This blog is about my experience in my Advanced Animal Handling and Behavior class. In this class I was assigned a horse named Iceman to build a relationship with during the semester. In this class we learned about horse behavior and psychology, and using Natural Horsemanship methods, including Parelli's seven games, we applied the things we learned to teach our horses new things and solve behavior problems.
After class on Thursday I met Iceman, my horse for the semester. I went out to his pen and walked in and stood to the side just ignoring him to see what he would do. Gradually he came up to me and sniffed me and let me pet his nose, I walked away from him and he followed me around for a little bit but didn’t like it when I moved towards him. Eventually I was able to put a halter on him. He seems like he is head shy and doesn’t want things in his face. He has a very good understanding of what to do with the seven games. He seems like he might be a little more right brained because he is high-headed sometimes. The next day I played with him I could tell he just wanted to move so my friend and I both let our horses loose in the arena.
It was fun to watch him, he was much more dominant with the other horse. They seemed to be having fun playing together and trying to prove who was the leader. It was interesting to see the change in Iceman after I let him loose, he was listening to me better and while playing the driving game he was matching my speed at a walk, trot, lope and stopping! I spent a lot of time touching his head and getting him comfortable with that, and I was also able to get him to let me standing directly in front of his face and pet it which was making him nervous at first. He is very comfortable with most of the objects in the arena because he has seen them all before, he doesn’t mind the tarps at all, I set a tarp over 4 poles like a tent to see what he though and he just walked right into it and let all the poles crash on him and didn’t spook at all. I did however find out that ropes (the kind used for roping) make him very nervous so I was teaching him to stand still while I held the rope in the air. Iceman is very sensitive to pressure, it doesn’t take much asking for him to move and do what I am asking, he is almost too sensitive and over reactive.
What Iceman learned: He can trust me, standing still when I am swinging the carrot stick but not asking him to move, having me pet his head and stand in front of his nose is safe.
April 26th-May 1st Sometimes Iceman can be difficult to catch, he will walk away from me, I am working on building his trust so that he will want to come to me. He got very nervous when I pulled out the halter, so I played the friendly game with that so he would understand it was safe. At the beginning of this week Iceman began becoming less sensitive to stimulus, in a good way. Instead of overreacting if I even lift my carrot stick, I am now able to use that as my next phase and get an appropriate response out of him. After playing with him on line for awhile, I took off his halter to see how he would be at liberty, the first time I did that as soon as the halter was off he was gone and galloping across the arena. After eventually catching him again I played with him on line again to rebuild our relationship, and then I decided again to take off his halter. This time he stayed with me and was listening to me up until a certain point, then he would turn away and walk towards the door. After he did that a few times I decided to put his halter back on, and we continued playing the driving game and this time when he got to the point where he usually turned away he felt the pressure from the lead rope and kept walking straight in the direction we were going and then began licking and chewing to let me know that he understood that he was supposed to go straight and not turn away. I have been trying to find ways to make our time playing the seven games more interesting because he already knows how to do them in their basic form, so now I need to find new twists for it. One thing I have been doing is trying to get him to stand on a pedestal, we are making progress he put one foot up! Iceman was starting to get anxious and began rearing up while I was playing with him, I could tell that he wanted to go so after that I redirected him and we played the driving game at a trot and lope. After that I had his attention and we were able to do other obstacles. On Saturday I decided I would work on mounting Iceman, I had been trying to build up to it over previous times playing with him by rubbing his back, and jumping up on his back and applying pressure. I did that again and had my friend help me mount him. I thought because he was standing so still he was fine and relaxed, but as soon as I put my leg over him he bucked and took off. Somehow I stayed on and was able to stop him quickly and sit on him relaxed for a little bit. I think even though he was stopped he wasn’t necessarily relaxed.
What Iceman learned: to be less sensitive to stimulus, not change direction without me while playing the driving game.
