June 2004

Natural Horsemanship:
Focus on the Squeeze Game by Pat Parelli... 6

Trail Etiquette: Guidelines for a Safe and Enjoyable Ride by Kathy G. O’Neal... 8

Re-Schooling Without Punishment
by Christina Fleming....... 10

Just My Opinion by John Flint Martin.... 9

Note: This is the seventh 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. 

What do horse trailers, jumps, starting gates, bridges, starting boxes, wash racks, water obstacles, stall doors and narrow passes on a trail all have in common? Getting your horse in them, through them, over them or out of them are all Squeeze Games!

Horses, by nature, are claustrophobic. They are instinctively afraid of small or tight spaces because these areas usually spell disaster for prey animals. How long would a horse survive in the wild if he wasn’t guided by Mother Nature to steer clear of caves that house mountain lions and bears? What do you think happens to horses that don’t worry about narrow canyons or rock outcroppings where predators might attack from above?

A horse’s main source of survival is his ability to flee and out-run predators. Once he is confined, cornered or squeezed into a narrow area, he loses his main form of defense. If he continues to feel threatened, he will be forced into fighting as a last resort. Because he feels trapped and afraid he may start rearing, striking, biting, kicking, pulling and any other maneuvers he can think of to save his life.

Saving his life is exactly what is on a horse’s mind when he’s not convinced that the trailer, four-foot jump or tight area is safe. When a horse’s sense of self preservation is activated, he isn't worried he is going to be hurt – he’s afraid he is going to be killed! That’s why the Friendly Game (the first of the Parelli Natural Horsemanship Seven Games) is so critical. Before you ask your horse to do something that he fears, you must have his trust. Then, after gaining his confidence with the Friendly Game, the other six of the Seven Games build the language that helps your horse see you as his leader, his alpha. He knows he will be safe with you. Remember, the Seven Games are progressive and you need to have the other six in place before being able to successfully play the Squeeze Game.

It’s true that a lot of people are able to get a horse into a trailer, over a jump or across a mud puddle without first having the horse’s trust and respect. Many of us have witnessed a group of strong men muscling a horse into a trailer or people whipping or pulling a horse in the mouth to get him across water. That’s not
my style. People who don’t have good relationships with their horses are the one’s using sheer force along with whips, butt ropes, chains over the nose, four strong men and scare tactics to get the job done.

Because using force, intimidation and mechanics are especially common when trailer loading, transporting a horse is usually considered to be highly stressful, often resulting in colic or a mess of injuries. This entirely avoidable drama is tragically repeated over and over in a horse’s life at the wash rack, starting gate, a narrow bridge and any other place that the horse would rather avoid.

Think Like a Horse
Look at things from the horse’s perspective. How do you think your horse feels about getting into a metal cave on wheels? How does he feel about putting his safety in your hands? Have you proven that you are calmer, smarter, braver and more athletic by outmaneuvering him at the other six of the Seven Games? That is how an alpha horse proves himself to win the respect of his herd, and what your
horse is looking for before he can place his safety in your hands.

Horses are not only natural-born claustrophobics, they are also natural-born
cowards and panic-aholics. This means they are skeptical of most new
things and their natural tendency is to panic and run first and think later. When you think of your horse as a 1,200 pound prey animal (like a deer, elk, or very large
chicken), it may help you to have more patience with his insecurities and “unreasonable” fears.

I like to say that where savvy ends, force begins. Many people tend to get more forceful and slightly aggressive when things don’t go just right with a horse. Frustration and anger flare up quickly and are felt by the horse through tight hands, a frown, yelling (growling) or increased force. These aggressive actions only prove to the horse that you are not to be trusted and his level of fear and resistance will increase, causing his behavior to become worse and worse.

Long ago, I identified the Eight Responsibilities for the horse-human relation-ship.
These Eight Responsibilities have kept me on track during times when things weren’t going too well. They were a constant reminder of what needed to be in place in my horse and in myself to get the job done naturally and with kindness.

There are four responsibilities for the
horse and four for the human.
For the horse:
1. Don’t act like a prey animal. Learn to be calmer, smarter and braver.
2. Maintain gait. Don’t shift gears unless I ask.
3. Maintain direction. Stay on course even if I’m not steering.
4. Watch where you are going. Be responsible for your self-carriage.

For the human:
1. Don’t act like a predator. I won’t use force or lose my temper no matter
what.
2. Have an independent seat. I never grip with my hands or below my knees
for balance.
3. Think like a horse-man. I consider the horse’s perspective.
4. Use the natural power of Focus. I concentrate on what I want, not on what
the horse may be doing.

How Does the Squeeze Game Help Your Horse?
The Squeeze Game teaches your horse to become calmer, smarter, braver and to
squeeze through narrow spots without concern. By playing the game you allow your
horse the opportunity to work through his  innate fears in a safe environment. Starting slowly helps your horse enormously with his naturally claustrophobic tendencies, allowing him to become more confident, calm, and willing to try new things.

