LATERAL FLEXION IS THE KEY TO VERTICAL FLEXION - Part II

In last month's training article, we spoke about lateral flexion and how important it is to develop it if you want to further gain collection of your horse's poll and have him vertically give to the bit. Lateral flexion is the key to vertical flexion, and I keep saying this over and over again because it is so very important that you understand that unless you have your horse soft and supple laterally, vertical flexion will be much more difficult.

By this stage you should have spent at least 10 to 14 days doing nothing but bending and softening your horse laterally. If you skip your lateral flexion, the vertical flexion will be much more difficult.

Just to recap, in last month's article we spoke about lateral flexion. Remember, there are five body parts we need to learn to control in our horse - the head and neck, the poll, the shoulders, the ribcage and the hindquarters. We supple our horse from the nose to the tail in that order. The more we bend our horse laterally, the easier everything else will become. We can't gain control of shoulders, ribcage or hindquarters unless we get good lateral and vertical flexion first.

We are assuming at this stage that you have ridden your horse for close to 14 days, and you have him doing the lateral flexion exercise that we did in last month's article; and he is very soft and supple. When you slide your hand down to bend the horse to the left, he gives to the bit immediately, he softens his head and neck, and he starts to bend some of his ribcage. Likewise, when you release your hand to your knee, he does not automatically snap his head back. If he is not at this stage, do not bother trying to go to vertical flexion because it will be much more difficult. Remember, horse's don't have hard mouths - they have hard bodies. Therefore, the more soft and supple you can get your horse, the easier it is to teach him what you want him to do - for example, a stop or a turn - something like that.

I initially start collection at the head and neck - basically getting your horse to give and break at the poll. True collection is where you drive the back of the horse to the front of the horse, but there is not point in driving the back to the front unless you have the horse understanding in his mind that he must give and break at the poll and give his face vertically. Some new riders are trying to drive the back to the front, but the horse keeps pulling on the rider's arms because he has not been taught that he must give to the bit, not push against it. Only when your horse fully understands that he is supposed to give and break at the poll vertically, can you start to drive the horse up into his face and achieve true collection.

True collection is, in essence, when the horse gives you his entire body to do whatever you want to do with it. Therefore, the main thing we need to do is gain control of his entire body; but we are starting from the nose and working our way back.

I start vertical flexion at the beginning just at a stand-still. The reason that I do it at a stand-still is that I want to break it down into steps - the stand-still, the walk, the trot, the canter, etc. The faster you go with your horse, the more resistance he will give you and the more obvious it will be to you that you need to come back to a step that is easier for you and your horse to understand. So, I start at the stand-still and work my way up as my horse progresses.

To begin with, at the stand-still I take both reins and I place them on the upper part of my thighs. The reason that I do this is to fix my hands to my legs in a fixed position. This acts like a brace, so to speak. Most horses in the beginning will lift their heads up, pull against the bit and open their mouths. Most of the time, they will back up as well. If this happens, it is not a problem. All you do is hold your hands on your legs. As soon as your horse stops backing up, stops his feet, softens at the poll, gives to the bit and lowers his head even a little bit, I will instantly throw my hands forward towards his ears to reward him. I will do this over and over again. Pretty soon, as soon as I pick up on the reins, my horse will immediately know that all he has to do to relieve himself of the pressure is drop his face, break at the poll and give vertically. As soon as he does this, it is very important the rider releases the reins and gives him the reward. As my horse gets the hang of it at the stand-still and he is consistently breaking at the poll and giving me his face, only then will I ask him to go to the walk.

When I initially start this at the stand-still, I am not using any leg pressure - meaning that it is strictly bit pressure. The reason I don't use any leg pressure to ask him to soften at the poll at the stand-still is that it starts to become a little overwhelming for your horse. It's kind of like a "first things first" basis. The first step is to get your horse understanding that he is supposed to give to the bit. Once he understands that, then you can use your legs and drive him up into the bit. As he gets better, you will be able to pick up on his face, squeeze with your legs and gain even more collection. But initially, make it simple for your horse to understand.