May 3rd-8th
This week I realized that Iceman isn’t really comfortable with me working with his back hooves, he will pick them up just fine, but then he tucks them under his belly and won’t let me pull them out to actually pick them. I asked my instructor what I could do about that, he showed me how I can step by step release pressure when he relaxes and build up to moving it out to where I want it to be to pick. I also learned the reason Iceman was the way he was when I mounted him because he was being right brain introverted. It wasn’t that he was okay with me getting on him, he was just so nervous that he froze and then kind of exploded. I need to learn to watch his body language to see signs of right-brain behaviour, such as high head and eye whites. Now that I know that I have been able to tell how tense he is when I am playing the friendly game to mount him, he is standing still but he is not relaxed. I continued playing with him to get on the pedestal, and he put his two front legs up there several times! It seemed that after I rewarded him with the release of pressure and scratches on his neck he was motivated to try to get up there again. I have been spending a lot of undemanding time with Iceman, and I think it has helped strengthen our relationship because instead of rushing to accomplish some goal I have just been playing with him. There was a trailer in the arena during class and practiced driving Iceman into it. He was pretty nervous about it and it was interesting to see that when I played the squeeze game and allowed him to go as far as he wanted (sniff the edge, sniffing the inside, pawing the inside) he did better than when I applied pressure to ask him to go further. When I would ask him for too much he would back up and away. Eventually through using light pressure at the correct times and allowing him to choose how far he wanted to go he walked into the trailer without being forced. Iceman seems to get very nervous in the green barn on the side opposite of where we usually go, after class I have walked him through there and he trots and jumps at everything and then begins licking and chewing and is fine as soon as we get back outside. I will have to spend some time in there with him.
What Iceman learned this week: Stand on the pedestal, load into a trailer, the beginnings of relaxing his back feet to have them picked.
May 10th-15th
This week I realized that Iceman wasn’t even comfortable with having me at his side. So I spent a lot of time playing the friendly game at his side and back so when I did decide to mount him that it would go more comfortably for him. Thursday’s class was great, it was a beautiful day and we all took our horses for a walk by playing the driving game. We focused on having consistency with variety, and in this case that meant playing the games as usual but doing it in a new environment. Iceman had a great time outside, I was surprised that he was not scared the whole time except when we got back to the horse area of the livestock center. I think because horses are claustrophobic he does better outside. Friday at the Livestock center Iceman was very nervous, I think because it was the first time I played with him with no other horses in the Arena. It was very difficult to even do anything with him because he was so right brained. I decided I would see what happened if I did some sort of pattern by playing the squeeze game/circle game over the jump. After going over the jump a few times he calmed down and was more centered. Iceman is very nervous about my riding helmet, It is something he has never seen before so first I need to spend time getting him used to that before I hop on his back while wearing it! I have been working on saddling him, I know from others that he is sensitive about his girth being tightened, so being prepared with that knowledge gave me time to think about what I could do. I started off by just touching his side with the cinch, and he pinned his ears back and threatened to bite, which is very unlike him! When he gets his girth tightened he dances around. Step by step by touching his side and releasing pressure when he stood still I moved to pulling the cinch under his belly and releasing pressure when he stood still, then I would put the latigo through and tighten it up and release when he stood still. Eventually I got him to the point where I could comfortably tighten the cinch all the way.
Iceman and Milo get along well so here is a video of them playing
What Iceman learned this week: Being comfortable with me at his side, Stand still when being saddled.
May 17th-22nd
Iceman and I have been working on the obstacles for midterm. Because he is so sensitive and responsive he is easy to teach. I have continued to saddle him, he does much better untied than when he is tied up in the green barn. He is still nervous in the green barn but making improvements. I have been playing with him in there, playing the driving game and other games so he can explore and get more comfortable in there. I’ve found that the more assertive I am with him the less scared he is, but I still feel like I need to be careful and make sure I am not overly assertive where it seems aggressive to him. I have been working on mounting him and having him stand still when I get on. After several times of mounting and dismounting from either side with the saddle he would stand still when I got on. What I would do was get on and as soon as he took a step stop him and then dismount when he stood still. I was also able to get on him bareback, very slowly and by rubbing him all over his back and laying on my belly on his back I eventually was able to get my leg over and sit on him. I also was able to get him comfortable with my helmet, once he realized it was completely harmless he didn’t seem to care about it at all. What Iceman learned this week: Stand still while being mounted, my helmet is safe, how to do the obstacles for midterm.
