A lot of information has come out in the past 10-15 years on what we might call "Natural Horsemanship" which basically is learning to communicate with horses as one horse will to another.

One of the tools used is the round pen, where one can move the horse around freely with out the restraint of lead rope and halter. Allowing the horse to be with you mentally, rather than forcing the horse to submit to your wishes. Once you have developed a line of communication with your horse, you will want to carry this same feel in to the saddle. I think a lot about trying to take that good feel we have developed on the ground through these different exercises into the saddle when we're ridding our horses.

This is the area where I think a lot of people tend to loose that good feel, we find our horses starting to get a little heavy on the rein or pushing on our leg. Ever had a horse that couldn't seem to walk out when going away from home but can really walk fast on the way back? Horses being what they are, herd animals, feel a strong need to be with their fellow horses or on their familiar home turf. How many times have we been out riding and it feels like your horse swallowed a magnet, always pulling for the barn or another horse. At that point, it doesn't really feel like the horse is one with you. You can train and train and it still seems like it is in the back of his mind. Believe me, I've tried to and so have millions of other people through out time!

What I am writing about is probably the most important thing I have learned about horsemanship because without it I think you will get mediocre to average results at best. In order to get rid of that magnet affect that most horses tend to have, which is totally natural, we must set up a learning situation to teach the horse that it is preferable to be away from the barn or the horse herd.

An easy way to set this up is to tie a horse (buddy preferably) on the outside of a corral you are riding in. You could ride around in the corral with very little contact on your reins. Anytime your horse comes close to the other horse you might speed him up a little and as soon as he veers away from the other horse you sit real quite and pet him as you go. Soon, your horse will head back toward the other horse, and when he gets there speed him up a little. The key to this teaching exercise is not to use your reins to turn him away from the other horse. We fix this up by making it just a little uncomfortable to hang around the other horse and really nice (petting, scratching and rest) when he turns away. After awhile, he will sort this out and he will veer away from that horse all on his own. I remember working with this mare one time in our 120' round arena. She had a lot of life and I was working on this same exercise. She would keep heading for the gate where I had her buddy tied outside. Anytime we would get to the gate, I would ask her to speed up a little. She would lope around and around the arena and it seemed like she would never stop. I didn't try to rein her down, I just rode around with her and after a while, she would steer clear of the gate and the other horse. She still didn't feel like she was with me so I hung in there, which took quite awhile! She needed to do quite a bit of exploring in that arena. At first it felt more like riding a runaway horse than anything else. Gradually, I could feel her becoming more intune with my thoughts.

I started getting more specific about where I wanted her to travel and I would pick out a spot that I wanted her to stop. Using that same method, anytime she would get near that spot in the corral, I'd get real quite and when she'd leave, I'd speed her up a little. At first that meant nothing to her. Then it started to take on some meaning as she started to feel of me and work with me. Soon we were working in about a 15' circle and that kept narrowing down. We kept getting more specific until she could stand on that spot. She got to where I could look out and ride her around the corral at any speed my body suggested. Then, I would look at that spot and she would go over there and stop and relax. She got so 'with me' she would go where I looked and stop when I quite riding in my body posture. Of course pulling toward the other horse or the gate was not an issue at all by this time.

Recently, a woman was telling us a story about how she tried to ride her horse down the road away from home. The horse would go just so far and that was it. Finally, after trying different things, she gave up, came home and turned the horse back out to pasture. I'll bet the next time that horse will be even better at turning around and going home! Sound like a typical problem? You bet! Now, what if we changed our thinking. Next time we saddle up, instead of just going for a ride away from the barn, we set up a learning situation. Let the horse make his own decision to leave the barnyard rather than making him. Here again, we would let the horse work at being around the barn and when he would start away, we would get real quite in our riding and just scratch him on the neck. Here again, I say if you try to rein him away from the barn then it is your idea, nohis. In order for this to work, we must let it become his idea. We have all experienced times while riding that you and your horse are of the same mind. It's such a great feeling! I'm going to try to make it my goal to get that same good feel with all the horses I ride. Hopefully you will too.

I am an avid student of "Natural Horsemanship."

That means learning to communicate with a horse as one horse would to another. I believe that raising horses, understanding how they think, and having a basic knowledge of working with your horse should go hand in hand. The gentler and better trained your horses are, the safer and more valuable they become.

Young colts are capable of learning all of the basic maneuvers they will use as older horses under saddle. Starting early will save you a lot of time in the long run. The young horse is very flexible physically and mentally. They are very impressionable and have good memories. Lucky for us, they are forgiving.

1. Will he except the flag? (Plastic bag on a whip) Petting him all over his body and moving up over him.  Can you direct him with it? Will he yield from it softly?

2. Will he except the touch of the rope all over his body? Can you pick his feet up with the rope?

3. Does he move freely under saddle at all gaits? Are his eyes soft or hard? Is his tail hanging loose or is there tension in it?

4. Will he stand quietly next to you while you are sitting on the fence above him and remain comfortable?

If he will pass these tests, he is on his way! Now, to develop responsiveness!

5. Will he lead beside you or does he drag behind? I would ask with the lead rope. If there is no response, I might bump him on the front elbow with the stirrup until he takes a step. Then pet him and repeat until he is moving freely. Or, I might tap him with the tail of my lead rope on his side until he moves forward, then pet him and repeat until I see a change for the better.

6. Will your horse back at just a suggestion or do his feet seem to get stuck when he feels some pressure?  

One method which helps develop feel for the human and the horse is to take hold of the lead rope where it joins the halter and put a few ounces of pressure on it; Thinking of backing your horse. (The concept here is you fix up a situation and wait.) You try to release the pressure as the horse starts to think back. Next time, you might feel him shift his weight back, and then you should release! Then, you might get him to take a step back. We take this same feel into the saddle with us. When you reach for a horse, you fix it up and wait. If you try to pull the horse back he will probably feel threatened and get resistive, trying to protect himself. Once you have some of these things working for you, I would encourage you to try to get this same good feel with a longer rope like a lariat.

See if you can get the horse to circle around you at some distance and get good at changing directions.  Your trying to get his feet to move fluidly, not racing, or lurching, not sluggishly or sticking to the ground.  The way a horse moves his feet will tell you a lot about his attitude. Our goal is to get them to move freely with responsiveness.

I have found that it is just as important for the really gentle horse to pass these tests as it is for the more spooky ones. People tend to overlook a lot of this with the gentle ones and then later, something shows up and you realize you didn't cover the basics because you didn't think he needed it. I have made that mistake and have learned that it is far better to be safe than sorry.