Show stance...how to train...to stretch out or not to stretch.

[Lil Timber Buck]

Okay, so I am trying to watch videos of miniature horse shows so that I will know what to expect when we finally get to show for the first time. I come from a walking horse background where you want the horse to be "parked" out or stretched out to give their long lines that beautiful look. Looking at this video though,

I am seeing that most people are just squaring the horse nicely with a slight stretch to it. Is this true? Any advice on what the judges are looking for would be great.Another question trying to translate from the big horse world to little horses in the "Park" or standing position is on the big horses we have one cue and we are done. Some people snap their fingers, some touch their sides with their heel or whatever and the horse parks out and waits for the judge. The people in this video appear to have to place the horses hooves where they want them and the people look really awkward with some of the movements they are making. Why are they doing it that way? I know my little guy is fidgity when he has to stand still a long time, but I would think you could just train them to stand in a show stance....am I wrong? Seriously, I am asking because I have no idea how these little guys act around each other.

 

[horsefeather]

Hello and welcome to the world of Minis and Shetlands!!! I had to smile when I read the last of your post, about people looking 'awkward' when showing. I felt the very same way when we first began showing minis......LOL In fact, there were a few showing way back then who I actually couldn't watch because I was afraid I would laugh!! However, after you have been to a few shows, you will most likely begin to do the same. You can teach the horses to stand, but when there are a lot of horses in the halter class, they get tired of standing. Also, when a judge looks at your horse, they want the neck stretched, head up and ears pointed. As far as stretching or not, you are supposed to show your horse the way he/she looks better. Most mini people will square their horse and shetland people show theirs stretched. The mini rule book says to show square, but some pay no attention to that.

Pam

 

[disneyhorse]

If showing AMHA, horses stand more square. If showing AMHR, the rule book states showing to the horse's best advantage, so either square or parked out is fine.

As far as cues and methods... Anything goes. When I was less experienced, I hand-set the feet. Now, I just train the horses to halter pressure. They set back feet to the halter, and front feet when I touch the withers. If I don't touch them, they don't move (cuz I discovered I hated creeping and parking out further.)

 

[Lil Timber Buck]

Ah okay. Thanks so much Horsefeather and Disneyhorse!! Glad I could make you laugh horsefeather

 

[Minimor]

You can set the feet by hand or you can pose your mini the same way you did with your big horses, either way is fine. I generally teach our small equine the same way I did the Morgans when I was showing them--set them up with the halter only, maybe a point with my finger at the offending front foot if the horse is slow at placing one. Sometimes I will actually touch the front leg to bring it forward if it's the first show and the horse is having issues with his attention span but I never have to touch the hind legs as I have seen a few people do and I simply do not "set" a foot--as in positioning it to be straight, any touch is simply to move the foot forward to where it's supposed to be.

Never mind people looking awkward--wait until you see someone doing the chicken dance...is that still in style in the Mini show ring? I haven't paid much attention the last couple of years. Some people have a real routine they go through when showing--you twist this way, bend that way, rotate your arm up and over at the shoulder, bend the knees, lean forward, backward, straighten the legs, make motions that look like you're trying to cast a spell on your horse...then start the routine all over again. Once I was in a head to tail line up & the guy behind my horse was going through his routine of gyrations & I got to the point where I wanted to ask don't you ever stand still??? It was annoying! Thing is...the handler goes through all these motions and a good number of horses simply ignore the whole thing--they've seen it so many times it no longer interests them.

 

[Lil Timber Buck]

You can set the feet by hand or you can pose your mini the same way you did with your big horses, either way is fine. I generally teach our small equine the same way I did the Morgans when I was showing them--set them up with the halter only, maybe a point with my finger at the offending front foot if the horse is slow at placing one. Sometimes I will actually touch the front leg to bring it forward if it's the first show and the horse is having issues with his attention span but I never have to touch the hind legs as I have seen a few people do and I simply do not "set" a foot--as in positioning it to be straight, any touch is simply to move the foot forward to where it's supposed to be.

Never mind people looking awkward--wait until you see someone doing the chicken dance...is that still in style in the Mini show ring? I haven't paid much attention the last couple of years. Some people have a real routine they go through when showing--you twist this way, bend that way, rotate your arm up and over at the shoulder, bend the knees, lean forward, backward, straighten the legs, make motions that look like you're trying to cast a spell on your horse...then start the routine all over again. Once I was in a head to tail line up & the guy behind my horse was going through his routine of gyrations & I got to the point where I wanted to ask don't you ever stand still??? It was annoying! Thing is...the handler goes through all these motions and a good number of horses simply ignore the whole thing--they've seen it so many times it no longer interests them.

