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Moving Beyond Stuckpoints: The Reflections of a Young Horse Training Clinic Participant
I attended my second Starting Young Horse Clinic, held in August, 2006, and wrote about it for the October, 2006 TTeam Connections Newsletter. I write that this time around, I learned how to better move beyond the “I’m stuck,” to the “Eureka” moment when working with horses.
I listened carefully on the first of the eight-day Young Horse Training Clinic, as Robyn Hood provided us with a brief course overview. I’d taken the previous year’s course, so I presumed that the day-long sessions would (again) go something like this: Twice daily, Robyn and Christine Schwartz would give demonstrations, then my two other group members and I would put TTeam theory to practice. After each training session we’d reconvene and talk about how “it” went, it being the each horses’ lesson.
I soon discovered that I’d erred in my initial assumption, which is that the 2006 would be identical to the 2005 course. Robyn said that this year, there were a larger than usual number of horses at various ages and level of training. This, I presumed meant that there would be more problem solving going on. I lifted my glasses, rubbed my eyes, and muttered something about wanting the same old same old.
My response was out of character. I’m a college teacher who has always believed that “real learning” and “problem solving” are synonymous terms. And I have been known to run at top speed down non-conventional knowledge paths. But the 12-hour Greyhound bus ride from Seattle, WA to Vernon, BC had tired me out. I was also fretting about life on the home front. It had (so far) been a bad hay year, and Pete and I weren’t sure if we’d be able to front Siggi, Raudi, and Tinni’s food bill.
And so, as Robyn began matching horses to groups, I considered mentioning that I wanted to work with the really mellow horses. Instead, I listened to my inner voice, which told me to imitate my best students, and take a wait-and-see approach.
We (by “we” I mean clinic attendees Dwight Dow, Gwen Feero, Susan Tilly, and Dorte Wengen , and additional instructors Susan Hodgson and Barbara Owens.) soon discovered that Robyn was right – this group was a diverse lot. This time around, the clinic horses were 4 AND 5 years old. Plus, some, like Kalda, Drinfari, and Reddi had been in the previous years’ class. However, the course structure (which was similar to that of previous years) provided us with a much-needed framework, that is one which made problem solving challenging and non-stressful. We worked in groups of three, so no one ever had to go at it alone. Christine Schwartz and Robyn were always close by, so someone was always there to give an assist. We were each given a hard-covered binder with an overview of TTEam training techniques, so we all had an invaluable print reference on hand. (This included detailed checklists which enabled us to map and chart our horses’ progress.) There were demos, so everyone was acquainted or reacquainted with TTeam and TTouches. Nutritious snacks and lunch were a given.
And once again, ample time was provided for discussion. However, there was little time for reflection. For me, this business of figuring out what it was that I learned, and what the horses I worked with learned, began on the Greyhound bus ride back to Seattle. What follows is a summation of my course notes, which I put in narrative form, on the bus and plane ride home.
As soon as the introductory session was over, I (along with Theresa Lee and Icelandic Horse Farm summer intern Perry Rothman-Ostrow began focusing on the task at hand, which was to TTeam train Venus, and Pipar, age 4, and Drinfari, age 5. Since all were so different in terms of their personalities, temperament, and training, we could not, even if we’d wanted to, march in lockstep. Instead, we had to figure out where each individual was coming from, and take the educational process from there. Most of the time, things went smoothly, in part because like most Icelandics, the three were good natured, incredibly patient, and extremely intelligent. But there were times when we had to deal with stuck points, or as I define it, horse and trainer-related impasses.
Enter Pipar: age 4. a slender , sensitive chestnut gelding who by nature is alert, attentive, and is extremely interested in what is going on around him. At the beginning of Day 1, he stood patiently. But , upon closer examination, we noted that his tail was clamped tightly between his legs, and additionally, that his mouth and jaw muscles were tight. Pipar also shied away when I touched his legs. However, the use of TTouches and TTeam training techniques proved to be a confidence builder – over the next few days, he grew increasingly more relaxed.
Pipar and my collective stuckpoint came on Day 5, shortly after we’d begun doing obstacle work. Early on, all went smoothly -- he walked through the “V” on the ground, between plastic walls, and under the fun noodle, which was being held up by Susan and Gwen. (They were standing on crates.) Pipar also had no qualms about walking under the milk container “clothesline.” Plus, he willingly walked under the cut-up tarp “clothesline. However, the second time around, he planted his feet and refused to move forward.
Christine remarked that horses sometimes become balky when they’re again asked to go under or around obstacles. She then suggested that I stroke Pipar firmly with the wand. I touched him gently, and then moved with him, as he took several steps backwards. .
“Really firm,” Christine said, adding “there should be a bend in the wand.”
As Pipar did as I asked, I breathed a sigh of relief. Together, we’d punched through a stuckpoint. I’d learned to be more affirmative when making a training-related request. And he’d become less apprehensive about walking under this sort of overhead obstacle.
