Dennis Zeringue

Environment for Success

   The environment, in which you keep your horse, and the environment in which you ride your horse, will either help you and your horse or it will make things more difficult. Establishing the proper environment for your horse will help you to be successful. You don’t need an elaborate setup. The vaqueros and cowboys used the make-do attitude. Make the best out of the situation you’re in. They used their natural surroundings and natural materials to build corrals and traps (small fenced in area). I have trained horses successfully in many different environments through the years. A good environment is determined by its design and function, not by how much it cost to build.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

   Pastures were uncommon in the early days before barbed wire. In those days horses were turned out to graze on the range. The horses were herded by men on horseback to control their grazing and restrict them from wandering too far from home. Pastures are large areas, enclosed by fences, where horses graze. The fences are used to control the grazing and restrict the movement of the horses. Pastures should contain adequate grazing, water and shelter. Shelter means natural protection from the elements. This could be a stand of trees or a low area where horses could get out of the wind. The most important thing to provide a horse in any environment is good feed and water, along with salt and mineral supplements.

   A trap is a small area enclosed by a fence. A trap is used to restrict the movement of horses. Horses are kept in traps so they will be easily accessible. Traps contain a water supply, but usually do not provide enough grazing for horses staying for long periods of time, such as horses in training. Traps should be designed and located so that horses will willingly and easily move into them from the pasture. Traps should also be designed so that horses can easily be driven from the trap into a corral.

   A corral is a small enclosure made of a strong, high fence.  The purpose of a corral is to restrict and control the movement of a horse during hands-on activities such as training or doctoring. Corrals can be made of rock, wood or steel pipe. I prefer to avoid steel pipe if I have a choice. When horses come in contact with steel pipe, broken bones are the result. Corrals can be permanent or made of portable panels. Corrals can be square or round. With square corrals horses will tend to hang in the corner. While round corrals will eliminate hanging in the corners and promote forward movement. Round corrals are not a new fad. They have been around for thousands of years. Round corrals are ideal for catching, doctoring and training your horse.

   Every person who owns a horse should have their facilities designed to make the catching of horses effortless. As I described earlier, the setup needs to be designed so that horses move easily from pasture to trap, to corral, without a lot of screaming and running on your part. If you have to run to catch your horse, you are doing something wrong. Remember, they can run faster than we can. If they couldn’t, we wouldn’t ride them. If you can’t drive your horses in on foot, then you should do it on horseback, especially when horses are kept in large pastures. In this situation you should keep a “wrangle” horse in a small trap or corral for this purpose. Horseman do not trick horses or bait horses in with treats or buckets of grain while hiding a halter and lead behind their back. I walk out to catch my horse with my halter and lead in my hand. I want my horse to know I’m coming to catch him. I’ll ask my horse to come to me. If he doesn’t want to be caught, I simply run him into the corral. This is just part of the catching process. I don’t get mad at my horse for not wanting to be caught. I too have days I don’t want to go to work. Once inside the corral, my horses become very compliant and walk up to me to be caught. A horseman has control of his horses twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. He can catch his horses anytime of the day or night.

   I have described the environment and setup where a horse can be safe, content and under control. Now I would like to describe a good environment and setup that is both safe and beneficial for training and riding your horse. The first step in riding a horse is to catch the horse. Above, I described the environment and setup which makes catching a horse both easy and safe for both horse and human. A round corral is the ideal place for catching horses, especially broncos which may have to be roped. I use the term bronco for horses which are uncooperative. These could be young or old horses that haven’t gentled down yet, or spoiled horses. The fence of the round corral should be both strong enough that a horse cannot break through and high enough to discourage attempts to jump it. The size of the round corral is important and would be determined by the type of work to be done there, especially those used for training. Too small of a round corral can cause problems. While it easy to move into a horse’s flight zone causing him to move forward, it can be impossible for a sensitive horse to move out of your area of influence. This type of horse in a small corral cannot move far enough away from you to feel safe and therefore continues to move. It is also difficult for a horse to lope in a small corral. In a large round corral it is easy for a horse to lope. But, in a large corral it is hard to stay in a horse’s flight zone. The horse will easily move out of your area of influence and stop. You will have to do a lot of walking to keep a horse moving. I like a fifty foot diameter round corral for ground work. It is large enough that a horse can move out of my area of influence. Once a horse is out of my area of influence they will feel safe and will easily stop and relax. At the same time it is also small enough that I can easily keep a horse moving forward with only a minimal amount of walking on my part. It is also large enough for a horse to lope without difficulty. Round corrals larger than fifty feet in diameter are best for riding.

