OVER W - Horse and Rider Books Under Through-exce… · Obstacle Training for Horses V ANESSA BEEis the founder of the Interna - tional Horse Agility Club (thehorseagilityclub. com)

OVER

50 Effective, Step-by-Step Exercises for Every Rider

Vanessa Bee

UNDERTHROUGH

Obstacle Training for Horses

Lessons from the Author Who Brought You3-Minute Horsemanship and The Horse Agility Handbook

OVER UNDER THROUGHO

bstacle Training for H

orses

VANESSA BEE is the founder of the Interna-tional Horse Agility Club (thehorseagilityclub.

com). With a training facility in England and her own method known as Positive Horsemanship, she specializes in building relationships between the horse and the handler from the ground up.

Vanessa has been around horses most of her life, working in racing stables throughout her teens, then driving competitively into her early twenties. As a qualified teacher with a degree in education, she has used her skills to develop a series of courses that teach people of all abilities and experience levels to achieve a positive rela-tionship with their horses. By creating the Inter-national Horse Agility Club, she has provided a social and competitive outlet for those relation-ships to grow. Vanessa is the author of The Horse Agility Handbook; Horse Agility the DVD; and 3-Minute Horsemanship.

For a complete catalog of equestrian books and DVDs, contact:

Trafalgar Square BooksBox 257, Howe Hill RoadNorth Pomfret, Vermont 05053800.423.4525www.HorseandRiderBooks.com

Front and back cover photographs by Philip Osborne, back flap by Bob Atkins

WHILE MANY training books have explained ways to progressively “desensitize” horses

to frightening situations and objects in the arena or round pen, this new book from Vanessa Bee—Founder of the International Horse Agility Club and 3-Minute Horsemanship—takes the concept of teaching horses to accept what they think is terrifying out into the world around us.

When considering common obstacles that might scare a horse, you usually find they require the horse go over something (like a bridge, threshold, or log), under something (such as a tunnel, low branch, or flags), or through it (as in a gateway, ditch, or heavy brush). Sometimes there can be a combination of all three elements!

To deal with such challenges, Bee has provided Six Blueprint Exercises to lay the foundation of skills you need to teach a horse to go over, under, and through just about anything.

Then, she takes us through 50 common scenarios—such as riding over white lines or dark shadows, going under doorways, or passing through fields full of farm animals or “marshmallow” hay bales. Using small, easy-to-do, building-block steps and hundreds of color photographs, Bee shows us what is needed to change the horse’s instinctual reactions and behavior, assuring a smoother, safer ride down the road.

With lessons explained in Bee’s trademark “keep it simple” style, Over, Under, Through: Obstacle Training for Horses is one book from which every horse and horse owner will benefit.

$27.95

ISBN 978-1-57076-727-2

9 781570 767272

5 2 7 9 5

$27.95 USD

www.horseandriderbooks.com Prin

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in C

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OVER

UNDE

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Poles and Logs • White Lines • Thresholds Bridges • Tarps • Shadows and Glare • Road Furniture • Ramps and Steps • Water and Waves

Natural and Manmade Tunnels • Curtains • Low Branches • Flags • Umbrellas • Ribbons • Spray Products • Saddles • Hoops and Owl Holes

Narrow Spaces • Corridors • Start Boxes • Gates Traffic • Construction Sites • Farm Animals Plastic-Covered Hay Bales • Festive Decorations Smoke • Arena Markers • Wide Open Spaces

Also Available

VanessaBee

OUT Full Cover.indd 1 7/7/15 10:42 AM

Acknowledgments xi

INTRODUCTION 1

Why I Have Written This Book 2

What Equipment Do You Need? 3

How to Get Started 4

Why Over, Under, Through? 5

Six Blueprint Exercises 6

Blueprint 1: Leading Forward 8

Blueprint 2: Stop and Back Up 9

Blueprint 3: Advance and Retreat 11

Blueprint 4: Move the Hind End Around 14

Blueprint 5: Move the Front End Around 17

Blueprint 6: The One-Rein Stop / Emergency Stop 20

The Magic Figure Eight 23

The Stuck Foot 27

Riding the Magic Figure Eight 29

Riding the Magic Figure Eight Outside the Arena 31

Thinking Like a Horse 32

Thinking Like a Human 34

The Magic Feather 35

Be a Good Place for Your Horse 36

CONTENTS

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DUPLICATION PROHIBITED by copyright holder