In the beginning, expect quite a bit of resistance. The worst thing you can do at this stage is to jerk or tug on the reins in a see-sawing fashion. Lots of people get a horse's head down by see-sawing on the reins - giving little tugs and jerks on the reins. Sure, the horse will lower his head and break at the poll, but as soon as the see-sawing on the bit or jerking on the reins stops, the horse will lift his head and neck back up. This is not collection. This is what I call a "false sense of collection." The horse is being intimidated to lower his head and break at the poll. I want my horse to give to the bit voluntarily and soften as opposed to my making him soften.

At the stand-still, do not use your legs - just pick up. The reason why I brace my hands on my legs is that when the horse eventually does give, I will be able to notice it much quicker and release my hands forward. If I was just pulling my hands up near my hips in mid-air, when the horse did give to the bit, I might be pulling so hard that I will take away the give from the horse and pull back even harder. You don't want to do that. You want to leave your hands on your thighs in a fixed position - kind of like a tug-of-war but with one end of the rope tied to a post and you are on the other end. If you stop pulling on that rope, slack immediately appears in that rope. As soon as you notice a little bit of slack in the reins, you immediately throw your hands forward very quickly towards his ears. The reason why you release your hands forward in such an exaggerated motion is that you exaggerate to teach and refine as you go along.

The simple part to horse training is the more black and white you can keep it, the quicker your horse understands. The quicker you can release and the more obviously you can release, the easier it is for your horse to understand that if he gives to the bit and breaks at the poll, he will get immediate release and softness.

So don't even try to do vertical flexion at the walk until you can pick up on both reins and he is immediately and consistently softening his face at the stand-still. Be prepared for this take you from 4-5 days, depending on how much you work on it. Be very consistent. Do not release the rein pressure with your hands until your horse starts to give and soften. It is very important. Sometimes you may sit there for a minute or two with your horse pulling on the bit with his head in the air. Let him figure it out. Resist the temptation to tug or jerk on the reins. This will only make him give; and we don't want to make our horse give. We want him to choose to give by himself. When you get a horse to choose to give and do what you want him to do, he will put a lot more effort into it. When the put more effort into it, you are going to get a much better result.

Now that you have got your horse to consistently break at the poll at the stand-still, start by doing it at the walk. To begin with, I usually follow a fence or some sort of barrier to begin with. You can also pick out a tree or post across the pasture and ride straight to it. The reason why I follow the fence is that it gives me a guideline. That way, I don't have to be concentrating on where he is going or trying to steer him. When you are trying to teach your horse something, keep it on a first-things-first basis. Keep it simple and exaggerate to teach and refine as you go along.

Start by walking your horse along the fence on a loose rein. Pick up on both reins and put them on your thighs just like you did at the stand-still. Now, as soon as you pick up on your horse's face, you immediately start to squeeze with both legs at the same time. This will encourage your horse to keep moving forward. If you just picked up on the reins but you didn't add your legs, that would be a signal for your horse to stop. So now that we have created energy at a walk, we need to keep telling our horse to keep moving and pushing forward and, eventually, he will learn to collect his body and everything will get softer. So, you will pick up on your horse's face and squeeze with your legs. If you have done a very good job at the stand-still, it won't take very long for your horse to figure out that he is supposed to soften at the poll at the walk as well. As soon as your horse softens and breaks at the poll and softens to your hands and lowers his head, immediately throw your hands forward to his ears just like you did before. Don't be worried about over-exaggerating this phase. Sure, you might have to lean forward a little bit and look a little bit out of position. Remember, we are trying to teach this to your horse and make it as clear for him to understand. When you teach children how to spell, first of all you make them sound the letters out. You make them put certain letter sounds together. You make them break the words down. You exaggerate to teach children how to say words and how to spell, don't you? This is what we are doing in our horse training. Keep it very simple.

