From: Kathy
Hi Jessica,
I have gleaned a wealth of helpful information from Horse Sense. Thank you for your sacrifice of time to help us all learn more. You are greatly appreciated.
Call me a sentimental patriot but every time I see a horse ride into an arena carrying our country's flag and they are playing the national anthem or Lee Greenwoods, "God bless the USA", I am totally covered with goosebumps. Every time! I just love it, never get tired of seeing it, and think, "I'd like to do that!"
Question #1: Through what progression of steps do I teach my just turned six year old gelding how to carry a flag ? He's a bit of a Nervous Nelson until he is used to something and then he is fine. I don't want to start out doing something that will scare him so badly that he will never want to do it. We just did our yearly replacement of the stable flag so I have one (4x6) that I can practice with. It's faded and a little frayed so I don't have to worry about damaging it. How do I begin?
Questions #2: Peruvian horses are not trained to neck rein so can you give me some hints on how to direct rein with only one hand since the other hand would obviously be hanging on to the flag pole?
I know you must have many questions of a much more serious nature and perhaps apply to many more readers. But if you think others may find this interesting too, I would be very grateful for any help.
Thanks,
Kathy
Hi Kathy! Thanks for the kind words.
You've got two jobs ahead of you: getting your horse and yourself used to the flag, and teaching your horse to neck-rein. Let's take them one at a time. ;-)
A flag, to a horse, is just something large and flappy that eventually proves NOT to be a horse-eating, flying monster coming in for a landing.
Life can be quite interesting while your horse is learning about the flappy part, so start with something little and soft that you can drop immediately if the horse overreacts.
I suggest that you start with something small -- a hand-towel or a stable rag. You can flap it, wave it, shake it, drape it over your horse's neck, and eventually drape it over his head -- from the ground, and then from the saddle. Don't even tie it to a stick at first, because just in case the moving material creates a series of horse-bounces, you don't want to be holding OR dropping anything hard and pointy.
Eventually your horse will be utterly bored by all of your flapping efforts, even if you cover both of his eyes and sing "Oh Say Can You See"... ;-) When he's bored with it, trade it in for a larger one, get him bored with the larger one, and then increase the size a few more times until you're ready to deal with an actual flag. This is all time well spent: if you do carry a flag, there's going to be a moment when your flag or someone else's flag comes loose or droops or blows across your horse's face, and you'll want him to react by rolling his eyes and thinking "There she goes again with that boring old flapping stuff."
Somewhere during the making-the-horse-bored-with-flappy-things processs, get an actual flag or at least a large piece of similar material. Different materials feel and sound different, so you'll want to get your horse used to all kinds of material, including, at last, the slippery rustly actual flag material!
If you're thinking about carrying a full-size flag -- parade- or rodeo-style -- then you'll need some help. There's a staff involved as well as a flag, and the staff is HEAVY.
You'll need a stirrup attachment or a saddle attachment to serve as a place to rest the base of the staff; which one you need will depend on the size of the flag and length of the staff. If your local tack store fails you here, try one that caters to rodeo folk, or get in touch with the nearest mounted police unit and ask where they get their parade equipment. People who do cavalry reenactments are also very good at finding sources for things like this, so ask around -- especially since what you really need at this point is something you can borrow, not buy. ;-)
When you've got one hand on the staff of a flag, it leaves (if you're a typical human) only one hand for your reins, so yes, you're going to have to teach your horse to neckrein. It's not difficult -- horses pick it up very quickly and easily.`
The first thing to remember is that neck-reining has very little to do with necks and reins, and everything to do with the rider's seat and balance and leg and weight aids! Neck-reining doesn't mean turning the horse with the reins, it means riding with loose reins, moving your rein hand an inch or two right, left, up, and down depending on what you'd like your horse to do.
Because of this, the prerequisite for teaching your horse to neckrein is simply this: your horse must be happy and confident when ridden on very light contact, and your horse must be responsive to your weight shifts and to the movements of your legs and seat.
If you're a cowboy in a hurry, you can shave the sides of the horse's neck and use a cow-hair mecate. ;-) If you're not a cowboy and you have plenty of time, you can use any other method you want, including clicker training.
In you feel strongly about necks and reins, you CAN, quite easily, teach your horse to react by turning away from the feel of the rein against its neck (but remember that as in any other form of riding, the reins should be the LAST and LEAST of the aids).
You'll need good control of your own body for this. You'll start by "plow-reining" -- holding one rein loosely in each hand, keeping your hands wider apart than usual (say a foot rather than 4"), so that the reins aren't lying against the horse's neck. Ride with as little contact as you possibly can, preferably NO contact at all. When you want to turn left, move your right hand toward your own midline, so that the rein lies against his neck.
Do NOT pull on it, shorten it, or do anything that will pull the bit or create or increase contact with his mouth. The ONLY change involving the bridle, and the only signal at this point, should be the right rein lying against his neck (still a loose, not a taut rein).
At this point, if your horse is very sensitive to your leg and weight aids, and if you're inadvertently using them all to ask for that left turn, you'll probably get it. ;-) If you don't get it, either because you're still sitting very straight or because your horse is perplexed by the new rein arrangement, take your left hand farther away from your body and use it as a leading rein, then LEAD him into the turn. As soon as he turns, take the right rein away from his neck.
So, the sequence is:
1) outside (cue) rein lying against neck (no contact with mouth)
2) if horse doesn't turn, use inside (reinforcer) rein to lead him into the turn, and
3) as he turns, take the outside (cue) rein away from his neck again.
He already knows HOW to turn, you're just teaching him a new signal that means "turn THIS way, NOW". The neck rein cue is the rein itself lying against his neck, but you'll also be using your aids (by shifting your legs and your seat and your weight), and you'll reinforce the cue by using the inside rein as a leading rein. Remember to take the "cue" rein away from his neck unless he is actually turning, so that he can learn to associate it ONLY with turning.
If your horse is clicker-trained, click as he turns (and take the right rein away). In fact, click -- or praise him -- if he hesitates, if he looks in the desired direction, if he even THINKS about turning. Use your body and balance to tell the horse to turn, and let the reins gently suggest what your body is already saying: "Turn right" or "turn left".
If you're patient, it will happen much more easily. If you are impatient, you'll think too much about the reins, and you'll try to pull your horse into a left turn by moving your rein hand strongly to the left -- DON'T DO IT. This doesn't help the horse understand and it won't help him turn; it will just put pressure on the OUTSIDE rein, tilting his head and twisting his neck to the OUTSIDE, and throwing his weight onto his inside shoulder.
This is what gets horses confused and upset, and it's what convinces riders that neck-reining is mysterious and difficult. Don't go there at all -- stay with your loose-rein-against-neck CUES, leading rein REINFORCES and CLARIFIES, clicker or praise REWARDS.
Take your time, and repeat the routine over and over and over and over, first at walk and then at jog. Several thousand repetitions at each gait will help confirm your horse's response to his new cues.
Loping will be the most difficult, but if you're thinking in terms of flag-carrying in a show arena, you'll just need to be sure that your horse can pick up the correct lead when you ask for the lope. As a flag carrier, you're most likely to go once or twice or three times around the arena -- you're unlikely to be asked to do a lot of changes of direction.
Make the whole process easier on yourself and your horse by using the right equipment. The bit you begin with should be a snaffle, but make it a solid, heavy one, and use the heaviest reins you can find. The same will apply when/if you shift to a curb: make it a heavy bit, and use heavy reins. It's much easier to be clear with substantial reins that don't flutter and flap.
And anyway, fluttering and flapping is the FLAG's job. ;-)
Good luck, and have fun!
Jessica
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