© Vanessa Bee and Trafalgar Square Books www.HorseandRiderBooks.com

Part One: Over 39

1 Forward Over Poles 41

2 Backing Over Poles 44

3 Sideways Over Poles 47

4 White Lines 51

5 Thresholds 55

6 Hula Hoops 59

7 Tarpaulins 62

8 Dark and Light 64

9 Road Furniture 66

10 Podiums 69

11 Bridges 72

12 Ramps 75

13 Steps 78

14 Jumping 82

15 Water 85

16 Beaches 88

Part Two: Under 91 1 Tunnels 92

2 Curtains 95

3 Branches 98

4 Flags 101

5 Umbrellas 104

6 Ribbons 106




7 Fly Spray 108

8 Saddles 110

9 Owl Hole 112

Part Three: Through 115 1 Narrow Spaces 117

2 The Pole Corridor 120

3 The Start Box 122

4 Gates 126

5 Traffic 129

6 Road Works and Construction 133

7 Strollers and Pushchairs 136

8 Trash and Rubbish Bags 138

9 Pigs 140

10 Sheep 142

11 Plastic-Covered Bales 144

12 Flapping Festive Decorations 146

13 Smoke 148

14 Bushes 150

15 Plastic Bottles 152

16 Dressage Boards 154

17 Wide Open Spaces 156

Conclusion 159

Index 161




FORWARD OVER POLES | 75

ramps12OVEROVER

One of the first horse-agility obstacles we built at home was a big A-frame with

a square platform on top. It was a very interesting way of learning to direct the

horse’s feet up a fairly steep ramp and down the other side without him feeling he

needed to leap off halfway over.

A journalist came to write a piece for a magazine and asked why on earth you

would want to do that with your horse. Of course, with all my obstacles, they are ei-

ther there to put principles to purpose or have a connection to a real-life task. I replied

with a question: “Have you never loaded your horse into a trailer?” She looked a bit

embarrassed but had the grace to look around the obstacle course and

say, “Now I see, they all mean something, don’t they?”

Yes, they do, but if it’s only to build a trusting relationship between

you and your horse, then that’s good enough for me.

Walking up and down steep ramps and slopes.

By teaching your horse to navigate up and down ramps in hand, he will be prepared when faced with steep banks like this one.

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76 | PART I: OVER

Exercise 12 · Ramps

A Make sure the horse can cross a tarp first. B Using a podium or bridge to show him how to step up is very useful.

C A trailer ramp is a good start. Use a long rope so the horse has room to move.

D Some horses can happily put their front feet onto the ramp but not the back.

E On a ramp that is less steep, you can walk over it from side to side.

F This helps a horse load with confidence onto a van.




RAMPS | 77

G …and unload.

H It’s an easy step to encourage him to go up onto a horse-agility obstacle...

J Let the horse explore different ways of tackling steep ramps without the weight of a rider.

I …and come down the other side.

K Then take opportunities to let him explore with a rider on board. Keep the ramps shallow and short to start.

12




126 | PART III: THROUGH

I always say to my students that if you can open and close a gate calmly and ef-

ficiently while riding your horse, you’re a long way to being in control of your

horse’s feet. Just think of all the different ways you need to move those feet and all

while holding the reins in one hand if you don’t want to let go of the gate.

Because there is more than one type of gate in the world, you may need to prac-

tice opening gates towards and away from you, and leaning down to reach a catch or

move a lever. I cannot stress how complete this exercise is and a great test of where

you are in your horsemanship. I put this and easy trailer loading of my horses at the

top of my list of things I want to be able to do calmly and easily.

All gates are different, some opening towards you and some away, while others

have walls or hedges alongside them. You need to adapt some of the movements

below to complete the task with a different type of gate.

A gate should be a quiet place. When it causes anxiety in you or the horse, it

can become very difficult to open and close while on horseback.

You should never have to dismount to open,

go through, and shut a gate behind you.

THROUGHTHROUGH

gatesSafely negotiating opening and closing gates.4




GATES | 127

B You will need to be able to go forward.

E You need to be able to move the hind end over (see Blueprint 4, p. 14).

D You need to be able to move the front end over, a turn-on-the-forehand (see Blueprint 5, p. 17).

A Walk through the process of opening and closing a gate without the horse.

C Stop and go back.

Exercise 4 · Gates

F Approach the gate quietly, setting up the right position before you reach the gate.

4




128 | PART III: THROUGH

H The horse must wait before passing through the gap. Here, he is rushing through.

J Close the gate by moving the horse over sideways, or just the forehand.

G Unlatch the gate and open it by turning the forehand in towards the gate.

I The horse is just about to step over with the hindquarters.

Exercise 4 · Gates (cont.)




Documents

OVER W - Horse and Rider Books Under Through-exce… · Obstacle Training for Horses V ANESSA BEEis the founder of the Interna - tional Horse Agility Club (thehorseagilityclub. com)