May 24th-29th
Tuesday in class we had a writing class come visit us to learn about the horses. I was partnered with another girl in my class and we had 3 students from the writing class. We used Iceman to talk and demonstrate with. I was very impressed with how calm he was for the girls in our group. They played the Yo-yo and driving game with him and he responded very well even though their cues weren’t clear. After an hour of being calm though he had to let loose. I was playing the driving game with him and we were going faster and he was almost galloping on the 12’ line! He was having a great time, and so was I except he was doing the same thing with me that he does when he plays with Milo, which is rearing up and getting way to close to me. The TA gave me a longer line so I could play with him on that, it was much better to have him out further away from me. Because though I am glad he is having fun, I am not as strong and sturdy as another horse! Mounting Iceman bareback has gone a little backward, he is comfortable with me getting on but I am now having a hard time having him stand still when I am mounting, I am not sure what to do because my attempts at dismounting when he stops don’t seem to be working. Thursday we had our midterm, which went great. Since this is the second time I’ve taken the class I was not nervous. Iceman did great and listened to my cues very well and the obstacle course went smooth for the most part. After that we were allowed to ride them at a walk. I rode him for just a few minutes, he did well, I already know we will need to start working (or playing) with maintaining direction. On Saturday I rode him some more, I can see where the ground work comes in handy because I know that he is sensitive and I know that I should keep my energy level similar to what it is on the ground. We still need to work on the whole standing still while mounting.
What Iceman learned this week: We worked on turning, maintaining direction, leg cues, stopping, backing up.
June 1st-5th This week was the first time I could really start to ride Iceman. First we did the pre-flight checks before mounting, which consist of flexing their heads to either side and also wrapping the rope behind their legs. This helps them to learn to follow the feel of the pressure from the reins.
We started in class by playing the passenger game, where someone else drives or plays the circling game while we sit on our horse. I had my friend Kelsey drive Iceman around, it made a huge difference playing the passenger game with a person who knew what they were doing. I was working on my balance bareback. Iceman has a pretty bouncy trot, I was bouncing all over the place. I also tried loping bareback, its a lot smoother than trotting. At some point I bounced right off of him and somehow landed on my feet! I continued riding him bareback throughout the week to work on my balance, I fell off about 4 times and landed on my feet each time. I’m not sure how I am managing that, but I think it helps that he stops as soon as I fall off! We need to work on maintaining direction, he veers off easily when we are going in a strait line. The TA suggested making small goals to start with, and also sometimes when I know he is about to go a different direction to ask him to go that way and go with him. This is similar to the driving game, where we first have to match them and then they will match us and follow our focus. Riding bareback on him is a challenge because his trot is so bouncy. I need to work on getting him to trot more slowly. I haven’t had too much of a problem with him going fast, but sometimes he does start loping before I ask him to.
What Iceman learned this week: To put up with me falling off of him, learning to maintain direction.
June 7th-12th On class in Tuesday I decided to ride Iceman in a saddle, mostly because I was going on a school trip the next day and didn’t want to fall off and be sore. He’s very uncomfortable with being saddled, but he has definitely improved since the first time I saddled him! In class we rode outside. While we were warming up the cows were all mooing loudly and all the horses were spooking. Iceman was not listening to me at all and I was not super excited to get on him! After playing the circling game he calmed down and I was ready to get on him. He was ready to go and just wanted to lope the whole time. I was trying to get him to trot nicely but not having much luck. For class they set up a Pole bending race where we could only trot. Having to focus on trotting and going through the poles correctly made a huge difference and Iceman actually trotting through the course! By the end of class he was doing much better and trotting when I asked him to slow down. What Iceman learned this week: To maintain gait.
June 14th-19th This week with Iceman I decided I would ride in a saddle because it is much easier to work on things such as maintaining gait and direction when I am staying on instead of falling off every few minutes! I’ve been practicing riding one-handed and using my reins to direct him by pointing. It works well for both of us! He has gotten much better at slowing to a trot when I ask him to and maintaining his trot. We also have been working on circles, thats something we need to keep working on. I’ve found that when he is loping he really listens to me and follows my focus, I don’t even have to use my reins or leg pressure to get him to go the direction I want, all I have to do is look! On Saturday the tack room was locked so I just decided to ride bareback. It was the best bareback ride I’ve ever had with him! He was doing a nice slow jog instead of a high bouncy trot, and he was only loping when I asked him to. This is the first time I’ve ridden him bareback without falling off once!
What Iceman learned this week: Trot slowly, only change gait when asked. What I learned: riding in the saddle for awhile can help improve bareback riding because we both learned how to follow eachothers motion and energy.
