Mastering Movement Course

Mastering Movement Program Outline

(You will find all the videos in the Facebook group to accompany these documents you can find specific videos by searching topics videos are listed by week)

Getting Started

1. Course Guidelines & +R info

2. Planning For Success

3. Sample Planning Log

Week 1

1. Video 1 Welcome

2. Video 2 Equipment

   1. Equipment list Doc

3. Video 3 Introducing the Clicker and Target

   1. Introducing the Clicker and Target Activity Overview

4. Video 4 Carrot stretches + supplemental youtube video viations

2. 1. Carrot Stretch Activity Overview

   2. Carrot Stretch Scale

5. Video 5 Intentional Grooming

   1. Intentional Grooming Activity Overview

Week 2

1. Video 6 A & B Mat work

   1. Mat work Activity Overview

   2. 1-10 scale

2. Video 7 Follow a target

   1. Follow a target Activity Overview

   2. 1-10 scale

3. Video 8 Backing up

   1. Backing up Activity Overview

   2. 1-10 scale

Week 3

1. Video 9 Back and forth over a pole

   1. Back and forth over a pole Activity Overview

   2. 1-10 scale

2. Video 10 Beginning crunches + supplemental Youtube video variations

   1. Beginning crunches Activity Overview

   2. 1-10 scale

3. Video 11 Stall lunging

   1. Stall Lunging Activity Overview

   2. 1-10 scale

Week 4

1. Video 12 Between 2 poles

   1. Between 2 polesActivity Overview

   2. 1-10 scale

2. Video 13 Backing between 2 poles

   1. Backing between 2 poles Activity Overview

   2. 1-10 scale

3. Video 14 Straddle a pole

   1. Straddle a pole Activity Overview

   2. 1-10 scale

Week 5

1. Video 15 Advanced Carrot stretches

   1. Advanced Carrot Stretches Activity Overview

   2. 1-10 scale

2. Video 16 Touch for Body Awareness

3. Video 17 Chase the bag

   1. Chase the bag Activity Overview

   2. 1-10 scale

4. Video 18 Leg targeting spanish walk

   1. Leg targeting Activity Overview

   2. 1-10 scale

Week 6

1. Video 19 Diagonal over poles

   1. DIagonal over poles Activity Overview

   2. 1-10 scale

2. Video 20 Advanced core work

   1. Advanced core work Activity Overview

   2. 1-10 scale

3. Video 21 Up and down hills

   1. Up and down hills Activity Overview

   2. 1-10 scale

Week 7

1. Video 22 Backing up a hill

   1. Backing up a hill Activity Overview

   2. 1-10 scale

2. Video 23 Lateral Movement A & B

   1. Lateral Movement Activity Overview

   2. 1-10 scale

3. Video 24 Crazy Cavaletties

   1. Crazy Cavaletties Activity Overview

   2. 1-10 scale

Week 8

1. Video 25 Reverse round pen

2. Reverse roundpen Activity Overview

3. 1-10 scale

4. Video 26 Labyrinth

5. Labyrinth Activity Overview

6. 1-10 scale

7. Video 27 Encouraging Play

8. Video 28 Moving Forward

Blank forms

1. Training scale log

2. Weekly planning log

Resources

Program Guidelines

• Post all questions about a specific video or activity in the Facebook group in the comments sections of that activity video or reference the activity in your post. From this point on all correspondence from me will happen in the group. Your questions and comments will likely be helpful for others and discussion is encouraged.

• Questions and comments in the group will be responded to within 24 hours during the week and within 48 hours on weekends. If you have a specific question you want addressed please tag Kara Musgrave or Musgrave Equestrian in it so we don’t miss it.

• This is a safe learning environment! Keep comments encouraging. I will challenge you to see “mistakes” as information rather than something to feel bad about and I want to foster the same environment in the group. Instead of pointing out something wrong let's instead ask “i wonder why that happened that way” or “how could we have set that up better”?

• Negative comments about yourself or others will not be tolerated. We reserve the right to remove anyone from the group who we feel is hurting the progress of others.

• Please note that I am not a veterinarian. It is your responsibility to consult your veterinarian in order to choose which activities are appropriate for your horse.

Tips for success

• Be consistent: This course works best if you can spend AT LEAST 30-45 minutes working with your horse 3x per week especially in the beginning. You can go at your own pace (so don’t panic if you get behind) but the more consistent you are able to be, the more benefit your horse will get sooner.

• Plan your activities: It’s helpful to have a plan before you head out to the barn but sometimes you may have to change your plan once you get there. We provide a sample 60 day training plan. This is only a guideline not a checklist. Skip activities that stress you or our horse out and try them again in a few weeks. What is hard for one may be easy for another. The course is designed for this!

• Don’t get discouraged when things move slow: This type of learning is nonlinear, meaning you may not see much progress for a few weeks and then all at once they progress very quickly. It can seem to go in fits and starts at times and that is OK it is part of the process.

• Do not judge yourself or your horse’s progress based on anyone else's journey: This course is designed for you to go at your own pace. Each person and horse are at different starting places, have different strengths and weaknesses, and will progress in different areas on a completely different timeline. This is OK and normal!

• Track your progress: It is SO hard to be objective when working with your horse. Not only should you log what activities you do so you know when to circle back but also use the 1-10 scales to rate your horse each time. This will help you notice positive changes in your horse's function and movement.

• Video your sessions: As much as possible set your phone up to video your sessions. (you can get really inexpensive tripods to prop up your phone) It is helpful to watch yourself and have something to compare to later. Posting clips of your sessions in the group is the BEST way to get the most out of the program as we can offer encouragement and tips and tricks for improvement.

• Post often: Even if you aren’t having an issue posting any questions, photos, or videos of your sessions helps you get the most out of the program. The instructions are a “one size fits most” guideline, and many horses do better with small modifications which we can offer if we see how your sessions are going. If you don’t post or ask questions we can’t offer more help.

• Train with a light heart and an open mind: This course is meant to be enjoyable for both horse and human. Here we look for the good things your horse is doing & build them up from there. If something isn’t working think of (or ask the group/instructor for) creative solutions for how to make it easier for your horse. Every horse is different and some may need modifications while others may need to be pushed a little harder. Let’s all learn together!

• Celebrate often: There is no win too small to post! Positively reinforce others and ourselves often.

Navigating the course

During this course you will be utilizing positive reinforcement or reward based training (+R). While negative reinforcement (pressure-release) works quite well for most riding and horse training situations, positive reinforcement has been shown to be incredibly valuable when it comes to long term trouble areas like poor movement patterns or ingrained behavior. It can be a great supplement to your current training particularly if there is an area you feel stuck or where you or your horse becomes stressed or stubborn.

Positive reinforcement is particularly important when dealing with movement issues. Many horses have movement problems that don't resolve with simply strengthening their muscles or increasing fitness. This is because it's not a strength, but a coordination issue. This can happen because of anything from an injury that leads to compensations (like limping) that became ingrained/unbalanced, a neurological issue, or some horses just grow up lacking coordination.

A great example of an ingrained movement pattern is how we use our dominant hand. Try writing with your non-dominant hand...how did it go? Probably pretty awkward. Is there anything wrong with you non dominant hand? Probably not, but you haven't had the motivation to use that hand in this way so it doesn't have the ability to be as dexterous as your other. You could gain more dexterity by using it more in new ways but it won’t happen on its own, you have to be consistent and motivated.

This is what we will be doing with your horse! We will create motivation to get results. Motivation becomes very important because of how mammals learn. Creating movement puzzles using hills and poles and other training techniques combined with positive reinforcement allows the horse to explore their movement freely and solve movement problems without fear of correction. We are creating a “mistake free zone” for them to relearn. The best way to do this is through play and expanding your horse's “movement toolbox”. The good news is this can be easily done on the ground working/playing with your horse a few short sessions a week. Check out some tips below on how to incorporate positive reinforcement into your life.

1. it works best when it is used in a specific context. Plan ahead which activities and behaviors you plan to incorporate positive reinforcement into. For this course it will likely be for the course specific activities or it might become part of every day and every activity. Many people use positive reinforcement for groundwork only and then ride using pressure release. However you choose to incorporate it into your life make sure you are consistent and clear about when you are, and when you’re not using it. This will avoid confusion and unwanted side effects down the road like frustration from your horse.

Many people will have a specific area where they train or use “+R only tools” when working with positive reinforcement which helps signal to the horse that it’s “work for food time”. It’s important to also note that mixing positive and negative reinforcement does not typically yield the same results as just using one or the other. For example if you are using pressure release or -R to ask your horse to walk forward by squeezing them with your leg or tapping them with the whip and then you release the pressure once they move forward and then you also give them a treat for moving forward you are using both negative and positive reinforcement at the same time. Though this may sound like a great way to do things most studies show that mixing the operant conditioning quadrants tends to be more confusing than helpful to the animal because it accesses different parts of the brain.

It doesn’t mean you can’t use both in your daily life it just means you need to have a clear context for when you’re using each one. I use positive reinforcement for all of my groundwork and some of my manners/husbandry training. Unless I am teaching something new from the saddle I’m typically riding using traditional negative reinforcement/ non- escalating pressure release/how the majority of people ride. Horses are very good at understanding context. It’s up to you to decide how you want to incorporate positive reinforcement in a way that works for you and your horse. As long as you’re clear and consistent you will see a positive change.

2. Using a Bridge Signal is part of what makes +R so effective. (don’t worry, one of the first videos will help you figure this out!) It allows us to “mark” the moment the horse does something we like or have asked them to do while giving us time to deliver the reinforcement (food reward). It would be challenging, not to mention dangerous, if you tried to give a treat the moment your horse jumped over an obstacle. We give meaning to the bridge signal by creating an association to it and a food reward. The bridge signal is typically a click made with a clicker or your mouth, or some other distinctive noise that can be made consistently to mark the moment the horse does something you like/what you have asked them to do.

For beginners I recommend using a clicker. It is much easier to execute with good timing and is a very clear signal to the horse. Once we have loaded the clicker or created the association that the noise equals “Yes that’s what I wanted here is a reward” You want to think about it like a contract that every time you use the bridge signal you will reward your horse. Down the road once you are very clear and consistent using a clicker it is pretty easy to create other bridge signals and or transition to a different one so you don’t have to always carry a clicker if you want. It is important to offer a reward every time you click even if you click on accident. I have mistakenly clicked many times and one click at the wrong time isn’t going to re-train your horse- you can override it pretty easily by clicking more at the correct time. Don’t panic if you accidentally click.

3. Food rewards: I recommend wearing a fanny pack or having large pockets or a treat pouch. You want the food reward to be something the horse will eat, something that is not so enticing that the horse cannot focus on what we’ve asked them to do, economical enough that you can hand out many during each training session without running out, & appropriate for the horses diet to consume many during a training session -The rate of reinforcement will be very high especially in the beginning and we don’t want anyone to founder or gain too much weight.

My favorite options are timothy hay pellets, alfalfa hay pellets, black oil sunflower seeds, you can also get pelleted sweet feed from most retailers that come in a nice treat size. They are economical but may not be appropriate for a horse with a metabolic issue. Ideally you want to find the lowest value (to the horse) food that they will still accept. If You feed your horse daily it may be a good option to set part of their food aside to use as rewards.

4. Food aggression and grabby horses. Here are 4 ways to teach your horse to be polite around food-this will be covered in early videos as well.

When first loading the clicker and from there on out do not give the treat until your horses head and neck are an arms length away from you and they are being polite. Typically I will instruct people to put their closed fist palm down under the horse’s mouth and wait until they’re quiet then you can flip your hand over and offer the treat.

Don’t train with food when your horse is hungry. Make sure they have had their meal if it’s around feeding time or have had access to hay or grass until you start working with them. If the horse feels like it needs the food to survive it’s not going to be able to focus on the training. It’s going to be in survival mode to get the food from you -which can create dangerous situations.

Use the lowest value food that your horse will still accept. This will keep your horse from being so focused on the food that they can’t do their activity. We want the food to become more like a consolation prize then a valuable resource which will give them better self-control.

If they’re having a hard time respecting your space work behind protected contact which means a stall door or a fence until they are better at keeping a boundary. The fence acts as a neutral party giving each of you an appropriate amount of safe space between you. Once you have worked from the other side of the fence or stall door to establish appropriate distance and treat feeding you can typically go back to working in the same area. With my young horse I will go back and forth because sometimes he is very fresh and wants to stand on me and other times he is very respectful of my space. Protected contact is a great tool to use as needed and sometimes helps a nervous horse feel more safe to do what you are asking as well.

If you need more help…

POST IN THE GROUP! Try to capture the issue in a video or photo.

If you need more one-on-one guidance that can’t be addressed in a facebook post OR you would like a more curated plan for your horse you can sign up for private coaching with me for troubleshooting. This can be done with video chat, over the phone, or you can submit up to a 10 minute video showing what you want to work through. I will review, come up with strategies to move forward and either do a voice-over on the video talking you through, or talk you through it in real time with a 30 minute phone/zoom call. These private sessions can be purchased individually ($60 each) or as a package of 4 ($195) will come with a written evaluation/action plan.