So the "Chicken dance"...is that to make the horses pay attention and prick up their ears? To keep their minds off everything else? I know in the walking horse ring the trainers come out with plastic bags waving them around like crazy people, popping towels in front of them or whatever it takes lol. SOOO funny!

 

[Lewella]

Never mind people looking awkward--wait until you see someone doing the chicken dance...is that still in style in the Mini show ring?

I was a show a couple of years ago where a local 4-H leader was helping with the gate. After one particularly "active" class she turned to me and said "I don't think I could show minis. I'm not limber enough to do the mating dance of the sandhill crane!"

 

[Lil Timber Buck]

I was a show a couple of years ago where a local 4-H leader was helping with the gate. After one particularly "active" class she turned to me and said "I don't think I could show minis. I'm not limber enough to do the mating dance of the sandhill crane!"

hahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahaha

 

[supaspot]

I remember the first time I watched a mini class online and I was gobsmacked ,... I had never seen anything like it and would cringe at the thought of it catching on over in the UK and in Ireland, very soon many other mini people over here were watching it and it caused a great deal of laughter and criticism, but now . a few years later , most of them are doing the same themselves , maybe not as exaggerated but they have definately taken on the american style of showing and its accepted as normal

 

[dannigirl]

I will never forget the advice an older show lady gave the teenager that was with me. She said that no matter how much you move, when you squat in any way, keep your knees together. A lady doesn't squat with her knees apart. I thought it was funny until I watched a lot of classes. She is correct--keep the knees together. LOL

 

[rabbitsfizz]

The chicken dance is totally unnecessary and really really annoying. I watched Worlds a couple of years back and there was an older gentleman there, who, I am sure had been there seen it all and had probably got the t-shirt. He did not dance, he did not gyrate, he had trained his horse and he had it down to a fine art. He did not hand set the feet either. He kept his eye on the Judges and he trusted his horse to stand still while he did it. The time he asked for attention he got it, for as long as he wanted it. The time he rewarded all this good behaviour was when he relaxed his horse (obviously I could not hear but I am assuming he cued him/her) and that was when he gave it a small treat. I watched him when they went to the rail, he did exchange pleasantries with the people nearest to him, but he was scritching his horse neck and paying it attention, too. Honestly, train at home, get it right, have a rapport with your horse and make it fun for the horse and enjoy it yourself, because, I can promise you, even Olympic standard histrionics just are not going to keep the horses attention. Then, of course, we can always fall back on that old staple " jerking the chin chain" (sarcasm implied, btw)

 

[wingnut]

Okay, so for those of us who are super brand new to all of this....how do you learn to setup your horse and train them to STAY there? I will be working with a friend who is good at this but we haven't been able to get together yet (thanks to illness and weather). I'm curious to hear how some of you do it. A video example of such training would be great as would a book suggestion (lots of pictures would be good for me )

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

Okay, so for those of us who are super brand new to all of this....how do you learn to setup your horse and train them to STAY there? I will be working with a friend who is good at this but we haven't been able to get together yet (thanks to illness and weather). I'm curious to hear how some of you do it. A video example of such training would be great as would a book suggestion (lots of pictures would be good for me )

Go here:

http://www.starsminiatures.com/newwhoa.html

 

[fourluckyhorseshoes]

Hi-

Two weeks ago Mike McCabe had a halter and driving clinic-- here are a few of the tips he gave (copied from clinic notes)

Equipment:

· Stall Halter

· Thick soft lead rope

· Show Halter



Groundwork Training Tips:

· Teach your horse to lead properly.

o Use your lead rope as a tool.

§
Don’t let the horse walk behind or in front of you.
§
He should stay out of your “space” or “area”.
§
Turning toward your horse helps keep him out of your space and in control.
o You must have a good “whoa”.

o When facing the horse, he should stand still.

o Teach the horse to back in a straight line away from you.



Standing the Horse Up:

· Show your horse from the tail to the nose.

o Get the back feet square before working on the front feet.

o Don’t stand the horse under himself or stretched.

· The horse should lean back when you lean towards him.

· Once the horse can do the above you are ready to introduce bait to get him to use his neck and ears.

o Do not hold bait above the eye or the horse will tend not to use his ears.



Remember, if you allow your horse to be a “pet” by getting into your space, he will not show as well.

 

[Lil Timber Buck]

Thanks so much for all the advice!