Since horses are instinctively afraid of containment because their survival is based on the ability to escape in an instant, they can be radically opposed to doing many of the common tasks that have become necessary in today’s world. So much of what a horse has to adapt to in the humanized environment involves small spaces, enclosed areas, and restriction… and we wonder why horses are often so much trouble!

Teaching Your Horse the Squeeze Game
Before starting the Squeeze Game, go back to the Circling Game (part 5) and make
sure all three parts of the Circling Game -- the Send, the Allow, and the Bring Back -- can be done with ease. The Squeeze Game requires the same three techniques, but instead of playing the game on a circle, you will now be playing it on a straight line.

Start the Squeeze Game by standing with your horse about six to eight feet away from a fence. This should give your horse plenty of space, but if he shows some fear, then just widen the space or send him between you and a barrel in an open area. As your horse gains confidence, you will be able to go back to the
fence and make the space smaller and smaller until it is just three feet wide, like the stall of a horse trailer.

Send your horse through the narrow space by leading his nose and driving him forward from his hindquarters with the lead rope or PNH Carrot Stick. Once your horse is moving into the space, just Allow him to go through. Turn with him and once he is on the other side, ask for the Bring Back by bringing your hand to
your belly button to lead his nose and pushing his hindquarter away (refer back to the Circling Game, part 5, if you have trouble).

Once both of his eyes are focused on you, Send him back through the other way.
Continue to ask your horse to go back and forth through the narrow area, with a short rest on either end to give him incentive, until he can walk through without a care in the world.

It is pretty common at first for your horse to turn and run around you instead of going through the space. The last place he wants to go is into a narrow space, so make it wider and have some patience. Keep asking while you walk backwards, making the space dramatically bigger as you go.

Once your horse becomes confident with a space, take a big step towards the fence to make the space narrower. Allow your horse to get comfortable with the new width, then make it narrower again until you have worked your way down to about a three-foot distance between you and the fence. This process may take a day, or it may take several weeks, depending on your horse and your skill level.

Just remember to end each session on a good note so you can pick up where you left off the next time you play together.

You can use the skills learned in the Squeeze Game to teach your horse to jump, go into trailers, wash bays, racing barriers, roping boxes, and chutes. All you need to do is Send your horse over, into, through or under the Squeeze obstacle. Allow him to use lots of approach and retreat until he becomes confident with the obstacle.
Once he goes over, into, through or under, ask for the Bring Back to stop, give him a rest, and prepare to start again.

Play All of the Seven Games
The Squeeze Game is number seven in the Seven Games because you must have all the fundamentals in place to play it. You need the Friendly Game so your horse trusts you and doesn’t panic. The Porcupine Game taught your horse to yield to steady pressure so he can follow the feel of the lead rope. The Driving Game helped build your horse’s response to rhythmic pressure so you can move him forward without moving your feet. The Yo-Yo Game taught him to back up and
allow you some personal space so you don’t get run over. The Circling Game gave meaning to the Send, the Allow and the Bring Back for you and your horse, and the Sideways Game taught you how to help your horse stay in a thinking, left brain mode. The Squeeze Game puts all these pieces together to help your horse learn how to listen to you instead of Mother Nature in a “tight” situation.

The Seven Games are the basis of true communication with horses. After learning the basic techniques of each game independently, use some imagination to expand them with a variety of obstacles to have more fun. The better you get at the Seven Games the better your results will be with everything else, and the safer you will be because your horse is now your partner.

Warning!
Don’t become a master of just one or two of the Seven Games and allow the others to be mediocre. This will create holes in your foundation that may surface in a bad situation that requires the polished skills of all Seven Games. 

Get all Seven Games equally good by playing them before every ride. You will be amazed at how much smoother your rides are because you built a solid foundation from the ground first. You horse’s respect for you will build appreciably.

As you progress, you can start using the games more creatively, but at first it’s important to play all Seven Games in the right order to make sure they are improving in quality. The consistency will be a huge help in your horse's learning curve.

After a while, you can use them just as a pre-ride check, or you can turn the games into challenges, helping your horse become even calmer, smarter, braver and more athletic. Challenges could be things such as backing your horse up and down hills, through gates and stall doors, asking your horse to jump over a barrel or circle you while you sit in a chair. Could you go sideways down a trail? Could you go backwards down a trail? Using the Seven Games as your foundation, there is no limit to teaching your horse all those things you wish he would do well.

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

One of the most challenging tasks is re-schooling a horse that lacks a work
ethic, is sour, or has gaps in his training. What often happens is the problem behavior is ignored, unknowingly reinforced, or punished by the rider rather than being addressed properly. This results in an increase in the dysfunction, or simply put, embedding of the behavior deeper into the horse’s “normal” response or routine. Delaying re-training, therefore, can intensify the behavior, increase
the frequency of it occurring, or establish a pathway based on a faulty reward system.
One example is the rushy horse. Unless addressed, a horse that rushes finds reward in getting where he wants to go quicker or ending the work sooner. In other words, he gets rewarded for what he does versus what you want him to do (an example of a faulty reward system). If he is punished, the horse may associate
trotting off with punishment, when we prefer to reward him for not trotting off unless told to do so. So how do we effectively re-school him without punishment?