Quadrants of Operant Conditioning

Positive reinforcement or +R is one of four quadrants of operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is using consequence manipulation (good or bad) to increase or decrease the frequency of a particular behavior. There are two kinds of consequences: reinforcement and punishment. Punishment reduces a behavior and reinforcement increases the behavior. In this context positive and negative refer to adding and subtracting not good or bad. So positive reinforcement means we are adding reinforcement to make a behavior more likely to happen again. The other quadrants are:

Positive punishment is adding an aversive (bad) stimulus which will reduce the frequency of a behavior ie. Smacking a horse for doing something we don’t like to make it less likely to happen.

Negative punishment is removing a desirable stimulus to reduce the frequency of a behavior ie. Removing a horses hay when they start to paw in the stall

Negative reinforcement is removing an aversive stimulus to increase the frequency of a behavior. Most of us ride using negative reinforcement. We apply increasing leg pressure until the horse moves off our leg and then we remove the pressure/ stimulus.

Positive reinforcement is adding a desirable stimulus to increase the frequency of a behavior ie. The horse takes a step towards the horse trailer while asking them to load and we give them a reward.

THIS PROGRAM IS NOT FOR RESALE OR SHARING

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Planning For Success

This weekly training log is designed to help you plan your training schedule in advance. Many times you will learn things in the course that you want to implement later in the week but forget once you get to the barn. Obviously once you make your plan you can be flexible and change it as needed. I find this tool helpful in structuring my training for the week so that I can see a clear trajectory.

How to plan your week:

1. starting something positive. This could mean something your horse enjoys, Is easy for them, or easily motivated to do.

2. Do your most challenging or new activity second. Your first activity should build confidence and or momentum. With the second activity we want to challenge them a little and/or try something new. Remember to keep the rate of reinforcement very high during this new or more challenging activity. Make the hard thing fun and rewarding for both of you!

3. End on a good note. You want your last activity to leave a good taste in their mouth so they're ready to get back to work the next day.

4. Set timers for each training segment. This is incredibly important to keep you in check so you don't overdo it with your horse. For new activities I tend to set 5 to 10 minute timers depending on what it is. If it is something I know will do multiple times (like crunches) I will set a number of repetitions to do. If an activity is particularly challenging it can be hard to end on a good note and that is okay. It is better to walk away before you frustrate yourself or your horse. You can easily quit the hard activity and then end your entire session with a different activity that they can do well and get rewarded for.

5. Make the schedule yours. It is unrealistic to think that everyone will have time to train everyday or have time to work on three different activities every day. The sample schedule is a basic blueprint. If using a piece of notebook paper or phone notes works better for you, do that. I do recommend coming up with a training plan even if it's for only 2 or 3 days a week. It is also okay to do more than three activities a day. Use caution not to over exhaust your horse's brain. If I know I am going to be at the barn for several hours I will work on an activity or two 5 to 10 minutes each, give a horse a break while I am doing barn chores or working with a different horse, and then come back and do a few more activities. As long as you are paying attention to your patience and your horse's stress level while keeping it fun at light you can do as much work a day as you want.

6. Don't be afraid to walk away. Your horse might excel at some of these activities while others may be frustrating or challenging for both of you. If you find this is the case, end the session doing something else they like and/or are good at and revisit this activity later on. It may be you that you have found something that challenges a proprioceptive ability that they just don't have yet. The good news is that this can be a marker for how they are doing. Sometimes you or your horse might just be having a bad day and are not ready to take on a new challenge yet, and that's okay too. I often find more improvement when I leave an activity alone for several weeks and come back to it later, than if I had tried to work on it every day. These activities are meant to be challenging in a fun way and working on them to the point of frustration only adds stress which is counter productive for helping your horse.

7. Don't pressure yourself or your horse to get through every activity as it is posted. Cut your self and your horse some slack, remember this is supposed to be fun. We are doing this course because we love our horse and we want them to be awesome. Tell yourself that you're awesome for embarking on this journey and tell your horse the same next time you see them.

Sample Planning log

This is a sample plan only- It progresses pretty quickly through the program so don’t feel bad if you get to day 8 and your horse isn’t ready for that day's activities. You can just go back and repeat the activities for the last few days until they are ready to move on. Feel free to structure your daily routines differently. I numbered the days rather than with specific days of the week because many people aren’t able to work with their horses every consecutive day. Week one you may just repeat day 1& 2 for the week to get acclimated. This program works best if you are able to spend 30 minutes or more 3 or more times a week working on the activities. They are laid out in a progressive way to set both you and your horse up for success. Many of the early activities are more training based than physically challenging but each skill is needed to continue to the more challenging activities.

I tried to structure the activities for each day so they start with something easy/familiar that also acts as a warm up. It then moves on to a new or more challenging activity and ends with something less challenging or more familiar. If there are days you can’t spend much time, spend 5-10 minutes to focus on a warm up activity like carrot stretches, crunches, intentional grooming, or standing on the mat- some horses may get to the point where they are comfortable standing on the mat while they eat, get groomed, or while you go off and do other things so you can multi-task a little. Eventually you will be able to ask for carrot stretches and crunches when they are on the mat and can make a short powerful session that combines core stability with balance & proprioception. Bottom line, if you only have 5 minutes, focus on those things.

It is important to plan out your weeks/days training ahead of time. You can always tweak what you do if your horse is having an off day but setting up a structure will make sure you are both building your horses confidence and challenging them so you don’t get stuck in a rut. It is important to walk the line of keeping it low stress and fun while also challenging them to keep progressing through the program.

When structuring your daily plan make sure you give your horse breaks between activities even a minute is fine while you set up for the next thing. It’s best if you can allow them to graze or munch on hay in a stall during this time so they can relax & process before the next activity.

Sample 60 day Trining plan

Video 1

Welcome

Video 2

Equipment List

Clickers-

It’s nice to have several around the barn. I have one taped to my target stick and one that lives with my treat pouch and many others floating around the barn. Another great alternative is a mouth click. Make sure it is different than clucking or other noises you may use around your horse. Some people also use a loud hissing “tsss” noise.

Click here for the link- these Clickers are very economical & easy to use.

Targets-

You can use any old crop, stick, whip, dowell, with a pool noodle or ball on the end. It is important to not just use a whip or crop without some modification because they typically have negative associations. The noodle also pads the stick if they accidentally hit it. You can also just use a whole pool noodle without the stick.

You can also buy one here

Target Stick

Balance mats-

These are my favorite- You can order 2 of the XL and cut them in half to have 4. You will want to either wrap them in duct tape OR you can put them in some kind of case. I put mine in freebie cinch bags/ backpacks.

Balance Pads

Another option is buying one of these below. You will want to cut 12-16 same sized rectangles/squares (roughly the size of a sheet of paper) to layer 3 or 4 together and wrap in duct tape making four 1 ½ inch to 2 inch thick mats. It’s the cheapest but most labor intensive option.

Foam Camping Mat Or Foam Camping Mat

The cadalack of balance pads are located here and come in a wide variety of densities and even have wedges.

Murdoch method mats

If you want a single large mat here are some great options

Home Depot Mat Or ikea mat or sometimes you can get a used big gym pat from a local gymnastics group when they upgrade.

Treat Pouch-

I usually use a fanny pack/bumbag or you can get an actual treat pouch, use what ever helps keep your hands free.

Treat pouch or Fanny Pack

Food rewards-

You want the food reward to be something the horse will eat, something that is not so enticing that the horse cannot focus on what we’ve asked them to do, economical enough that you can hand out many during each training session without running out, appropriate for the horses diet to consume many during a training session -The rate of reinforcement will be very high especially in the beginning and we don’t want anyone to founder or gain too much weight.

My favorite options are timothy hay pellets, alfalfa hay pellets, black oil sunflower seeds, cheerios, and or pumpkin seeds. You can also get pelleted sweet feed from most retailers that come in a nice treat size. They are economical but may not be appropriate for a horse with a metabolic issue. Ideally you want to find the lowest value (to the horse) food That they will still accept. If You feed your horse daily it may be a good option to set part of their food aside to use as rewards. I also like to sometimes mix in a few sweet feed pellets with the hay pellets or other higher value treats that I can hand out at random to keep their interest. If you can vary their treats it can help keep engagement up.

Video 3

Activity: Introducing The Clicker and Target

Equipment: Clicker, target, fanny pack or big pockets with easy access to treats

Directions:

-Start in a quiet area, I recommend in their stall with you outside the stall door or with a fence between you to start (especially if you are concerned about your horse being grabby with food-this helps set good boundaries)

-Show your horse the target in a place where it is easy for them to reach it with their nose and wait.

-Be ready with the clicker and click the instant they touch the target (the click “marks” the behavior we want so timing with the clicker is important).

-Reach into your pocket/pouch and get a treat. Deliver it to your horse away from your body with your fist closed palm down. Turn your palm up, opening your hand for them to get the treat when they are ready to take it nicely. This will feel clunky in the beginning...it will get better.

-Repeat 10-20 times.

Information about the activity:

This activity teaches your horse 2 things. It teaches them that the click = treat and also conditions them to touch & later follow the target which is a tool we will use in many of the activities that come later in this program. Timing is key with this activity. You are training your horse and also yourself to be able to handle the clicker, treats, and a target. The timing of the click needs to happen the moment they do what you want. The click comes to mean “Yes! That’s what I was asking!” to your horse and they know a reward is coming. If your click is off you may be accidently training something else. The timing on the delivery of food is less important, the click buys us time to reach into our pocket and deliver the treat in a calm and relaxed way. Using the clicker and rewards to reinforce specific behavior is the backbone of how to motivate your horse to do the coming activities. It gives us a shared language that allows your horse to experiment with no bad consequences. This not only makes them more likely to move more freely, but the new ranges of movement and balance they gain in this way transitions over to other parts of their movement life. There is tons of information on this type of training. If you are interested in more resources on positive reinforcement training I recommend Maddie Mustang in instagram, The Willing Equine- youtube, IG, podcast, and website & clicker 101 podcast (start at the beginning)with Shawna Karesch or I also LOVE the Connection Training book. These resources go more in depth on refining positive reinforcement skills. If you are interested in learning more about why the way we motivate horses matters for their quality of movement follow @pantherflows on IG and or check out their website Intrinzen.com where they often offer free E-books.

How and when to use:

You should only have to do this 1-5 sessions with 10-20 repetitions (or set a timer for 2-5 minutes) before your horse gets the hang of it. Once they are reliably touching the target and you can click and reward with good timing and good treat manners it’s time to move on. See progressions below.

Tips & tricks:

Never trian hungry-make sure your horse has been fed or had access to forage. They need to see the food as a bonus reward, not part of their sustenance to survive. We want them to feel like it’s a fun game where they may win a prize and not like they are in the Hunger Games. I like to have some hay available to the horse while I train and that way I know they are not stressed about getting the food and have a clear way of telling me they are done. If your horse starts to get grabby around the food, revisit the info sheet in your welcome packet or ask a question in the group and make sure you are following all of the protocols for feeding treats. Sometimes it can be helpful to video yourself to watch your timing for ways to improve. If they ever get grabby or aggressive, move to the other side of a fence or gate this helps both parties feel safer. Try not to react to bad behavior like smacking if they try to nip...this can be really hard but we want your horse to learn that when you are training in this way there are no wrong answers-but you can set boundaries. You may have to stay on the other side of a fence for a while. You can also toss treats into a bucket instead of hand delivering them if they are particularly grabby to start out with. Be consistent, it will get better. They can learn how to be patient and have good manners around food.

Progressions:

Once they are touching the target from over a fence or stall door you can…

-Move the target right and left and down so they have to reach further for it.

-From the other side of a fence or in their stall/small area see if they will follow the target forward for 1 step, then 2 then more- it is best to practice this where the horse is loose or at least feels like they are loose. I will usually try this in the barn aisle with the leadrope draped over their backs so I can grab it if I need to but I am not influencing them with the rope. If you have access to a round pen that's a great place too.

-See where you can lead them only following the target. Can you make a turn each direction? A Circle? Lead in and out of the stall, pasture? Click and reward often in the beginning especially when you are progressing to making turns or trying it in new places. You can reward more variably later: i.e. after 3 steps, then 10 steps, then 7, then 16. This variability makes them feel that the next step could be the one that gets them the reward and motivates them to keep going. Make a note of when and where they are more or less willing to follow the target.

Video 4

Activity: Carrot Stretches

Equipment: Treats, Treat Pouch, Target,

Directions:

-Once your horse is reliably touching the target with their nose while they are in a stall or standing in an area where they can freely move around without any head/neck restriction, hold the target on one side of the horse about a foot out form their side around their shoulder/wither ( you can use a voice command of “target” if you want)

-When the horse swings its nose to the target click and reward.

-Repeat this holding the target for 3-5 repetitions at the level of the horses wither/shoulder, girth area, hip, and knee advancing to their hock, hind fetlock, lower belly, & chest. You can also ask for their nose to go between their front fetlock & knees.

-If your horse has a hard time reaching the target on one or more positions, reward them for trying, and then put the target where they can easily reach it for a few repetitions to build their confidence and slowly work your way closer to the spot they couldn’t reach before each time you work with them.

-Do not punish or correct the horse if he moves his feet, this is normal especially on the harder ones. We don’t want them to walk to follow the target but we DO want them to be able to self organize their feet to reach the spots that challenge their balance. See tips and tricks below if your horse tries to follow the target by walking towards it rather than stretching.