In the beginning, only look for your horse to give that immediate second, just like you did at the stand-still. So he might only give for one quick stride. As soon as he does that, immediately release, put him on a loose rein, gently rub him with your hand on his neck and let him walk for 10-15 feet on a big loose rein. Then pick up again, apply your legs and push him up into his face. Remember to keep your hands in a fixed position on your legs. This will stop you from pulling too hard. Remember, you are not trying to get into a tug-of-war or a pulling match with your horse. You are basically just putting enough pressure on the reins to take the slack out and maybe one or two more ounces.

When you squeeze with your legs to keep your horse moving forward, if he tries to trot forward, you can pick up on the reins a little bit stronger and pull a little bit more. But do not release your legs, because this will teach your horse that all he has to do to escape your leg pressure is run more. We want to teach your horse that the only way for him to escape your leg pressure is to soften and give. Yet, keep in mind that you are not using too much leg pressure and scaring your horse to make him run forward. So you have to use some common sense to regulate your leg pressure. But as a general rule, if your horse tries to trot forward and every time he does you release your leg pressure, you are teaching that all he has to do to escape your legs is try to run faster. My legs can mean speed, but most of the time my leg pressure means collect and soften more - not necessarily run faster.

As you do this over and over again, pretty soon your horse will break at the poll for two steps, three steps, four steps and so on. Every single time that you get your horse to break at the poll and give, make sure you let him walk on a loose rein for at least 10-15 feet. This gives him a chance to digest it, think about it and think about how rewarding it is once he does give to the bit.

Once you have done this for a week or two, pretty soon you can start doing it at the jog, the trot - just build on and on - until eventually you canter. The key is to pick up with your hands softly and squeeze with your legs. As soon as he softens, immediately reward him by releasing the rein pressure. As your horse gets softer and softer, every day he will become more and more responsive. Eventually, you will learn to be able to adjust your arms so that when you pick up on his face, you won't keep pulling harder and harder. Remember, it's not a tug-of-war. Let him figure it out. When you first begin this and you walk your horse down the fence, he may stiffen his face and walk and pull against your hands for 30 seconds or so. Do not be worried about this. Keep maintaining the same rein pressure and the same leg pressure and wait for him to figure it out. However, the better job you do at the stand-still, the quicker he will pick it up at the walk. So if you find that you are having a lot of trouble getting him to do it at the walk, chances are you have skipped the basics too much and you have cheated by not getting him good enough at the stand-still.

Now we are going to talk about some troubleshooting techniques covering things that are most common when you first attempt this with your horse. We will try to rectify some of the most common problems that you may encounter when you first try this with your horse. Later on, you will be able to trot and canter and collect him at a faster pace; but remember, the faster you go, the resistance becomes more obvious. It's like a car with a bad wheel. The faster the car goes, the more wobbly the wheel gets. So make sure you at least spend 2-3 weeks at the walk and jog before ever thinking about collecting him at the canter. The same principles apply. Get him to give - immediately turn loose. Teach your horse that he will be rewarded for giving and softening. It's very important.

TROUBLESHOOTING

1. The horse backs up when you ask him to break at the poll. This is a very common occurrence in the beginning. Do not let this alarm you whatsoever. Nine out of ten horses, when you first pick up on their faces and brace your hands on your legs, will try to back up. They are trying to back because 1) they think you want them to back up because that is what you have normally done in the past - simply pull on the reins, or 2) it is a combination of them resisting the bit and trying to pull against it. Most horses will lift their head and neck up, open their mouth and generally fight against it and they will generally walk backwards. Just let them walk backwards. The worst thing you can do at this stage is try to kick them or put any leg pressure on them to stop them from doing it. Let them figure it out. Some horses will back up 100, 200, maybe 300 feet. Just let them back up wherever they are going. They will not do anything silly. As long as you are not pulling too hard on the reins, it shouldn't create a dangerous situation where they would want to rear up. Remember, when you pick up on the reins, you are not getting into a tug-of-war match. You are simply taking the slack out of the reins and maybe 1-2 ounces. Just so it's a little bit uncomfortable, and he is going to want to look for a more comfortable place to be. As soon as he stops his feet from moving backwards and gives to the bit and lowers his head down just a little bit - in the beginning it might only be a quarter or a half an inch, immediately throw your hands forward. Pretty soon, that first little give will turn into one inch, two inches, three inches and so on; and pretty soon he will give instantly on the slightest feel when you put your hands on the reins. However, in the beginning, the most commonly occurring problem is that people want to try to stop the horse from backing up. Let him back up and let him figure it out for himself. Remember, it's got to be his choice to give - you don't want to make him give. It's got to be his choice. Pretty soon, he will figure out that he must stop his feet and give. If he gives to the bit and breaks at the poll but he is still backing up, do not release your hands. Only release when he stops moving his feet and he gives at the poll. This is very important. Do not worry - take your time and let him figure it out.

