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J. Ashton Moore 2003 Seminar Notes
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Moore Seminar 2003
"Training Techniques for the Vaulting Horse"
November 8-9 2003
Blacksburg, VA
Notes:
Capitalize on horses' methods of learning; they can't adapt to us.
Horses lack preknowledge therefore they learn retrospectively by identifying patterns that maximized their comfort.
One often sees a horse approximate the correct behavior and be rewarded - then next time, they improve the correct behavior - can't explain this phenomenon.
It is a significant challenge for horses to learn to respond to longeurs, because normally any other herd member farther away than kicking range is not significant. Thus, part of establishing the “herd of two” between the longeur and vaulting horse is to extend the range of the horse's social awareness to the longeur at the end of the line.
The horse has ingrained reactions to certain postures and sensations:
- A friendly approach by a human would entail bending at the waist, reaching out an arm (like an inquisitive nose), an oblique (rather than direct) approach
- An aggressive approach would be direct and with tall, wide posture.
- The butt of a whip or a broomstick is more easily comprehensible to the horse as discipline than is a whip, because a thump is more similar to a disciplinary kick than is the insect-like sting of the whip.
Notes on the equine learning process:
- A human might learn to recognize a pattern within 3 to 5 repetitions
- A horse might require 30 repetitions
- The trainer must decide upon a clear goal for the desired response from the horse, and ignore ancillary effects.
- Give a horse a stimulus which has a chance of eliciting the desired response, then allow the horse to experiment.
- There should be about one second between repetitions of the stimulus until the horse approximates the desired response. If there is a voice cue, give it before each whip reinforcement.
- When horse makes a satisfactory response, pause for about three seconds to reward the horse and to allow it time for retrospection, so it can identify the pattern that entailed the reward.
- No meaningless gestures or noises! They only obscure the pattern.
- If you train a response to a gesture or noise cue and it still requires whip reinforcement, train it more until the whip is unnecessary. The horse must respond to the cue, not wait for the reinforcement.
- Trainer must know what part of the horse to look at to be able to spot the desired response (or to detect common evasions). The trainer must be clear as to what exactly he is looking for, and what is an acceptable response.
Specific suggestions:
- Reschooling a lugger: esp at trot, pluck line and release. Take in the line swiftly, then release abruptly. If more is needed, then make a many-sided figure.
- Cutting in: aggressively approach the horse; send a longe line loop toward his head; flick the whip on the shoulder if you are good enough not to whip him in the face; use the shaft of the whip in front of the line to slap him across the muzzle.
Ground work/pre-longeing sequence:
- Move away (back) step by step from tap on chest. If horse charges forward over you, a rap under the chin.
- Move away (sideways) step by step from tap on shoulder, then from tap on other parts.
- Pre-longeing: horse steps away (sideways, crossing forelegs) from an aggressive approach, reinforced by whip butt if necessary. Then hind legs (pivoting over inside shoulder). Then increase distance, requiring horse to step smartly away from aggressive approach - keeping the maximal possible distance away without pulling on the line.
Notes on Goldie, J.A. Moore Clinic, Nov 8-9 2003
Riding at canter, be sure arms go with canter, not resisting “plunge” downward. Arms go with hips in cyclic motion of canter. To slow or lift canter, take in on rein during up part of canter stride, not downward dive. Arms operate symmetrically, but one can act more strongly.
Ex: counterflexion - neck bent to outside
Works better and faster than true flexion as a pattern-breaker for unlocking canter issues.
Start at walk:
- can you turn the head
- can you still steer
Look for lateral flexion in the throatlatch.
Ex should help the horse choose roundness - using her own muscles to round.
Steer with outside leg FW, outside seat bone to inside of saddle. Turn chest in w/out moving shoulders.
Then:
Raise head & get counterflexion.
She must use her own muscles to hold her head there. Aid is to ripple outside then inside rein, slightly upward, from behind rider's shoulderblades.
Puts the horse above her comfort/leverage zone - wait for experimentation.
1 - She'll try to lower her head. No.
2 - She'll try to drop just her nose. Yes.
3 - But then too much down. No.
Stretching down -
Is horse stretching via antagonistic musculature (like stretching over an electric fence) or drooping via gravity?
Variants of rein response:
1 - horse acts against you
2 - horse is immovable
3 - horse lets you hold her up
4 - horse holds herself up where you ask
In flexion, there will be a hollow behind the throatlatch. Rider will not see underside of jawbone. Complexus musculature on flexing side will be soft, off side will be tight.
Rider may have to start with bending entire neck - just don't allow bend only at withers.
Ex: Move shoulders from tap of whip on shoulder on loose rein. Mustn't go FW.
“On the defensive with her neck” distracting her from the task at hand - and she learns that “if she goes rigid enough, you'll change the plan”.
(Duke: “Don't use his mouth as an armrest”)