Information about the activity:

Carrot stretches, or Dynamic Mobilization Exercises were brought to the mainstream by Dr. Hillary Clayton. Stretch is a bit of a misnomer as this activity is more of a core stabilization exercise than it is a stretch. One of the muscles targeted by this exercise is your horse's spinalis muscle which sits behind your horse's withers (where they carry much of a riders weight). The Spinalis is a major muscle incharge of moving your horses head & neck from side to side AND stabilising the spine which are both very important for our horses balance and fitness especially if they are being ridden. You can read a more in depth article by Dr. Hillary Clayton here. https://equimed.com/health-centers/fitness-and-conditioning/articles/dynamic-mobilization-exercises-for-horses

Adding the target, clicker, reward instead of luring with the carrot offers a little more safety for the horse and human as the horse is less likely to over-extend himself trying to touch the target than if grabbing for a carrot. It also protects the human’s hand from poorly aimed teeth. If you want to understand what we are asking the horse to do try this:

-Get on your hands and knees with a flat back.

-Without sitting back on your heels try to take your nose toward your hip.

-Feel your weight shift to your outside knee and your oblique muscles activate to keep you from falling over?

-Imagine if your neck was about 3 times longer and you head was bigger. You can see how this is not a stretch as much as it is a core and balance activity.

According to the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary medicine: “Carrot stretches harness the horse’s natural movement to enhance vertebral joint range of motion, build core strength and improve flexibility. Using a carrot, the horse is lured through three dfferent motions including rounding (flexion), hollowing (extension) and side to side (lateral) bending. During each exercise, the horse moves under its own volition to gradually stretch its postural muscles and take each vertebra through a complete range of motion. The horse should never be forced into a position, as this could result in overstretching or injury. Practicing carrots stretches daily will result in enhanced flexibility, core strength, and balance within 2-3 weeks.”

How and when to use:

If possible use this activity daily or 3-7 times a week. In the beginning you may spend more time on it but once they have it down it’s a great quick warm up to do before other activities. It is also a great thing to do if you only have a few minutes to spend with your horse. I try to incorporate it into my daily routine.

Tips & tricks:

-Some horses do better if you stand on the opposite side of where you put the target, some do better when you are on the same side. Try both.

-If your horse tries to walk toward the target instead of moving their head & neck patiently ask them to woah and try again with the target only a few inches to the right or the left. Click and reward when they touch it without moving their feet and then gradually move it further away.

-If you put them next to a wall or fence this may help show them that they need to move their neck and not their feet.

-If they do start walking circles try to keep the target in the same spot relative to the horses side so that they learn that moving in circles doesn’t get them any closer. This may take some time for some horses especially if they are very stiff.

-You can ALWAYS break an activity down into smaller parts if they can't turn their head very far one way. Find what they can do, reward for that several times and then ask for an inch further.

Progressions:

-Start with nose to shoulder, belly, hip & front knee & progress to rear fetlock & hock, front fetlock, between the front fetlocks, between the front knees.

-You can progress this exercise by doing it on an unstable surface- gym mat or balance pads

-Try them on a hill first facing up then facing down then try with them facing sideways both ways. -You can simulate a hill by using a 5-10 inch platform or step down.

Carrot Stretch Scale

Using the target ask for: 1. Nose toward shoulder 2. Nose toward ribcage 3.Nose toward hip/flank 4. Nose to knee (front) on each side 5. Nose to ground between front feet 6.nose toward hock/hind fetlock on each side. This is best done at liberty in a stall, round pen or aisle not tied, free to move around as they need to. Don’t worry about their actual flexibility or feet moving in the beginning (re structuring feet is how they learn to balance so this is good!). A try toward the hip or rib cage counts -that part will get better on its own. In the beginning your horse may not be able to actually touch their shoulder, rib cage etc with their nose so start holding the target about 1-2 ft. out to the side of that body part.

1. Can’t bring their nose to either side to the level of their shoulder without twisting neck

2. Can bring nose to at least one side at the level of their shoulder without twisting their neck.

3. Can do 1 & 2 of the above without twisting neck

4. Can do 1-3 and will attempt the rest

5. Can do 1-5 both sides

6. Can do 1-5 both sides moving in closer to touching their nose to the body part listed

7. Can do 1-5 equally on both sides while standing somewhat square

8. Can do 1-5 will attempt 6

9. Can do some of these while on the mat

10. Can do (or will attempt) each while standing on the mats

Video 5

Activity: Intentional grooming

Equipment: grooming tools, optional treats and clicker other objects like sponges, rags etc.

Directions:

-Touch your horse all over in different ways with different things. This could be hands, grooming tools, other objects. Pay special attention to areas we don’t touch much.

-Run your hands up and down their legs both insides and outsides

-Gently massage their tail bone up and down like playing a flute

-Handle and touch the bottoms of their feet with you hands and brushes

-Touch their bellies

-Scratch their crest up and down their mane

-You can add in little bits of massage too if you want

-You can groom as normal but pay special attention to areas they like or don't; stiffen or relax. -There is no set formula for this. You want your horse to enjoy it so if something makes them uncomfortable ease off and try again later being more gentle.

-Practice deep steady breathing while doing this to help both of you relax and stay in the moment.

Information about the activity:

Touch is one of the number one ways your horse knows where they are in space. When they lose awareness of a body part touch can help begin to restore that awareness. I’m sure most of you have heard of Linda Tellington Jones. She has done extensive work using touch to to help horses in many different situations. Though touch is not our only tool it is an easy one to use simply by being aware and intentional about exposing your horse to as much touch (and different kinds), as possible.

Throughout this course you can incorporate touch into other activities by adding leg wraps, boots, body wrapping, k-tape, etc. It is important to know that touch stimulation, like from your horse wearing shipping boots, wears off (the brain ignores the sensation) after about 7-12 minutes so you want to incorporate these things intermittently. We will talk more about applying touch to your horse during activities later.

Tips & tricks:

-Learn your horses favorite spots to be touched-sometimes you can sub a well aimed scratch for a food reward in a pinch

-Don’t avoid areas your horse doesn’t like but find ways to touch those areas softly or work you way over slowly. Pair with grazing etc. but do not push it until your horse is uncomfortable.

-If there is a spot they really hate you may want to have it checked out… Plaques in ears, tooth problems, metabolic, or gastrointestinal issues can create touch aversion in certain places we want to rule these out.

Video 6 A & Video 6 B

Activity: Mat Work

Equipment: treats & treat pouch + clicker/ bridge signal mat/ mats

Directions:

-Get your horse to stand on the balance mats by either leading your horse onto a single large mat or placing small individual mats under each foot.

-To start out, click and reward anytime the horse places their foot on a mat and continue clicking and rewarding frequently until they become used to keeping their foot there.

-You can then move on to getting a 2nd foot on the mat whether you’re leading them onto a large mat or placing a mat under their feet. This might be quite challenging for some horses. Many horses will only be able to stand on the mats with 1 or 2 feet at a time before becoming unbalanced or nervous and that is OK. Many spend several weeks just having a mat under their front feet or just under their hind feet.

-If they seem to be shifting their weight around and swaying this is good, this is what we want!

-Take your time with this activity and reward any attempt at standing or staying on the mat in the beginning.

-Eventually you can work your way towards having them standing on the mat while you groom or do other things around the barn. Some horses may do this right away some may take weeks or months to get there.

Information about the activity:

This is, I think, one of the most important activities in this course. The unstable surface wakes up the parts of the central nervous system that are responsible for balance. When your horse is swaying back-and-forth and self organizing they are strengthening that connection between their brain and the coordination of stabilizing muscles. When we can challenge the horse's balance in a safe way we can strengthen the systems that control your horse's balance.

Balance mats are an incredible intervention for preventing fall risk for humans as well as rehabbing stroke and neurologic patients and it works the same way with your horse. By making a horse with some instability a little bit more unstable we wake up the parts of their brain and their body that are in charge of stabilizing them and this is how we begin to slowly strengthen them a little at a time. If you want to try this on yourself, stand on one leg for 10 seconds and notice all the tiny little muscles on either side of your leg, your hip, and even your core, working to keep you from falling over. Now try doing it on the balance mat. If you did this every day for a month increasing the time, you would come away with an incredibly strong and stable ankle and with the ability to balance in lots of different scenarios. We did this by making your standing surface unstable. We are doing the same thing for the horse by putting them on a squishy mat.

How and when to use:

In a perfect world you would work on this daily or as much as possible until they can stand on the mats with either 2 or 4 feet for a minute or more at a time. After this you can taper off. Once they are comfortably standing on it with all 4 feet for longer periods of time I usually only do it 2-3 times a month(for a more neurologic horse I would continue doing this as often as possible). I like to incorporate this into my grooming routine once they are comfortable with it. I will get them set up on the mat whether it’s all 4 feet or just one or two and try to groom for about five minutes while they stand on the mat.

Tips & tricks:

-Some horses will take to this very well some might be a little more nervous. Experiment and see what helps your horse most. My incredibly neurologic paint horse could only stand on mats with his hind feet for about three months doing it daily and then we were able to progress to the front feet after much consistency.

-Some horses may do better with just their front feet on the mats. There are many different kinds of mats that will be helpful.

-Some horses do better with the individual foot size mats while others do better standing on a single large mat, it just depends on the horse.

-Reward a lot when they are on the mat so that they realize that standing on the mat is a good place to be.

-Once horses get comfortable they tend to really enjoy it because it’s kind of relaxing. Keep at this. It will pay off!

-If this seems to be scary for your horse don’t push it, we want positive associations only for this activity! Take a few days off and start very slowly back (I learned this the hard way with Rocco. Now he is a pro, but it took longer than it should have because I went too fast in the beginning!). -You can spread food on the mats, reward them for touching them or putting a foot near them for a few days without even asking them to stand on them.

- Always give them the option to leave/step away; this gives them control which reduces fear (again I learned this the hard way with Rocco). If you are struggling, ask questions in the group, that is why the course is set up this way.

Progressions:

-Once your horse is comfortable standing on the mats even with just two feet you can ask them to do their carrot stretches with their feet on the mats.

- You can also take them to a place where they are standing facing up or down a hill or sideways on the hill with the mats.

Standing on Mats Scale

Working toward all four feet on mats for 5+ minutes. Begin by placing a mat under each foot in whatever order seems to work best. This will improve with time and consistency.

1. Will stand on 1 mat for less than 5 seconds

2. Will stand on 1 mat for more than 5 seconds

3. Will stand on 2 mats for more than 5 seconds

4. Will stand on 2 mats for more than 30 seconds

5. Will stand on 3 mats for more than 5 seconds

6. Will stand on 3 mats for more than 30 seconds

7. Will stand on 4 mats for more than 5 seconds

8. Will stand on 4 mats for more than 10 seconds

9. Will stand on 4 mats for more than 30 seconds

10. Will stand on 4 mats for a minute or more only stepping off occasionally

Video 7

Activity: Following a target

Equipment: Treats, treat pouch, target stick

Directions:

-Make sure you have already loaded the clicker and are getting your horse to reliably touch the target when standing still.

- You want to work in an area where your horse is free to move around (if they must be on a lead rope and you feel comfortable, you can drape the rope over their back-but do what is safe for you & your horse). If you are doing this work with a halter and lead rope make sure that they have plenty of slack in the lead rope and you are not using that to ask them to walk forward.

-Hold the target about a foot in front of where your horse can reach. Wait for them to take a step forward. Click and reward as soon as they step toward the target.

- For following the target I typically click for them moving toward the target rather than actually touching. It makes for more fluid forward momentum. I click for touching the target when I am doing stationary things like carrot stretches.

- If your horse is having trouble figuring this out click and reward if they start to shift their weight forward and look like they might take a step. Another option is that you can ask them to do this in a place where you know they like to walk forward, like heading towards their stall or back to their field etc.

-Once you have clicked and rewarded them for taking one or two steps a few different times, start asking for more steps working your way up to 10.

-Only work on this for 5 to 10 minutes at a time so that you don’t overly frustrate yourself or your horse. You can work on it, take a break, and come back to it the same day if you want.

- The goal is to get your horse to follow the target for 10 or more steps because we will use this as a way to lead them over obstacles and break down other movement activities into smaller pieces.

-Following a target is a really valuable tool for getting your horse to understand where you want them to go and what you want them to do during these activities.

Information about the activity:

This activity begins to awaken the seeking system in your horse. “Seeking” is an aroused state in mammals that is associated with positive neural chemistry like dopamine and is linked with enhanced focus, better retention, and can become a self rewarding behavior. Watch this Short Video on the Seeking System to learn why using the target for many of these activities can create buy in from your horse. The nice thing about using a target is that it allows you to break most activities down into smaller steps while keeping it fun. For example: Let’s say your horse does not like a loading in a trailer. You can use the target to ask them to take 1 & 2 steps closer and closer to the trailer & eventually into the trailer rewarding each time. This breaks down the larger task of trailer loading into them just thinking about taking a step or two to touch the target & get a reward.

How and when to use:

Once your horse is following the target reliably you can use this as often as you want to get your horse to go from point A to point B. We will be utilizing this skill in many of the activities later on in the course. It is a great way to warm your horse up, it can be used to ask them to walk long and low by holding it lower to the ground, or to direct them over an obstacle etc. You may decide that you want to add a voice command like saying “target” when you want them to actually touch the target, that is completely up to you.

Tips & tricks:

-Set a timer! When the timer goes off it doesn’t mean you absolutely have to stop, but it will remind you that it might be time to take a break if either one of you are feeling stuck or frustrated.

-If your horse is really struggling, go back to what they did well, reward a few times there and then ask for a little bit more.

