It looks like you're not just teaching the head position (especially when you're talking about flexing the poll) but more so (and more importantly) the shoulder lift that comes with it! It's really that part that allows the whole body to follow :) it's a very crucial detail, an important one to look for when reinforcing the poll flexion! I really enjoyed watching this!

your training style is so harmonious, i find it excellent. thank you for this. keep em coming. :-) god bless you.

@ConnectionTraining

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, glad you're enjoying the videos. Will do!

Thank you for this video! Well explained, very kind horsemanship! ☺️

It's a great way to teach the idea of how they can move better.

Thank you thank you!! Oh I've been trying for a year to get my horse to drop his head in trot - he does exactly everything you mention: rushing, stumbling, all of it. It is like he doesn't know how to trot with a lower head position. I lunged with a neck stretcher (no change), trotted him over poles (he stumbles over them)... all articles and videos mention "lifting the back", "engaging the outide rein", etc etc - this means nothing to me or him. It makes so much sense to use a target and reward. Going to try this now! Thank you!!

@ConnectionTraining

3 жыл бұрын

You're welcome and good luck with the training. Working on the ground really helps this, too, as it allows the horse to figure out his balance without the rider on board, making it easier for both of you when you ride. Take a look at my gymnastic groundwork playlist if you want some more groundwork exercises and ideas, too. :-)

I always thought engaging the hindquarters and then framing the front kinda makes the head fall into place. That's how it's been for me. I think you're focusing on the head too much, most of it all is the seat of the rider.

@ConnectionTraining

6 жыл бұрын

Hi Nina, Thanks for taking the time to watch the video :) This short video is really only about using positive reinforcement to help horses understand what we're looking for in terms of head positions. Riding and training are obviously massive subjects and these videos are just tasters to give people ideas about what's possible. We go in to much more depth about this topic and everything else involved in the comprehensive online courses. connectiontraining.com/home-study-courses/

Hi Hannah! Loved your video....will go on your website to check it out! This is exactly what I am looking for. Self carriage without being heavy handed. Super!

Hi Hannah. I've always been taught that the head should follow a correctly moving body - i.e. we shouldnt focus on getting the head right - just getting them forwards and engaged and the head will follow?

@ConnectionTraining

3 жыл бұрын

Hi Emma, I was taught this too and struggled for years until I added in some cues for the head position. The neck is the most flexible part of the horse's spine with a big, heavy head on the end - where it's placed changes the balance of the horse dramatically (there are some great studies on this - eg check out Dr Hilary Clayton's work if you want to find out more). Anyway, say you've encouraged or taught the horse to lower their head and stretch forward, which is always the first exercise we teach (including lengthening the spine and stride as we're looking at the whole horse), when you then ask them to change their balance and frame, the horse can continue to try lowering and stretching the head because that's what they think they should do, which disrupts their balance and postural alignment. By teaching some simple cues to change the head position, it's much easier to explain each exercise to the horse, just like we teach different cues for flexions, or moving the shoulders or quarters etc. Of course, we're looking at the whole horse all the time, but this video is specifically about the head and neck positions and cues, and how that affects the movement.

@alainakelly7002

3 жыл бұрын

@@ConnectionTraining Obviously I'm quite late to the party here but this is something I've also always been taught, and I think it stems from not wanting to sacrifice 'forward' and 'balance' by mechanically bringing the head in with training aids or a lot of rein involvement. I feel like the head truly is more telling. An engaged horse will have a correct headset by the balance of engaging the hindquarters no matter what. But I think this target training approach still achieves the same physical result, in a different manner. It would be harder to use positive reinforcement to "target" the hind end engagement, but by shaping where the head sits, you still get that result. At least, that is how I'm understanding it. The horse learns where to place the head on a cue, and in order to maintain the position, the desired body mechanics/balance/movement must follow. I feel like this can be compared to a person performing ab crunches. You can think of it as "I'm going to squeeze my core" and your upper body will lift, or you can think "I'm going to place my upper body here" and the core squeezes to maintain. Two different thought processes, same mechanics. Maybe that makes sense? I've used positive reinforcement on my dog and completed a wonderful internship with sea lions and seals and completed a few research projects on it, but have never used positive reinforcement in my horses. My horses are both very wonderful, but I just feel like we are missing something along the lines of willingness and relaxation, which is what is leading me to give positive reinforcement a try with horses. Honestly , it has mostly been the stigma keeping me from doing it. If you read all of that, thanks!

@forestequestrian9290

3 жыл бұрын

@@alainakelly7002 I totally agree with you! And if it helps, my thoroughbred has always struggled with being on the bit, quite resistent and I always just felt super confused until I retrained him bitless and with this positive reinforcement method. It is now 2 months in and he is moving like he never has before, he can trot with his nose on the ground, he willingly offers a beautiful relaxed collection and is generally just a happier more willing boy! Hope your journey is going well! I wish more horse people knew about the method of +R, it truly proves that horses can choose!

Lovely and informative video, thanks! About how long did it take to teach these horses the different stages of head carriage? :-)

@ConnectionTraining

Жыл бұрын

Thanks! Well, you can usually teach the basic concepts in a few sessions, but you're refining them forever, so it's a bit of a difficult question to answer! It also depends on the experience and aptitude of both horse and human because obviously if you're just starting out, it takes longer to figure out what you're training than if you've trained it to 10 horses already. Also, some horses are fit, experienced and with good conformation and training history, so can easily learn and apply new positions. Others are out of shape, with trickier conformation, have had long-term movement patterns such as head high-hollow back, or nose-on-the-floor, and haven't had much training, and they will take much longer to teach. They can all learn to be more balanced, engaged, supple and include more variety in their movement, though. Hope that helps a bit!

@connectiontraining, my horse always has a low head and I had NO idea that was likely the cause of his tripping and speeding up down hill. But, I am not sure I fully understand how to transition queue’s from ground work to when riding? Any tips? Also, what if your horse isn’t one for treats?

Hallo, your video was greate :-) . How can I have the whole video, I mean the complete teaching scenario?

@ConnectionTraining

6 жыл бұрын

Hi glad you like it. You can buy the full training course "Riding with Connection" at our website www.connectiontraining.com This also gives you membership of Connection Training for life. You get personal support through our monthly Live Q & A Sessions online, and through our forum, where we give personal support too. Hope to see you there.

I would love to try this with my boy . I ride with a neck rope more than I don't . lol Would it work better if you use a word associated with the flexion ..as you're on board?

Yas bitless

@ConnectionTraining

6 жыл бұрын

Yes a bit definitely isn't essential for this training :)