Hey Good Morning..
How are you everybody?
I just want to know if there is any lesson talk about join-up with a stallion?
Thank you..
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Hi Rym.a.kiati,
Stallions are for professionals to deal with. Most of the non-pro horsehandlers would be in danger handling the hormonal dominance of most stallions, so I think this is one of the reasons until now there is no lesson on this UNI about Join-Up with a stallion.
I guess you are in a situation, where you need help with your stallion?
If you have specific problems, please write about them here on the forum. Should we not be able to help you, one of the Certified Instructors might step into the conversation. Don't hesitate to start a new item! We can all learn from the discussion that follows...
Stay safe,
Miriam
Hi Miriam,
Ooooh thank you so much..
Actually I used to have some problem with my stallion specially he is almost 80% Arab breed, but they became minor.. thanks god..
he used to be frustrated in his stall.. but became more quite and nicer..
even when I ride i used to feel stress because when he starts cantering I feel I cannot stop him.. but know I am more confident I trust him more.. you I just want to enhance my relationship with him..
I am really proud of him his readability and behaviour improved a lot since I bought him 7 months ago...
I am trying to deal with him with my heart and he never let me down..
for my poor experience I think I achieved a lot with him..
simply he made to overcome almost like 70% of my fears... I trust him and I love him so much..
I hope that I can achieve the same with my mare I working her out with my professional trainer..
and I will keep asking.. I learnt a lot from here.. and things become more easier and understandable for me after I joint the university..
Thank you Mariam.. Thank you Monty..
Sounds like you are doing a great job. I have very little experience with stallions (only one in fact!) and iot will be great to learn from your journey.
Rym, you're doing fantastic. Although there is no specific training re Stallions, the wild mustang series will be of help to you. These come in as colts or stallions. You'll find that Monty keeps his energy levels low.
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We have one horse that is very riggy with his behaviour and worse since we had a new mare. He used to be our dangerous horse, but now he works side by side with me. You'll see posts on him if you search 'Pye' in the search bar above.
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With Pye I learnt that trust from both sides is essential, love always and the proud aspect you spoke of, use that feeling when you ride him. Let him know you are proud to be with him, honored be allowed to ride him and the working partnership will build.
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Really work on the videos Monty has done imperatives of riding, you might have already done them looking at your achievements, but do go over them again and again so your confidence will grow.
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One thing I use and teach all my horses is the stop on the legs, I don't always see it taught but it works very quickly and very well with every horse I've ridden only takes them a few stops and starts to let them know what I'm requesting. ... putting both legs forward prior to any other aid, in front of the girth. This creates pressure to the shoulder and places your seat deeper and back into the saddle. Tighten your tummy, which will help deepen the seat and last resort the hands. I use a 3 signal process, so feet, tummy, hands. The horses don't like the hands so normally stop before you even have to raise the hand or move the bit they've already done as you've requested. You're breathing essential also as in everything you do with your horse. Breath out as if blowing away any high energy and your horse will come down a level with it's energy. Monty uses his breathing in his training and when working with Stallions it's imperative that you learn to breath from the diaphragm and not the upper chest, this way you can relax even when your horses energy goes up.
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If you think you're energy levels are mega high because your horses is, horses transfer energy as part of their communication so you could be feeling his energy raise and not your own. An example of this is when someone makes you jump, the person next to you jumps too, but they don't know why as it didn't actually make them jump. Energy transfer! When horse spook in a field, it's not that the horses see another horse running away, they've felt the energy of the horse that spooked, that engages their spook energy and they pass it to the next nearest horse and so on, over a matter of moments that can create a whole herd to run. Our breathing at moments when we feel that rise in energy helps us separate the horses energy from our own and helps us control our own energy to remain calm.
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Look forward to seeing more of your experiences, Bud will be a great help to you on this too!
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Mel
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Dear Vicci & Mel..
Thank you a lot .. you made me happy..
Thanks for all these valuable information Mel... I will read them carefully again and I will understand them.. if don't mind I will ask again when i need any help
Thank you again everybody for help, support & encouragement.
Look forward to seeing how you get on Rym.
Mel
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Is there anything in particular that you need to know?
Do you own stallions that have a specific issue you need help with?
Mel
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Your last sentence could be the first of the answer to your question.....
Help your stallion to understand there is no reason to fight the pressure, but he can yield to it and that brings an immediate release. Never get yourself into a situation with any horse where they have to fight you, you can never win!
