There are a number of people out there offering the same words ....the difference is that Jerry doesn't get so impressed with himself that he forgets he is supposed to be teaching.
- Fran Odom
TINDELL HORSE & MULEMANSHIP
(Plus an occasional Donkey...)
Every year, about 200 days each year, I conduct horsemanship clinics
throughout the United States and Canada. When someone attends a clinic, it shows me
they are interested and have the desire to "be better".
Often, they
attend due to a specific reason; to fix a specific problem they are
experiencing. Frequently, the "problem" is not what needs to be worked on. It
is the weakness in the foundation of either the animal or the human that
exhibits itself in the "problem".
A person cannot do anything until he or she understands what
is going on.
Most of the people who attend a clinic for the first time, do not
realize the importance of evaluating their animal and themselves
daily, while doing the small steps to get the larger changes in the
long run. Some people do not even know that a problem exists, until
there is a wreck of some kind!
EVALUATION: FOR SAFETY EVERY TIME, EVERY RIDE!
Every time I approach an animal, whether in a pen or a pasture, or
tied to a hitching rail, I am always aware of their demeanor. I see:
the posture
the head
the eyes
and the ears.
How are the feet placed? Is the animal attentive, turned off or
overly fearful? If the animal is moving freely in a pen or pasture,
I am aware of the sound of the hooves; the posture of the body; the
reaction to my approach. In this way, I evaluate the animal.
The human must also evaluate himself.
How is he feeling today?
Is he focused on working with his horse
or mule?
Does he feel confident about working and teaching this
animal in a correct and effective manner?
What are the desired
behaviors I am striving to achieve?
What are the
positive influences that make a difference?
I teach my students to evaluate their animals every day, every time
they are together.
THE SECOND INGREDIENT FOR SUCCESS IS COMMITMENT
It takes DESIRE. It take COMMITMENT. It takes a person's willingness
to pay attention to detail, to pay attention to slow moving
subtleties. These animals are so keen and clever on feel
and awareness.
MAINTAINING MOTIVATION IN THE HORSE OR
MULE:
The average handler I see today is killing that "feel". He is
destroying that natural feel and natural ability to survive or to be
attentive that exists within these animals. He is putting the horse
or mule in a world that is nonproductive, ineffective.
When his world has no purpose and makes no sense,
the horse or mule loses interest in it!
I often see a human who thinks, "Hey, my horse is gentle!" While in
reality, the horse is either shutting down because he doesn't know
what to do or he's too afraid to do it. Or, he is moving without
direction to evade the request.
TWO SIDES TO POOR MOTIVATION:
Poorly motivated horses and mules fall at two ends of the
same spectrum:
Overly sensitive and super fast
Sluggish with no movement.
Both have the potential of having an unsafe ride
or scary situation, and both are the product of a poorly motivated
animal. Why are they poorly motivated? Because the handler has not
built interest, connection, and purpose into the relationship. Or
the handler lacks confidence, so the horse or mule doesn't trust.
The human has to learn to calm and slow down the fast
horse. He has to speed up and build confidence in the slow one.
The slow ones, once you start making requests and the animal starts
searching for the answers, and they succeed, then they wake up, they
become alive!
What is a progressive (stepped) program?
A program is a philosophy. It is a tradition. It is awareness.
It is understanding what is a horse or what is a mule? What is naturally going to
stimulate them and how are they going to respond?
Then, you've got to ask the human, “What is your responsibility
here? What are you comfortable doing to help this animal be better?
"
Do you have one that's going to move fast and move away from you, or
do you have one that's going to crowd you? Do you know how to
respond to these different conditions?”
At my clinics, I get a lot of
questions like, "Can you get him to stop doing
"that"?
But "that's" not
the real problem.
I don't try to get an animal to stop doing something after they are
already doing it. I go back to the foundation; I go back and fix the basic
behaviors taught to the animal, because that is were the problem
exists!
The basic behaviors
in my Six Step Program
Nearly all problems that people have
with their horse or mule are rooted in a weakness of one of these 6
basic behaviors:
1. BACK UP
2. SHOULDER YIELD, which result in the horse or mule having to switch from looking at you with one eye to the other
3. WALK, TROT, LOPE IN A CIRCLE
- not just any circle, a correct circle, with focus and attention.
4. YIELD HINDQUARTERS, stepping under the belly, in front of the pivoting leg
5. STOP.
STOP,
COME IN, STAND AT YOUR SIDE, DROP HEAD
6. STAND STILL
A "hole" in any of these steps can indicate a potential problem on the trail or performance ride. Take a few minutes before each ride to make sure each step is
soft and fluid. Only when each step can be accomplished softly, fluidly, is your horse or mule ready to ride.
Not only will he be ready to ride, he will be ready to excel, to be a pleasure in any situation!
COMMUNICATION: WHAT ARE YOU TELLING YOUR HORSE OR
MULE?
Often the horse or mule is only doing exactly what
the person is telling them. But, unfortunately, the human doesn't
understand what he has been requesting! They think they are asking
for one thing, while their body language and energy are saying
something completely different.
For example, why does a horse run over a human?
First, he has nowhere to go but up the rope,
becasue that is where the human is dragging
him (where the human has always dragged him because he wants him to
be with him , so he is always holding him),
Then the horse says: "When
I do run over you and
knock you down, I get release!”
So why do we hold him so tight?
Usually it's because we think we can't control him
without holding him.
But holding him tight does the exact opposite: It teaches him
bad behavior, it actually creates an out of control situation,
because what the horse is looking for is RELEASE FROM PRESSURE.
A human today does not understand how to use his
energy to cause the horse to identify him as a leader. He doesn't know how to hold his ground, how to use his
energy to get "big" so a horse moves away. The animal says, "Not only do I not trust you and
you can't lead me, but I don't respect you either."
My job is to help the human understand (to read) his horse or
mule. I assist him in properly evaluating the current
"condition" of his animal. He must also evaluate himself, daily,
before moving forward in trying to build the foundation required for
a safe, secure, and supportive experience with his horse or mule.
It is there for all of us, we just have to work to
identify and create the proper responses!
(This article by Jerry Tindell originally appeared in the February
2006
EQUEST MAGAZINE ONLINE)
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