APRIL 2019 THE RIDER /43 ^Between The Ears^


By Ellie Ross By now we have seen


the memes of horses and white plastic bags that clearly depict the spooki- ness and reactivity of horses with such objects, especially when they appear suddenly. I recall a few years


back, a very high level dres- sage show where one of the top rider’s horses had been spooked by a spectator ring- side, when an umbrella was opened up. While I don’t recall the scores or placing,


I do recall that she did not win and the spook likely was a contributing factor. Often times I see the


same mistakes made, with good intentions, over and over again. People asking and even attempting to force their horses to approach something they fear and often times this only de- stroys trusts and elevates the anxiety level. Let us think about this… we go back to the snake analogy. If you were afraid of snakes and I was pushing, spurring,


whipping etc. you to ap- proach the snakes, would this make you feel comfort- able with snakes? I think not. What it would result in, would be not only your in- creased fear of being forced into close proximity with snakes but also a lack of trust would occur between you and me for pushing and/or trying to force you. Yet many horse owners take this approach. Many horse owners get injured to and lay the blame on their spooky horses. If you were given an environment where you; • Felt comfortable and be- lieved no one would force you or to approach • You were far enough away from the snakes to not be so afraid (threshold) • Good things were happen- ing in the presence of snakes It is most likely that


your comfort level would increase. Approaching the snakes as your own idea and having positive experiences would obviously lead to your fear being lessened and your confidence would grow. There would also be no harm to your relation- ship.


Here is an exercise to try. • Take a plastic bag and place it on a secure jump standard, cone etc. • Make sure it can’t blow off and hit your horse. • Determine the threshold distance of your horse, which is the proximal dis- tance to the object where your horse is aware but not reactive. • Remain behind the thresh- old point and each time your horse looks towards the bag, even for one second, you should use your reward marker and reinforce with a small treat. (Of course the food rules apply as dis- cussed in previous articles.) • Once your horse is looking at the object more fre- quently, perhaps even a sec- ond longer, you will increase your criteria to ex- pect this. Do not expect 5 seconds when you had one. That is too much, too soon and will only teach your horse that by offering it, it is not what you want. • As the confidence grows you can incrementally de- crease the distance towards the bag, but we are talking a couple inches at a time. • Your rate of reinforcement is high and as your horse makes the decision to step closer or even extend the head and neck in the direc- tion of the object, without


being lured, you should reward. • Refrain from talking, shifting your weight, playing with lead rope or shuffling treats in your pocket. • Make certain the lead rope is long enough that there would be no resist- ance if your horse moves forward. Your horse has no reason to bolt if you are pre- senting this correctly. Your horse, when al- lowed to make these choices under these cir- cumstances, will end up touching the bag. Re- ward all efforts. Scold none. I have seen many


horses get to the point of picking up the bag and wav- ing it around with total con- fidence much to the surprise of the handler! I would encourage you


to refrain from eliminating or avoiding all the things your horse is reactive to. Setting up an environment that is void of all of these things will do nothing to prepare your horse for the real world. Under saddle a horse


that is reacting to something it fears is often responded to by the rider by either avoid- ing that area, pausing and waiting for the bogey man or spurring towards it. Ask- ing your horse to stop and


look at it is usually a bad idea. Expecting that your horse should stop and stand still is unrealistic as we can always make a horse move, but we certainly cannot make them be still. We can teach them but we can’t make them. Engage your horse’s


mind! Don’t allow them the opportunity to think about or wait for the bogey man. Pick your lines when you are riding. Engage your horse. Ride small circle 8’s and change directions. Your horse will have to concen- trate on you. Your place of rest for your horse should be nearest the object. Soon your horse will learn that life is easy there and it will be the place your horse


The Great Lakes Carriage Classic


By Tara Miliziano-Crowley and Jean McLean In 2019 Tri-County Carriage Association is ex-


cited to hold the 3rd Annual Great Lakes Carriage Classic, (GLCC) on August 23 to 25. The new date and site have been chosen to better accommodate competitors from both sides of the border. The Ancaster Fairgrounds in Jerseyville, On-


tario will serve as the destination for the 2019 GLCC and should be the next venue on your cal- endar after the Orleton Farm Show in Stockbridge, MA two weeks prior. The date change for both shows means there is more time for preparations to be made for fitness of competing horses and ponies. With divisions for VSE’s, ponies and horses,


there is something for everyone. The club hopes to host at least five, Four-in-ands for a wonderfully competitive division. The show schedule will allow entries to be able to perform a dressage test and cones course on Friday, ring classes and a pleasure cross country course on Saturday and cones and reinsmanship classes on Sunday. Additional non- core classes will be run on Saturday and Sunday in- cluding costume, Hackney and carriage dog classes. The Fjord horse will be the featured breed for 2019. The facility itself is even better than the last


boasting more permanent indoor stalls with rubber matted floors, indoor and outdoor wash racks, plenty of area for schooling and parking of trailers and large grassy areas to allow hand walking and grazing of our four legged creatures. Alongside the stabling there are 11 RV hookup sites with 30 and 50 amp service. The grounds are easily accessible from all main roads and are just a few kilometers from Highway 403. Nearby there are a large number of hotels, motels and Beds and Break- fasts and the only trouble you will have finding a good meal is deciding which restaurant to go to. A listing of accom- modations and restaurants will be included in the prize list.


With several barns to


host horses and carriages, there should be plenty of room for competitors to keep trailers and RV’s close to the barn in which they are sta- bled. Space for RV’s is ample however hook ups greater than


20 amps are limited and will be distributed on a first come first serve basis. In addition to the indoor arena with carriage


storage and indoor wash rack, the facility also has a main arena that spans 115’ x 440’ (yes that is not misprint!), a warm up ring of 120’ x 250’ and a sep- arate cones ring of 150’ x 250’ .The pleasure driving cross country course will be suitable for all divi- sions and covers 20 acres of grass, dirt trails and pavement. Because of the openness of the cross country course, it is super spectator friendly. Thursday, August 22, the facility will open


with a food truck onsite from 9 to 4. There will also be a welcome orientation after all horses are settled in. Friday and Saturday the food truck will be avail- able from 6:30 am to 4 pm with a ticketed dinner buffet at 6:30 on Friday and a chance for competi- tors on Saturday evening to see what the area has to offer for dining. Sunday the show wraps up late morning with an awards ceremony to follow and a box lunch to take along on the road for the journey home. Special arrangements may be made for those coming from a distance to be able to arrive on Wednesday and leave early Monday morning. You won’t want to miss this event! It is sure to


be the next “staple” on your show schedule for the future. For more information about the show please


contact organizer Jean McLean at mclje22@co- geco.ca or 905-807-8313. You may also visit the club website at tricountycarriage.com for informa- tion about the show and opportunities for advertis- ing and sponsorship. The prize list will be available


in early April on TCCA’s website. Tri-County Carriage Association is looking


forward to hosting you on August 23rd to 25th, 2019.


prefers.


Author Bio: Ellie Ross is a professional animal trainer that specializes in behav- iour. She has 30 years expe- rience including being a wrangler in the film and tel- evision industry. Ellie resided in Los Angeles and was in charge of Interna- tional Large Animal Air Transport. Ellie was the Pet Expert for CTV, Reader’s Digest, Local, Satellite Radio and Rogers Televi- sion. Formerly an Even- ter/Dressage/ Endurance rider, she is now active in Extreme Cowboy, Western Dressage and Cowboy Mounted Shooting.


Judi Morris driving her Shetland pony Tickle in a pleasure cross country course. Photo Credit: Allen Cooper Photography


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