Dos and Navegador are team players!
and Allen Pogue © 2011 Imagine A Horse
Kate Austin
At Imagine A Horse, our goal is always to create a thinking horse that will be fi rst and foremost an astute companion and pleasure mount and perhaps ultimately a performance horse. All of our horses learn to “herd the big ball,” and we’ve found this to be a great interactive exer- cise, fun for both horse and human. Although our horses herd the big ball before they are yearlings, a horse of any age can learn to play ball.
STORY BY Suzanne
De Laurentis PHOTOS BY
Herding the ball is just one of many creative learn-
ing challenges that can translate into confi - dence and malleable boldness—what we call a can-do at itude. With encouragement and achievable goals, a horse’s “can-do” at itude evolves into a “want-to-do” work ethic.
One of the secrets to success in training any animal is to keep him happy in his work. To achieve this, we must consider the mental, physi- cal and emotional makeup of each individual and vary our approach to best develop his abilities. Playing ball is a wonderful interactive sport for your horse and you. Ready to play? Let’s go!
L
arge, rugged, infl atable balls are cur- rently popular among horse folks who use them to desensitize horses, enjoy their antics at liberty and even play mounted games. T at’s great, but it
is only the fi rst step or in other words, horsey kindergarten. T ere is not a horse to be found who if leſt
alone long enough with a big ball will not try to kill it. While horseplay of this sort can be fun to watch, it does nothing to enhance the education of the horse. Teaching a horse to play ball and actually herd it back to the handler is a cool trick with lots of educational benefi ts. Ideally, a young horse is started with chal-
lenges that are age-appropriate and just as with children, these will condition the individual into the habit of learning. Our training strategy focuses on increasing a horse’s brainpower for life before he is physically mature enough to withstand the demands of a mounted disciplined sport.
TRICKS OF ENGAGEMENT Herding a big ball is in the category we call
“Tricks of Engagement.” T e horse must want to engage in an activity and to learn as there is absolutely no way to force a horse to herd a ball. It is up to the human to be a motivational and eff ective teacher and to entice a horse to engage in an activity. Horses who are inquisitive and outgoing generally are great students of herding the big ball and so are horses that are mouthy and like to manipulate latches or that use objects to play or to get at ention.
continued next page
WWW.TRAILBLAZERMAGAZINE.US • December 2011 | 47
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100