One of the best ways to familiarize your young horse to the feel of the saddle--before you swing into it--is with stirrup driving and flapping. In this lesson, you'll drive your saddled colt around you in a circle at a trot, using pressure from the stirrup to make his feet move forward. You'll also flap the stirrup fenders and slap the saddle's seat so he can learn to relax and get comfortable with all sorts of saddle movement and noise.

Watch Clinton demonstrate this lesson in the video below.

Approach these exercises at a calm, regular, balanced pace with quite a long or possibly even loose contact. I place a great deal of emphasis on awakening the horse’s initiative at an early stage of training and attempting to maintain that initiative throughout his career; thus, my emphasis on soft reins.

Do not ride your horse as if you must give him a good ride, but rather attempt to be an intelligent passenger. Once he gets to the obstacle, he must arrange his footwork and propel his body over the fence. At this point, it is your job to stay out of his way. If you run into difficulties, you should either lower the obstacle or, if you are jumping gymnastic obstacles in sequence, remove the last obstacle and lower the others until you get your horse going forward again. Once he is calm and balanced, you can resume the exercise.

Your goals are for your horse to maintain his rhythm, balance and regularity of stride over obstacles. I think that we should teach the horse to balance himself, not to expect us to balance him. An excellent exercise is to count in rhythm with his stride as he proceeds down the line of obstacles. For example, if you have obstacles set up to produce one stride in between them, as the horse lands over the first element you should be able to say out loud, “land.” Then, as he reaches the end of his stride before leaving the ground over the second obstacle, you should be able to say, “one,” in rhythm with the takeoff. If there are succeeding obstacles, you should be able to repeat this down the entire gymnastic line.

This sounds like a very simple exercise, but you will find it surprisingly difficult to perform correctly while your horse is jumping. You may find that the timing of your voice is not in rhythm with your horse’s landing. This is the most common mistake I see in my clinics. Riders who make this mistake usually have some weakness in their jumping positions that causes a loss of balance. This loss of balance is very distracting because the rider will think more about self-preservation than about maintaining balance and rhythm in the landing phase of the jump. If you land out of balance, it means there is something wrong with your position. If there is something wrong with your position, it is usually that your lower-leg position is faulty. Most of the time, if you improve your lower-leg position, you will improve your landing after jumps.

Your horse should maintain an absolutely steady, regular cadence down the line of obstacles. Your counting should also be steady, regular and cadenced. Riders who become agitated when jumping will find that their voices rise in volume and pitch. Many riders will quicken the cadence of their counting until their voices and their horses’ strides are no longer in synchrony. Many times, these are the same riders who will blame their horses for rushing.

Practice keeping your eye on the next object in your horse’s path. For example, if you are trotting toward a pole on the ground, look through his ears at the pole until it goes out of sight. With young ­horses and inexperienced riders, I do not ask the rider to alter the horse’s step in front of the pole because I want to ­awaken the horse’s initiative. Whether he takes a slightly long step or adds a step before the pole, I am equally satisfied. If he steps on the pole, the chances are good that he will learn from the experience and not do it again. If he continues to step on the poles on the ground, I ­suggest that the rider find another prospect, as this one is probably too dumb to improve over obstacles.

Look sequentially at each object in your horse’s path. If you are trotting over a series of ground poles followed by an obstacle, look at the first pole on the ground and then keep your eye on the obstacle until it goes out of sight ­between your horse’s ears. This will help you maintain a straight line through the gymnastic exercises and will also help you develop your timing. You can’t see your stride if you don’t see the jump.

These exercises rely on cavalletti to stabilize your horse’s length of step, speed and balance. If an obstacle follows the cavalletti, use the posting trot until your horse steps over the last pole, then softly lower your seat to the saddle. This ensures that you are in touch with your horse’s back when he leaves the ground.

Do not lean forward while negotiating the cavalletti. When your horse leaves the ground to jump the obstacle, you should have the sensation that he has brought his withers up toward your chest.
For all cavalletti and jumping work, your horse should wear protective boots or bandages on his legs as he may knock his legs while learning to ­coordinate them.

For this column, I am excerpting Gymnastics 2 and 3. To learn Gymnastic 1, which consists of four cavalletti exercises, click here.

The four exercises that comprise Gymnastic 1 will fit comfortably in a 75 x 150-foot (22.8 m x 45.7 m) arena.

