Matt French Horse Training

Pray for me

2011-11-11T18:08:00.000-08:00

My heart is racing and I am filled with anxiety. I just heard news today that I have been waiting for years to hear. Sammy, my horse from Medieval Times, has a tendon injury and quite possibly will be retired. I sent out messages to my friends that still work there looking for more information. I know that if I am to end up with him I must arrange things quickly.

My friends from the castle have a ranch with a few horses. They actually own Sammy's brother. When Sammy and his brother, Camelot, came to the castle back in 2002 it was determined that Camelot was too small to work there. So the two were seperated and Camelot went to live with my friends. Now I am trying to set things up so possibly Sammy can stay there for now too.

I ask you to please pray, hope, wish, cross your fingers or anything that you can think of to help this happen. I am both nervous and excited at the same time.

The Tale of Sir Jeremy

2011-11-11T17:46:00.000-08:00

All was quiet upon the land and the knights of the realm were accepting new squires into their ranks. The knights were a tight brotherhood and they only chose the finest recruits. Young Jeremy was one among many who were accepted to squire for the brave knights. He toiled away painting lances, grinding swords and all of the other menial tasks imposed upon him. Life as a squire is not an easy one, but young squire Jeremy found respite amongst the war horses he was charged to maintain.

Squire Jeremy soon was enlisted in training to become a knight himself. He was taught the art of lance and shield, but excelled at all things on horseback. He had a strong connection to his equine friends and showed prowess with the new steeds entering the castle. When not grooming the new horses or working with the Master of horse, he could be found working late into the night perfecting his fighting techniques. It was not long before his talents and efforts were recognized and he was elevated to the rank of knight. Now allowed to ride in the nightly tournaments, Sir Jeremy reveled in the cheers of the drunken crowd.

Sir Jeremy was given his own horse named Detour, a bold bay who was selective as to whom he would allow ride him. Sir Jeremy quickly bonded deeply with this mighty animal and the two became inseparable. At this time, all was not right at the little castle in Lyndhurst. A dark presence crept into the ranks of the knights. This corrupt menace wooed Sir Jeremy with promises of power and wealth. He made Sir Jeremy work harder than he ever had as a squire, hoping to break him under the weight. Sir Jeremy was given many new horses to bring up in their training, leaving no time for his Detour. The easy smile on his face was seen much less often during these days.

Finally the day came when all of the promises made to Sir Jeremy were seen for what they were. Lies. The power and wealth he offered were never going to be given. Sir Jeremy was crushed. He felt used and humiliated. It was not long before he left the brotherhood of knights in search of anything new.

Many cold winters passed. Long forgotten were the days of cheering crowds and thundering hooves. Sir Jeremy found work and purpose where he could, but always searched for something more. He worked on the land and joined other armies, always searching. Then, one day while working upon a Lady's estate, he noticed a young girl riding her pony in the corral. He felt a stirring in his gut. He watched and offered pointers when he could. He talked to the Lady who owned the pony. She asked how someone like him knew about horses. He told her of the times jousting and fighting at the nearby castle. A spark lit. She asked him if he would help them with their little pony. It had thrown the young girl too many times to be counted. Sir Jeremy mounted the pony like he was astride Detour again. Memories of swords and shields flashed in his mind. He brought the little pony into a canter and immediately was bucked off onto his behind.

Sitting on the ground with a big smile on his face, he knew what was missing. Those days of searching for something to fill that void in him were over. He stood, looked at the pony and knew what he must do.

Trail Etiquette

2011-10-27T18:41:00.000-07:00

I think as trail riders we need to have some list of dos and don'ts associated with what is expected from ourselves and our trail partners. This is going to be a work in progress, please comment below if you think something should be added or amended.

Don't run off without your partners aware or ready.
Wait for rider behind you to clear difficult obstacles
Don't run up on another rider, slow down when approaching and passing.
If you have a horse that kicks or bites, warn other riders.
Respect the land you ride on, obey all signs. (Karen M.)
Cater the ride to the least experienced. (Tori P.)
...

To spur or not to spur...

2011-10-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

I'm asked often whether or not I wear spurs when I train. My answers is always, sometimes.
That sometimes only happens when my client wears or wants to wear spurs. When I first learned to ride, spurs were not an option and I saw no need for them. I was able to make my horse move, what would be the use?

When I started riding at Medieval Times they made us wear spurs. I hesitated, they were completely foreign to me and I wasn't interested in hurting a horse with them. That is when Javier, the master of horse at our castle, explained to me, in perfect broken Spanish, Cuando you want los caballos move, more mejor use your dedo, no use your mono.

