For the ones curious about the first steps with colt/filly(video)

This filly is such a pleasure to work with. She is a 3 yr old this year and this video was about her eigth ride. Since YouTube only allows 10 minutes there was not much time to get to specific about the process but I think the picture is worth more that words by far.

Nice video.

Why are you spinning that horse around so much undersaddle?

She's going to think everytime she stops she has to touch her nose to your legs.

I like how much she was paying attention in the round pen. But the gaps in the boards covering the pen are kind of scarry.

Actually she is not going to think that every time she stops she has to bend laterally because eventually when we start working on vertical flexion and collection we will be stopping and backing and there won't be muck lateral bending. The lateral bend every time we stop and rest for a second lets her relate bending to resting and that way any time I need her to give to my hands it is related to rest which make it a very positive thing for the horse.

As for "spinning her around". I'm not spinning her around, I am simply changing her direction and then giving back a loose rein. When I first get on her I want to try and create a situation where she may spook or get worried and then get her attention ever time she reacts in a undesired way(speeding up/spooking). When she realizes that her reaction is always followed by having to change directions then she eventual stops the undesired reaction so I will leave her alone and she gets to go on strait. A horse really just wants you to leave them alone and so everything you do should be molding them to doing whatever it takes for you to just let them go easy.

Did you notice that she quit reacting to me slapping my leg and shooing because she realized every time she reacted that I was going to change her direction. It's the same when she reacted to the hay ring and the other horse. She decided to react and I simply told that is not what she needs to be doing, we changed directions a few times and the result was that she tuned back into me.

As for the round pen, I train out of another trainers barn and the round pen isn't my ideal round pen. I would rather just have open panels. That said, when things are done correctly a horse isn't going to be coming in contact with the wall of the round pen.

A few questions?

Why do you mount from the OFF side?? While I am sure she doesn't care I would have more difficulty mounting this way??

Why do you wear spurs for the first ride???

Why do lope a young horse like this on the first ride???
I don't lope 3 year olds, I don't lope them for months until they have legged up and worked hills to build balance??

A really nice filly but no real drive in her. A little on the lazy side. Down the road she could be a tiring ride.

I've never seen "changing direction" to be a good thing to do if a horse spookes. I had a horse who I did that with and he ended up changing direction on his own to avoid what ever spooked him.

He stated it was the eighth ride.

I don't always mount from the right side, just every now and then so they are comfortable with either side.

The spurs are just on my boots I'm not really using them on her. As of today I have started to teach this mare how to move her hips, ribs, and shoulders off of my leg and she still isn't really requiring much spur.

We put all our horses in every gate from day one. We want the to really understand about going forward. The loping in the video is all there was, only a couple times around each way. We build on that as they become more fit and stronger.

She is definitely lazy but you can bet that I'll make sure she has the discipline to go on. As for being tiring I'm not sure what you mean. If your saying you would be having to push her the whole ride then that is in no way true. I want my horses to always be on the verge of stopping or doping down a gate but never doing it until I say so. It's really simple to get this by letting them make the mistake of stopping or dropping the gate and then correcting it by sending them right back on. If you're consistent with that they will gain the discipline to stay in that gate.

I don't see a thing wrong with the way that filly was ridden. She is naturally a calm and slow horse (which is the kind I would video and put on a website). She isn't the kind of horse that is going to make an endurance horse so it's better for everyone if she doesn't have an excessive amount of drive. She will make a nice reiner or cowhorse unless the people that own her insist on using a bosal if they don't really know how.

She is nicely under control and I don't think she will have a problem with turning around when she spooks.

Direction changes are simply to break their momentum. I can promise you that it is the only way to have a horse be calm and going slow and easy on a loose rein. The opposite of changing direction is to pull back or stop. Pulling back will only cause the horse to pull against you and stopping will reward the initial reaction. By changing direction you are breaking their momentum without letting them stop and rest. You continue to change directs after every undesired reaction and then when you get a desired reaction you stop and let them rest. The rest is the reward for calming and the direction changes and continuing to have to do work is the correction for fleeing.