2. Horse resists by opening his mouth and pulling harder against your hands. This is also quite common. However, the problems covered in this first couple of questions that I'm answering are more common if you have skipped and haven't done enough lateral flexion. I can't say it enough. The more bending and softening you do laterally, the less resistance you are going to run into when you try vertical flexion. I can't stress this enough. Remember, the harder he pulls against you, the firmer your hands need to be. You are like a steady post. Glue your hands to your thighs and leave them there, and let him pull against you. So the harder he pulls against you, the more you just set your hands. But, the second he drops that head and gives you a little bit of a give, immediately reward him. If you don't reward him by throwing your hands forward towards his ears and giving him a lot of slack in the reins, he won't think he got anything for doing what you want. He will then be discouraged from trying to give to the bit again. In your horse's mind, he thinks the harder he pulls the quicker you will let go of the reins. What you are trying to teach him that the harder he pulls and the more he resists, the more uncomfortable he will be. The quicker he gives, the quicker you will reward him by giving him comfort, which is what he wants.

3. Horse doesn't seem to be getting it. If your horse just doesn't seem to be getting it, there are several questions you need to ask yourself in relation to what is happening.

a. First of all - is he ready for vertical flexion yet? Have you cheated and not done enough lateral flexion? If so, go back and do at least another week or two of nothing but just bending and walking circles like we covered in last month's article. I can't stress to you enough how important this is. Most people think that if they do lateral flexion for five or ten minutes for a couple of days, that's good enough. I mean the softer you can get your horse laterally, the less trouble you will have when you go to vertical flexion. Maybe you are trying vertical flexion too quickly.

b. Secondly - are you rewarding the slightest try? In the beginning when your horse does give to the bit, he may just lower his head and soften to the bit about a quarter of an inch. If you don't recognize and release to that immediately, he will not think he has been rewarded and he will be discouraged from doing that again. Remember, you exaggerate to teach and refine as you go along. This takes feel and timing. The only way you get feel and timing is through experience. But if you think that he is trying for you and trying to give to the bit, immediately reward him. Even if it was only a half-hearted give, you will encourage him to look for that same answer again. Always reward the slightest try. That half inch will soon become an inch, two inches, three inches and so on and he will get lighter and lighter.

c. Third - are you quickly releasing the reins to create a lot of slack, or are you releasing the reins very slowly? If you release the reins slowly when your horse gives, nine times out of ten, your horse will flip his nose back out. He will think that he is rewarding himself because he will pull the reins through your hands. It is very important that your horse understands that you are rewarding him with the slack - that he is not taking it. When you ask him to give, your hands are like a steady post on your thighs. When you release to him, do it lightening quick. Then your horse realizes that all he has to do is give, and he will get immediate relief. You don't want your horse to think that he is dragging the reins through your hands. If you release slowly, more than likely your horse will start to think that he is rewarding himself as opposed to him thinking that you are rewarding him for giving to the bit.