June 21st-26th When I went to get Iceman from his pen he was walking very stiffly and slowly, so I had Br Twitchell come look at him. He had just gotten his hooves trimmed and they were a little short so walking on the gravel was applying pressure to his frogs. He also had knicked his front hoof on Saturday and it left a cut and a slice in his hoof. I had to take care of that by cleaning it and bandaging it so it didn’t get infected. Bro Twitchell told me to soak his hoof in a bucket with water and Epsom salt for ten minutes. I didn’t see that going well, but gave it a try! I started by putting Iceman’s hoof in an empty bucket, and he was okay with that, a little uncomfortable as expected but nothing too dramatic. So then I filled the bucket with water and Epsom salt and put his foot in. The bucket went flying and Iceman frantically backed up for a long time. After calming him down I got another type up bucket and began playing the friendly game with it, but when I put it over his hoof he got scared and started backing up again. I got Bro Twitchell and told him it wasn’t going well, so he told me another way to clean it. Rinse it out and spray with Betadine, then rinse it off, cover it with Icthamol and then bandage it. By that point Iceman didn’t want to pick up his hoof for me, and I couldn’t blame him. Eventually I was able to get it taken care of with the help of Twitchell. I had to use the string on the carrot stick to apply pressure and release it to get him to understand that was what he needed to do, after doing that several times I had no problems! As the days went on he got better and better about letting me doctor his foot. By the last day I had to do anything to it he just picked it up nicely and let me put the bandage on it. In class we were working on turning for Barrels, and rating. I learned that when we rate we need to pick up on the inside rein to help collect them and slow them, after figuring out how to do this I felt a big difference with Iceman! I spent a couple days just working on riding Iceman bareback, my balance is getting better and he is doing so much better at maintaining gait, though there are still moments where he just wants to lope.
What Iceman learned this week: To be desensitized to having his foot doctored, rating and bending around the barrels.
June 28th-July 2nd This week we worked on Jumping. I already knew that Iceman loved to jump by playing the driving game with him. We worked on riding them strait over ground poles and standing in 2 point in the saddle. He did really well maintaining a straight line over the poles! Standing in 2 point works muscles in my back that I don’t usually use! When I would get into 2-pt he would take that as a cue to begin loping. I asked what to do, and learned that when he starts loping I need to pull back and sometimes even sit back down in the saddle till he learned that I wanted him to trot. Eventually he understood what I wanted! He did very well going over the jump, and I am understanding 2-pnt better! I also having been working on him to stop quickly, I’ve found that if I sit back in the saddle really hard and fast he understands that means to stop. He does pretty well, he just need to learn to stay standing! I was also working on roll-backs with him, he does well at moving his shoulders but I could tell there were moments where I was frustrating him so I made sure to give him a break from that and move on to something else. After class on Thursday it was just him and me in the arena so I played with him at Liberty. It was great! There were a few moments where I would lose him, but generally he stayed with me, and when I asked him to come back he did. I got him to go over the jump. And also to go over the bridge, both ways! He is a fun horse!
What Iceman learned this week: Trot even when I am out of the saddle, roll-backs, stop quickly, stay with me at liberty.
July 5th-10th
This week we began working on making circles around the Arena. Iceman is very good at loping, but he needs to work on his slower gaits. I focused on getting him to trot and walk. Just walking around the arena is very difficult for both of us, because we both really want to go, but I guess we both need to learn to restrain ourselves! I got him to the point where he could trot nicely around the arena, and even just calmly walk around. The next thing I need to work on his having him lope calmly, when I ask him to lope he thinks that he needs to go very fast. When we are working on loping circles I’ve found that he always picks up the incorrect lead when we are going to the right, that is something we will have to work on. What Iceman learned this week: Maintain walking and trotting.
