by Roxanne Sapergia
In last month’s Western Performance Tips article we learned how trainer Vance Kaglea uses daily exercises to teach his horses to give to the bridle and stay soft in his hands by flexing them horizontally and vertically. This month, we’re going to add a few more exercises and build on that flexion.
Beginning at a walk and moving gradually into a trot, Kaglea uses circles to teach his horses to bend laterally to the inside of the circle. He explains: “If the circles are the size and shape that I ask for, then the horse is beginning to yield to my hand and leg.
“I find the better a horse gives laterally or bends in the middle (the shoulder and rib cage area) then the easier it is to teach it vertical flexion.”
Kaglea explains that “when a horse is supple and responsive to vertical flexion they will be giving at the poll, and rounding the neck and back.”
Once a horse feels comfortable circling and being bent laterally to the inside, and will also accept giving vertically a few steps every time the indirect rein is picked up, then Kaglea begins to hold the horse’s frame. The idea is to have the horse stay in a position of vertical flexion as he straightens the horse’s body for a few feet and slowly releases as he begins the new circle.
He stresses, “The release needs to be slow and at a point where the horse is still soft or submissive to the pressure. I can’t emphasize this point enough because if you release at the wrong time or too quickly, the horse will start to push against your hands instead of learning to soften to the pressure.”
As the horse becomes more comfortable with the exercise and learns to stay soft, Kaglea explains how he then steps it up another notch. “Everyday, I gradually build on the length of the straight line with the horse vertically flexed. This exercise takes forward motion created by the rider’s legs, which in turn picks up the horse’s belly, rounds out its back, and creates collection for short periods of time.”
Collection needs to be developed in short periods of time to condition the necessary muscles. Not only does a horse’s body have to be conditioned to perform certain maneuvers, but it also has to learn to accept being “trapped” in a collected position.
Training is as much, or more, mental than physical ability, but you also must have to have a willing partner who wants to learn. Therefore, it is important to be able to direct both the mind and the body, says Kaglea.
“Remember to use your legs to back up your hands,” says Kaglea. “Collection can quickly turn into a tug-o-war if your legs don’t back up your hands.
“In other words, I will ask with my hands to start the chain reaction of the poll flexing, and the neck rounding, but my legs pick up the belly and drive the horse forward to complete the job.
“Without forward motion there is no collection. A horse needs to drive up from behind to lift its back.”
Having worked on softening the poll, shoulders and rib cage, Kaglea then develops hip control as this is where the power and balance originate.
“If the horse can disengage its hips or turn on the forearm, it is ready to move its haunches while in forward motion,” says Kaglea. To begin with, the rider might walk parallel to a fence or wall and ask for the haunches to move away from the fence one or two steps, gradually building on that each day in both directions.
After that, Kaglea adds hip control on a square. He starts by walking the horse in a square. “At each corner of the square, I move the horse’s hips outward, blocking the outside shoulder with my rein to the point where I can just see the eye on that side. The horse starts to learn that escape from pressure comes from moving forward, not sideways.”
As the horse becomes more comfortable with this, I turn the square into a circle, with the hip still being moved to the outside. Remember to do all the exercises at a walk, and then a trot.”
Now that the horse’s body parts begin to break free from front to back, going forward, it is now time to put it in reverse!
“When I back a circle, the horse’s body has the same arc it had going forward,” says Kaglea. “For example, when backing a circle to the left, the head is to the left and the hip is moving to the left. My hand positions the head, neck, and shoulders, while encouraging backward motion, and my outside leg directs the hip, again building towards backing a circle then a straight line and into a circle in the opposite direction. I back figure-of-eights using the same cues needed to change leads.”
Going over the main points of his exercises, Kaglea summarizes the building blocks and stresses the importance of not taking shortcuts thorough your training program. “Remember every exercise you do in the snaffle should be repeated throughout the advancement of the training program.
“As your horse moves into the hackamore and bridle, you need to evaluate his softness and vertical flexion in every stage of training.
“As you begin to perform the exercises in a bridle your horse may have difficulty understanding what you are asking for.
“Begin by taking the horse in two hands and helping him through the first few lessons with your hands spread out slightly. Eventually your aim should be to be able to hold your hands (or hand) in the invisible ‘box’ above the saddle horn.”
Kaglea stresses: “If you don’t have it at a walk, you won’t have it at a trot. Don’t move forward until you have mastered the first building block of the puzzle.
“Anytime you run into trouble, pause and slow down, go back to the basics for a minute until both you and your horse are comfortable. Patience will pay off in the long run.”