-Try not to nag, find ways to set them up for success. If they are always eager to walk back to their friends in the field that’s a great place to ask them to follow the target for multiple steps.

Progressions:

- Try having them follow the target for longer periods of time

- In different places

-Up and down hills

- Over obstacles as they’re able

-With their head down low.

Video 8

Activity: Backing up

Equipment: treats & treat pouch + clicker

Directions:

-Using the back of your hand gently touch your horse's chest area as light as possible.

- Try touching only the hair and just let your hand hang out here until your horse takes a step back or shifts their weight back (it may be a while).

- The moment that they shift their weight back, click and reward and then try again. The first few times you may have to wait a while but it is worth it to get a genuine pressure free back up.

- Once your horse is taking a single step back with the light cue, begin to ask for more steps. Reward for two steps then three then four… All the way up to 10.

- Don’t worry about your horse being straight it is very normal for them to be crooked when backing and there are activities later in the program that will help work on this.

Information about the activity:

Backing up is an excellent way to see how evenly your horse can take weight on their hind end. It is like collection in reverse. Working on backing helps them gain better hind end awareness and teaches them how to better organize and balance themselves through collection. Many horses with less than perfect hind end awareness will have trouble backing more than a few steps at a time. If you get stuck at three or four steps don’t stress about it. Keep practicing every day but don’t overdo it. If they are having trouble and getting stuck only do two or three repetitions and then move on to something else they are good at.

How and when to use:

This one can be practiced every day for short periods of time. This one is best done in an arena or a barn aisle where they have plenty of space around them. I like to incorporate a little backing into my everyday routine but I only ask them to do it one or two times.

Tips & tricks:

-If they are taking a long time to actually back up, reward even the slightest weight shift.

- You can add a voice command to the cue but it’s important that you are not forcing them to back up as it does not create authentic movement. We will be relying on having a “no pressure back up” for activities we do later in the course.

Progressions:

Once they are doing it 10 steps at a time you can try asking them in different locations like hills and on different surfaces.

Backing Up Scale

Using the “no pressure backing” method ask your horse to back up 10 steps in an open area

1. Less than 3 steps in a row, halted or shuffling no rhythm or straightness

2. 1-4 steps crooked lacking rhythm

3. 1-4 steps crooked with rhythm

4. 1-4 steps straight with rhythm

5. 4-8 Steps crooked lacking rhythm

6. 4-8 Steps crooked with rhythm

7. 4-8 Steps straight with rhythm

8. 10 steps crooked lacking rhythm

9. 10 steps crooked with rhythm

10. 10 steps straight with rhythm

Video 9

Activity: Forward and back Over an obstacle

Equipment: target, treats, bridge signal, pole or other obstacle

Directions:

-Begin with your horse standing a few feet in front of the obstacle. Using the target, ask them to walk forward and step over the obstacle with their front 2 feet.

- Mark with the bridge signal and reward as soon as their second front leg steps over the obstacle. Ideally they will stop with 2 feet in front and two 2 feet behind the obstacle. Some horses may not want to stop here-this is normal.

-Try to time your bridge signal and reward a little earlier and you may be able to get them to stop without rushing all 4 feet over the obstacle. If this doesn't work just go onto the next step.

- Next ask your horse to back up over the obstacle.

- Once your horse is comfortable stepping over the obstacle and backing up over the obstacle with just their front feet try having them step all the way over with all 4 feet and and backing all the way over it with all 4 feet.

-It is best to start with 1 small ground pole and work your way up to larger or more obstacles.

Information about the activity:

This activity gives your horse visual and tactile clues that help them tell where their legs are and how big/how high they are stepping both when going forward and backward. It helps them learn about, and correct inconsistencies with tracking up, as well as crooked movement right to left. Doing this activity both forward and backward helps them reorganize and relearn how to move forward and back with more even steps both right to left and front to back. In the beginning it may be very awkward for them to back over obstacles which is why most horses do best if you practice first with the front legs before adding in the hind legs.

How and when to use:

This activity should be practiced in 5-10 minute increments in the beginning. Once the horse is comfortable doing this you may incorporate 1 or 2 repetitions into their warm up. This can be done in a barn aisle or in an arena.

Tips & tricks:

-Before starting this activity refresh and highly reward your horse for backing up to prepare them for backing over a pole.

-If your horse doesn't like stopping 1/2 way try going all the way over and all the way back, this may work better for them.

-They may have a lot of trouble backing over the obstacle in the beginning, reward the smallest try even if they just lean back or don't step all the way over the obstacle. Your job is to keep them motivated to keep trying and allow space for them to experiment. When they don't do it perfect learning is happening!

-Use something that won't roll especially at first, you may be able to ½ bury a round pole in the sand so it doesn't move or place something on either end to block it from rolling. If you can’t find a square pole, landscaping poles with a flat side work well.

Progressions:

-Start with 1 small ground pole hopefully one that doesn't roll too much.

-You can progress to larger obstacles, small cross rails, small banks/step ups and downs, logs or even multiple poles set like walk/trot poles.

-Get Creative. Backing is one of your horses best tools for improving hind end awareness!

Back and forth over poles Scale

Using the target & “no pressure backing” method, ask your horse to walk forward over an obstacle (typically a pole) halt and back up over the same obstacle.

1. Knocks the pole moving forward with front feet, will not back over it

2. Clears pole with front feet moving forward, knocks pole with hind feet, will not back over pole

3. Walks forward over pole, may touch with hind feet occasionally, clumsily attempts to back over pole maybe getting a foot or two over.

4. Easily walks forward over pole, backs crooked or halted over the pole, but can get over it

5. Easily moves forward, lacks rhythm and straightness backing, is careful over pole gets over it with all four feet with lots of pole touches

6. Easily moves forward, easily backs up to the pole, somewhat hesitant at the pole, and careful gets over it with all four feet with lots of pole touches

7. Easily moves forward, easily backs up to the pole and goes all the way over without stopping, (some slowing is ok) lots of pole touches

8. Easily moves forward, easily backs up to the pole and goes all the way over without stopping, minimal slowing and pole touches

9. Easily moves forward, easily backs up to the pole and goes all the way over without stopping, no slowing, and only occasional pole touches

10. Follows target forward over the pole with no hesitation, backs up straight with rhythm without knocking the pole with feet.

Video 10

Activity: Beginning Crunches

Equipment: Treats, Bridge signal

Directions:

-This activity is best started in a stall or small enclosed area where your horse feels comfortable and there are few distractions.

-You should have already taught your horse the “no pressure backing” as we are going to use this to get started.

-It is important to pay close attention to your horse during this activity. If they seem to look stressed or trapped you may be using too much pressure. This activity is incredibly important for building and maintaining your horse’s top line as well as promoting spine health. Because of this we want it to be an activity that they enjoy and are excited and happy to do. We do this by using a high rate of reward and as little pressure as possible.

- To begin, ask your horse to back up, try using as little pressure as possible. You want to make sure that you are not completely blocking them from stepping forward so they don't feel trapped into a corner. I typically instruct my students to stand to the horse’s side about a foot or two from their shoulder on one side or the other.

-The moment your horse starts to shift their weight back, use the bridge signal and reward. At this point it doesn't matter whether they actually take a step back or not. We are trying to mark/capture the weight shifting back because this will turn into the belly lift/crunch/core activation. Your horse may figure out that you are rewarding for the weight shift and not the step back but more likely they will think you're simply asking for them to back up which is fine in the beginning-we will differentiate later.

-Continue asking your horse with as little pressure as possible to shift their weight/step back and reward each tiny movement. Eventually your horse will get to the place where their hind end is touching a wall or railing. Make sure you give them a way out forward and continue to ask them to back up.

-At this point most horses will begin tucking their hips underneath them and doing a slight belly lift. Be aware that this might alarm some horses and they might try to shoot forward- let them step forward and start again.

-Don't worry if they are crooked to the wall, some even do best if they are actually in a corner.

-Once they are touching or close to touching the wall begin rewarding any weight shift even if it's side to side or forward and/or any muscle twitch/activation you see along their spine, over their haunches, or underneath their belly. This part can be very challenging because we are asking for tiny muscle activation which can be hard to see in the beginning. This is the experimentation time where we are teaching your horse that any weight shift is a good weight shift in hopes of getting them to play along.

-Once they understand that this is a rewarding activity we can start being a little pickier about the exact weight shifts that we reward.

-Once your horse is reliably moving towards the wall and rocking back on their haunches, tucking their hips, and/or lifting through their spine start shifting your voice command from “back” to “lift” and instead of cueing it with your hand going towards their chest do a lifting motion with your hand. You may have to alternate back and forth between the two words/hand cues before they get the idea but this is how we are going to distinguish lift from the back up.

-When your horse is doing fairly well with this in a stall it is time to progress to new locations. First try standing in different locations around your horse to ask them to lift. Can you ask while standing at their withers on either side, by their hip, or further away? Next see if you can ask them to lift in a barn aisle or other area where they can back up to a wall or fence. Many horses will continue to need the tactile cue from the wall or fence for a while but we eventually want them to be able to do it out in the open.

-To transition away from a wall have them stand in front of a low obstacle that they are unlikely to back up over. Try asking there. Some good examples are a step up/bank, jump, short wall, log etc. Make sure it is safe if your horse does actually try to step up and over the obstacle. Once you are getting them to shift their weight and lift through their spine with a small obstacle behind them, progress to being out in the open. Keep in mind that when you change locations the quality might go down for a little bit. This is normal, continue rewarding even the smallest try and eventually you can get a little pickier and only reward the better ones. If they seem to get stuck go back to the beginning or back to an easier step and build their confidence there before moving on.

-I will still do them in the stall with the wall sometimes just to remind them of their full range of motion. If your horse is stuck and will only do crunches in the stall with their haunches against a wall they're still getting a lot of benefits from this so don't be discouraged, just keep asking, rewarding, and trying to find new locations that they will try.

Information about the activity:

This activity teaches your horse to lift their spine and activate their core muscles. The ultimate goal is for them to lift up at the base of the winters. This activity activates the major muscles that are important for protecting their spine and support carrying a rider. If your horse has a neurological issue that usually means that the spine is involved and this strengthening exercise will help stabilize and protect their spine both in their daily life as well as in ridden work. Not only does it protect the spine but it strengthens their abdominal muscles. Core strength has been proven to improve range of motion and strength of the extremities like your horse's legs and neck.

How and when to use:

It is easiest for your horse to learn this activity if they can do many short sessions. One or two five minute sessions (with a break in between) daily for two weeks will get you well on your way to solidifying this exercise. Some horses pick it up faster than others. It is important not to overdo it timewise especially in the beginning. Once your horse has picked this up fairly consistently I recommend doing 5 to 10 repetitions as a warm before doing other activities 3 or more times a week. If you get this very reliable out in the open you can eventually ask your horse to do it while mounted.

Tips & tricks:

-There are no bad clicks with this activity in the beginning! In the beginning reward reward reward. Again, we want this to be an enjoyable thing for them that they are excited to work on.

- If something isn’t working, change your position. Some horses do better if you’re on one side versus another or standing closer or further away. Don't be afraid to move onto the next step. If it doesn't work you can always go back, but if you overdo the beginning steps sometimes they will get stuck and it gets harder for them to move on.

- If your horse seems to be frustrated or nervous about touching something with their hind end try asking from farther away and click/reinforce the moment they shift back just before they step back.

-Every horse does this activity a little different. For examples of different horses trying these you can check out #horsecrunches or #intrinzenstudents on Instagram so see more examples.

- There are also other examples of crunches on my Youtube and Instagram. Here are some earlier youtube videos that I posted earlier in my training that show working through this from the very beginning and various stages...some of it may be a little redundant as I did not make these for this course but it can be helpful to see multiple horses and different stages.

Crunch youtube video 1

Crunch youtube video 2

Crunch youtube video 3

Crunch youtube video 4

(If you are looking at a printed version you can find these links in the document in the facebook group)

Progressions:

Once your horse is doing this in the open some progressions are:

- Doing them facing up a hill

- Facing down a hill

- Sideways on the Hill

- On different surfaces

-On a gym mat or unstable surface

-With two legs standing up a step

-With two legs standing down a step

-With weight on their back like a saddle, sand bags or rider.

Crunches Scale

Don’t spend any more than 10 minutes at a time on these. Start with what they do well and work up from there. Heavily reward new/better movement & progress. We want them to LOVE this activity!

1. Slight hip tuck or muscle activation around their spine when touching the wall for 1 repetition

2. Good hip tuck at the wall and beginning lifting through the spine multiple repetitions

3. Will try away from the wall

4. Will reliably lift away from the wall

5. Reliable lifts away from the wall with you on one side or position

6. Reliable lifts in the open with you in any position

7. Lifting more through the spine not using neck as much

8. Lifting through the spine and at the withers with head in multiple positions (flexion to both sides and nose down in front of the vertical)

9. Reliably lifting at the withers with head and neck neutral

10. Reliably lifting at the withers with head and neck neutral, from a distance or on their own

Video 11

Activity: Stall lunging

Equipment: Target, bridge signal, food reward, small square or rectangular area Close to 12 x 12 ft.

Directions:

-Standing in the middle of the stall, use the target to ask your horse to walk a circle around you. You want to use the target to guide the horse to make the largest circle possible in the space.

-Mark and reinforce when the horse takes a few steps following the target.