...I walked away confused.

Basically a spur is a tool, like any other tool we use with our horses. You can misuse a whip just as easily as you can misuse a spur. Once I learned how to use them I found spurs to be a valuable asset. Kicking was a thing of the past, now all it took was slight squeezing and I could generate all the energy I wanted.

Warning: You need to be comfortable enough controlling your heels and seat that you will not clamp your legs closed if you become unbalanced or your horse spooks. You may inadvertently jab your poor horse and make the situation worse.

So, if you are interested, there are plenty of non severe spurs to practice with and allow your horse to get used to. Start slow and enjoy your new tool.

Progesso

2011-10-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

About three months ago I was asked to start a little 3 year old quarter horse named Topper. He was not completely untouched; his owner is a very good horsewomen and she had done plenty of work on the ground, but she had no desire to go through the trials of starting him under saddle. He had been worked on obstacles in their arena and she had sacked him out with bags of rocks and bottles. He longed on a line, but would consistently pick up the wrong lead. He was sweet, but just a little spooky with new things. I've worked some horror story horses that looked like they wanted to bite my head off and eat my insides, so this guy was going to be a cake walk.

I started with correcting the longeing issues. That was pretty easy, I just had to shorten the line up a bit so there was more contact and voila. Then I went to work on trust building and getting him to let me rub him all over. I ran into my first hiccup when I started to bounce along side of him. He would have a big spook then let me in long enough to make me think that he was over it. No big deal, I've run into this before and I just had to keep at it. I must have hopped all over the arena with him. Just when I was about to stop hopping, he would spook again. Crap! I couldn't stop now or else I would only make it worse. Sure enough about twenty minutes later I got to a spot where I was able to stop before he jumped away. I was drenched in sweat from hopping up and down, filthy from the dust kicked up sticking to my wet body and exhausted from the effort. Awesome.

The next week, I was practicing laying on the saddle and he would consistently take off when I got up there. Normally I just push off, bring him to a stop and start again. Well, one of those times my foot wouldn't come out of the stirrup and I wasn't about to push off without my foot free. So I went for a little ride before I was able to work my boot loose and gracelessly plunge to the ground. Super.

The next week, I was on and taking him for his second ride. I was smiling, my client was watching from her window smiling, all was hunky dory. Next second, I was on a crazy running bucking monster and in the blink of an eye I was sailing through the air. I've had my share of unintentional dismounts in my life, but this one I was dreading. My back or hip or something down in that area had been bugging be for a month or so and now I was about to land directly on that damn sore spot. Sweet.

Photo by: Robin Campbell

The next week, I was taking him on his first trail ride with my client and her horse. We were plodding along, I was talking to Topper and petting him and doing all the things I tell everyone else to do. I was bending a little bit here, making him step slightly over there, just keeping his focus on me. My client’s horse spooked hard and side stepped off the trail. Topper being the over achiever that he is, spooked twice as hard and again I found myself plummeting to the earth. Amazing.

Photo by: Robin Campbell

The next week, I was riding alone in the large arena next to my client’s house. We were working on making perfect circles. I am a hard ass for circles and we were nailing them. Sure enough, it started with him looking at something on the ground we were approaching and ended with him jumping sideways away from it and running like a nut. The only difference was this time I managed to hook my wrist around the horn and stay on. The whole time he was running away in his spook I was able to pull a rein and try to stop him. About fifty yards from where the spook happened, he stopped. I'm not going to say I know what horses are thinking, but I could swear he gave me a look of, "What are you still doing up there?"

Progress and learning are not always pretty. If you are actively pushing the boundaries you are bound to run into struggles. Embrace the idea of facing challenges. As long as you push and find a place to end on a good note you will make progress. I'm not saying you are going to have the same struggles I had with Topper, but unfortunately that is how it played out with him.

I am happy to say, after the spook in the arena where I managed to stay on, Topper has not spooked like that again and we have made heaps of progress. I rode him this evening in that same arena. There were two other horses being ridden much older than him running around throwing their heads, and all around misbehaving. Little Topper stood still, looked at the chaos around him and sighed.

Words of Wisdom

2011-10-10T08:07:00.000-07:00

I'm lined up on my horse Sammy from Medieval Times and we're about to take off down the arena at a full gallop to do one of the games. Sammy is dancing underneath me and I'm doing everything I can to keep him from taking off before it's time. I'm still somewhat of a new knight and I put Sammy in the show only a few weeks earlier. Sweat is streaming down my face and I feel like I am about to lose the battle to keep him still.

