"Straight talk time: Before tackling today's topic, make absolutely sure that your horse has been thoroughly sacked out to your touch. If that little voice says there is any way your horse is going to react negatively (flinch, freeze up, pull away, try to kick, etc.) to your touch, especially when working around those back feet, then... you ain't ready. Conversely, if that little voice says "All systems go," then you should have an easy day of it.
You can teach the following very simply without a round pen - but the round pen offers two significant advantages: 1) You don't have to juggle a lead line in one hand, and 2) Should the horse need a little extra motivation to play along, you can send him around a few rotations.
Simply put, the better we can control the hind end of the horse, the easier it is to control the front half of the horse. So, we start with the back feet. Standing on the horse's left side, you'll ask the rear of the horse to move away. Ask him to take a step or two and when he stops, look at the back leg closest to you (the one we'd like to pick up). Does he have any weight on it? We want to keep asking him to move, then pausing, then asking him to move until, by chance, he stands with that nearest back leg cocked up. You've seen this stance a million times. They'll stand there with weight on three feet, the fourth resting, slightly turned up, toe to heel."
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- 5 Days, 5 chapters
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"The following example is appropriate for horses of any discipline. Let's say we have a reining horse - and we want to make his spin better. We have a recipe to improve his performance and there are three ingredients in this recipe. They are "further," "faster," and "less." To begin, I don't worry about anything except "further." I do whatever it takes to make something go further. (In this case, the spin "action.") So I look at his front feet and I see that the step they take covers a distance of, let's say, two feet. I make it my goal to go further, maybe to two and a half feet. I'll then spin my horse; I'll kiss or kick with both legs or do whatever it takes to make that step bigger - and that's all I'll concentrate on. I'll only work on that for about thirty seconds, just till that one step is "further." (That is, maybe it sweeps and covers three feet.) Then the next part is "faster." So now I keep the "further" - and I make it "faster." As soon as he gets faster..."
Equestrians: Find A John Lyons Horse Trainer Near You
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5 Topledge Rd., Redding, CT 06896 USA
Email: horseandme13*netscape.com (replace * with @)
John Lyons horseman Pat Kenefic lives in Southwestern Connecticut (Fairfield county) within 100 miles of the following cities: New Haven, Bridgeport, Waterbury, New York, Springfield, Albany.
5352 Wauchula Road, Myakka City, FL 34251 USA
Email: bethany*clearsurfusa.com (replace * with @)
John Lyons horseman Bethany Allen-Ford lives in West Central Florida (Manatee county) within 100 miles of the following cities: Port Charlotte, Sarasota, Zolfo Springs, Bradenton, Tampa, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Winter Haven.
335 53rd Drive North, West Palm Beach, FL 33415 USA
Email: bojangles4*msn.com (replace * with @)
John Lyons horseman Jodi Burnsed lives in South Eastern Florida (Palm Beach county) within 100 miles of the following cities: Wellington, Greenacres, Riviera Beach.
3613 Horne Hollow Rd, Crestview, FL 32539 USA
Email: chandlerc001*msn.com (replace * with @)
John Lyons horseman Cheryl Chandler lives in Nort Western Florida (Okaloosa county) within 100 miles of the following cities: Fort Walton Beach, West Pensacola, Freeport.
2160 SW 107th Place, Ocala, FL 34476 USA
Email: lynndfarms*hughes.net (replace * with @), Site: http://www.lynndfarms.com/
John Lyons horseman Steven Duchac lives in Central Florida (Marion county) within 100 miles of the following cities: Gainesville, Ocala, Orlando, Tampa, Daytona Beach.
John Lyons horseman Cherish Hood lives in Central Florida (Marion county) within 100 miles of the following cities: Chillicothe, Xenia, Newark, Dayton, Cincinnati.
15330 Cemetery Road, Fort Myers, FL 33905 USA
Email: kksmandy*aol.com (replace * with @)
John Lyons horseman Kellie Kauffman lives in Southwestern Florida (Lee county) within 100 miles of the following cities: Fort Myers, Port Charlotte, Cape Coral, East Naples.
5840 217th St E, Bradenton, FL 34211 USA
Email: jamesjmalcolm*mac.com (replace * with @), Site: www.JamesMalcolmHorsemanship.com
John Lyons horseman James Malcolm lives in West Central Florida (Manatee county) within 100 miles of the following cities: Sarasota, St Petersburg, Bradenton, Tampa, Lakeland, Clearwater.
13955 113th St., Fellsmere, FL 32948 USA
Email: seahorse*quixnet.net (replace * with @)
John Lyons horseman Cindy McDevitt lives in East Central Florida (Indian River county) within 100 miles of the following cities: Palm Bay, Melbourne, Fort Pierce.
1951 Colony Way, Jupiter, FL 33478 USA
Email: patty*paintedprincess.com (replace * with @), Site: http://www.paintedprincessfarm.com
John Lyons horseman Patty Russell lives in Southeastern Florida (Palm Beach county) within 100 miles of the following cities: Jupiter, Palm Beach, Lake Worth, Greenacres, Boca Raton, Miami, Fort Lauderdale.