Enter Venus: age 4, a yellow dun mare with a Mona Lisa type smile. Short and slow-moving, Venus appeared as though little in life would ever phase her. This plucky little horse verified this by taking well to the early “assignments” on our checklist, such as leading, going through the labyrinth, and chest and double-line driving. She also gave her feet readily, and appeared to enjoy TTouches, especially ear and tail work, Lick of the Cow’s Tongue, and Belly Lifts.
Then came the day when the outcome of a routine task alerted me to the fact that Venus was not as laid back as I first thought. Day 4’s first assigned task (as I understood it) was deceptively simple. All I heard that we had to do was yank the saddlepad off the horses’ back, and toss a few crunchies onto it. The purpose of this exercise is twofold – the horse gets used to having a saddlepad on their back, and learns to stop when it, or like objects fall to the ground. Perry and I sprang into action. She lead Venus, and I yanked the saddlepad off her back, let it flop to the ground, and tossed the treat onto it. As expected, Venus lurched to a halt, and snarfed down the cubes.
We moved on to the next portion of this exercise, which was to now pull the saddlepad off Venus’s hindquarters. This was the point at which she and I encountered a stuckpoint. As I jerked the pad off her rump, she did a series of crowhops. What, I wondered, should I do now? Perhaps, I thought, I should try again to put the pad on her rear end. As if reading my mind, Christine stepped forward, and instead offered to give an assist. I expected that she would do as I’d just done. Instead, Christine gently laid the saddlepad on Venus’s back, and asked Perry to lead the horse forward. She then gave the pad a slight tug, and held onto it, as it fell to the ground.
“Now,” she said. In response, I tossed the crunchies on the pad.
We moved on. Since Venus was (again) more reactive when Christine pulled the pad off her rump, we all agreed to resume walking through with the labyrinth, which was something that she clearly enjoyed.
No, Venus and I didn’t make it past this particular stuckpoint. However, we both made progress in this area. Venus was okay with having a saddlepad pulled off her back when it was done in a mindful fashion. This alerted me to the fact, that in time, she would have been accepting of the same being pulled off her rump, if it was done in a like-deliberative fashion. What I learned was that fixating on outcome can be deleterious. In this instance, going back to a previous exercise and then moving onto another one calmed, and probably upped Venus’s level of confidence.
Enter Drinfari, age 5: This lanky bay horse with the splotch of white on his forehead had been a student in the 2005 young horse training clinic. Initially, I was fearful about working with him the previous summer, he’d been a challenge for his three experienced three group members. My fears dissipated quickly, for he’d matured considerably in the past year. He stood quietly when we did TTouches, and willingly went over the obstacles in the outdoor playground of higher learning. But he still had some important things to learn. For instance, he was mouthy. When asked to stand still, he’d grab at the Zephyr lead. My response to this was to step forward after he’d taken it in his mouth, and pull hard..
One day, Robyn, noticing this, urged me to step back.
I did as I was told. Drinifari immediately dropped the line and stood quietly.
“It works!” I said.
“Of course,” Robyn replied.
Drinfari would, when lead, put the bulk of his weight into his left shoulder and leg. Robyn pointed out that shouldering in was immediately problematic when doing groundwork and would be potentially problematic when riding, since it would manifest itself as heaviness in forehand.
The solution to this particular problem (which came over a few days’ time) centered around my learning to position my body in such a way as to better direct his. (For instance, I had to learn to turn with the upper half of my body, and when in Elegant Elephant, focus on putting my leading hand forward). Much of this positioning took place while doing obstacle work in the playground of higher learning. Robyn also lunged Drinfari in an oval, and Perry, Theresa and I reacquainted him with the various leading positions, some of included the dingo, cueing the camel, and flick of the zebra’s tail. Quite obviously, Drinfari and I moved beyond two major stuckpoints. He learned to be less mouthy, and to better move in accordance with his trainer. And in both instances, I became more body aware. This then, better enabled me to communicate my intentions to him.
Lessons Learned: On October 8, two months after my return home, I sat down and reread my young horse training clinic rewrites. I then discovered that I’d learned more than I’d initially realized. For instance, there was this business of problem solving. While at the farm, I’d had considerable assistance in dealing with stuckpoints. This then, later enabled me to put theory to practice when I resumed working with Raudhetta, now 3 ½, and Siggi Halastajarni, now 2 ½. For example, my having worked with Pipar, who like Raudi is super-attentive, taught me how to better envision what I what looking for, and to be firm when asking for it. And having worked with Venus, who like Siggi comes across as super mellow, taught me to remain mindful.
In retrospect, my working with Drinfari proved to
be the most useful, because, like this fellow, both Siggi and Raudi have,
in the past, tended to be pushy when being lead. (This, I admit is a result
of their having been handled too much in their youth, by me, an inexperienced,
first-time young horse owner.) I’m pleased to say that having internalized
what I learned while working with Drinfari--and then later having externalized
it--has changed our working relationship for the better. The most important
thing though, is my newfound attitude about stuckpoints. No longer do
I dread them. Rather, I now find them as being oddly gratifying because
quite often, the end result is now what I most welcome -- communicative
ahh haa moments. This is why, when I’m asked if I’ll return
to Vernon next summer, my response is an instantaneous yes!
Moving Beyond Stuckpoints