"Frenchy!" A voice booms at me from my left.

I turn and look over at the knight who just called me. Sammy immediately stopped dancing and relaxed a bit.

Photo by: Chris Capitani

After the show I talked with the older knight who told me, "Sometimes we try too hard, when what we should be doing is nothing at all." I am not the first person he yelled at to get their attention off of the horse and on to him.

There are moments like this spotted all over my journey with horses. Little gems of wisdom that have come at the right moment to allow me to take steps forward. Sometimes they were from non-horse people or people less "experienced" than I was. It has taught me to not take anyone's advise or experiences for granted. I will never know all there is to know about training. There are plenty of moments where I have had to take a step back and gather strength and understanding from those around me. I've learned more from my clients than I will admit, I don't want to have to give their money back.

Another time stands out that I find myself repeating to clients repeatedly. Again, I was on my Sammy boy, it was one of the first shows he did. We were between games standing lined up with with two other knights, I was so stressed from trying to make him do everything right and thinking about what was next. The older knight next to me turned and said, "Hey, Frenchy, pet the horse."

My first instinct was to argue, I wanted scream, "Screw the horse, someone needs to pet me!"

All throughout his training I was supportive and reassuring. Now, when he is performing for me, I could only think about my frayed nerves. Those simple words were enough to break through to me, I felt like such a jerk. I carry that advise with me on all of the horses I work with now. When ever the training becomes tough or is particularly stressful I can hear that voice telling me, "Pet the horse."

Photo by: Cheryl Meyers

I want to offer the opportunity for you to share a little gem that influenced you. Maybe your experience will shed light on what someone else is struggling with at the moment.

You never know.

Mind your P's and Cues

2011-10-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

In my opinion, what separates good riders from mediocre riders is their ability to cue. We all strive to be better at what we are doing and in the horse game it is all about communication. We want our sweet equine friends to know what the hell we are asking; to get there we need to look at ourselves and what we are doing. I have ridden with friends who have struggled to keep their horses moving or are constantly having to catch up because their horse isn't stepping out. These same friends seem like they are constantly kicking and nothing is happening.

I had this big long article all ready to be posted, talking about how you need to do a little bit of this or a little bit of that. I threw it directly in the trash and decided to focus on the essence of cues and not so much the details. It all comes down to simplicity. Make what you are asking simple. "I am going forward," or, "I am turning." There are plenty of times when I've been working with a horse and he's just not getting it. I'm putting my weight just perfect, my reins are impeccable, and my foot is encouraging. Still, I can just about hear the horse yelling up at me, "What you talking 'bout Willis?" In these moments it is important to not get frustrated, try to regather yourself and simplify.

Remember, whether you like it or not, every time you touch your horse you are teaching it something. Ask yourself, "Am I making things better, or letting them get worse?" Did you let your horse bully past you out of the pen? When you asked him to stop, did he keep going? Did you not correct it? Did you say, "Ah, I'll fix it another time?" It is easy to let a horse degrade, it takes effort and vigilance to keep him respectful. Once you have made the decision to not let anything slip by, you are on the right track.

Javier and Fletcha doing the Capriole

Yesterday I was working with a superstar client of mine (they all are). I had her riding in the round pen working on a drill. She was nailing it. So, I took her to the beginning of the trail that has been the center of her riding problems with her horse. She had been lacking a good correction for when her horse wanted to turn around or stray to one side of the trail or into the ditch on the other. The drill in the pen was geared towards being able to fix that. All started well, she went down the short path with me calling out commands and she was moving fine. What then happened was the nice clear communication she was having in the pen had turned into a muddied mess of pulling and kicking. When I tried to clarify what was missing, I could tell immediately there was anxiety in her voice and she was con-fuddled. It took really engaging her and breaking through the flow of excuses to get her to simplify what she was doing instead of throwing it all at the horse. To her great credit and the credit of her horse, they were excellent and rose to the occasion.

It all comes down to mean what you say, say what you mean and don't forget to K.I.S.S

Respect, Trust, Love and the Lack Thereof

2011-09-26T23:10:00.000-07:00

"You need to teach that horse some respect," the man belched with a hint of booze on his breath. He then snatched the lead rope away and promptly punched the horse in the face.

Respect-

That story was told to me from a client whose horse did need to learn to respect his space, but did not need a fist in her jaw. My hope is that I can help clarify how to ask for respect from a horse and why we need it. I too often see horses that have learned to walk all over their owners and still manage to get treats for it. Talk about training, that is impressive.

