44/ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 THE RIDER The Science of how Horses Think & Learn


Tack and training aids: Sifting through truth, tradition, emotion Part 2


acceleration turns off the tapping. Using the whip without affecting the rein in your whip hand takes practice. Choose a whip for


schooling long enough to reach the horse’s barrel and lightweight enough for you to tap. Length and weight of the whip in com- petition with is determined by your association. Martingales represent


Tack and training


aids: sifting through truth, tradition and emotion. Part 2 By Lindsay Grice Eques- trian Canada coach and judge. As a coach and


trainer, in a sport where truth, tradition and emo- tions frequently collide, I’ve learned to sift through divisive issues by watch- ing, reading the research, experimenting and asking lots of questions! I think (I hope) the best coaches are the curious…


Why am I using this training aid? Tradition? Habit? Or because I’ve thought through the facts: 1. I understand the me- chanics of how the equip- ment works and on which part of the horse 2. Based on #1, I’ve cho- sen this equipment to help solve this issue for this horse at this period of time.


1. How to choose them: As decision-makers in the horse/human partnership, we owe it to our horses to clearly define our expecta- tions - the boundaries in which we want our horses to travel. Six or twelve foot canter stride? How much of a bend in my horse’s body on this curve? Short or long frame/outline? Long and low or raised neck?


What kind of a “box” are you drawing around your horse? When my horse stays


inside the box, without me having to hold him there, that’s self-carriage - kind of like cruise control. He’s discovered, by trial and error, the box’s boundaries - encountering my aids when he makes an unau- thorized change. For ex- ample, if he speeds up, he’ll find rein contact. If he drifts to the inside, he’ll find my inside leg. If he loses rhythm, he’ll feel my leg pressure sending him forward again. My horse learns what I DO want by trial and error, finding re- lease, within the box. Neg- ative reinforcement is the main way we train horses,


taking away (negative) the irritating pressure to re- ward (reinforce) the be- havior we want. Our goal is ultimately


to use the lightest of natu- ral aid pressures to signal the boundaries of the box. When a horse begins


to ignore those lighter pressures, a rider may choose an artificial aid as


the top of the box. The horse elevates his head and encounters pressure. He lowers it into freedom. Running and standing martingales are the most common types. A tight martingale, permitting no release defeats the pur- pose.


Draw reins corre-


spond to the front of the box. Riders choose draw


porarily used by others.


2. How to use them: Ar- tificial aids are used to ei- ther amplify or replace a rider’s natural aid. A. Amplify: Used after the first cue, training aids mo- tivate a horse when the or- dinary natural aid doesn’t. This logical system, (light cue, stronger cue, artificial aid, reward) helps the horse locate the bound- aries of the box. Like an lnvisible Fence for dogs, artificial aids am- plify the first light signal. Hearing a signal as he ap- proaches the boundary, the dog receives a “static cor- rection” if he connects. Soon, all it takes is the sig- nal to motivate that dog to stay within the perimeter. Horses tend to lean on


boundaries without suffi- cient motiva- tion to not to – habituating to riders’ aids can lead to behav- ior problems. B. Replace. An artificial aid may act in place of a nat- ural


cue.


Your horse can't learn self carriage when held in place with draw reins


a reminder. The artificial aid you


choose may depend on: 1. Which boundary of the box you wish to highlight 2. How much irritating pressure it takes to moti- vate your horse 3. What’s permitted in the schooling areas and show rings of your association. Spurs


address the


back or sides of the box. Has your dull horse be- come quite content to rest on your leg signal as he would on the butt bar of a trailer? Spurs supply mo- tivation if your light leg cue to “go forward” or “move over” signal is ig- nored. If a horse responds promptly when you follow through with your spur, immediately lower your heel, softening your leg to send him the “thank you” message. Whips/crops address


the back of the box. A whip is used directly be- hind your leg to follow its cue. Technique is impor- tant. Instead of individual wallops, it’s more logical to your horse to tap contin- uously just until he re- sponds. By trial and error, horses figure out that only


reins to amplify their hands to influence head carriage and outline. They function differently ac- cording to the height they’re attached. It takes some skill for riders to de- velop timely negative rein- forcement with draw reins. Overused? Yep, But


appropriately and tem-


Longe or dres- sage whips can add reach, not necessarily volume. Spurs can serve as a reaching assist to touch pre- cisely the right


spot. When longeing, side reins,


cham-


bons and other devices substitute for the hands of the rider, setting clear boundaries. A horse can’t find the


boundaries of a box when those boundaries keep moving. I teach riders to apply cues at


place, in the same way and releasing at the right mo-


the same


ment, or we’re confusing our partners. Some train- ing aids, indeed aid the horse by replacing un- steady signals. But for the most part, artificial aids should be reserved for those who’ve developed independent use of the seat, legs and hands. Martingales. When a


rider’s hands aren’t sensi- tive enough to provide a consistent box “roof”, standing martingales bal- ance the human error. Likewise, when hands are busy – roping, for exam- ple. Check the adjust- ment: when your horse is carrying himself in the de- sired topline, is the martin- gale strap slack? Running martingales


redirect bit pressure down- ward in lieu of the rider physically lowering their arms. Similarly, an over-


check limits the extent the horse can lower his neck, replacing the riders reins pulling it up.


duce training aids gradu- ally.


Horses


Int ro- are


claustrophobic, panicking when feeling trapped. Start with the loosest setting and adjust incrementally. 3.How to abuse them: Folks on both sides of the controversy meet in the middle when they agree that it’s not so much the equipment as much as careless operators of the equipment. Used incor- rectly, training aids desen- sitize, confuse or stress our horses.


Next month: How to avoid being a careless op- erator of training equip- ment!


About Lindsay Grice: “Is it me or my


horse?” Coach, trainer and


show judge Lindsay Grice


I”m reminding this rider to lower her heel when her horse responds to her “go” signal


in her 25 years as a profes- sional horsewoman is a self-described “horse ob- server”. “I’ve learned so much


by watching horses – from the end of a longe line, the view from the saddle, or the judges’ booth – and I love helping riders solve their horse puzzles based on the science of how horses think and learn,” she says. Lindsay’s love of


teaching shows up as coach, clinician and even when judging – giving tips and encouragement as ap- propriate. She’s taught classes


and seminars on Equine Behaviour and Learning


for provincial equine asso- ciations, therapeutic riding facilities and courses of- fered by University of Guelph. She teaches clinics on training and


showing,


judging for horse clubs and teaches riders at vari- ous farms. She is an AQHA spe-


cialized judge, Equine Canada judge and a Provincial Hunter/Jumper judge. Serving on an Eques-


trian Canada judging com- mittee,


she teaches


seminars in General Per- formance (multi disci- pline, multi judging.


breed)


I just returned from Israel! Working with Youth World Cup team candidates to solve their “horse puzzles” with the science of equine behaviour. Coaching through an interpreter, to bridge the language barrier, but thankfully, horses all over the globe speak the same language!


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