# Sometimes I make things so difficult!



## brasstackminis (May 15, 2012)

So I have been racking my brain with what to do with my shetland. I have been working on getting him to a point where he can compete in CDEs. He is so reactive and high headed, but really smart. He really reminds me of the Arabians I have owned and trained (I love my Arabs). I am constantly working on trying to get him to relax, travel in a more level headed manner, not with his nose above his ears and his back all hollow!




So today I had an epiphany! I have trained many Arabians and succeeded in Dressage with them. How? Training. What did I do? Side reins and round penning before I rode them. I remembered teaching my gelding with a high neck set to streatch...I can teach him!



DUH!

The driving trainers I have gone to clinics with him have said, "this horse does not need to be any more fit. He needs an education!" I agreed, but still just was basically putting more miles on him.



All of the sudden I realized that he needed to teach himself, with my guidance, how to carry himself in the frame I am looking for. I acted like he was my 16.2hh warmblood/arab gelding and lounged him in side reins. I marveled as I watched my stiff and nervous little black horse begin to relax and carry himself like one of my big Dressage horses. I actually saw him in my mind in the classic black and white Dressage bridle with his legs wrapped only smaller, like he was afar off. My little Dutch harness horse...so handsome! I wanted to ride him! He was so different!



I realize that he needs to build up different muscles and change some muscle memory, but now I have a plan. Treat him like a horse! It is so funny how easily I forgot that! I will try to get some before the exercise and during the exercise pics so others can marvel in my forgetfulness! LOL


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## paintponylvr (May 15, 2012)

I love those kind of pics! Can't wait.

I've had the same type of epiphanies, so I completely understand, LOL.


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## brasstackminis (May 16, 2012)

Ok so I worked my boy again tonight. I tried to get some pics of the good and the bad. The videos might be more telling. I am going to try to upload them...

Starbuck showing what he has naturally...




After a few mins in the sliding side reins...







Now to go to Youtube...Please excuse my horrible phone pics. It is hard to get a black moving target on my phone. The videos are easier to see...you just have to deal with me talking to him!


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## brasstackminis (May 16, 2012)

Ok this video is from the very beginning...



I get so tickled that he gets so relaxed at the end that it is almost hard to get him to move on. He is not tired...just relaxed


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## rbrown (May 16, 2012)

Wow, what a big difference! He looks great!


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## Jules (May 16, 2012)

What a great difference! You can absolutely see the head up/hollowed out back thing going on in the first image. He looks much better in the clips.

My two youngest kids (2 and 4yo) watched the clip too and were 'clicking' with their tongues at him too.

I totally forgot you guys have different Shetlands to what I know as a Shetland, I was expecting a Thelwell-esque pony of pudge, but instead saw a very refined looking horse. He is gorgeous!

Congrats on having an epiphany with his training


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## susanne (May 16, 2012)

He's looking good!

We've had great success with sliding sidereins. (I was a bit worried when you first mentioned simply sidereins, but then saw that all-important word, "sliding."

Mingus loves to trot with his head in the air, or as Leia has said, like a little standardbred. The sliding sidereins have really helped him find his own balance and lift his back.


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## New mini (May 17, 2012)

Here is a newbie question. Why use sliding side reins as opposed to side reins. I am wanting to get Lance to bend more and was going to use side reins after seeing this post.


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## rbrown (May 17, 2012)

I don't have the book on me right now (I'm 1,000 miles from home right now!), but I learned a lot about sliding side reins in "Carriage Driving: A Logical Approach Through Dressage Training." I wish I could remember what they said about sliding vs. regular side reins... but it made a lot of sense to me, and I only use sliding side reins with Skip. I believe sliding side reins allow for more of a range of movement- it seems to me (and I could be wrong, I'm no expert and I haven't researched this recently!) that they help horses to stretch down and relax their back better than side reins. I've noticed that Skippy moves much more relaxed-looking with them (very much like Starbuck in brasstackminis' video), looks like she's stretching and using her hind end better. If we were to use side reins, I think they'd just encourage her to tuck her nose. Hopefully an expert will chime in


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## New mini (May 17, 2012)

thanks I have the book and will look up sliding side reins. I have read a lot of the book but do not remember reading about them.


