HOPE GLYNN: One of the Ask a Trainer questions asked us
about a horse that maybe starts out a little
behind the leg or sluggish and that's also downhill.
So one of the things that I like to do
and I have plenty of horses that start out like that,
is I always let my horses start on a long rein.
First of all to loosen up and let their
top line loosen up. Then,
a horse that's a little bit on the dull side,
I will actually let canter on a long rein before I put
them to work in a frame or make them engage
themselves because oftentimes once they loosen
up at the canter,
it makes it a little bit easier to get them
to engage not only their haunch but their
entire top line.
So the first thing I would say is if you have
a horse that's a little bit on the dull or quiet side,
first of all trot or canter on a long rein before
you put them to work where you're asking them to engage
and maybe work a little bit harder or come into a frame.
A horse that is behind the leg —
unless the horse is completely afraid
of the whip which actually might help you to get
it engaged —
I would say make sure that you carry some
sort of an artificial aid, whether that be crop or spurs.
Oftentimes it's easier to start with a crop
and sometimes horses are more sensitive to one
aid than an other,
so maybe your horse will respond better to a whip.
Or maybe your horse will respond better to a spur
or maybe you'll need both.
But either way see what works and go from there.
But what I'm going to do is I'm going to carry
a crop so that after I've trotted and cantered on a long
rein and I go back to the trot,
now I'm going to ask this horse to engage itself,
come into a frame,
start to work a little harder and as I add my leg
if it slows down or gets behind my leg I'm going to back it up
with my artificial aid of a whip and my natural aid of voice.
For myself personally,
I use a cluck to trot and a kiss to canter.
A lot of people use a cluck for everything but I do
believe horses know the difference.
And so for me that kiss sound when I say it,
that horse better go forward right away.
I don't use it often.
I only use it when I mean it and if I have
a horse it's a little dull,
I will use a kiss with a smack so that they know
that means business.
And the one thing I can say about using a whip
is make it count.
I don't think you should hit a horse
eight or 10 times even lightly.
I think one good smack makes a difference.
So if you're going to use an artificial aid
like crop or spurs,
make sure it counts and don't just be an annoying
little person with a crop. Tap tap tap tap. Nope.
Make it count and make it count with voice
so that your horse understands that when you cluck
or kiss, you mean business. So this horse has gone out.
He's a beautiful mover.
He's a little bit on the quiet side.
I've let him trot and canter on a long rein,
and now I'm going to ask him to engage
himself a little bit more.
So not only am I working him with just a crop
but I also have my voice and so I'm going to ask
for a trot-to-canter transition.
And when I do I'm going to show you kind
of what would happen if I didn't warm him up off my leg.
So if I ask weakly and just kissed,
he's probably just going
to keep trotting
because he's not
overly enthusiastic about
jumping into the canter.
That's also one of the reasons he's such a good hunter.
However, a good hunter has to be responsive.
So for me, this horse has to — when I kiss —
go right to the canter.
So I've got my artificial aid and I'm going to sit
and kiss and give him a smack just like this.
And it's once. And it means business.
And then I'm going to go back to the trot.
And I'm going to sit, and I'm going to kiss.
And right away it's business, and he gets a pat.
Because I want him to understand that he did the right thing.
If you have a horse
that maybe is on the far end
of being lazy or behind
the leg — for example,
you go to pick up the canter and the horse maybe hops up
or maybe it pins its ears.
Or maybe it kicks out at your leg.
If you're sure it's not a soundness issue,
then you need to be a little more aggressive
with how you ask.
So for example if I get a horse in that I go
to pick up the canter,
and I put my leg on and that one smack and a kiss
doesn't get it done,
well then I may do one or two smacks with a kiss
and I may gallop them because I'm going
to overdo the fact that when I use
that voice or crop,
it needs to shoot out of a cannon and go forward.
And then of course,
I don't actually want it to shoot out of a cannon
and be that fast,
but I want it to be that responsive
so that when my riders on it and it and that person
kisses to canter or clucks to canter,
that horse is ready to come off the leg.
So I hope I've given you some exercises to work
with at home and I think if you ask correctly
and communicate with your horse better,
you and your horse will have a more successful
time whether it be at home or in the show ring.