Page 38 • MARCH 2011 • PACIFIC COAST JOURNAL
Patriotic Horsemanship with
If all goes according to plan, next
month I will add something new to my horsemanship resume. I’ve been asked to gallop my horse around the arena with an American flag as 7,000 observers stand for the National Anthem at this years Road to the Horse - Colt Starting Competition in Tennessee. It sounds like fun and I am honored to play a part in that patriotic moment. Here is the ques- tion:Will my horse be as enthusiastic as I am? I’m not going to wait until I get there to find out! The following photos show how I’m preparing my horse for this exciting event.
Now that things have checked out Richard Winters What I’m not going to do is pick up
a huge American flag, while mounted, and see if my horse, Hip, can handle the situation. I’ll start my preparation on the ground. Being comfortable and desensi- tized to a small horseman’s flag will begin his preparation for ultimately car- rying a large United States flag. I’ll work my small flag on both sides of Hip’s body, from head to tail. I’ll also move the flag in and away from his body in sweeping motions until he becomes unconcerned with its movement.
Now that Hip is handling the small
horseman’s flag, I’ll graduate to some- thing similar to what I’ll be asked to
carry at the RTTH event. At first, I’ll keep the flag rolled up and simply rub my horse all over (on both sides) with the stick and fabric. As Hip becomes more comfortable I will begin to unroll the flag and let it move smoothly over his body. I always want to be aware of areas that seem to bother my horse. Moving the flag into these areas and then retreating before he gets panicked can help build Hip’s confidence rather than shatter it. I will also hold the flag upright, similar to how it will be carried, to help prepare him for seeing the flag above and behind his head. It’s important to take whatever time
is necessary to prepare your horse on the ground with these tools. If your horse can’t handle the stimuli from the ground, it’s probably true that it will only be worse when you’re mounted.
on the ground, Hip is ready to be intro- duced to the horseman’s flag while mounted. I’ll use a lot of rhythmic motion as I rub him all over while walk- ing around the arena. If I did my ground work correctly, this should be a simple transition. If he gets worried I’ll move the flag back towards his rear end. As he becomes accepting, I’ll move the flag up to his shoulders and neck. Extending the flag out to the side and up above his head, making some swift sweeping motions, all the while desensitizing him to the visual and audible stimuli of the flag.
This will become more important at a faster speed. Wind velocity hitting the fabric can make the flag very difficult to control without a keeper. I’ll begin to experiment with trotting and loping. As Hip moves out faster, the flag makes more noise and he will need to be accli- mated to this experience.
Now it’s time for the larger flag
while mounted. I keep it rolled up at first, just as I did on the ground, and gradually unroll it as I move it all over his body. Remember, if your horse gets in trouble and you start to loose control of the situation, drop the flag. Don’t attempt to hold onto the flag if your horse is getting frightened and unable to recover. In many cases this reveals that you got ahead of yourself in your prepa- ration and have left something undone. I’ll say it again: If you begin to loose control and things are getting dangerous; Drop the flag. Start again with exercises that your horse was handling well.
Having a flag keeper that attaches to
your stirrup allows you to keep the flag much more stable when held upright.
I worked through this entire process
in less than an hour. I don’t however; believe my horse is now fully trained to carry flags. I’ve introduced the flag to him and he has handled it well. I will definitely continue with follow-up ses- sions over the next two weeks to further prepare him for his National Anthem debut. Prior proper preparation prevents poor performances. Following these steps, I’m not just hoping for the best - I’m planning for the best!
EQUINE REPRODUCTIVE SERVICES Frozen
Semen...freezing/
storage...insemination Cooled
Semen...shipping/
processing...insemination Artificial Insemination
Mare/Stallion Management • Phantom Training Fred Haskin, D.V.M.
MOBILE EQUINE CLINIC, INC. • P.O. BOX 1356 • ELK GROVE, CA 95759 916-687-8803
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