- You can slowly start to increase the number of steps between marking and reinforcing.

-Once you have made it around in a few circles direct the horse using the target to switch directions and repeat the above.

-Some horses may have a lot of trouble doing this activity in such a small space, most will have one direction that is more challenging than the other.

Information about the activity:

This activity uses the physical space to challenge your horse's ability to bend and balance through turns. The walls give them no choice but to bend and navigate the corners if they are still following the target. Some horses may feel a little stuck or claustrophobic and it may be best to start this in a larger area like a round pen or build a “stall” with poles and standards especially if your stalls are small. Make a note in your training log noting If your horse falls in one direction or has more trouble or if there are certain spots in the stall that your horse seems to get stuck. This activity is important to not overdo as it is quite challenging mentally and physically. I try to set a timer and do no more than 3 to 5 minutes each direction.

How and when to use:

This activity can be done once or twice a week. If your horse has one direction that they really struggle with make sure you start with their good direction and then only spend a few minutes on their bad direction and then end with their good direction. That way they start and finish this activity on a more positive note. Only spend 3 to 5 minutes per direction.

Tips & tricks:

-This activity does not have to be done in a stall; you might be able to block off a section of your barn I’ll or corner of your paddock.

- Any space 20 x 20ft to 10 x 10ft Should work the smaller the space the more challenging it is.

- In the beginning you may be marking and reinforcing every two or three steps, try to work your way up to reinforcing once per full circle

Progressions:

Progressions with this activity are fairly limited due to the size of the space.

-You can ask for more circles at a time,

-You can change the size of the space

-You can add speed by asking for a more brisk walk depending on the size of your horse & the space.

-You may also be able to get a few trot steps -use caution if you try to do this and make sure the space and footing will accommodate for your horse to do this safely.

Stall Lunging Scale

Using a target ask your horse to walk around the outside edge of the stall/smaller enclosure.

1. 1-2 steps at a time no rhythm falling in both directions

2. More than 2 steps one or both directions more rhythm some falling in

3. One direction only 1/2 circle at a time without stopping

4. Full circle one direction with some falling in

5. Full circle one direction 1/2 circle the other way some falling in on both

6. Full circle each direction one side falling in one side mostly staying out

7. Full circle each direction one side falling in one side mostly staying out beginning to show inside bend (flexion at the poll the inside hind stepping under)

8. Full circle each direction one side staying out some, one side staying out with inside bend (flexion at the poll & the inside hind stepping under)most of the time

9. Full circle each direction with more consistent bend to one side, and beginning to not falling in on the other with a more consistent circle stepping under with the inside hind.

10. Full circle or more each direction with good flexion to the inside, not falling in, & stepping under with the inside hind both directions equally pole flexed to the inside.

Video 12

Activity: Between two poles

Equipment: 2 ground poles, Bridge signal, treats, target

Directions:

-Place the ground poles parallel to each other about a meter/yard apart.

- Using your target, ask your horse to walk between them. Mark and reward as soon as they have passed between the two poles.

-If they are hesitant at all to walk between the two poles you can mark and reward as soon as the first foot steps between the two poles and continue from there. Most horses do fine with the first step of this activity but if you are having trouble make the poles further apart from each other to start. You want them to be far enough apart that your horse has no trouble walking all the way through the first time.

-Once you get your horse to follow the target between the two poles a few times, rewarding each time, begin moving the poles closer together about 4-6 inches at a time and repeat the above process.

-Continue leading your horse through with the target as the space gets more narrow. It's OK if they knock into the poles a little.

-When you find the width that they can do, but it's harder for them to do without touching or putting a foot out of the poles, do a few repetitions with this width. Make a note of the width so we can track improvement.

-Finish with one repetition with the poles wider and easier so they end on a good/easy note.

Information about the activity:

This activity gives your horse visual and tactile cues that help them notice if their hind end is tracking with their front end. It encourages straightness and brings awareness to their foot placement. The poles create a movement puzzle that encourages your horse to move straighter and brings awareness to their hind end so that they are not running into the poles.

How and when to use:

When first introducing this activity I recommend practicing it for 5-10 minutes two or three times over the course of a week or two. Once you have introduced it to your horse you can do a few repetitions of this activity combined with other activities 1-3 times a month.

Tips & tricks:

If your horse is struggling with this activity make the poles very far apart to begin. You can also try to make them wide at the opening and narrower at the exit almost like a funnel. Experiment with different length poles, colors, and footing as these things may all play into how willing your horse is to attempt this and other activities where poles are used. I also find that lighting plays a big part, especially with a more nervous horse, so I recommend doing most of these activities in a well lit area with few shadows if possible.

Progressions:

Once your horse is easily walking between two poles with them set a foot or less apart from each other you can try doing this activity going up, down, or sideways on a slope. This activity prepares them for other activities coming up in this section like backing between poles and straddling a pole. If your horse is currently doing under saddle work you can also try riding this activity.

Between two Poles Scale

Using a target ask your horse to walk forward between two poles set parallel on the ground.

1. Hesitant to walk between poles, poles set more than 3 ft apart, either won’t walk between at all or steps out with more than one foot.

2. Will walk through without rhythm, poles 3 or more ft apart, one or more feet step out

3. Walks forward with rhythm, poles set 3 ft or less apart, some audible pole touching

4. Walks forward with rhythm poles set 3 ft or less apart, no audible pole touching

5. Walks forward may be a little hesitant, poles set 2 ft or less apart, steps out with one or more foot

6. Walks forward may be a little hesitant, poles set 2 ft or less, touches the poles without stepping out

7. Walks forward with rhythm poles set 2 ft or less apart, some audible pole touching

8. Walks forward with rhythm poles set 2 ft or less apart, no audible pole touching

9. Walks forward with rhythm poles set 1 ft or less apart, some audible pole touching

10. Walks forward with rhythm poles set 1 ft or less apart, no audible pole touching

Video 13

Activity: Backing between poles

Equipment: Two poles, Food reward, bridge signal, target

Directions:

-Set the poles a meter/yard or more apart to start.

-Walk your horse between the two poles much like the “between two poles” activity. This time ask them to whoa/stop before they reach the end of the poles.

- Reward when they stop.

-Using the “no/low pressure backing” that you taught them earlier, ask them to step back. Depending on your horse's willingness to back up you may reward at the first step/weight shift back, or if they are very eager you may reward after two or three steps.

-Continue to ask them to back up until they are all the way out from between the two poles.

- If this was very easy for them you can make the poles closer together, if this was very challenging you can make the poles wider.

Information about the activity:

This activity can be done in combination with the between the two poles activity though many horses will be able to walk forward in a more narrow space than they are able to back up so take that into consideration. This activity combines backing up with having the poles as a visual and tactile cue. Many horses who lack hind end awareness find it challenging to back up especially moving straight. The poles will help them self correct. Another variation of this activity would be having them back with a fence or wall on one side and a pole on the other side. This may be more stressful for some horses or some will find the wall/railing more helpful. We want the horse to be able to use the poles as a visual guide much like the lines on a road so they can match up what they think they’re doing with their body with what they are seeing and feeling.

How and when to use:

In the beginning you want to train this activity for 5-10 minutes. After they get the hang of it, it’s a good activity to do once a week or so In combination with walking forward between the poles.

Tips & tricks:

If they are struggling don’t be afraid to make the poles as wide as they need so they can keep their feet in between them. It may be helpful for some horses if you set the poles at an angle making the opening wider where they walk in until they get the hang of it. We want the poles to act like bumpers to help guide them to stay between. If they are stepping over them go ahead and widen them. You can experiment with larger barriers, just pay attention that your horse isn’t getting stressed because some may feel claustrophobic. For a horse that constantly veered to the left I had good success setting this up with a log on the left and a pole on the other side. This may be a good option to try.

Progressions:

Progressions with this activity are just making the poles closer and closer together with them being able to back up without stepping over the poles until they are about a foot apart.

Backing Between Two Poles Scale

Using the “no/low pressure backing” ask your horse to back between two poles set parallel on the ground. Most horses do best if you walk them forward between the poles first (like the last activity) and stop just before their hind legs have exited the corridor. This helps them get set up straight and get a good view of what they will be backing into eventually you will combine these two activities.

1. Hesitant to back between poles, poles set more than 3 ft apart, either won’t back between at all or steps out with more than one foot.

2. Will back through without rhythm, poles 3 or more ft apart, one or more feet step out

3. Backs with more rhythm, poles set 3 ft or less apart, some audible pole touching

4. Backs with rhythm, poles set 3 ft or less apart, no audible pole touching

5. Backs with hesitation, poles set 2.5 ft or less, steps out with one or more foot

6. Backs with a little hesitation, poles set 2.5 ft or less, touches the poles without stepping out

7. Backs with rhythm, poles set 2.5 ft or less apart, some audible pole touching

8. Backs with rhythm, poles set 2.5 ft or less apart, no audible pole touching

9. Backs with rhythm poles set 2 ft or less apart, some audible pole touching

10. Backs with rhythm poles set 2 ft or less apart, no audible pole touching

Video 14

Activity: Straddling a pole

Equipment: One ground pole, target, bridge signal, food reward

Directions:

-Using the target, direct your horse to walk straight on towards a ground pole encouraging them to walk with it between their front legs.

-The moment they step with one front leg on one side and one on the other, mark and reinforce. If both front legs go to the same side of the pole use the target to guide them to step over it with one front leg.

-The moment they put their front leg on the other side of the pole, mark and reinforce. Most horses will find this activity a little confusing and will try to walk to one side or the other. You may have to zigzag over it a few times in the beginning, marking when the pole ends up between their pair of legs.

Eventually they will understand what you’re asking.

-In the beginning focus only on their front legs.

-Once they get the hang of it in the front you can start marking when they are starting to get it with their hind legs also.

-The lead up to this activity is the between two poles activity so make sure they have a good handle on that with the poles about 1 - 1 1/2 ft. apart before attempting this one.

Information about the activity:

The forward and back between two poles and over a pole activities helped bring awareness to your horse's Foot placement in front, behind, and distally (Movement away from midline) This activity brings awareness to their Proximal Foot placement (movement towards the midline). While some horses may walk with their feet far apart or off to one side, many horses will also “tightrope walk”, or walk with their feet close together. This activity brings visual and tactile awareness to their foot placement and helps them activate their abductor muscles.

How and when to use:

This activity can be mentally challenging so you want to make sure not to over do it. You may only get success with the front legs or only with the hind legs for a while. Only focus on this activity for 5-10 minutes at a time. If your horse is very frustrated you may do five minutes take a walk break or grazing break and then come back and do five more minutes. Pay attention to your horse. You may be able to find something smaller like a small PVC pipe but you want to make sure it’s not going to roll around much. With all the poles on the ground activities I find it easiest for the horse if they are a contrasting color.

Tips & tricks:

Don’t get frustrated, you may spend the first couple times zigzagging back-and-forth over the pole before you get one leg on each side. Be ready to mark when that happens. Once your horse gets one leg on each side it may be helpful to let them stand there and get used to what it feels like while you mark and reinforce a few times. We don’t typically ask them to do things like this and it can feel like a vulnerable position.

Progressions:

Progressions of this activity would be to fluidly travel with both right legs on the right side of the pole in both left legs on the left side of the pole at a brisk walk and or a wider pole or plank.

Straddle a Pole Scale

Using a target, ask your horse to walk toward a pole on the ground and straddle over it (right legs on the right side, left legs on the left side). I recommend a pole that is flat on one side or sunk into some sand so it doesn’t roll easily.

1. Hesitant to walk toward the pole head on, walks wide around it to one side or the other with all 4 feet.

2. Hesitant to walk toward the pole head on, walks to one side or the other with all 4 feet, crosses all or part of the way over to the other side when the target is used to straighten them out.

3. Less hesitant, starts with front feet on one side, will cross over to the other side following the target but hesitant to keep pole between front set of legs, ends up zigzagging back and forth

4. Approaches with rhythm takes a step or two with pole between front legs

5. Approaches with rhythm takes two or more steps with pole between front legs

6. Can walk the whole length of the pole with it between their front legs hind legs stay both to one side or are zig zagging

7. Straddles with front legs, one or two steps with the pole between the hind legs

8. Straddles with front legs, two or more steps with the pole between the hind legs

9. Straddles with both front and hind legs for the full length, some pole touches and lack of rhythm

10. Straddles with both front and hind legs for the full length of the pole with rhythm and no audible touching

Video 15

Activity: Advanced Carrot Stretches

Equipment: Treats, Treat Pouch, Target, mat, incline, platform/step up/bank different footings set.

Directions:

-Once your horse is able to do basic carrot stretches, meaning they are regularly scoring at least a 3 on the carrot stretch scale they are ready to level up.

-Begin asking for the stretch they have down solid in a variety of places starting with:

1. Different footing (sand grass mulch gravel etc.)

2.On the mat

3. facing up a hill

4.facing sideways on a hill both ways

5. Facing down a hill

6. With front legs up on a platform or bank/elevated place

7. With Hind legs up on an elevated platform or bank.

8. While mounted if you are riding currently

9. Any spot you can change their balance or footing that is safe for them to try (please share and new ideas you come up with)

-Repeat this holding the target for 3-5 repetitions of each stretch they are able to do easily on the flat ground

-If your horse has a hard time reaching the target on one or more positions, reward them for trying and then put the target where they can easily reach it for a few repetitions to build their confidence and slowly work your way closer to the spot they couldn’t reach before each time you work with them.

