Focus on the Circling Game
by Pat ParelliNote: This is the fifth in a series examining
the Seven Games with Pat Parelli and their role in establishing leadership as well as
building a language between you and a horse... any horse.
Have you ever wished your horse would
maintain gait without constantly
squeezing with your legs to keep him going, or pulling on the reins to get him
to slow down? Have you ever wished your horse would just keep his attention
on you instead of veering off every time he sees something new?
The Circling Game in Parelli Natural Horsemanship (PNH) addresses exactly
those kinds of things. This game is used to help your horse understand that it is his job
to maintain gait, maintain direction, and watch where he is going – all while staying tuned into
you as his center of attention.
Of course, to get good at this game you first need to get good at the four PNH Games
that come before it. The Seven Games are cumulative, so without the Friendly,
Porcupine, Driving, and Yo-Yo Games in place, the Circling Game can turn into plain old
longeing.
And Speaking of…
What is the difference between the Circling Game and longeing? Are they very
different? Do they have a different purpose or are they the same thing with different names?
The Circling Game and longeing are different in several ways, but most importantly the
attitude and knowledge behind the two are what really set them apart.
Most people longe their horses before riding because they want to tire them out and
knock the freshness off them. In my program, students want their horses fresh, alive, and full
of vigor because all that energy can be channeled to do fun things! People also longe
horses because they want to exercise and condition the horse, teach him how to travel on a
circle or curve, get him used to a bit, or teach the horse to carry a certain head set within a
frame. My students want these things as well, but I teach them how to attain those goals
naturally, without gadgets that force the horse to comply physically while ignoring his mental
and emotional states.
Lots of people who longe horses, especially for the reasons just listed, don't realize
how much can be accomplished on line or how they may be making their horses dull.
They tend to chase their horses around the circle, constantly clucking, slapping the ground
or cracking a whip to keep the horse going, while the horse strains at the end of the longe
line. The human ends up doing more work every day just to keep the horse going, while
the horse gets dull and his mind is unchallenged. This is not at all what the Circling
Game is about.
What the Circling Game is… and What It’s Not
The Circling Game, as in each of the PNH Seven Games, stimulates a horse mentally,
emotionally and physically, while teaching him to stay connected to you. Just working
on the horse's physical fitness by sending him around and around in
mindless circles does nothing to help his mental and emotional fitness.
That's why it's far better to make a game out of it.
Horses love to play games! They especially love one called, "Do exactly
the opposite of whatever the human wants by outmaneuvering him until
the human gets so frustrated that he gives up and leaves the horse alone."
They play it all the time with us whether we realize it or not.
That's why the Seven Games change your relationship with your
horse so dramatically. They teach you the language that horses use with each other,
the games they play and what their rules are. Once you get so good at these games that your
horse declares you the winner and the 'best horse,' he will start to look at you with more
respect and greater attention. You become his herd leader, his alpha.
The Circling Game is not just about
physical exercise. I use all of the Seven Games for that. Also, in my program the thought of ever
putting a bitting rig on a horse never comes up. We don't tie our horses heads down into
position because that takes away the horse's choice and therefore his sense of responsibility. Using
a rig or any gadget instead of the feel in your hands to teach a horse how to carry a bit or
hold a frame only creates a dead, dull feel in the horse's mouth and thus in the reins. It also
teaches a horse to put all his weight on the fore-hand and lean into the pressure in his mouth.
This is not something I ever want to feel in my horses. I want my horses to be so light and men-tally
connected that I won't have to feel more than the weight of the reins in my hands no
matter what I am asking him to do. The Circling Game helps to achieve these goals.
How to Play the Circling Game
The object of the Circling Game is to have your horse willingly head off in the
requested direction, maintain gait and direction once on the circle, and then come back in
at the slightest suggestion. Essentially the Circling Game can be broken into three
distinct parts -- The Send, The Allow and The Bring Back. Each part is just as important as
the others.
The Send teaches your horse to follow your direction and suggestion. The four
phases to the Send, asking him to go out on a circle are: Lead It - Lift It - Swing It - Touch It. Lead
him with a light pull on the lead rope in the direction you want him to go. Lift your Carrot
Stick or the tail of your lead rope in the other hand to support the horse in the direction you
want him to go. Swing your Carrot Stick or lead rope if he hasn’t moved yet. Touch him on
the neck with the Carrot Stick or lead rope if he is still standing there looking at you. If he
still hasn't moved, then just start again. The next time, do it with just a little more energy
and a determined look on your face.
At any stage in the four phases, if your horse even tries to go in the direction you
asked for, stop asking and Allow him to go on the circle. If he only makes it half a lap or even
a few steps, that's OK. Just start over with a new Send as many times as you need to. The
object of the game for the human during the
Allow is to not move -- no turning, no slapping, no clucking, no smooching and NO lifting the
Carrot Stick. Just pass the rope behind your back. The only time you get to move is if the
horse stops. Then you just Send him again and go right back to the Allow as soon as he goes.