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## susanne (May 17, 2012)

Others can give a better explanation, but briefly, fixed sidereins lock the horse into a given head/neck set and encourage the horse to balance against the rein. Sliding side reins allow the horse to move his head and neck within a given range, encouraging him to find his own balance and lengthen his topline. With Mingus, it was as if the proverbial lightbulb went off when he discovered how much more power he had carrying himself properly.


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## hobbyhorse23 (May 18, 2012)

susanne said:


> We've had great success with sliding sidereins. (I was a bit worried when you first mentioned simply sidereins, but then saw that all-important word, "sliding."


Ditto!



New mini said:


> Here is a newbie question. Why use sliding side reins as opposed to side reins. I am wanting to get Lance to bend more and was going to use side reins after seeing this post.





susanne said:


> Others can give a better explanation, but briefly, fixed sidereins lock the horse into a given head/neck set and encourage the horse to balance against the rein. Sliding side reins allow the horse to move his head and neck within a given range, encouraging him to find his own balance and lengthen his topline.


Actually I think that explanation is short, sweet and accurate.



New Mini, the reality is that side reins are never going to succeed in teaching a horse to bend because bending is a dynamic response and side reins force the horse into a static frame. All they can do is make him keep his nose to the inside and you as the handler can then attempt to position him so that he doesn't fall out through the hip and thus appears to achieve some sort of bend. Unfortunately when you unclip the side reins he isn't going to have learned a darn thing except that when the rein goes on he needs to tip his nose to the inside; you can build a habit that way but not understanding.

Bending is about finding balance and the driver's hands are by far the best to teach that. The next best thing is sliding sidereins because as Susanne said, they allow the horse to find their own longitudinal balance and rather than locking the horse in a frame they simply suggest to him over and over that it's more comfortable to stretch down. When he goes too far down he finds that's not comfortable either and learns from experience that he needs to be in the middle. This is very useful for a horse who habitually hollows out or a green horse who tends to quietly resist through the jaw and lock their neck into one spot. It shows them a better way and once they're stretching longitudinally, the lateral bend will follow at the handler's direction as they can now swing the inside hind leg up under themselves and lift the inside shoulder. It's self-rewarding.

I also prefer sliding side reins because they give a green horse the option to stretch tiring neck muscles by lengthening frame for a few strides rather than locking them into one position where they learn that working may make them sore and uncomfortable. A good handler should release the horse from fixed sidereins periodically and do frequent changes of direction to prevent that, but we all know that doesn't always happen. I don't want my horse going "oh thank God" when contact is released from the bit- I want him seeing the bit as a friend he can trust and seeking after it actively. He's never going to learn that from fixed reins.

Then again, I'm the kind of trainer who wants ALL my interactions to be in a mutual spirit of joyful experimentation. I want the horse searching for the right answer and trying different things to please me, not simply learning "don't do this" and "be here and nothing awful will happen."



It's much more fun for both of us!

Karen, I'm glad you had such an epiphany and obviously Starbuck is having a bit of one too. Keep us updated!

Leia


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## brasstackminis (Jul 2, 2012)

I thought I needed to post an update. I have been beating the heat for my horses with hoses and time off. The other day a rain shower came and dropped the temperature from 108 to 82!!! So I got out my little shetland and lounged him in the side reins again. Then I left them on and ground drove him. So, not sure if it is a bad thing or not, but I added his driving reins and ground drove him up and down the driveway to cool him off. I think someone kidnapped my shetland and replaced him with I don't know what! He was so relaxed, had his head down, was responsive, and super flexible. I wish there was someone to take a picture...maybe next time I will have my phone with me and try to snap a picture...hard to do while ground driving. I would never have thought that he could be like that.


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