July 12th-17th
On Tuesday I noticed that Iceman was not listening to me very well, he’d started running through the pressure of me pulling back when he loped. I learned that I needed to make sure I got what I was asking for everytime. We warmed up in the outdoor arena and I figured out how to get Iceman to lope slowly! I had been asking him with my leg to go faster, but I found that if I just lift up the reins he understands that to mean transition to a lope, so I was able to get a very smooth calm lope out of him! We went out on a trail on Tuesday, and he did relatively well. He did want to go faster than a walk so I had to ask him to slow down many times. He has started a habit where when I try to mount him he spins his hindquarter away from me, making it very difficult for me to get on him. At the end of class I spent time trying to mount him, what I did was played the yo-yo game with the lead rope and get him to stop everytime I would try to mount. Eventually I was able to get him to stand still while I mounted. Thursday before class I let him run loose with Milo, during class he was much better to work with because he had his excess energy out. We worked on hindquarter and frontquarter yielding. After it was explained again I understood what I needed to do with Iceman to accomplish it. I first started by applying pressure by playing the porcupine game on the ground, and after he understood that I applied pressure to the same areas while on his back and we had success! I decided to see how Iceman was in the bridle this week, and he is much more responsive. I had been having problems getting him to stop and backup in the halter so the bridle really helped reinforce what I was asking for. For the past few days I absolutely could not get Iceman to stand still, he would stop but then right after take steps forward, I was starting to get really frustrated with him. I would back him up but he would still step forward. Fortunately Raquel, who had him the previous semester was at the Arena so I asked her what to do. She told me to stop him and everytime he took a step forward rock him back one step and release pressure right away, and don’t let him move until atleast 10 seconds. Having that goal of 10 seconds made a huge difference, just minutes later Iceman was standing completely still. After having him do this he also did very well with the One-step, two-step forward and backwards. I was able to leave for the day with a positive attitude!
What Iceman learned this week: Stand still after being stopped. Stand still while being mounted. Yield front and hindquarters.
In my Advanced Animal Handling and Behavior class we played Parelli’s 7 Games with our horses while on the ground. Below I have explained how each game works and the principles behind them. First something important to know about are Phases, Parelli described the phases as “Phase 1 needs to be as soft as possible, Phase 2 is double that, Phase 3 is double that and Phase 4 is double that to the point of being effective.”
Friendly Game- The principle behind the friendly game is to develop a relationship of trust and also for desensitization. We usually start by using our hands to touch and rub the horse all over, and when they are comfortable we retreat away from them. Sometimes this can be just touching them for a few seconds and then taking our hand away. This helps the horse understand that they can trust us and we are not going to hurt them. We do something similar with objects, if they are small we can show them the object, take it away, then we can go to the next step of touching their body with it and taking it away and eventually desensitizing the horse to it.
Porcupine Game- The principle behind the Porcupine Game is to follow a feel, move off of pressure. To play the porcupine game we apply steady pressure to an area such as their shoulder, and we start at the first phase which is hair, second phase is skin, third phase is muscle and fourth phase is bone. As soon as they move away from that pressure (moving their leg away) the pressure is released.
Driving Game- The principle behind the driving game is to follow a suggestion. When playing the driving game we want to be able to stand at our horses should and have them walk parallel to us and go where we ask them to go without leading them. We start by raising our energy and looking, then move to the next phase of pointing, then applying pressure with the carrot stick. As soon as our horse moves forward we release that pressure and relax.
The next four games apply the principles of the first three games and put them into a purpose.
Circle Game- The principle behind the circle game is responsibility to maintain gait. We want to send our horse out, allow them to go around and then bring them back to us. To play the circle game we use the same phases as the driving game, then we stand in the same spot and allow our horse to go around us and then after a few times going around us we invite them to come in towards us.
Yo-Yo game – The Principle of the Yo-Yo game is respect. We want our horse to come in or back away when asked. To play the Yo-yo game to send our horse away from us we first face up to them, start by lightly wiggling our hand, then wiggling the rope and wiggling it harder until they back away from us. We start by just asking for one step back and then eventually asking for more. To ask them to come into us we use our body posture to invite them in, then start combing the roping and then pulling on it until they take a step towards us.
Sideways Game- The Sideways games is to gain control of the horses quarters. To play the Sideways game we ask our horse to move their front end or back end. We can start by having them facing a wall so they do not move forward.
Squeeze Game- The principle behind the Squeeze game is similar to the circle game, we send them, allow them and bring them back. The squeeze game is used to send the horses through situations that may be scary, such as going through a tight spot, going over a pole, into a trailer and then allowing them to come back to us. This helps them understand that we will not send them somewhere dangerous and that after they go through it they can return to our side.