d. Are you pulling too hard and trying to force your horse's head down? If you are pulling too hard on the bit and trying to force the head down, the horse will often keep pulling harder and harder against you. Remember, all you are doing is taking the slack out of the reins and maybe adding one or two ounces of pressure on the bit. All you are doing is making is slightly uncomfortable for him to lean against it. The longer he leans against it, the more uncomfortable it is. As soon as he does give, you instantly reward him. But if you try to yank his head down and pull harder and harder, he will instantly have a negative reaction and set against the reins and pull harder against you. This is another reason why you need to set your hands on your thighs. If you just pull up in mid-air up around your chest, you will be pulling way too hard. This is not a tug-of-war. Imagine your hands are tied to a post on your leg. Imagine your horse's face is pulling on the other end. As soon as your horse's nose comes back towards you and he breaks at the poll, there is immediate slack in the reins. There may only be slack there for a split second, but that is enough to reward him for.

e. Are you in the habit of trying to jerk your horse and jiggle on the reins to see-saw on the bit to make him lower his head? You may get your horse to lower his head by doing this, but the trouble with this kind of a program is that the more you jerk on the reins, the more you will have to keep doing it. Most people jerk on a horse's mouth or see-saw on the bit because they feel resistance there. Remember, horses don't have hard mouths - they have hard bodies. The more soft and supple you can get their body, the softer their mouth will become. Sure, you can get your horse to break at the poll by see-sawing on the reins, but as soon as you stop see-sawing, the horse's head and neck usually come back up and he flips his nose out. Let's get your horse to want to give and want to collect himself by himself.

4. Horse tries to speed up when you add leg pressure. When you start your vertical flexion at the walk, and then later at the jog, it is very important that as you pick up on your horse's face to collect him you add your leg pressure at the same time. As soon as you start to do this, some horses (especially more sensitive horses) may try to run forward or speed up because they think legs mean go faster. You want to teach your horse that legs do not necessarily mean go faster. They can if you want them to, but in this situation you want it to mean for the horse to soften and drive into his face and collect himself - not run faster. What you need to do is maintain your same hand pressure, pick up a little more on the reins and add a little bit more pressure. Keep the same leg pressure that you started with when he started to trot off. Keep in mind that you are not adding too much pressure and that is causing him to want to run. Just maintain the same leg pressure. As soon as your horse comes down to the walk and he starts to relax, release a little bit of the rein pressure but still keep the pressure there until he breaks at the poll. If you release your leg pressure every time the horse tries to run faster, you are going to teach him that all he has to do to escape your legs is to run faster. This is the opposite of what we want. We want to teach the horse that all he has to is give more and break at the poll and collect. That's how he escapes your legs - by giving more - not running faster. So use a little bit of judgment in this area. Usually just pick up on the reins and just gently squeeze with your heels. If he is an extremely lazy horse, you may need to use more leg pressure. If he's a little bit more sensitive of a horse, you may just gently press with the calf of your leg and that will be all that is necessary. As you go into the trot, the same principle applies. Let him figure it out. If he trots forward and pulls against your arms, let him do that; but make it be uncomfortable through a last of relief. Don't make it uncomfortable by jerking on the reins or trying to get into a tug-of-war. Remember, if you can get your horse to think that he is making it uncomfortable for himself, he will figure it out much more quickly and with a lot more of a willing attitude when he does figure it all out.

