training is in the Buckaroo Way and I offer consultation services to those who believe in partnership of horse and rider.  

  Session Four:  Each session with a foal or horse should be pleasant and build the relationship between the buckaroo and horse.   Think about what you would like to accomplish each time you are with your foal or horse and let the situation develop as you go. 

This session is about getting the horse ready to be caught.     Halter breaking a horse is introducing pressure in a way to teach the foal or horse to allow you to put a halter on its head and to follow you, or lead.  It is a gentling process to help the horse be a good citizen in the world of humans.  You need to present yourself with quality to the foal or horse.  A mare or gelding will be better with quality work, a stallion demands quality.

Sassafras is in her pen today and not interested in coming over to the small pen.  She has recently eaten her breakfast so does not see a need to go to the smaller pen.  The last session I haltered her in the big pen and she followed me to the little pen.  I will not assume that that will happen this time exactly as before.  It has been several days since I have put her halter on.  If my work from the previous sessions is instilled in her in a good way I should be able to halter and lead her without her becoming afraid.    I approach her with halter in hand, untied and organized in my left hand to put on her if she is ready.   My approach will make a difference as to whether she is ready to be caught.    I move toward her shoulder and watch her expression.   Her reaction to my approach will tell me how to proceed.

1.  If the horse looks away with tension in her face or a brace in her body  – this will tell me to slow or stop and possibly back a step or two to relieve the pressure she feels I am putting on her.  Watching her ears is another important communication.  After she settles, I will start my approach again.

2. If the horse looks away and starts to leave.   I will back a step to relieve the pressure and then step toward her head or slightly in front of her to block her.  When she stops I will stop and lean or step back to relieve the pressure of my presence. 

3. If the horse bolts away- I will back off and follow at a distance to wait for the horse to stop again.  I will use by lead rope and my speed to encourage to go forward as long as she shows no sign of wanting to stop and face me.   When she does slow I will slow and back a step to encourage her to stop.   When she does stop I will step towards her head to get her attention then step back to encourage her to follow me by sight and hopefully by stepping her hind leg under her belly to turn towards me.   I will then take a step back and towards her hind quarters to encourage the hind to step forward and over again and the front end to step toward me.  I will let her settle her and feel the relief of pressure and the sense of well being, being with me.

In this session, as I approach the filly, she looks my way.  A horse try. Her expression says maybe it is ok for me to approach, and maybe not.   I hesitate and give her a minute to realize I have done this before and we are in no hurry.   Her expression relaxes and I approach her shoulder.   I pet her neck and reach my arms around her neck in a caressing manner.  I slide by arm that is around her up her neck and pet around her head and touch her muzzle.  She is fine so I slip the halter on her. She stays totally relaxed like she has done this hundreds of times.  A big horse try!  I step away from her and she follows me all the way to the little pen.   The essence of leading has begun.   Pure trust is being developed and it is pure joy for both of us.   Treat your horse with respect at all times so as not to break the trust you are establishing.  This respect and trust is the basis for the horse rider relationship the entire lifetime of this horse. She gets a good brushing and I work at handling her feet more.   Her feet need trimming real soon.  I run the halter rope just above the hoof of each foot one at a time to get her even better about picking up her feet.  I pick each foot up and down several times.  I bang a hoof pick on the sole of her hoof to prepare her for the rasp and nippers.   Good session!  I ask her to follow me back to the large pen and with just a slight bit of pressure off to one side and then the other, she follows me back and then she stops when I stop.  Some gentle petting across her face, nose and neck and I release her and walk away.  It is important for you to walk away from the horse and not them leave you.  We end this session on a really good note. Training foals is teaching trust and respect. 

My training is in the Buckaroo Way and I offer consultation services to those who believe in partnership of horse and rider.  

 Honoring the horse and horsemanship through the western buckaroo way- Jeannie

The following tells about a session with a yearling filly getting haltered.  Each colt can be handled differently and should be handled as the situation presents itself.  You will be able to pick up ideas on halter training your baby!

This is the 3rd day to work Sassafras with the halter!  I just got in from work and I am ready to head to the pens.   I go to the barn first and saddle Rojo, a 3 year old gelding.  I get the ranch rope, the long lead rope and halter, and bucket of brushes and a flag and head to the pens.   I tie Rojo in the round pen and head over to Sassafras’s pen.  I set the brushes, flag and halter down in our small work pen.  I open the gate and approach her in her big pen.  She comes over, a little suspicious but looking for a pet, I walk towards the little pen but she is not interested in coming today.  I try to guide her slightly with my lass rope and she turns the wrong way.  I go get just her halter, then approach her, pet her on the neck and shoulder, touch her with the halter all around so that  she remembers the sight, sound and feel.  I touch her on the face and around the nose and ears a couple of times.

She feels ready to put the halter on.   I open the halter and hold it in my left hand.  I pet her with my right hand and arm and pass my arm over her neck.  I bring my left hand up under her throatlatch so I can reach the tail of the halter in my right hand.  I then slide the noseband over her nose.  This is where we see if I was thorough with my handling of her face the last 2 days.   She lifts her head slightly I stop and give her a moment to realize the halter
is not out to GRAB her.   She relaxes and I slide it on, like we have done it dozens of times. Big Horse Try!   

 I go get the lead rope and walk towards her, pet her, attach the lead rope to the halter and pet her some more.  I rub her with the lead to refresh the feel and sight of it.  I step out to the side of her and take the slack out of the rope and ask her to follow.  After a moment of thought she takes one step to me.   I step to the other side of her and ask her to step with me, and a hind foot comes then a front foot.   I have my long lead in case I need to put it over her rump for encouragement and security.   I ask for another step and she thinks for about 10 seconds this time and then just comes to me, I give her a slight pet on forehead and keep moving to the pen and she just comes along like an old hand!  Big horse try!

 In the pen, I shut the gate, have her step around me and proceed to brush her.  She really likes this and is real let down.  I can tell she doesn’t feel 100% today, her stomach is rumbling some, the paste wormer from yesterday is probably working on her.  I will go get her a pack of essentials after our session is complete.  After some grooming I pick up my flag and she immediately gets alert.  I approach her very slowly and let her see it without much movement.  She smells it and I touch her on the right shoulder.  She moves and shuffles some.   I only block her from running off.  She decides real quick it is ok.  I rub her all over her right side with it and down her legs and across her tummy.  I change sides carefully keeping an eye on her response.  She just watches and seems ok about the change to the other side.   I hold the lead rope in my left hand and slowly approach her on the right side with the flag.  I touch her shoulder gently and she explodes straight up in the air.  She has decided it shouldn’t touch her this time, but I have to laugh at the expression on her face.  No pressure on the lead rope.  She does not try to leave just had to move her feet! I go right back to the spot and gently touch her and she is ok.  I move it gently all over her right side, cross over her back and down the left side again but don’t stay long.  I let her smell the flag again then set in down.

I lead her out some, reminding her she can move her feet and come with me.  I take the long lead rope and work on picking up her feet again.   I handle her feet a bit longer today and let her work at finding her balance and stand on three legs a bit longer.  These little hooves need a trim and maybe in a few days she will be ready for it.  A few more friendly rubs on the face, eyes, nose and ears and we lead out to her big pen.  We make several nice small circles with her head bent on the arc of the circle, stop and take out time taking the halter off and back on a few times, then I walk away and we are done.  Another nice day with some good horse trys.  We could do more, but we have lots of tomorrows and Rojo is waiting for his groundwork session before that black cloud in the south chases us back to the barn!!