The simple answer is to offer choices. The complex answer is that a rider or handler must learn to make the desired choice the most appealing option for the horse. An “appealing” choice to a horse can mean easiest, biggest reward, or least amount of work. This means that a horse that rushes needs to find reward in not rushing. The rider can praise (reward) the horse when things are done correctly and make
rushing far less pleasant than not rushing.

What riders tend to do is hold the reins tightly in anticipation of the rushing, thus punishing the horse for walking quietly. Instead, the horse should have an undesirable result when the rushing actually occurs, such as having his head turned in toward the rail, forcing him to choose between slowing down or bumping into the rail. The added bonus with this maneuver is that using one rein to turn toward the rail causes the horse to associate a one rein pick up with slowing down and/or not
rushing… eventually with little rein contact. In this situation, the horse has to choose between bumping the rail and slowing down with praise. The slowing down and praise becomes the most “appealing” choice and the rider doesn’t have to punish the rushing behavior.
Other aspects of training that assist in effective, quick re-training is the use of consistency and voice commands. If something is not allowed, it is never allowed. For example, breaking gait unless told to do so or walking off when told to whoa. Because humans are imperfect in delivering physical cues and aids, the use of voice helps reinforce weak or inexact physical commands. When re-schooling, use a voice command followed by a physical cue. If this is done consistently, the anxiety
often associated with a physical aid is reduced or even eliminated as the sensitive horse has time to respond without perceiving imminent physical force. Believing that force is always the cue sets the horse up for a no-win situation
with no choice leading to reward! Greater reward should always be associated
with performing the desired or requested behavior. This includes rewarding an honest effort resulting from properly applied aides.

However, the rider should never reward a response that is a horse “guessing” what the rider will ask for next. Instead, the goal is to have a horse listen for what is next. Once the horse is listening, the major work in re-schooling is complete.

Remember to always review all basic skills each time you ride, train, or compete. This allows you to assess what is on target, what is weak and where you will need to focus your efforts during the ride!

Christina Fleming is a lifelong horsewoman living in Cerrillos, NM. She trains, gives lessons and offers clinics on a variety of subjects. She has a BS in Biology and is a
certified instructor, judge, and guide. Visit her website at
www.newmexicohorsetrainer.com or send her an E-mail at NMVaquera@aol.com.

Question
My readers of many years may ponder the
question: “Is he (Flint) extremely intelligent or downright stupid?” Well, I was counting the ways that might lead to the former opinion. Then again, maybe not. My old Dodge Ram 4x4 truck had an oil leak in the transfer box (the thing that makes the front wheels go round) so I undertook the fitting of a new oil seal. The job complete, I backed out of the garage… right over my toolbox!

For my next foray into the realms of stupidity, I had to rewire the lights on my trailer. With much muttering under my breath, at last the job was completed. Daylight was diminishing rapidly, thereby offering to enhance the lights when I connected the truck to the trailer. Backing up with the tailgate down I was
lined up nicely. A crunching noise made me shudder. I had run over yet another toolbox!

If this wasn’t enough, my last story entailed a visit to Trucks Unique to have a
gooseneck hitch fitted on my new Dodge Ram dually. While I was there, the owner took me on a tour of a large building to expose the value of shopping at his place for any car or truck accessories one could wish for.

Leaving the establishment with the keys of a fabulous ’81(?) Lincoln Continental loaner in my hand, I started it up, and drove sedately down the road, acknowledging the salutations and bows of the peasants in lesser means of
transport. Arriving at my abode, I remembered that, in order to open the electronic
gates one needs the clicker!

Free Shots
Horse owners abound in this state, and the good news is, you do not have to have a
performance horse to enjoy the many events which a equiseta minded person can attend. One such event was put on by Horseman’s Feed and Supply (Albuquerque, NM) at the Bernalillo County Posse Grounds.

My word, I do declare, that if one arrived early and placed one’s name on paper, free paste worming and spring vaccination was available at no cost! It also came to my attention – after the event – that there were a number of sacks of feed to be given away. Can I still get a sack?

Horse Fair
The fine spring weather enhanced the splendid array of exhibitors touting their
wares under the large roof of the Dairy Barn at the Expo New Mexico Fairgrounds on April 30, May 1 and 2. Attractions included barrel racing, AQHA Ranch Versatility Competition, horse clinics, the AQHA Free Test Ride, evening entertainment, breed demonstrations, and much more. This annual event benefits the New Mexico Horse Council and Make-A-Wish Foundation.

John Flint Martin may be reached at; rodeoclown6@hot-mail.
com or the same phone number 505-250-5908.

J O H N “F L I N T ” MART I N