After you have warmed your horse up at the walk, trot and canter, then trot into the exercise marked A in the diagram on page 19. Cavalletti set at this distance will produce a working trot for most horses. These exercises are all designed for horses with some jumping experience. If your horse is extremely green, he probably should not be attempting this exercise yet. However, if he is slightly inexperienced or is an experienced jumper but has not done much work over cavalletti, you can pull the first and third poles in towards the centerline of the arena. This will produce a 9-foot (2.7 m) distance between two poles. Horses find this exercise easier and will soon become stable and regular at the trot, which is always your goal. You can then put the four poles together as shown in the diagram and work in both directions over four of them on the ground. After you have established your horse’s balance and rhythm here, you can proceed to the curved poles in Exercise B.

At the posting trot, proceed on a circle in either direction though B. Keep your horse’s direction adjusted so that the length of his step on the curve feels the same as it did over A.

Once you and your horse have become adept at this, you can then start to enter, for example, closer to the 3-foot (90 cm) end of the poles where the distance is shorter, and then let your horse angle away from the center of the circle. This will cause him to go from a working trot to a medium trot or possibly, if your angle becomes too great, even take a couple of steps of extended trot. If your horse takes two steps between the poles or breaks into a canter, you have probably asked too much flexibility from him. Aim closer to the 3-foot (90 cm) end of the curve, and enter B again at the posting trot.

Alternatively, you can enter from the outside of B, where the rails are farther apart. This will cause your horse to take quite a large step at first. Guide your horse toward the 3-foot (90 cm) distance between the last two poles. This will bring your horse back to a working, or even a slightly collected, trot. Having worked in both directions over B, including being able to angle both ways, you can then proceed to Exercise C.

The poles positioned at C will produce the sensation of an extended trot and you may find that your horse cannot reach enough in his fourth step to get out over the last pole without “chipping in” an additional step. Simply remove the last pole and continue. You will find that, after a couple of days’ work over cavalletti, your horse gets the message and you can replace the fourth pole. You should work in both directions over the 5-foot (1.5 m) poles at C until your horse can maintain his regularity and length of step.

After a short break, proceed to Exercise D.

These four rails on the ground, set at 4 feet (1.2 m) apart, will produce a collected trot. Although this exercise can be ridden either posting or sitting, you should definitely use a rising trot until your horse becomes adjusted to them. Using rising, rather than sitting, trot encourages your horse to lift his back while he elevates his step. In addition, it will be less complicated and will allow you to work on his cadence, rather than worrying about your position. Again, work both ways through D until your horse is relaxed and steady in his balance and rhythm. He should be able to deal with the rails without any interruption in the flow of his movement, changing only the length of his step to adapt to the various distances that you have put in his path.

After another break, you can now link these four elements together in order to produce various transitions that will be of great benefit in teaching your horse to be flexible. For example, enter A on the right hand in a working trot, where the rails are 4-foot-six (1.35m) apart. As you leave A, turn right in such a fashion that you produce an arc through B that causes your horse to change the length of his step from working to collected trot. In other words, start exercise B from the outside in. This will put your horse into a slightly collected frame. Proceed directly then to C, which will produce an extended trot. After the extended trot at C, turn right and enter the shorter cavalletti at D.

If your horse has difficulty with this, you can do A, B and C as I have described and then, in a posting trot, circle (or repeat a circle until your horse has settled down to a working trot), turn and enter D, thus producing a collected trot. If you have successfully done this, walk, reward your horse and let him relax and consider his effort while you plan your next series of repetitions through these exercises. When you resume the posting trot, work in both directions and vary the relationship between the exercises to improve and confirm your horse’s flexibility.

Take a moment to remind yourself of your horse’s bad habits. If he tends to rush at the trot, he will not need too many applications of C. He should come from outside in rather from inside out at B, as this will cause him to continually rebalance and collect his step rather than rushing forward. If, on the other hand, your horse is choppy-strided or lazy, a bit more emphasis on and a few more repetitions at B, going from inside out, will teach him to lengthen his step. The total amount of exercise over these rails in any one period should not exceed 45 minutes, including the periods of rest between exercises.

Excerpted from Modern Gymnastics: Systematic Training for Jumping Horses by Jim Wofford. $24.95

Watch as Clinton demonstrates in the link below.

Your colt needs careful preparation not to feel trapped, claustrophobic, and panicked at the sensation of a tightening around these areas of his barrel.

Watch as I demonstrate my method below.