5. Your horse breaks at the poll and gets his head behind the vertical. At this stage of the game, this is not a big concern of mine whatsoever. Remember, very few people, if any, have ever come up to me at a clinic and complained that their horse gives too much. When was the last time you rode your horse out on a trail ride or competed in the show ring and you decided to sell the horse because he gives to the bit too much and he softens to me and he listens to me too much. Very rarely does this ever happen. So, my main concern is to get my horse to give more, not push more. I am a fanatic on getting my horse soft and supple. I am not so much worried about what my horse's head position is in relation to his nose to the vertical. I am more concerned about how he feels in my hands. A lot of horses can run around with their heads on the vertical, but they are still pulling on your arms and making you feel as though you are in a tug-of-war. A lot of horses can be behind the vertical and still feel like they are pulling on you in a tug-of-war. I only release when I feel softness in my hands. With regard to where his nose is, I am not very concerned at this stage. Remember, would you rather a horse pull a little harder or give a little more. In the beginning stages, especially with an older, more disrespectful horse that has been running around with his head way up in the air, he will probably go from one extreme to the other. Yes, he may get his head and neck a little behind the vertical. Do not be worried about this. Once he figures it out, he will find a comfortable place for his head and neck to be. Usually, you want their neck to be roughly level with their withers and for them to be broke at the poll and giving to the bit. If a horse's nose is behind the vertical, I am not concerned about it at all as long as that's where I want it to be. Horse's that evade the bit - they are the horses that either have their head in the air, on the ground or in their chest when the rider doesn't want it to be there. That is a horse that is escaping bit pressure rather than giving to it. I don't have a problem with my horse's head being behind the vertical as long as I am asking him to give that much. This also takes some discipline on the rider's part that as your horse gets softer and softer, you also need to get softer and softer on your rein pressure. If you pull very hard, he will keep giving thinking that if he gives more, you will eventually release. Don't blame your horse if he starts to soften too much and get behind the vertical - especially if you are pulling way too hard. This is going to have to come down to your experience. You will have to recognize that this is happening. Occasionally, you will get a horse that gives to the bit and lowers his head way down towards the ground and pushes his nose towards the ground. This is the opposite of pushing it up towards the sky. Still maintain the same hand and leg pressure. As soon as your horse lifts his neck up but still remains broke at the poll, immediately release your hands forward and give him that slack. Pretty soon, he will figure it out. You don't want his head way down low and you don't want it in the stars. You want it right in that middle sector. Please, don't be too concerned about where his nose is. Be concerned about how it feels in your hands. I don't care how pretty a horse looks when I watch someone ride or when I am riding myself. I am concerned about how soft does it feel in my hands.

6. Trying to progress and go too fast in the beginning. A lot of people will try to do this at the walk, trot and canter in one or two sessions; and they wonder why their horse doesn't seem to be catching on or wanting to give to the bit. Be prepared for this to take you maybe four or five weeks before you can eventually walk, trot and canter your horse and have gained considerable softness at all three gaits. Remember, a general rule - the faster you go, the resistance becomes more obvious. Don't just pass Grade 1 - the stand-still - with a C. Pass it with an A+ . If you do, the walk will already be halfway completed for you. If you only just complete and get the softness at Grade 2 - the walk - and you try it at Grade 3 - the trot - it will be harder again. The more you cheat, the more it will eventually catch up with you. Take the time in the beginning, because it will eventually take a lot less time towards the end. Be prepared - remember that the more time you spend teaching your horse to give, eventually it will take less and less time and he will get lighter and lighter. I am a fanatic on softness. Once you get a craving to see how light you can get your horse, you will never go back to letting them pull on you again.

7. Being inconsistent with your release and your reward and being inconsistent with getting your horse to break at the poll. When you get to this stage, it is very important that every single time you pick up on both reins, you do not release the rein pressure until he breaks at the poll - whether you are just stopping your horse, asking him to slow down, whatever you are doing. Every single time you pick up on two reins and he leans on the bridle and he doesn't break a the poll, or if he breaks at the poll but keeps pulling on your hands, if you release that pressure when he feels heavy, you are telling him that it's alright. Three or four minutes later, you will be wondering why he doesn't want to break at the poll or he is not as soft as you want him to be. Don't worry if your horse is broke at the poll and his head is tucked in but he still feels like he is pulling on your hands - do not release the pressure. Focus more on how it feels and less on where is head and neck are in relation to his body. It is very important that you get it firmly in your mind that every single time you pick up on the reins, you will not release until he softens. The more consistent you are - meaning the more black and white. Get him to give, or take hold of him. I don't mind you picking up on your horse's face, but do not release until you get him to soften. At this stage, even though you have started vertical flexion, you should still be doing 90 percent of your day on lateral flexion. As the horse gets better, it will eventually become 50-50.