   After we have our horse caught, we need a safe and comfortable place to tie or snub our horse while we groom and saddle him. Snub means to take several wraps around a post with the lead rope without tying a knot. We could snub him to a strong post which makes up the fence of the round corral. This is a good place when teaching a horse to stand tied. If he pulls away he will still be in the safety of the round corral. My round corral is made of portable panels. I never tie a horse to anything they can drag away, and they can drag a lot of weight. So I’ve set two snubbing post three feet deep in the ground on the outside of my round corral. These posts are set on opposite sides of the corral and are right up against the panels. I can snub a horse to these from both the inside and outside of the corral. I also have a large oak tree which I hang more advanced horses from. Though the term “hang a horse” sounds bad, it simply means to tie him to a rope or chain which is hanging from overhead.  I have a stout piece of halter rope hanging from a strong limb. I have a small loop tied in the end of this rope. I run my lead rope through this loop then tie a sheet bend. This loop is hanging just low enough so that I can reach it. I tie my horse so his head is at the level of his withers, with a small amount of slack in the rope. The oak tree provides shade for both the horse and me, which is important in the hot weather.

   Now we are ready to ride our horse. Of course we could ride our horse most anyplace and do just fine. But, we could also setup an environment that would make our riding safer and the training easier. The round corral is a great place to start as it is a safe place for both horse and rider. The round corral is a great place to begin anything that is new to either the horse or the rider. I’ve already described some of the options for round corrals such as the construction materials and size of the round corral. Also with round corrals you have the option of a solid fence or an open fence. A solid fence is sometimes a better option when using cattle to train your horse. With an open fence the cattle may try to go through it when under pressure causing injuries to the cattle. A solid fence prevents this and is safer for the cattle. With horses I prefer an open fence. A solid fence prevents a horse from seeing what’s happening in his surroundings during the training process. This can sound like a good thing, but at some time you will have to leave that corral and it will be a whole new experience for the horse that suddenly has to deal with you on his back and his ever changing environment for the first time. This can cause an unfavorable change in the horse.  With an open fence, the horse learns to focus on me in spite of all the distractions happening around him. I feel this is a more beneficial and realistic approach. For training purposes, I like the fence of the corral to be six feet tall. A fence this tall will discourage a horse from attempting to jump over it. I also like a fence this tall for riding. If I have to double a horse, he will tuck his nose as he makes the turn. When a horse makes the turn with a five foot fence, he will raise his nose and head above the fence. This is a very bad habit for a horse to acquire. A round corral is good for new beginnings, but as soon as I have the horse under control I will move them to a bigger environment. If I can turn him and stop him while loping, then I consider him to be under control.

   After leaving the round corral, we need an area that is large enough to lope circles and figure eights. This could be an arena, a large corral or a trap. While arenas and large corrals can offer some safety, they can also have limitations due to size. A trap where a horse is kept is a good place to ride a green horse, because they are already familiar with the surroundings. This can give the horse a sense of security while going through the new experiences of training.

   The next step in the training process is the set and turn. We need a long straight fence and smooth footing. An arena or a corral fence works well for this training. Barn walls or wind breaks work well also. Barbed wire fences are not safe for this training. I will lope the horse down the fence then ask him to stop. After he stops I will turn him in a 180 degree turn towards the fence. The fence is used as a barrier to help the horse to turn short. If the horse does not stop when I ask him to, I will double him into the fence. In this case the fence will stop the horse by simply blocking his path. After the stop I will finish the turn. This fence needs to be built out of materials that are safe for the horse in case he would make contact with it. This is why a barbed wire fence is not safe for this training.