-Do not punish or correct the horse if he moves his feet, this is normal especially on the harder ones.

-We don’t want them to walk to follow the target but we DO want them to be able to self organize their feet to reach the spots that challenge their balance. See tips and tricks below if your horse tries to follow the target by walking towards it rather than stretching.

Information about the activity:

(some of this is repeated form the original carrot stretch info page)

Carrot stretches, or Dynamic Mobilization Exercises were brought to the mainstream by Dr. Hillary Clayton. Stretch is a bit of a misnomer as this activity is more of a core stabilization exercise than it is a stretch. One of the muscles targeted by this exercise is your horse's spinalis muscle which sits behind your horse's withers (where they carry much of a rider's weight). The Spinalis is a major muscle incharge of moving your horses head & neck from side to side AND stabilising the spine which are both very important for our horses balance and fitness especially if they are being ridden. You can read a more in depth article by Dr. Hillary Clayton here. https://equimed.com/health-centers/fitness-and-conditioning/articles/dynamic-mobilization-exercises-for-horses

By upping the difficulty of these “carrot stretches” by adding inclines and unstable surfaces we are further strengthening this all important part of our horses topline. For more info on these refer back to the first Carrot stretch Activity Overview

How and when to use:

If possible use this activity daily-3x a week, in the beginning you may spend more time on it but once they have it down it’s a great quick warm up for other activities. It is also a great thing to do if you only have a few minutes to spend with your horse. I try to incorporate it into my daily routine.

Tips & tricks:

-Some horses do better if you stand on the opposite side of where you put the target reaching over their neck or back, some do better when you are on the same side. Try both.

-I have also found it helpful to reach the target under their neck and or belly form the opposite side for some of the lower stretches (if it doesn't make them nervous).

-If your horse tries to walk toward the target instead of moving their head & neck patiently ask them to woah and try again with the target only a few inches to the right or the left. Click and reward when they touch it without moving their feet and then gradually move it further away.

-If you put them next to a wall or fence this may help show them that they need to move their neck and not their feet.

-If they do start walking circles try to keep the target in the same spot relative to the horses side so that they learn that moving in circles doesn’t get them any closer. This may take some time for some horses especially if they are very stiff.

-You can ALWAYS break an activity down into smaller parts if they cant turn their head very far one way, find what they can do, reward for that several times and then ask for an inch further.

Progressions:

-Start with nose to shoulder, belly, hip & front knee

-Progress to rear fetlock & hock, front fetlock, between the front fetlocks, between the front knees.

-You can progress this exercise by adding a mat to the inclines or using steeper inclines & asking for deeper stretches or for them to hold them longer or adding weight like a saddle & or rider.

Advanced Carrot stretches Scale

Using the target ask for: 1. Nose toward shoulder 2. Nose toward ribcage 3.Nose toward hip/flank 4. Nose to knee (front) on each side 5. Nose to ground between front feet 6.nose toward hock/hind fetlock on new surfaces inclines etc. Don’t worry about their actual flexibility or feet moving in the beginning (re structuring feet is how they learn to balance so this is good!). A try toward the hip or rib cage counts -that part will get better on its own. In the beginning your horse may not be able to actually touch their shoulder, rib cage etc with their nose so start holding the target about 1-2 ft. out to the side of that body part.

1. Can do 1-3 and will attempt the rest with 2 feet on the mat or facing uphill or sideways on a hill either way

2. Can do 1-5 both sides with 2 feet on the mat or facing uphill or sideways on a hill either way

3. Can do 1-5 with 2 feet on the mat or facing uphill or sideways on a hill either way with more flexibility

4. Can do 1-5 equally on both sides with 4 feet on the mat or facing any way on a hill and front feet on a platform Can do 1-5 will attempt 6

5. Can do all of the above with more flexibility evenness with less rearranging of the feet.

6. Will do all of the above and do all with front feet on the platform

7. Will do all of the above and will attempt some with hind quarters on the platform

8. Will do all of the above and 1 & 2 with hind quarters on the platform

9. Will do all of the above and will attempt 1-6 with hind quarters on a platform

10. Can do all stretches with good flexibility on any surface facing any way on a hill or platform.

VIdeo 16

Activity: Touch for Body awareness (Video only)

Video 17

Activity: Chase The Bag

Equipment: Treats, Treat Pouch, feed bag/cloth/plastic bag of any size on a string possibly attached to a stick/dowell

Directions:

-The first step with this activity is to teach your horse to target the bag. In the beginning you will reward them for touching it with their nose or their feet or if they are nervous you will reward them sniffing it or coming near it even if they don't actually touch it. If your horse has ever been trained by being chased with a plastic bag or if they have a known fear of plastic/feed bags use something else! You want to use something they do not have a strong fear association with.

-Begin by placing the bag on the ground in an area where they can be at liberty. If this is not possible do your best to not interfere with the halter and lead rope. If it is windy you may want to weigh it down with something to start with so the bag doesn't accidently move and startle them. If this is too scary use a cloth, towel, pillow case, or old t-shirt.

- Sprinkle some feed on top of the bag to peak their interest.

-Wait for your horse to approach the bag.

-Mark and reinforce when they walk towards it or touch it with their nose or foot. Do this until they seem very comfortable touching the bag.

-Next, slightly move the bag an inch or two. This may startle some horses so go as slow as you need to, reinforcing the entire time.

-Once you're able to move the bag/cloth a few inches at a time with them following, try moving it a little further away.

-Mark and reinforce when they follow the bag you may have to wait a little bit for them to decide to follow-give them time to do it on their own.

-Once they are following it a foot or two at time, begin only marking and reinforcing when they follow it and touch it either with a foot or nose.

-If they seem comfortable with the bag at this point you can start pulling it with the string (i use bailing twine) like you might do if you were playing with a cat. At this point begin to mark and reinforce for them touching the bag or for following it for more than a step or two.

-From here you will work up to them following the bag for more steps at a time and/or for putting more energy into chasing the bag. Examples are picking up a trot or canter, stomping the bag with energy, reaching out with their front legs to stop or strike the bad.

-This is where having a string and a stick attached is helpful as it creates space between you and your horse's feet so you can stay at a safe distance. The goal is to teach them to stalk, chase, and pounce on the bag with energy and larger range of motion.

-Some horses may pick this up in one session others may spend weeks just acclimating to following the bag.

Information about the activity:

Once your horse picks up this activity most really enjoy it. It is an excellent way to get them to use their bodies in agile ways to pounce on the bag. Increasing range of motion through play is one of the best ways to regrow/reinforce new and more robust movement. Play also has been scientifically proven to reduce fear, increase learning, and utilizes dopamine (the feel good brain chemical) rather than cortisol (stress chemical) which is present with forced exercises. Increasing range of motion and movement exploration in a play state allows the body to relearn how it is able to move, create new movement patterns, and recruit muscles it has forgotten, neglected, or lost connection with. For one sided horses & those with compensations from an old injury, or those with neurological complications this can be a game changer. Do not be afraid to encourage these movements in your horse. Though they will support and build muscles used while riding, allowing them an outlet for a more robust range of motion in a specific context is actually a great way to keep them from being “silly” while under saddle. Much like allowing a child to play outside so they are able to concentrate on school later, it is good for your horse to have an appropriate outlet to play rough and tumble games so they don’t try it in the middle of a riding session. Using only specific tools like the bag and a context for this type of play ensures that it doesn't happen when it shouldn't.

How and when to use:

In the beginning you want to do a few short sessions back to back until you get them really comfortable interacting with the bag. From there I usually do it once or twice a month.

Tips & tricks:

-Some horses will take a while before they do more than follow the bag at the walk...keep with it, this is still helpful! Their body may not be ready to go into predator mode yet -trust the process (Rocco took almost a year before he was doing more than a brisk walk and stomp)

-If your horse is really scared of the bag, use a piece of cloth or find something else less scary it doesn't matter what as long as it's safe for both of you.

-If your horse is really into this activity and gets too wild do it from the other side of a fence. Finnick often gets too energetic and I have to do this for a little bit.

-Remember that your click/marker is like an E brake. If things get too intense Mark (which usually makes them halt) & give a hand full of food to give you time to pop outside the fence where you can either end the activity or continue from the other side of the fence.

-Follow #intrinzenstudents in Instagram for more examples of horses doing this and creative ways to customize it for your horse. Everyone is different.

Progressions:

-Hold out on marking and reinforcing for only really effortful movements

-Try this activity on a slope

-Add turns, serpentines and zig zags to begin increasing lateral range of motion and the taking of weight on the hind end.

Chase the Bag Scale

Following the instructions in the activity overview ask your horse to chase the bag

1. Will sniff the bag and possibly touch it

2. Will touch the bag with nose or foot without spooking

3. Will not spook when bag is moved forward

4. Will follow the bag a step or two at a time

5. Will follow the bag more than one step

6. Will follow the bag and attempts to step on it

7. Attempts to step on the bag and follows more than 3 or 4 steps at a time

8. Will follow the bag with energy high steps, trotting, big stomps

9. Beginning to stalk the bag and use more energy in an attempt to catch the bag

10. Full engagement in chasing the bag, robust movement, utilizing a large range of motion and agile movements & changes of direction

Video 18

Activity: Leg Targeting

Equipment: Treats, Treat Pouch, target stick and/or full pool noodle

Directions:

-Begin by leading your horse forward with the target and reinforcing that a few times.

- Next lead them forward with the target and once they have momentum move the target under their neck so their leg touches the target.

-Mark and reinforce the instant their leg touches the target.

-Repeat until they get the idea that touching the target with their leg gets them the reward.

-Continue alternating between walking forward/following the target and leg targeting until they begin to reach more forward with their front legs to touch the target.

-Slowly begin holding the target a little further away from their front legs (but still under their head/neck) so they have to step bigger to touch it.

-From there begin holding out a click for bigger and bigger steps very gradually.

Information about the activity:

Once your horse gets the idea most enjoy this activity! They see it as a game and any game that challenges their balance “tricks” them into getting stronger and more agile in an authentic way. Try it yourself, take some really giant steps while trying to hit the biggest range of motion you can with your legs. Notice all the different muscles you are using that you don't in a normal walk; stabilizers on the down leg, lifting muscles for the up leg. Try with your hands on your hips/ waist and feel your back and abdominals contribute to balancing you too! This works similarly for your horse.

How and when to use:

To teach it you will need to do multiple sessions. Since much of what we do involves them following the target it is easy to try in between other activities or as a walk “break”. Once they get this activity down I will ask for a few big steps most days usually on my way to or from the barn/field and I will also spend about 10 minutes really focusing on it once every other week or so. Keep in mind it is challenging and tiring so they may need breaks.

Tips & tricks:

-This can be very slow going for some, don’t get discouraged. Finnick picked it up in about a month and Rocco took closer to 3 or months but I was not working on it with him very consistently.

-Try a full pool noodle or something soft so they aren't afraid of hurting themselves if they knock their knees into it.

-You can also try holding one target in front of them for following- to get them to move forward, and have a different one under their neck for their legs to touch so you can get both “move forward” and “touch with legs” happening at the same time.

-It may be helpful to have a different target you use for leg targeting to help your differentiate whether they should touch it with their nose or legs- I differentiate based on where I hold it, but this is up to you

-Try to stand next to your horse and not in front of them. I try to NOT reward this if they are doing it toward rather than next to me as this can get quite dangerous. If you can ask at their shoulder that is a great spot and you can always try with a fence between you.

-Follow #intrinzenstudents in Instagram for more examples of horses doing this and creative ways to customize it for your horse. Everyone is different.

Progressions:

-Hold out on marking and reinforcing for larger ranges of motion stepping high or long and/ or multiple repetitions

-Try this activity on a slope

-Try it at the trot & canter

-Try it while turning right and left in increasingly smaller turns/circles

Leg Targeting Scale

Using a target, ask your horse to walk forward and then move the target back toward their legs and ask them to leg target.

1. Will walk forward and and stop when they touch the target with their leg

2. Will walk forward and touch the target with their leg only stopping when they hear the click/maker signal

3. Willingly walks forward touching or slightly reaching toward the target with their legs

4. Begins to noticeably take one or two larger steps to touch the target- may seem awkward, may only be with one leg

5. Taking more than 2 larger steps at a time, may be only with one leg

6. Starting to use both front legs to take larger steps still awkward/no rhythm

7. Gaining rhythm, hind end starting to “keep up” with front end as it takes larger steps

8. Consistently taking big steps with energy, steps become higher, head beginning to come up

9. Consistent big & higher steps on both sides with head in a neutral position, more rhythm & collection

10. The above and consistent big steps with both front legs, hind end stepping under more for balance, will attempt at the trot and or on hills.

Video 19

Activity: Diagonal Over Poles

Equipment: Treats, Treat Pouch, Target, single pole on the ground or line of poles, for progressions a cross rail, cavaletti, or raised poles either single or in a line

Directions:

-It is best to establish a good walk with your horse following the target first to create some momentum before approaching. Mark and reward once or twice just for having good momentum following the target.

-Once that is reliable, guide them over the pole on the ground with the target. If possible it helps if you also step over the pole/obstacle with your horse with your eyes forward. Mark and reward when they step over the pole with all 4 feet (or less feet if they are really struggling-you can work up to 4).