Watch as Clinton demonstrates in the video below.

Watch as Clinton demonstrates the process in the video below.

However, under saddle, spooking behavior can seriously jeopardize your safety, as well as that of your horse. Stay safe by teaching your horse not to spook, and by taking the correct actions when your horse spooks on the trail.

Photo by Daniel Deweese

First, evaluate your horse. Does he occasionally spook when startled, is he green and inexperienced, or is he a genuinely spooky horse? A spooky horse is one that’s naturally more sensitive and worried than others. He tends to see “monsters” around every corner.

Next, look at your own attitude. Your thoughts, fears, and anxieties will transfer to your horse, increasing the likelihood that he’ll spook. If you’re afraid your horse is going to spook, he probably will!

The good news: With enough time and confidence-building riding, even the most jumpy horse can become a solid, reliable trail mount. However, it does take dedication on your part.

“If you have a spooky horse, you need vast amounts of patience and time to improve him through miles of riding,” notes top trainer/clinician Lynn Palm. “If you don’t have what it takes to work with him correctly, you and your horse may not be suited to each other. Be realistic.”

To work on your trail horse’s jitters, be proactive, and form a plan before you hit the trail. Know the trails you’re going to take, know whether they include potentially scary places, and know what gaits the other riders expect to take.

If you have a young or genuinely spooky horse, let your riding buddies know that you’ll need to work with him and make training progress, not just get from Point A to Point B.

On the trail, keep your eyes and ears open. Be aware of things that could potentially be a problem. The farther ahead you look, the more prepared you’ll be. Listen, as well: Sounds can also provoke a spook. Traffic, dogs barking, children playing, a flapping tarp -- any of these can be frightening to your horse if he isn’t accustomed to them or if they’re sudden.

Then follow Palm’s four-step strategy for spook prevention and control:

1. warm up
2. recognize pre-spook signs
3. face the scary object
4. dismount if necessary.

Step #1: Warm Up
“Most of the time, horses are spooky because they’re too fresh,” says Palm. “Don’t just saddle your horse and go. Take time to warm him up.” (Note that this warm-up session will also warm you up, so you’ll be better prepared for your trail ride.)

At home, warm up your horse in an arena with good footing. Away from home, find a level area near the trailers or the facility’s barn area. You need enough room to longe your horse, and walk, trot, and lope/canter him in both directions.

Photo by Daniel Deweese

The length of warm-up depends on your individual horse. Palm recommends at least 10 to 15 minutes of longeing or riding. This will give you enough time to see how your horse is going and judge his responses to you and the surroundings.

Consider longeing your horse before you mount up, so you can watch him from the ground. If you need longeing help, consult a reliable trainer or certified riding instructor in your area. Be sure you’re able to control both your horse and the circle size.

When longeing your horse, create a “surprise” by suddenly clapping your hands. Then gauge your horse’s reaction. Acceptable behaviors include acting playful, head-shaking, accelerating, and even bucking and kicking. As long as he’s listening and responding to your commands, he’s releasing that energy in a safe, non-spooky way.

However, if your horse responds with explosive reactions, this is a clear sign he’s not ready to be ridden on the trail. Continue to warm him up until he’s less reactive before you head out to ride.

Step #2: Recognize Pre-Spook Signs
Horses are hardwired to run from danger, not stay and fight. Because of this ingrained tendency, horses prefer to immediately get away from something they find frightening or uncertain.

You can often observe this behavior in pastured horses. When the horses detect a potential threat, they’ll initially run away from it. Then, after going a short distance, they’ll turn and look back to reevaluate. They’ll often approach the “spooky” thing for a closer look.

Unfortunately, horses may also try this tactic under saddle. Be alert to your horse’s body language for signs that he’s primed to spook. Here are a few of the most common pre-spook signs:

• Pricked ears and elevated head carriage. Ears pricked sharply forward (or moving rapidly forward and back), a high head, and tense neck are all signs your horse is focused on something other than you.
• Respiration rate. Rapid breathing is another noticeable pre-spook sign. If your horse’s breathing suddenly quickens, and/or he’s snorting or blowing, he’s likely anxious about something.
• Signs of avoidance. Pay attention to any signs of avoidance, such as hesitating, slowing down/trying to stop, veering off to the side, or trying to turn around.

If you detect any of these signs, stop, and take control before your horse spooks, bolts, or tries to run away. Read on for how to do so.



