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CONQUERING
THE DREADED GROUND POLES
By Susan Dudasik
If you have been following this series, at this point, your
horse should be getting pretty handy. He should be able to stand
still, move over, turn on the forehand and haunches, sidepass
and back-up. Now it's time to start putting those maneuvers
to work on the obstacles. The most basic and often used obstacle
is the simple ground pole. Unfortunately, most people rush through
this portion of their training because they figure there is
nothing to walking over a pole. Boy, are they wrong. Whether
used as a step-over, jump, walk-through, back-through or side-pass,
poles are used to make up many of the obstacles in today's trail
classes and often the whole course will be a series of poles.
Before you even attempt to work ground poles with your horse,
try this simple exercise. It will give you a different perspective
on how and why your horse maneuvers an obstacle the way he does.
Place five poles on the ground about three feet apart. Now
walk through them and space the stride for yourself. Next, place
your hands, finger tips touching, on the bridge of your nose
so you can't see your feet. This is basically how your horse
sees. He can't see his hooves unless you allow him to lower
his head. Now try to walk over the poles. Remember, there is
a rider on your back, holding your head up with the bit so you
can't see where you are stepping. Not so easy, is it? Try it
again and lower your head so you can see. Big difference! This
is one basic reason most horses mess up walk-overs. Try it again
keeping your head up and stop at the first pole. Wait a few
seconds and, without looking, try to walk over the poles. Then,
walk over them with your head lowered. Notice the difference?
Another reason horses mess up is because they aren't allowed
enough time to see the poles. Now do the same thing, but raise
the poles to about a foot. It's not so easy when you can't see
where you're going. You must believe in your horse and give
him enough rein to allow him to lower his head so he can see
where he is going.
Another exercise that will help you better understand your
horse is to watch how he approaches something spookie. Turn
him out in a small corral and place an object in the center.
A tarp or sack of cans usually gets a reaction. You want him
to notice it, not be terrified. Now, sit back and watch. Most
horses will look at the object then move towards it and back
up. This process will continue until the horse finally gets
up the nerve to actually touch the object. Then, he'll jump
or back away. He may do this several times before he finally
decides the object is all right, then you will see him start
chewing or moving his lips, a universal sign that the horse
is starting to accept the situation. He may not like it, but
at least he's thinking about it and not panicking. Eventually
he will touch the object and stay there. Of course, depending
on the horse and past experiences, this process may take a few
seconds to a few days. Be patient. Once you understand this
behavior, half the battle is won. Use this reaction to your
advantage.
Now that you have some insight as to how your horse sees and
handles his spookies, it's time to introduce him to the ground
pole. To start, place a single pole on the ground. Lead your
horse to about three feet away from the pole, encourage him
to lower his head and look at it. Let him reach out and encourage
him to touch it. As he does, cue him with a verbal cue like
"Touch" or what ever you choose. Be careful. If the
pole moves when he touches it, he may back away. Don't scold
him, it's just his instinct. Bring him back and encourage him
to try again. Don't quit until he touches it, at least for a
second. All horses react differently to this exercise. Don't
be surprised at his reaction, especially if you have ridden
him over poles before. I have seen seasoned, champion trail
horses shy the first time they were really allowed to investigate
a pole. Usually they were forced, head up, to go over the pole
and were never given the opportunity to understand what it was.
Other horses may refuse to look at the pole at all. They will
look off in the distance, at a bird on the fence or a cloud
in the sky, anywhere but at the pole. This is not a sign of
acceptance, he's just trying to ignore you. Stay with it until
he touches the pole, even if it's for a split second.
Once he's comfortable near the pole, reach out and kick it
slightly so it moves. Most likely your horse will back up. Repeat
the process until he stands as the pole rolls around. Be sure
to praise and encourage him and don't hold the lead real short,
let him have some freedom to lower his head.
When he'll stand for you rolling the pole near him, start
rolling it in front of you and ask him to follow. Here's where
your halter training comes in. He should lead quietly. When
he accepts this, walk him around a bit then ask him to step
over the pole. When it is between his legs, ask him to stand
and gently roll the pole back and forth, lightly bumping both
sets of hooves. Reassure your horse and stay calm. Be alert,
he may jump forward or kick the pole. If he goes forward, don't
make a big fuss, just walk around and reposition him and try
again. If he kicks, you need to quit and fix that problem before
continuing. If need be get professional help. There is no reason
at all that he should be kicking or for you to accept that type
of behavior. Correct it now. This exercise helps prepare him
for when a pole accidentally rolls and hits him or he knocks
down a jump pole. It's surprising how many seasoned trail horses
jump when they see a pole moving beneath them. Continue until
your horse stands quietly.
The next step is to have your horse straddle the pole and
ask him to back up. Let him get used to the pole hitting him
and feel it rolling under his hooves. Notice that I said the
pole hitting him, not him hitting the pole. There is a difference.
You don't want your horse to think HE can hit the poles, but
when he's standing still and THEY move, he shouldn't panic.
Keep at this exercise until he understands that he must pick
up his hooves to clear the pole. He will be confused and frightened.
Stay calm and be reassuring. Reward his attempts and before
long he will realize that nothing is hurting him and he must
pick up his hooves. This not only teaches him to watch where
he's putting his hooves, it also teaches him not to rush the
pole.
When working the above exercises, you don't want to do them
so much that your horse becomes oblivious to the pole, you just
want to introduce him to it moving around underneath him. When
he's comfortable with that, you can start asking him to walk
over a single pole. Begin about 20 feet away and walk confidently
toward the pole. Keep your head up and walk right over it. Don't
hesitate or look down at the pole or at your horse. Believe
he will be there. Allow some slack in your lead so he can drop
his head, but don't drop yours by looking down. Body language
plays a big role here. Even the slightest downward tilt of your
head can cause your horse to hesitate. Walk over the pole straight
and with confidence and your horse will follow in the same way.
After your horse is confident over the single pole, you can
start adding more. But if you start having a problem, immediately
return to the single pole.
Here are a few ideas for using ground poles. For now, keep
them on the ground, not raised. Be patient and master these
exercises first. Space four poles about 15 feet apart in a line
and walk over them. Encourage your horse to drop his head and
look at the poles. Next, place the poles in a cross shape. To
work this, you will be traveling in a circle with the poles
evenly spaced. This exercise will be harder since you are working
on a curve. Start at the very edge and as your horse becomes
more comfortable, move toward the center. Remember to work on
each side. You may have to adjust the poles to accommodate his
trot stride, but leave the circle as is and only work near the
edge. . When your horse has mastered these exercises, go back
to a single pole and ask him to trot over it.
This may seem like a lot of fussing just to cross a pole on
the ground, but it will pay off in the long run. Just be patient
and use this time to really get to know your horse by getting
back to the basics.
Susan Dudasik
Shadow Rider Equine News
srider@salmoninternet.com
Member: Idaho Press Club
North American Saddle Mule Association
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