-Repeat this making sure to approach form both directions and try to create good momentum and rhythm

-If your horse is doing well you can try approaching from a more acute angle, raise the pole, and/or approach with more speed.

Information about the activity:

This activity is similar to the forward and backwards over pole activity in that it brings awareness to where your horse’s legs are. When they approach the pole on a diagonal instead of perpendicular it creates a little bit more of a challenge for your horse because the distance from each leg to the pole is going to be a little different then when they approach it straight on. Because of this your horse has to pay more attention to where their legs are in relation to the pole rather than relying on old movement patterns used when stepping over something straight on. This becomes especially apparent once the pole is raised off the ground.

How and when to use:

This is a great activity to sprinkle in on a weekly/every other weekly basis rotating it with the other target following activities. We don't want them to be experts at walking diagonally over the pole; we want them to be experts at paying attention to where they put their feet. So this is a great one to use occasionally or do one or two reps here and there once they are familiar with it during another training session. I will often have my horses step over a cavaletti at different angles on my way in and out of the arena. Do not drill this activity, You should only work on it for 5 to 10 minutes at a time and it's a good one to mix in with other target following activities.

Tips & tricks:

-Start with a pole on the ground

-If your horse is having trouble approaching at a diagonal use other ground poles to make a chute rather than over guiding them with the halter.

-Raise the poles only after your horse is pretty successful with a pole on the ground.

-I prefer to set up a line of poles that I can snake through rather than circling back to one pole, I think it helps create momentum and assures you do both directions equally.

Progressions:

-Use raise poles

- Try at a trot

- Try this activity up, down, or sideways on a hill

Diagonal Over Poles Scale

Using a target, ask your horse to walk forward at a 45 degree angle (diagonal) over an obstacle (typically a pole to start) making sure to approach from both directions. See video for variations and set up.

1. Knocks the pole on the ground hesitated to approach diagonally

2. Clears pole with front feet knocks pole with hind, still hesitant

3. Walks forward over pole without hesitation in a diagonal line both ways, may still touch pole occasionally

4. Easily walks diagonally over pole without touching approaching from both sides

5. With a raised pole 6-12 inches off the ground knocks the pole, hesitated to approach diagonally

6. With a raised pole 6-12 inches off the ground clears pole with front feet knocks pole with hind, still hesitant

7. With a raised pole 6-12 inches off the ground walks forward over pole without hesitation in a diagonal line both ways may still touch poll occasionally

8. With a raised pole 6-12 inches off the ground easily walks diagonally over pole without touching approaching from both sides

9. With a raised pole 6-12 inches off the ground will attempt to trot diagonally over the pole

10. With a raised pole 6-12 inches off the ground will easily trot both directions diagonally over the pole

Video 20

Activity: Advanced Core work

Equipment: Treats, Bridge signal, mats, step up/ hills/multiple surfaces

Directions:

Once your horse is reliably doing crunches in a stall and out in the open (don’t worry if they are not there yet some horses take a longer time. Keep going!) begin asking for crunches in new places and challenging their balance. The video shows several examples of alternative places to try. Start with facing all 4 directions on a hill, with 2 feet up on an elevated platform or bank, on a mat or unstable surface, as well as with the addition of weight & carrot stretchest. Get creative!

Information about the activity:

This activity teaches your horse to lift their spine and activate their core muscles. The ultimate goal is for them to lift up at the base of the winters. This activity activates the major muscles that are important for protecting their spine and support carrying a rider. If your horse has a neurological issue that usually means that the spine is involved and this strengthening exercise will help stabilize and protect their spine both in their daily life as well as in ridden work. Not only does it protect the spine but it strengthens their abdominal muscles. Core strength has been proven to improve range of motion and strength of the extremities like your horse's legs and neck. Advancing these core stability exercises further challenges and strengthens their core, balance, & range of motion.

How and when to use:

Once your horse is at this level I recommend just asking for a few crunches at the beginning and end of your training sessions in different areas. If you find some place particularly challenging you may want to spend about 5 minutes working on it otherwise I typically ask for these spontaneously when I find a spot that I know might be a good challenge.

Tips & tricks:

There are no bad clicks with this activity. In the beginning reward reward reward. Again, we want this to be an enjoyable thing for them that they are excited to work on. If something isn’t working, change your position or try to make it easier (ask near the bank first, or find a more gradual hill for example). Some horses do better if you’re on one side versus another or standing closer or further away. Don't be afraid to challenge them, If it doesn't work you can always go back to what worked. If you overdo the beginning steps sometimes they will get stuck and it can become harder for them to move on. If your horse seems to be frustrated or nervous in a specific area leave it alone and come back another time. Every horse does this activity a little different. This is a good one to see lots of examples of different horses trying so you can also check out #horsecrunches or #intrinzenstudents on Instagram to see more examples. There are also other examples of crunches on my Youtube and Instagram.

Progressions:

-Try on steeper hills/banks

-Try with increasing weight

-Ask for carrot stretches while they are crunching

-Try on a seesaw (see my instagram)

Advanced Core Work Scale

Don’t spend any more than 5 minutes at a time in a specific area. Start with what they do well and work up from there. Heavily reward new/better movement & progress. We want them to LOVE this activity!

1. Will do a crunch in the open without a tactile cue behind them

2. Will do all of the above and a crunch facing up a hill

3. Will do all of the above and a crunch facing sideways both ways on a hill

4. Will do all of the above and a crunch facing down a hill

5. Will do all of the above and a crunch with some feet on the mat

6. Will do all of the above and a crunch with front legs on a platform

7. Will do all of the above and a crunch with all 4 feet on the mat

8. Will do all of the above and a crunch with hind legs up on a platform

9. Will do all of the above and a crunch with weight 20-40 lbs +(you can stand on a mounting block and lean over to add weight or attach weights like sandbags to a saddle/surcingle)

10. Will do all of the above and a crunch while doing a carrot stretch right and left

Video 21

Activity: Up and down Hills

Equipment: Treats, Treat Pouch, Target, a hill- does not have to be particularly long or steep you can work up to longer and steeper

Directions:

-Using the target, have your horse walk up and down a short hill with their head in a neutral position. You want to be able to do 10 or more steps at a time up and down.

-Once that is reliable use the target to ask them to walk with their head lower to the ground adding a little more momentum- you are looking for a nice long and low walk with them lifting through their spine

-Repeat this and 1/2 way up and down (or every 5 steps if you have a long hill) ask for a halt by planting your feet and lifting the target straight up and using a voice command. Mark and reinforce the woah.

-If your horse is doing well try all of the above with a faster walk or trot.

Information about the activity:

This activity is all about balance. When your horse is going down hill with rhythm they have to organize themselves in a more collected way and "sit" more in the haunches. Gravity works to our advantage naturally cueing them to weight shift and balance down the hill. You will see this especially when they halt down a hill from a brisk pace. Up hill tends to be less challenging to their balance but will help with conditioning.

How and when to use:

This activity can be utilized any time you have to lead your horse up or down a hill. My path to turn out horses goes down a hill so I usually have them halt several times on the way down. In the beginning you want to spend 5-10 minutes once a week or so honing their ability to go through the above steps with straightness and rhythm. Once they have it down the most important component is their ability to go down hill with rhythm and be organized enough to stop themselves part way down. You can focus mainly on that for 2-3 reps once a week or so.

Tips & tricks:

-If your horse is having trouble use a shorter more gradual hill

-I find that I get more energy when doing this at liberty, try this if possible

-You may have to work on the “halt” cue before trying this on the hill

-Try not to over lead your horse with the halter and lead rope

-When I ask for a halt especially down hill I use my body language to mimic the "sit" on the haunches and plant my feet while leaning back slightly. I also will Click (mark) Just before they stop which usually gets them to stop to get the reward.

Progressions:

-Try on a steeper hill

-Try at a trot

-Go from a long and low down hill walk/trot to a halt

Following a target up and down hills Scale

Using a target, ask your horse to go up and down a hill. First with their head at neutral, then with their nose closer to the ground at the walk and later the trot begin adding halts part way up and down the hills

1. Horse will follow the target with head at neutral up the hill

2. All of the above and horse will follow the target with head at neutral down the hill

3. All of the above and horse will follow the target with head lowered up the hill

4. All of the above and horse will follow the target with head lowered down the hill

5. All of the above and horse will halt up the hill and start walking again with energy

6. All of the above and horse will halt going down the hill

7. All of the above and horse will halt going up or down several times while keeping some rhythm

8. All of the above and the horse will halt square while moving up or down the hill with rhythm, the horse begins tucking his hind end under more or sitting a little to balance on the down hill halt

9. All of the above and will go up and down the hill at the trot both in neutral and long and low

10. All of the above and the horse will halt from the trot both up and down the hill with balance and rhythm

Video 22

Activity: Backing Up and down Hills

Equipment: Treats, Treat Pouch, Target, a hill- does not have to be particularly long or steep you can work up to longer and steeper

Directions:

-Begin in an area they are used to backing up and practice reinforcing backing before going to the hill (don’t over do it here or they will get bored of backing, just make sure they still know the no pressure backing we have used throughout this program)

-Using the target have your horse walk up and down a hill following a target to warm up like the earlier activity 21.

-Once they are warm ask them to halt part way up and down the hill once or twice

-If that is going well, after they halt ask them to back up facing both up and down the hill

-Begin rewarding a step or two and then work up to more steps based on how willing your horse is to back up. Don't worry if they are straight at this point

-Continue working on this with walk breaks in between backing.

-Try both up and down the hill, make a note of which way is better and if they drift and to what side.

Information about the activity:

This activity is all about balance & coordination. Backing up a hill is not only challenging muscle wise but your horse has to organize themselves in a more collected way and flex more in their hind legs to reach up the hill. Gravity works to our advantage naturally cueing them to weight shift and balance whether they are going up or down. When backing down hill your horse will try to feel their way back the same way you might if you were backing down steps. This requires coordination, focus, and an engaged core.

How and when to use:

This activity can be utilized any time you have to lead your horse up or down a hill. In the beginning you want to spend 5-10 minutes once a week or so honing their ability to go through the above steps with straightness and rhythm. Once they have it down the most important component is their ability to back up or down a hill with rhythm.

Tips & tricks:

-If your horse is having trouble use a more gradual hill and reward small tries like weight shifts back- you may need to go back and revisit the backing activity (8) and heavily reinforce it on the flat before trying it on a hill

-I find that I get more energy when doing this at liberty, try this if possible.

-Try not to over lead/guide your horse with the halter and lead rope let them go crooked if they need to

Progressions:

-Try on a steeper hill

-Increase number of steps

Backing up and down hills Scale

Ask your horse to back up a hill and down a hill

1. Horse will weight shift back up or down the hill

2. Horse will take one step back up or down a hill

3. Horse will take 3 or more steps up or down a hill

4. Horse will take 3 or more steps both up and down a hill

5. Horse will take 5 or more steps up and down a hill

6. Horse will take more than 5 steps both up and down the hill with rhythm

7. Horse will take more than 5 steps both up and down the hill with rhythm and somewhat straight

8. Horse will take more than 8 steps both up and down the hill lacks rhythm and straightness

9. Horse will take more than 8 steps both up and down the hill with rhythm but not straight

10. Horse will take 10 or more steps both up and down a hill with straightness and rhythm

Video 23 A

Video 23 B

Activity: Lateral Movement

Equipment: Treats, Treat Pouch, Target, possibly a pole or log

Directions:

-Begin by building your horse's lateral movement cues. Many will do best if you first isolate the hind end, then the shoulders and then put them together. Some may do well doing both at the same time. It really depends on how much lateral work they have worked on in the past.

-Isolating the hind end movement is similar to the “no/low pressure back up”. You can do this loose, tied loosely if they are comfortable with that, or with you holding a leadrope loosely.

- Place your hand gently on their side where a leg cue for moving their hind end over would be.

- Wait until they step or weight shift over away from your hand.

- If they get stuck you can hold up a target on the same side which may encourage them to turn their head toward the target and swing their hind quarters away.

-Mark and reinforce the moment they step over with their hind end and work toward phasing out the target.

-To phase out the target you will cue with your hand & the target at the same time.

- Once they are moving well, use the hand cue first, wait a few seconds. If they move with just the hand cue mark and reward big! If they do not move after 3-5 seconds present the target mark and reward.

-Continue this until they are moving off your hand before you need the target. You may need to remind them with the target each new session once or twice but they will get it eventually!

Shoulders:

-I prefer to do this one loose in a small area or with the lead rope looped over their back so my hands are free. Stand facing your horse's shoulder. (this example is with you on your horses right side). Have your target stick in your right hand with the target part pointing back toward you like you are hiding it tucked under your elbow.

-With the target “hidden'' use your right hand to ask your horse to back up (hand at or near their chest).

-After a step or two back, put your left hand gently on their side where a leg cue for “shoulders over'' would go while also moving the target stick from under your arm to under their neck on the opposite side (see lateral movement B video).

-This should cause your horse to step out sideways away from your hand cue towards the target.

-Mark and reinforce when your horse steps to the side or weight shifts to the side. The backwards momentum keeps them from just turning and encourages them to step out laterally.

-You will phase the target out the same as above.

-To phase out the need to back up a step or two, cue the back up and at the first weight shift back add the shoulders over cue then you can do both at the same time for a while and eventually just the shoulders over.

-For each of these you can add a voice cue as well if you find that helpful. I usually say “Over” for shoulders over and “Hip” for hips over and “Step over” for both but that is up to you.