   Rope training should start inside a corral. After a horse has become familiar with the rope and dragging objects, I begin with roping small calves. Doing this in a small corral allows the horse to learn how to handle a live animal on the rope before he learns to track one. This way when you teach him to track an animal in the pasture it will be safe to go ahead and rope it. If you rope one in the pasture without preparing the horse, you might get a big surprise. With all training, I start in a small environment and graduate to larger environments as the horse progresses.

   I would like to give you a few things to keep in mind. The fence of an arena or corral can be both good and bad. It can be used to prevent your horse from wandering into danger. This prevents a lot of unnecessary pulling on the reins during the early stages of training. The fence can also be used as a training aid such as when teaching the set and turn. The bad is when the fence becomes a crutch. We feel secure when riding inside the arena or corral and are afraid to leave it. Another aspect, due to the security we feel in the arena or corral we become overbearing with our horses. We put way too much pressure on our horses because the fence is there to control them, when we can’t.

   While horses are very adaptable and are capable of living in a variety of environments, I think both the horse and we will benefit from providing the horse with the best environment we can. The same goes for training. While we could train our horse most anywhere, developing or seeking out the best environment for training will make things easier and safer for both man and horse. The environment can be positive and beneficial or it can be detrimental and limiting.

Dennis Zeringue

February 12, 2015

 

Backing the Horse

When I first began riding horses, I tried to use the reins to back my horse. I would pull both reins even. If that didn’t work I would pull on one rein then the other rein. If the horse still didn’t back I would pull harder. Some horses backed and some didn’t. Later, I changed the way that I asked a horse to back. I started using my feet to drive the horse, and the reins to direct him. I have had great success with this method.  Advanced horses will back just from a shift of my weight or a shift of my rein hand. But, I don’t pull on the reins.

 I’ll start by describing how I teach a horse to back then how I deal with horses that have problems. I begin by teaching my horses to back from the ground by sending energy down the lead rope. I don’t overdo it, just a few steps at a time. After the horse backs a few steps, I let him stop and rest quietly. I want him to receive a reward for backing by letting him rest after backing.

 When I’m horseback, I shift my weight slightly forward and squeeze with both of my legs to get my horse to walk forward. If the horse does not go forward I will hit him on the rump with my quirt to drive him forward. My horse learns to move forward with a shift of my weight, followed by a squeeze of my legs if necessary. I do not kick my horse to go forward. I will squeeze with my legs and squeeze with my spurs if necessary. I want my horse to learn that my feet, or legs, are a signal for the horse to move his feet. I use my feet to move my horse’s feet, and the reins to direct his movement.

 When I ask my horse to back, I will shift my weight back then take the slack out of the reins. I don’t try to pull the horse back with the reins. Next, I will touch my horse’s side with one leg, or boot heel without spur, then with the other to get my horse to move. Again, my feet means he is supposed to move his feet. If the horse begins to move forward, I will use the reins to block the forward motion. When he stops moving forward, I will slack the rein. I then begin to use my feet again, left then right, left, right, left, right. I bump him a little harder each time with my boot heels. This is why I don’t use spurs. When the horse begins to move backwards, I stop my feet. When the horse stops I let him rest there for a while. The horse thinks about it the first day. He takes one step the second day. He takes two steps the third day and so on, little by little. I never rush him or ask for too much. In time the horse will back with just a shift of my weight. When I use my reins to stop his forward movement, I pull both reins even. Pulling both reins even has never caused any problems for me. All other times I will stop a horse that is travelling forward at a walk, trot or lope with one rein shorter than the other, that is, in the hackamore or snaffle.