Determining a horse’s horsenality is done by taking their characteristics and behavior and placing them on a chart designed by Parelli. There are four types of horsenalities and a horse can have characteristics in each of those sections, whichever section they have the most characteristics in is their main horsenality. A horse’s horsenality can change, the goal is to get the characteristics out of the extreme levels and also to get the horse more centered.
A horse’s horsenality is on a continuum, with the center between the two being the “Learning Zone” where they are willing to listen and follow you as their leader. As they get further from the learning zone on either the Left Brain or Right Brain side their behaviors become more extreme. A Left Brain horse is more confident and tends to be more dominant. A Right Brain horse is more reactive and frightened. An extroverted horse will show their reactions outwardly, where an introverted horse will hold them in and let them build.
Left-Brain Extrovert
A Left-Brain Extrovert can be playful, smart, charismatic, naughty, mischievous, can have the tendency to kick or bite, mouthy, willful, exuberant, friendly. Left-Brain Extrovert horse is already confident and more dominant and as it gets further away from the learning zone that confidence and dominance grows. They show their dominance more outwardly than an introverted horse. A Left-Brain Extrovert needs play and a focus that aren’t boring to help them be more centered. To center a Left-Brain Extrovert, they need to know that you are the leader. One of the principles of a leader is moving the feet of others. Some of the techniques for this are playing some of the games such as, yo-yo, driving, or sideways games. A Left-Brain Extrovert is quick and smart and they need a leader that will be quick too. If I were asking a horse to play the circling game or yo-yo game I would move through my phases very quickly. A Left-Brain Extrovert needs patterns to give them a purpose, but does not need patterns to be to repetitive or they will get bored.
Left-Brain Introvert
A Left-Brain Introvert is clever, non-responsive, disinterested, argumentative/defiant, has tendency to buck/charge, they are unmotivated/dull, food oriented, easily bored, stubborn, seem lazy. A Left-Brain Introvert is confident and will shut us out. The left-brain introvert does not like riding in circles. A principle for Left-Brain Introvert is that they need incentive, the techniques for incentive can sometimes be motivations by giving them treats after they accomplish something you ask of them, or since they are often “short horses” they like the incentive of getting rest. Patterns help the Left-Brain Extrovert be motivated to think.
Right-Brain Extrovert
A Right-Brain Extrovert is an outwardly reactive horse. They are impulsive, can’t stand still, hyper alert, panicky, have a tendency to bolt/rear, run over you, high-headed, bracy, over-reactive, forward-aholic. A RB Extrovert is very unconfident; they are very fearful, and spooky. They have not yet met the hierarchy of needs, they need a leader to reach Safety so they do not feel the need to panic and run. The friendly game is something that is very good for them, they need a lot of approach and retreat whether it is from you or an object. They need to do things slower, and shouldn’t be pushed too far until they are calm and feel safe. They need something to focus on so that their RB extrovert habits can be broken, since they can only process one thing at a time they need to keep moving to something else. When I am on a RB extrovert horse that gets spooked its best to keep them moving and change their focus. The squeeze game is good for a RB Extrovert because it teaches them that after something frightening occurs they can come back to you for safety. Patterns are good for a right brain horse because it helps them to have consistency and learn to relax as they perform the pattern.
Right-Brain Introvert
A Right-Brain Introvert is tense, quiet, obedient, distrustful, hesitant, has tendency to kick (in fear), freezes then explodes, unpredictable, shy/timid, can’t think, catatonic. A RB Introvert is non-responsive. They can be difficult to read. A Right Brain introvert horse needs comfort. You cannot push a RB introvert before they are ready or they will lose their trust in you. While playing the games go through the phases more slowly because a right brain introvert needs to process the things you are asking of them.These horses have the tendency to freeze then explode. They are fearful, spooky, claustrophobic, over-reactive. A Right-Brain introvert learns to become confident and trusting in you as their leader when you take them through consistent patterns.
Iceman's Horsenality
At the beginning of the semester Iceman's Horsenality was a much more extreme Right-Brain. He showed both introverted and extroverted Right-Brain characteristics. Throughout the semester he became much more centered and did not show the right-brain characteristics as often, and when he did they were no where near as extreme. He did mildly develop some Left-Brain introvert and extrovert characteristics
He seems like he might be a little more right brained because he is high-headed sometimes. The next day I played with him I could tell he just wanted to move so my friend and I both let our horses loose in the arena.
