Joined
·
62 Posts
Question for the advanced western riders and trainers on here. I train out of the barn of a western pleasure trainer who has been around for a long time and is kind of caught up between old style and new style training.(I have nothing to do with WP other than starting his colts and helping him get them seasoned at local shows in "walk trot") He doesn't focus as much on teaching a horse to give to your hands as he does just tying them back. I teach horses to give to my hands and be as soft as they are capable.
When I am advancing horses to being soft and giving to me in every gate and all the western maneuvers(stops, turn arounds, etc) he almost always tells me that my horses have a "false give" because they are breaking at the pole too much. He isn't very good at explaining what he is talking about so I can only assume he is talking about them giving past the "vertical" From what I have studied and from my experience, the amount they give at the pole isn't that big of a deal as long as the are driving up under themselves. He claims that the horses are not leveling out with their neck but when I drop a loose rein my horse are absolutely dropping off level. His request for me to fix this is to "tie them back" for about an hour before I ride them. I will not tie them back because they give to me just fine and in my opinion, when you "tie back" a horse that is already giving you are going to regress their softness. Especially if you do it for an hour. That is laughably ridiculous to me.
So if any of you highly advanced trainers could give your opinion on this it would be greatly appreciated.
When I am advancing horses to being soft and giving to me in every gate and all the western maneuvers(stops, turn arounds, etc) he almost always tells me that my horses have a "false give" because they are breaking at the pole too much. He isn't very good at explaining what he is talking about so I can only assume he is talking about them giving past the "vertical" From what I have studied and from my experience, the amount they give at the pole isn't that big of a deal as long as the are driving up under themselves. He claims that the horses are not leveling out with their neck but when I drop a loose rein my horse are absolutely dropping off level. His request for me to fix this is to "tie them back" for about an hour before I ride them. I will not tie them back because they give to me just fine and in my opinion, when you "tie back" a horse that is already giving you are going to regress their softness. Especially if you do it for an hour. That is laughably ridiculous to me.
So if any of you highly advanced trainers could give your opinion on this it would be greatly appreciated.