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Training ~ Training Sticks ("Printer Friendly" version of this page) |
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Purchse stick from our accesories page. We tie a plastic
grocery bag or a rope to the leather tab on the end of the training stick to
help with some of our training. We use the training stick primarily for these
purposes:
Introduce the stick to the horse
Some horses will react dramatically with the introduction of the stick. The "outta here" response can get pretty big. I have seen horses jump straight up in the air, kick out at the stick with all four feet, and some dangerous striking out behavior. Be extremely cautious when you introduce this to the horse. Now you can touch
the horse with the stick. Stand about five feet off th Ideally, you want to be able to touch your horse anywhere on their body with the training stick. But, there are some extra sensitive places on the horse that require some caution and extra time before you should go after them. The safest places to start are the shoulder and sides of the horse. The following potential trouble spots are places on the horse to be aware of that may cause a bigger than expected reaction from the training stick. Potential Trouble Spots:
We eventually tackle these areas, we just don't start there. Just because the horse finds something uncomfortable doesn't mean that you shouldn't do it. On the contrary, this shows you where you need to concentrate your efforts. The important thing to remember is that there's a natural progression in how you introduce things to the horse. If you're the type of person who skips to the end of a book because you find the middle boring, you're probably not going to have the patience to work out all of the bugs before you tackle some of these problem spots. If you’ve read any of our training material, you realize that there is no time limit on how long this takes. We have gone from being able to touch a horse anywhere in 10 minutes to a horse that took two weeks to touch with the bag anywhere on their body -- that's our goal. EXTRA CREDIT: Touch the feet, be careful – you are definitely going into the horse’s comfort zone when you start touching their feet with a foreign object. Your objective should be to touch the horse anywhere on their body (belly, ears, rear, chest, etc.) with the stick while the horse stands quietly. You should be able to do this from both sides of the horse. Add a rope to the stick A piece of rope adds another useful extension to the training stick. We add an 18-24 inch piece of 1/4" rope to the end of our stick. We recommend that people use the lead rope to desesensitize the horse to the feel of rope on their body. The training stick works very well for this too. It may even be easier for some people because you don't have to have good rope handling skills and you can operate further away from the horse. Be careful not to slap or snap the rope at the horse -- it's not a whip! You want to lay the rope on the horses back, around the legs, and feet. Use this the same way that you would want someone to touch you with a rope. Add the bag to the stick The first thing we do is tear the bottom out of the plastic bag. This keeps it from blowing up like a balloon when you move it. When the horse can stand quietly, we add the bag to the end of the stick. Again, we work towards being able to touch the horse all over with the plastic bag attached. This is a completely new thing to the horse, even though they may have been great with the stick without the bag. Do the exercises above with the plastic bag on the stick. Ordering Information Fiberglass training stick; four feet long, black or white color with rubber golf grip and decorative braided leather knot on top, rope tip for use with touch excercises with the horse and attaching plastic bag and rope. Purchase stick from out accessories page.
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Use
the approach/retreat method of introducing the stick to the horse. You want
to be able to touch the horse all over with the stick. Attach the rope halter
and lead rope to the horse. We start without the plastic grocery bag attached.
Offer the stick to the horse, let them see and smell it. You may even
lay the stick on the ground and let the horse look at it. While standing about
five feet off the left shoulder, we move the stick in an up/down motion. Make
sure that you don’t direct the motion of the stick at the horse. The horse
may move away from the energy of the stick. That’s OK, let the horse drift
but keep the motion of the stick going. Don’t allow the horse to back or
go forward. If they are going to get out of work we ALWAYS make them move laterally.
Lateral movement is harder for the horse and they will quickly search for a
way out, or a solution that will get you to stop. Use this to your advantage.
When the horse stops moving, reward this. This is the horse’s way of telling
you that they are comfortable with the movement. Practice doing this on both
sides of the horse. 
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left shoulder, you want to be out of the danger zone in case the horse strikes
or kicks out at the stick. Move the stick slowly over to touch just below the
shoulder of the horse. It’s very important not to move too fast with the
stick. The horse will probably move or drift away from the stick. Again, this
is OK. Keep with the horse, don’t allow him to back or go forward. Remember,
if they are going to get out of work we ALWAYS make them move laterally. When
the horse stops moving, reward this. Work towards being able to touch the horse
with the stick and hold the end against the body part you are after until they
are desensitized enough to stand quietly. Then move on to another part of the
horse.
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