Photo by Daniel Deweese

Step #3: Face the Scary Object
If you notice the signs of a potential spook, take action before your horse does.
If you wait until he reacts or spooks, he’ll be in charge instead of you, and you’ll lose control.

To stay in control, stop your horse, and keep him facing the scary object. Ask him to stand still and look at the object; you don’t want him to turn and flee. If you can keep in control at this point, your horse is on his way toward accepting the object and overcoming his fear or uncertainty without spooking.

Don’t grip with your legs or overuse the reins, as this will only stimulate your horse more. Keep your legs close to his sides without clamping down, and maintain light rein contact.

If your horse moves around, guide him back to the object, and ask him to stand and face it once again. As his concern lessens, he’ll turn his head away. As soon as he does so, straighten his head, and cue him with your legs and seat to walk forward a few steps. Then stop him. Don’t wait for him to stop on his own.

As you bring your horse to a stop closer to the object, have him stand and look once again. He’ll likely swing his head back and forth to get a better look. Let him. Stroke his neck.

When your horse relaxes a little, speak to him in a soft voice, move forward again a few steps, then ask him to stop. Always ask him to stop before he takes charge and stops on his own. You want him to trust you and respond to your cues.

You might end up doing the stop/walk forward/stand-look routine a number of times before your horse will stand close to the object of his concern. Get close enough to let him smell the obstacle if he wants to.

Then move your horse so that he’s parallel to the scary object. Walk a few steps so that the object is at his hip or behind him, and stop again. His ears will probably be flicking back and forth, or remain upright, but if he can accept the obstacle behind him without spooking, you’ve succeeded.

If you return home the on the same trail, prepare for another “object lesson” at the same place.

“You have to start all over again when approaching from the other way, because the obstacle will appear different to your horse from the other direction,” says Palm.

Step #4: Dismount
If you’re a confident, experienced rider, you’ll often be able to help your horse through a potential spook from the saddle, as just described.

But if you’re nervous or afraid your horse may spook or bolt, dismount, and perform the same routine from the ground so you feel safe and your horse won’t pick up on your anxiety. You’ll be safer on the ground, and you’ll still help your horse deal with his insecurities.

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Lynn Palm

Cynthia McFarland is a full-time freelance writer who writes regularly for national horse publications and is the author of eight books. Horse-crazy since childhood, she owns a small farm in north central Florida. She enjoys trail riding on her Paint Horse gelding, Ben.

Lynn Palm has shown more than 34 Quarter Horse world and reserve champions, competing in both English and Western disciplines. She’s won a record four AQHA Superhorse titles and was the first rider to win the prestigious Superhorse title twice on the same horse, Rugged Lark. In 2000, Palm was named Horsewoman of the Year by the Women’s Sports Foundation and the AQHA. In 2003, Equine Affaire gave her its Exceptional Equestrian Educator award.

The concept of leads at the canter or lope is simple enough:When a horse is on the correct lead, he starts each stride with the outside hind leg and ends it with the inside foreleg. Riders cue their horses to encourage this sequence and quickly learn to recognize by sight and feel when a lead is wrong. Returning to the trot and asking for the canter again usually remedies the situation right away.

When a horse consistently picks up the wrong lead, however, it’s easy to get frustrated. There are many tricks and techniques for getting a horse to take a particular lead, but these ignore an important reality: A horse who consistently picks up the wrong lead probably has a physiological reason for doing so.

Horses naturally want to canter on the correct lead because it helps them keep their balance. The trailing (outside) foreleg at the canter or lope resists the centrifugal force that pulls the horse to the outside of the turn. If you watch horses play in the pasture, most will choose the correct lead when cantering through tight turns or switch to it at some point to steady themselves. And even in their early under-saddle experiences, young horses will tend to pick up the correct lead naturally.

When a horse always resists cantering on a particular lead, it’s usually because it’s physically difficult or painful to do so. Lead problems may result from discomfort or stiffness anywhere in the legs, body or back. Many times the horse isn’t overtly lame at the walk or trot, and he may even be able to pick up that lead at liberty with little problem without the added weight of a rider, but it’s still a physiological problem and not a training issue. Likewise, lead problems may signal a malfunction in the neurologic system.

If your horse is having lead issues, set aside training until you’ve had your veterinarian and farrier weigh in on the problem. Identifying and correcting any lameness or neurologic issues, which may take several months or weeks, is the only sure-fire way to help your horse.