Putting them together:

-Using your hand and voice cues ask for hips over then shoulders over alternating between the two to keep them moving sideways in a straight (ish) line.

-It may be easier for your horse if their nose is at a fence or railing so they don't walk forward.

-Once they are OK at stepping over with both hips and shoulders, ask with both hand cues at the same time straightening them out as needed.

-I usually introduce the pole/log here as it helps guide them to move sideways but not all horses will be ready for that yet.

-Your horse may also do better not isolating shoulders and hips but most often the above works well. -This activity could be broken down into 2 or 3 different activities but I wanted to offer it together for those who have horses already moving laterally without the need to isolate hips and shoulders.

Information about the activity:

This activity is all about balance, coordination, and range of motion. Lateral work utilizes a completely different set of muscles than those used to move in a straight line. Most of these muscles are only utilized for stabilising your horse under very specific circumstances and so they don’t get a lot of work. Lateral movement wakes up and strengthens these smaller often neglected stabilizing muscles which play a huge role in your horses overall balance and stability.

How and when to use:

Only practice for 5-10 minutes at a time with some casual walk breaks in between. This can be physically and menatally challenging for both horse and handler so make sure to breathe and take a break when you feel stuck or frustrated.

Tips & tricks:

-For the hip isolation I like to hold a leadrope that has been looped through a ring or fence so their head is “stationed” at the wall/rail but not tied and I can take and give more rope as needed.

-Both of these are usually easier if their head is at a railing so they are not able to walk forward.

-An alternative way to teach shoulders over is with their hind quarters at a fence/rail and instead of asking for the back up first just cue the shoulders over with the hand cue and putting the target on their opposite side under their neck.

Progressions:

-Try this in the open

-on a hill

-For more than 10 steps at a time

Lateral Movement Scale

Using the target and or hand cues/techniques from the video ask your horse to step laterally with one or both pairs of feet.

1. Can move laterally one direction with hind end, one step at a time, not crossing under/stepping up under them self

2. Can move laterally both directions with hind end, one step at a time, not crossing under/stepping up under them self

3. Can move both directions laterally with hind end and one direction with front end, no rhythm

4. Can move both directions with both hind and front end not necessarily at the same time, may be one step at a time

5. The above and will move more than one step at a time in both directions with both and front end- does not have to be the same time

6. The above and is beginning to cross under themselves with hind legs

7. The above and will do a full half turn both direction moving the hind pivoting on the front

8. The above and will take 3 or more steps both directions with the front beginning to cross over

9. The above and can begin to take more than one or two steps either directions with both front and hind at the same time

10. Can move laterally with both front and hind (over a pole or in a straight line) both directions for 5 steps or more

Video 24

Activity: Crazy Cavalettis

Equipment: Target, treats, Poles and other objects on the ground that can be moved around won’t break or injure your horse if stepped on.

Directions:

Start by setting up poles/objects on the ground that you know your horse will easily be able to step over/through. Once they are willingly following you through that, begin gradually changing the objects to make it more challenging. Some options may be setting them different distances from each other, setting them in crooked or strange patterns that don’t match up with their actual stride so they have to carefully step through. You can also raise the height of some of the poles and or add additional things to navigate through like cones on the ground, pool noodles etc. You want to change and add things gradually to continue to get them to try each new set up.

Information about this activity:

This activity is meant to challenge their foot placement/body awareness while at the same time creating balance challenges. It is the next step after doing many of the other pole and obstacle activities and combines many of them together depending on how the objects are set up. This can be physically and menatally challenging for both horse and handler so make sure to breathe and take a break when you feel stuck or frustrated.

How and when to use:

Only practice for 5-10 minutes at a time with some casual walk breaks in between. This activity should be worked up towards, don’t over challenge your horse or they may become hesitant to follow you through obstacles if they feel stuck/over faced.

Tips & Tricks:

-Many people do not have access to poles, some alternatives can be pool noodles, plastic piping like PVC, other pieces of wood, tree branches, any object your horse can safely navigate over and through without injuring themselves.

-If you do not have jump standards you can use buckets or even a fence to prop poles up on to add height.

-If your horse gets stuck go back to an easier option and do that several times to build confidence and end the activity for that day. You can always try again another time.

-When you do the activity the next time start back at an easy variation and work you way up again.

Progressions:

-Try this activity on a hill

-Incorporate a ditch or step up/step down bank

-You can be very creative with this activity and use the natural landscape and really challenge your horse with anything that will make them think about their foot placement.

Crazy Cavalettis Scale

Set up poles and objects for them to walk through to challenge their spatial awareness and balance

1. Horse will walk over one pole with no problem

2. Horse will walk over normal spaced poles

3. Horse will walk through offset poles/objects may be lacking rhythm

4. Horse will walk through offset poles/objects with rhythm

5. Horse will walk through raised poles lacking rhythm

6. Horse will walk through raised poles with rhythm

7. Horse will walk through raised & off set poles lacking rhythm

8. Horse will walk through raised & off set poles with rhythm

9. The above & Horses will step over raised obstacles 10 inches or more

10. The above and Horse will confidently walk through a variety of pole configurations set with a variety of spacing and heights

Video 25

Activity: Reverse Roundpen

Equipment: Target, bridge signal, food reward, barrier set up in a 10-12 meter circle, square, or triangle

Directions:

-Standing in the enclosed area you set up, use the target to ask your horse to walk around it.

- Mark and reinforce when the horse takes a few steps following the target. You can slowly start to increase the number of steps between marking and reinforcing.

-Once you have made it around in a few circles direct the horse using the target to switch directions.

-You can then try setting it up as a square, rectangle, or triangle. You may eventually be able to move more toward the center of your circle and “lunge” in this position.

Information about the activity:

This activity uses the physical space to challenge your horse's ability to bend and balance through turns. The inside barrier gives them no choice but to bend and navigate the turns and corners if they are still following the target. It is much like the stall lunging activity but is putting the barrier on the inside rather than the outside. Some horses may feel a little confused at first so reward early and often for first attempts. Make a note in your training log If your horse falls in one direction or has more trouble or if there are certain spots that your horse seems to get stuck. This activity combines chasing the target with bending around the barrier. When we give them an objective they know well and are motivated to do while using the environment (the barriers) to add some constraints, it gives them the space to self organize and figure out how to still chase the target without crashing into the barrier. This kind of self organization and experimentation builds balance and movement competence & confidence!

How and when to use:

This activity can be done once or twice a week. If your horse has one direction that they really struggle with make sure you start with their good direction, spend a few minutes on their bad direction and then end with their good direction. That way they start and finish this activity on a more positive note. Only spend 3 to 5 minutes per direction in the beginning and build up their duration.

Tips & tricks:

-You want to do this in a big enough area that your horse feels free to leave.

-If they are nervous of the round pen use a cloth like ace wrap or polo wraps instead of plastic tape.

-You can also show them the parts of the round pen individually in a safe area and reward them when they touch, sniff, or act curious about it to create a positive association.

Progressions:

-Try an oval, a rectangle, a square, or lastly a triangle

-Add speed and or effort (leg targeting/chase the bag etc.)

-Try on a hill

Reverse Round Pen Scale

Using a target ask your horse to walk around the outside edge of the reverse round pen in various sizes & shapes

1. 1-2 steps around the round pen both directions

2. More than 2 steps one or both directions with more rhythm

3. One direction only 1/2 circle at a time without stopping

4. Full circle one direction with rhythm

5. Full circle each directions, beginning to reach for the target for long and low posture

6. Full circle each direction in a long and low posture while keeping rhythm

7. Full circle each direction long and low with rhythm will begin to trot a step or two

8. Full circle each direction with rhythm when set up as a square or rectangle

9. The above and will trot a full lap each directions

10. The above and is willing and rhythmic when set as a triangle

Video 26

Activity: Labyrinth

Equipment: Target, bridge signal, food reward, poles or part of your reverse round pen or other barriers set up to make a corridor with a turn in it.

Directions:

-Similar to the between 2 poles activity you will use your target to lead your horse through a corridor with a turn in it working up to a 90 degree turn.

-Lead them all the way through several times both directions so they are turning both right and left.

-Once they are comfortable have them stop just before exiting and have them back out both directions.

Information about the activity:

This activity uses the physical space to challenge your horse's ability to bend and balance through turns and helps them understand where their whole body is in relation to the barriers. The poles/fence act as a guide asking them to be more mindful of bending their body. When we give them an objective they already understand and then use the environment (the barriers) to add some constraints it gives them the space to self organize and figure out how to still follow the target and/or back up without stepping on, or running into the poles/barriers. This kind of self organization and experimentation builds balance and movement competence & confidence!

How and when to use:

This activity can be done once a week/every other week or as a progression after the between 2 poles activities. Take walk breaks in between especially when doing the backing part. You can start and end with them going through a straight corridor to begin and end on an easier note.

Tips & tricks:

-Begin with a bigger than 90 degree angle

-If they are having trouble make the corridor wider

-Some horses may not be ok going through a raised corridor, you can use poles on the ground while others may just want to step over poles on the ground so it may be best to have raised barriers.

-If you don’t have poles you can use buckets and broom sticks or rope etc. to make a barrier.

-You can also get a similar effect to this activity by asking your horse to back the perimeter of their stall. It’s like stall lunging in reverse. Most horses find it easier to do a wider angle at first but if you don’t have access to equipment to make one this can be a good alternative as long as your horse doesn't feel stuck.

Progressions:

-Make the turn tighter

-Make the corridor more narrow

-Try on a hill

-Try backing the perimeter of their stall or set up a square labyrinth to back a square

Labyrinth Scale

Set up poles in a chute/corridor with at least one 90-140 degree angle turn in it

1. Horse hesitates to walk forward through the chute will ot back up

2. Horse will walk forward through chute both directions but not back up

3. The horse will attempt to back up but not through the turn

4. The horse will attempt to back up through a turn one direction, no rhythm, feeling their way along

5. The horse will attempt to back up through both turns, no rhythm, feeling their way along, lots of stopping

6. The horse can navigate backing through one turn with more rhythm few stops/rail touches

7. The horse will back through both turns with a few stops/rail touches

8. The horse will attempt to back through a 90 degree turn

9. The horse can back both directions through a 90 degree turn some stopping/hesitation

10. The horse rhythmically backs both directions through a 90 degree turn without stopping or knocking into the barriers

Video 27

Activity: Encouraging Play

Equipment: Treats, bridge signal & various objects & toys you think your horse will find interesting to interact with

Directions:

-Begin by introducing a novel object to your horse.

-Start in an area where your horse is able to retreat from the new object if they feel nervous, either over a fence, from outside their stall, or in a large area.

-Hold the object where they can easily reach it to sniff while keeping it very still.

-Mark and reinforce when they look toward it, sniff it, or touch it.

-For some horses looking directly at it might be a big step. Others may walk right up to it.

-Once they seem comfortable with the object and you have created a positive association, allow them to interact with it in an open area.

-Make sure this area is large enough for them to move away safely preferably a 20 m round pen or larger.

-Continue to mark and reinforce anytime your horse interacts with the object.

-Eventually they may find playing just as rewarding as the food reinforcement and will start ignoring the marker signal and just play, which is great!

-Once you find something they enjoy playing with, offer it to them once a week or less so they don’t get bored.

-You can continue introducing new objects. Many people like to rotate different toys into the paddock especially if they are kept in a smaller area long term, do your best to keep it interesting for them.

Information about the activity:

Play is a very important part of keeping your horse healthy both mentally and physically. So many horses are discouraged from playing to avoid injuring themselves or humans and this can be a great way to do it safely. Play also creates the opportunity to become more fit, flexible, and agile. Many of the previous activities were created to turn strength training sessions in to games and puzzles and this is by design. When we are playing, exploring, and motivated to try something hard and new, our brain and our body work together In new ways that allow us to break old habits like poor movement patterns while building new ranges of motion. Play based learning is becoming an important part of both human and animal learning and this is a great way to offer it to your horse. A nice side effect of this program is bravery! A horse who feels strong and balanced will not need to be so wary of new objects. We also introduce many new objects which strengthens their curiosity so hopefully at this point you will see your horse becoming braver & more curious. Make it your own, have fun, and play a little yourself!

How and when to use:

You can incorporate this activity as often as you want. Just make sure that you keep it interesting by continuing to introduce new objects and/or by switching up how often they get to play with their favorite items. If your horse really loves to chase a ball and you leave it in their paddock 24/7 they will eventually get very bored with it, so you want to find new ways to give them something interesting to play with.

Tips & tricks:

If you have a horse who is a little afraid of new objects simply leaving something new in their area for a week or so may be plenty of brain stimulation to start with. You should also take time to specifically reinforce them looking at and or coming closer to that object. For example Rocco used to be terrified of the yoga ball and I would simply have it in the paddock with him when we worked on other activities far away from it. I would also reinforce them looking at it or going closer to it and now he will kick it and chase it by himself.

If your horse is naturally brave and curious you will want to change up the object fairly often and restrict their access to it a little bit more because they will get bored easily. With Finnic I even have to carry different target sticks because he often gets bored chasing the same one for instance.

Progressions:

The only progression with this activity is continuing to introduce new things and situations to them and continuing to be creative on how you are able to allow/entice them to play. There is no scale with this activity as it is going to look very different for every horse and is an ongoing supplemental enrichment activity that will support all the other things you do in this program. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Video 28

Moving Forward