I firmly believe that you need to be the leader in your relationship with your horse, with no exceptions. It all starts with moving your horse around. If I start working with a new horse, I take them to the round pen just to see what they know. Most owners longe their horses in some aspect, but if they call me they are probably lacking in getting what they want from them. I will remove the lead line from the horse so I am no longer in physical control of him. I look to see how the horse reacts to being loose. Is he still paying attention to me, or is he wandering around then pen without a second thought as to what I am doing?

Here is where the work begins. With a longe whip, lead rope, stick with rope, etc, I ask the horse to move. Most people have this part down. This is where the uneducated horse is running around with his head half over the rails, doing what you've asked but a bit resentful about the whole thing. I will keep him at a canter until he is consistently breaking down to a trot, or is going in the opposite direction and running like I all of a sudden have turned into a starved, horse-eating Frenchman. All the while, I stay in a trailing position so I am not impeding the horse’s forward momentum or giving him a place to turn around. Now, when I've decided to turn, I'll stop trailing him and move into a position where I am blocking his forward progress. A couple things can happen here: the horse can slow down and come towards you quietly; the horse can turn towards the rail like he is thinking about jumping it rather than come toward you; or he can not react and keep on doing what he was doing, like you're not even there. Most of the time the second two happen. If he keeps coming towards you, start getting louder and don't let yourself be ignored, dammit! I would rather the horse do the wrong thing then blow you off. So if you have to swing the whip towards his front end to get some reaction, go ahead. Now that we are getting some attention, even if it is fear or spite, we can move on.
So, we have turned the horse, but in response he turned his hind end towards us and ran away. I would immediately cut off the other side of the round pen and again send him back in the direction he was going. Keep going back and forth and start looking for the horse to try something different. As long as you are making the wrong decision uncomfortable and not letting up pressure, he will try something else. Be looking for it. It normally starts with a head moving towards the inside, instead of over the rail. If you get a hint that it is about to happen say, "Good, good," and don't give up now until you get that front end to move in towards you.
There!
Finally!
Take the pressure off, go back into that trailing position and be quiet, but keep the horse moving. It seems to me as long as you give it a break, that first turn will be the most difficult and all the others will come easier. When you are ready try again. Most likely he will again turn away, but should be easier to switch back and also turn in. Remember, keep the pressure on until you get what you want. Say to yourself, “If I have to send him back and forth a hundred times, by George I'm going to do it.”

Now you have him changing directions, but he is still showing no desire to be the peaceful, quiet soul mate that you paid for him to be. Breathe, you are almost there. Keep the horse moving and start to pay attention to his body language. When you turn him in the opposite direction, is he still moving away with the same energy or is it not that bad? Maybe instead of cantering and throwing a kick and fart in your face, he trotted away easily. When you decide to try for a stop, ask for him to change directions but this time back away quickly when he turns towards you. Keep doing this, even if the horse is only making half laps in the pen until he stops directly facing you. You are probably on one side of the pen and your horse is on the other. Breathe. The two of you can take a break here. You have just made enormous strides in gaining respect and moving to a place of trust.

Trust-

Photo by: Alex Ahonen

Stay where you are. If you've done everything right he has no desire to go anywhere right at this moment. I can't tell you what he is thinking, but to me it seems this is the moment that he learns to trust you. It feels quiet and calm. We are both breathing heavy, facing each other, not sure what comes next. Here is where I approach. Some say to turn your back and wait, but I find you can get the same bond approaching the horse as you can from letting him do it. Move slow, keep your body language quiet. If at any time you feel like he is about to take off, back away. Try again. Move towards the horse’s head and stop. You should be close enough to extend your arm and touch him. Extend your hand palm down towards his muzzle and put it out there for him to touch. Wait. It will happen. Wait. He is making the decision to trust you.

Love-

Soft breath touches the back of your hand. Your heart and his are still beating hard. He just made contact with you. He just told you it is okay for you to touch him. Be gentle, but firm. Pet him but don't stay too long. Back off. Wait. Approach him again. Ask him to touch your hand again. Talk to him softly, so no one can hear but the two of you. Keep petting. Make your affection and touch something that he craves. Back off again.

Look at him. Is he wandering around the round pen trying to find some blade of grass? Is he calling to some random horse? Is he looking at you? Is he focused on you? These moments are some of the deepest moments I have ever felt. Soak it in.
Remember what it took to get to this point. You didn't get here by brushing him. You didn't get here by giving him the most treats or by paying for the most expensive board. You got here by being firm with what you want and not wavering until you got it. Then, when he complied you offered your approval and praise.