Meanwhile the horse is going to try to get you
to move as much as possible by stopping, especially behind your back! The only way to
win this part is to be passively persistent. The horse stops, you Send. On and on, this dance
proceeds, until finally the horse thinks, “Wow, it’s a lot easier to keep going around than all of
this stopping and starting all the time. I’ll train
my human to leave me alone.” Ask for the Bring Back only after your
horse has completed a minimum of two laps at any gait. Don't do more than four consecutive
laps or your horse will start to check out mentally. You want to do just enough laps to help
the horse understand it's his job to keep going, without doing so many laps that he gets bored.
When you Bring Back your horse, you will follow the same phases used in the Send: Lead It
- Lift It - Swing It - Touch It. Only this time you
are going to Lead your horse in by running your hand down the lead rope and then
bringing it to your belly button. Bring your hand all the way in and pretend you are "stabbing"
yourself in the belly button with the lead rope. Lift your Carrot Stick or the end of the lead
rope and look at your horse's hip. Swing the Carrot Stick or rope a few times towards his
hip, then Touch your horse on top of his hip to get him to face you. Obviously you can now
see just how important those Porcupine and Driving Games were! If your horse doesn't
respond by facing you or coming to you the first time, then just shorten the rope and go
through the four phases again.
After you’ve won the Circling Game with your horse, it’s
fun to make a game of it with a number of horses and people. Great entertainment for kids of all ages — see
how many you can play with at one time!
So, What's The Big Deal?
Now that you know what to do, it sounds simple enough. What makes it so mentally and
emotionally challenging? By playing the Circling Game this way and by these rules, you
are actually developing some wonderful skills in you and in your horse.
Take the Send and the Bring Back for example. When you Send your horse without
moving your feet, you have to use Direct and Supporting Rein positions. The leading hand
directs and the Carrot Stick hand supports. You learn to become very effective with your
hands and your body by Sending the horse in a particular direction while he is facing you.
When you Bring Back your horse you are effectively using an Indirect Rein position and
teaching your horse how to bend to a
halt from any gait. Being able to bend your horse to a halt is your equine
emergency brake! In my program, we use the same or very similar
equipment
on the ground and on the horse’s back. So learning these “rein
responsibilities” transfers easily from ground work to under saddle and
makes perfect sense to the horse.
By following the four phases I described for the Send and the Bring
Back with perfect consistency and effectiveness, your horse quickly
learns to have snappy departures and smooth transitions with a minimal amount of effort on
your part. Again, the horse has no problem transferring this new knowledge to when you
are on his back because you will be using the same techniques, and he has newly found
respect for you.
The Allow part of the Circling Game teaches your horse that it is his job, his
responsibility, to maintain gait and maintain direction. Horses only learn through the release of
pressure. Constant pressure on a horse just desensitizes him and makes him dull and
resentful. Because you are specific in asking only when you want something and are not
constantly driving him around and around on the circle, your horse learns that he can find
comfort and life is hassle free as long as he just does his job. Remember that horses are
just like husbands – they hate to be corrected!
Now, all horses are bound to make lots of mistakes until they figure out what their job is,
so you need to have enough patience to Send him over and over again until he understands
what you want of him. Your job is simply to stand still and smile when he is doing the right
thing. Don’t let your horse believe that you think he is stupid by nagging him constantly.
Show him that you know how to give him
comfort by leaving him alone.
Standing perfectly still in the middle of the circle and smiling is also perfect
preparation for your independent seat. Having an independent seat takes as much mental focus
as it does physical. You need to learn to let go when things are going well. Relax completely
and allow the horse to do his job. When things don’t go just right, then do something about it
until they do, and then immediately go back to
relaxing.
One of the greatest benefits of the Circling Game is that you start to become the
center of your horse’s circle, the focus for his release and reward. When you stick to doing
just enough laps to make sure your horse knows his job, then he never gets to the point
of tuning you out. He will stay mentally and physically focused on you because he gets to
stop as soon as you begin to ask for the Bring Back, and he knows it’s coming soon!
As your horse starts to see the middle of the circle and you as the “sweet spot,” he
becomes more mentally and emotionally connected to it. (Now you can see why the
Friendly Game was so important!) You can tell when your horse is really paying attention to
you because his inside ear will be on you, his nose tipped slightly in, his body arced on the
circle and the lead rope will have lots of slack in it – if it’s not already completely dragging on
the ground!
After a short time, you will find that your horse knows how to stay straight on a circle
by himself. This is something that top riders seek with endless hours of training. But all
you have to do is turn the task into a game. Set it up so your horse finds the most comfort by
doing exactly what you ask. It is that simple once you understand how a horse’s mind
works… once you have the Savvy.
Want to know more? Find step-by-step instructions on the Yo-Yo Game in the
Partnership pack, Level 1 of Pat Parelli's Savvy System. Call Parelli Natural HorseoManoShip
at 1-800-642-3335 or visit www.parelli.com for
a free brochure.
PAT PA R E L L I n a t u r a l h o r s e m a n s h i p
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