When you put the Dually Halter on, try to 'invite' him to a small neck yield, so sideways, you standing at his shoulder. This way you're not confrontational. As soon as he gives the smallest of response, release your soft pressure and pause, breathe out, and praise. In the beginning use two fingers on the long leadrope, so he'll know there is nothing to fight.
Try to be as light as possible, your timing and breathing is guiding the horse, not your strength! When he gets the hang of it you might begin to do some excersises, always coming back to what worked well for the two of you.
Him being a stallion implies his urge to show his macho behavior, but it's your strength to decide you're not going there, let him save this behavior for his peers!
'Teaching manners' to any living creature is not about who's boss....
It's about respect, mutual respect and trust!
Show him he can trust you and that you respect him.
Stay safe and let us know how you're doing!
Miriam
Good advice from Miriam, notice how we are asking the horse to be with us and most importantly the mutual respect aspect.
Not sure if you get this tonight, and assuming you are in the UK with a Welsh D, if you do read this, can I recommend you do not put the dually back on until you have learned to control your breathing. As Miriam says it is not about strength but now your Stallion has already learned to fight the dually and the pressure and he is not giving to the pressure, I can guarantee that your energy levels went up and your breathing got faster as he tried pulling you around.
I would like to explain a bit about breathing control, imagine you are watching a scary movie you know something is about to jump out at you as the music intensifies, as this happens your breathing gets faster and your energy levels wait in anticipation of the scary jump, but we do not always realise our breathing has become shallow and fast. When horses start to fight us, our breathing gets faster just like watching a movie, but we do not notice it as we are trying to hold on to our horse, the horse, however, knows every breath we make, the speed and if our adrenaline levels are going up. It is not until we stop to check our breathing that we might notice that it is going faster or in fact we are holding our breath. It is this that you will need to check when you work with your stallion. For fun, watch a scary movie and try to relax your breathing ;)
A little practice to help you become more aware of your breathing. It starts before you put the dually onto your horse. He needs to see the training aid is not fearful, so standing at his side in a sweet spot giving him an itch introduce the dually to him without putting it on. Desensitise him to the feel around his face and neck. If he goes away from that, start over again from exactly where you started itching him before.
Once he stops moving away from you, let him know you are putting the dually on, put it on, reward and take it off and reward, do this a few times then end the session. We are starting from scratch here and introducing a 'new training' aid, which is what the dually is. We cannot expect the horse to automatically know what this device does and have to habituate them to it. Make sure you put the lead rope on the chin ring, not the dually ring at this time. If he chooses to rear, do not fight or try to force him out of the rear, he is just saying I am scared, focus on controlling your breathing, blowout slow and loudly until you feel your lungs empty, then slowly breath back in. As you breathe out your horse will recognize the relaxing of your body and know there is nothing fearful and will come back down from the rear. Reward him when he stands still again keeping relaxed with your breathing.
The dually weighs more than a normal head collar and as he gets used to the weight he will recognize that something is expected of him.
Next session repeats the first session of desensitizing and putting on to let him feel the weight, keeping the lead rope on the chin ring. If he is responding well, then rub his face with accidental touches to the dually rope over the nose so he can feel that there are two sections to this aid. If he responds well, slowly and gently move to the dually side ring and do a gentle movement of the ring so that it just moves a little bit on the top of his nose, he already knows that is causes a lot of pressure if he pulls away, so he needs to understand that not pulling away is the right course to go. If he rears as the slightest pressure or moves away from you, relax and breath. Most situations with fearful horses or high energy can be alleviated with just your breathing. Note whilst you do this do not look directly into his eyes, focus on looking where you are touching the dually and where you place your hands on his body. If you do catch his eye just give him a gentle smile and breath.
Once you are happy that he is not going to panic when you are touching the dually side rings, ask for sideways movement of the head using the rings and 'finger' pressure, still keep the rope on the chin ring. Gradually build up to moving his head from side to side with finger pressure. Once you can move his head without reactive movement, then start to clip the rope to the side ring, please ensure you use a long line as Monty suggests and not a lead rope.
Monty teaches to make it easy for the horse to do what is right, when we get into fights with our horses it becomes difficult for them to see what is right, so small incremental steps are always needed.
Have you thought about doing a small course with one of Monty's Instructors? There are a few dotted around the UK.
Do you have or have access to a round pen?
Keep safe!
Mel
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