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Hello 
So my new boy Maverick (I've had him since September 2012 but rode him occasionally before that) is 6 years old and still quite inexperienced. However, we've been getting along GREAT! He's a SUPER fast learner and although he HATES pressure, he loves to learn as much as he can! We trust each other a LOT already and I've been working with him a lot!
I decided that I'd like him to learn flies. I've never taught a horse how to do flies before but I've seen it taught and I've done them before so I know how to do it, but I need ideas.
His fly training started today. I started by laying a pole on the ground in the middle of the arena. I'd be cantering on the right lead and then cut across the diagonal and when I hit the pole I'd do a simple change into the left lead and go the opposite direction (like a figure 8). After a few times, he caught onto this really quickly.
Next I tried the same thing, but before I did my simple change, I cued him for a lead change. Course this confused him like crazy, but he obediently moved his hind in and flexed the way I wanted him to, he just missed the change. So I brought him down to a trot and simply switched him like I did before.
After that, I got bored and decided to do the same thing with the figure eight but not to bring him to the trot but to keep asking for the change. I wasn't expecting him to do anything, I wasn't really sure what he'd do but I figured it was worth a shot. So that's what I did and he ended up catching on when we turned at the end of the figure eight. He didn't do a flying lead change, but he figured out that he was supposed to change his lead so he went into a trot for a few steps and switched to the lead I was asking for. So I forgot about the poles and just got him to switch by turning him and whenever I turned him I'd cue him at the same time and he'd change. Still not a fly, but a bit more than a simple change like when we had started.
By the end of the session (I was out there for about an hour and a half or so) Maverick could change his lead by taking one trot stride in between. Still only on a turn, but it was better than nothing!
Just want to know what you think of this? Do you think he'll catch on? I don't expect it over night, and I have all the time in the world. What are some other excersizes that you reccomend for me to teach him? I considered setting up a VERY small jump (Maverick is a phenominal little jumper) and getting him to switch over the jump, but I'm not sure that there'd be much of a point to that. I don't know if it'd work.
Anyway, no harsh critiques please, just looking for ideas. Thanks so much!!
So my new boy Maverick (I've had him since September 2012 but rode him occasionally before that) is 6 years old and still quite inexperienced. However, we've been getting along GREAT! He's a SUPER fast learner and although he HATES pressure, he loves to learn as much as he can! We trust each other a LOT already and I've been working with him a lot!
I decided that I'd like him to learn flies. I've never taught a horse how to do flies before but I've seen it taught and I've done them before so I know how to do it, but I need ideas.
His fly training started today. I started by laying a pole on the ground in the middle of the arena. I'd be cantering on the right lead and then cut across the diagonal and when I hit the pole I'd do a simple change into the left lead and go the opposite direction (like a figure 8). After a few times, he caught onto this really quickly.
Next I tried the same thing, but before I did my simple change, I cued him for a lead change. Course this confused him like crazy, but he obediently moved his hind in and flexed the way I wanted him to, he just missed the change. So I brought him down to a trot and simply switched him like I did before.
After that, I got bored and decided to do the same thing with the figure eight but not to bring him to the trot but to keep asking for the change. I wasn't expecting him to do anything, I wasn't really sure what he'd do but I figured it was worth a shot. So that's what I did and he ended up catching on when we turned at the end of the figure eight. He didn't do a flying lead change, but he figured out that he was supposed to change his lead so he went into a trot for a few steps and switched to the lead I was asking for. So I forgot about the poles and just got him to switch by turning him and whenever I turned him I'd cue him at the same time and he'd change. Still not a fly, but a bit more than a simple change like when we had started.
By the end of the session (I was out there for about an hour and a half or so) Maverick could change his lead by taking one trot stride in between. Still only on a turn, but it was better than nothing!
Just want to know what you think of this? Do you think he'll catch on? I don't expect it over night, and I have all the time in the world. What are some other excersizes that you reccomend for me to teach him? I considered setting up a VERY small jump (Maverick is a phenominal little jumper) and getting him to switch over the jump, but I'm not sure that there'd be much of a point to that. I don't know if it'd work.
Anyway, no harsh critiques please, just looking for ideas. Thanks so much!!