With the tough horses that do not want to back, I will use several approaches. If I have one of my sons with me, one of us will be horseback while the other will help the horse to back from the ground. Another approach I use while horseback is to get the horse’s feet moving, regardless of the direction, and then redirect them backwards. With the horse standing still, I will ask the horse to step his hip over just one step then ask him to back a step. If he doesn’t back, I just step the hip over then ask him to back again. I repeat this until he takes a step back.  Another version of this is to walk the horse in a direction he wants to go, like towards the barn or corral. With the horse walking forward I will step his hip over 180 degrees then ask him to back. In this situation, I use my reins to keep his hind end pointed in the direction he wants to go. If he doesn’t want to back, I will step his shoulders over 180 degrees and walk the horse in the direction he wants to go. I then step his hip over 180 degrees then ask him to back again. My goal in all of this is to get his feet moving, and then direct them. I also will use a rope to teach my horse to back. I will put my rope on something light enough for me to drag with my hand, especially something that might scare the horse. I will have the horse face up then drag the object towards the horse. This usually causes the horse to back away in fear. When the horse begins to back, I let the rope run through my hand. As the horse begins to back better, I will dally to a light object then let my dallies run after the horse backs a few steps. Again I will let the horse rest after he backs. When the horse can drag a log, I will imitate dragging one to the fire. I will drag the log forward then step his hip around 180 degrees. As the horse backs I will let my dallies run then pop my dallies as the horse is still backing. Then let him stand and rest.

I avoid getting in a fight with the horse at all cost. I do not take it personally. I know that patience will pay off.  If the horse does not back today he will back tomorrow, or the next day, or next week. I don’t worry about how long it takes because I know he will one day back without any problem.

I know this was not a simple explanation, but I felt it was necessary to explain my mindset. I get the feet moving then I direct them. I give my horse the signal to walk (move his feet) with my legs.  I don’t give the signal to walk (move his feet) with my reins. I give the signal to stop with my reins. When I want my horse to stop I pull and slack the rein. A horse has to move his feet to back. Why would I use my reins to give my horse the signal to stop, when I want him to move his feet? We can train a horse to respond to any signal. But, we will get better results when there is a consistency to our signals, some form of simple logic.

Dennis Zeringue

June 24,2016

Checking Horses

Some people will check horses in training. Checking horses, means to take the slack out of the rein to the point that pressure is applied to the bit or hackamore with one or both reins tied to the saddle. I do not check horses in the snaffle, hackamore or bridle. When you check a horse, there is no release. The horse can put slack in the rein by flexing his neck, but there is no release allowing the horse to put his head back into its natural position and relax. I only take the slack out of the rein with my hand. When the horse responds appropriately I release the rein and the horse is rewarded by being allowed to put his head back into its natural position and relax. When a horse is checked, he will put slack in the rein then he will attempt to straighten his neck. When he does this, instead of finding relief from the rein, he makes contact with the rein. He will repeat the process again but will still fail to get a release from the rein. After several attempts he will quit trying and just hang on the rein. This is counterproductive to what I want to teach a horse. The majority of people who I have seen checking horses, whether with one rein or with both reins, did it to sore a horse. They would check a horse for hours on end. These were mostly horse traders preparing a horse for the sale ring. Of course this is the worst scenario of checking horses, but I can’t think of scenario where checking horses brings about a good result.

Dennis Zeringue

May 1, 2015

 Use of the Quirt and Romal

   To begin with, the quirt and romal are tools. They are no different than a spur or hackamore or bit. I do not use the quirt and romal as weapons to inflict pain or to punish my horse. I use the quirt and romal to communicate with my horse. They can be used as an extension of my hand or as a substitute for a spur. I use a quirt while training a horse in the hackamore. I prefer to use a quirt rather than the end of my mecate. I prefer the weight and body (stiffness) that a quirt has. This helps to hit where I aim when I throw it. I don’t hold a quirt like a fly swatter and swat my horse with it. I throw a quirt about the same way that I throw a rope. I hold it by the loop and swing it in an arc then throw it at my target. Of course, I don’t let go. The swing is just as important as the contact, to the horse. A horse learns quickly what happens just before what happens. This can be used to your advantage later on. In the early days of training, if they do not respond to my legs, I use the quirt to drive a horse forward. I NEVER use it any more then I have to, nor hit a horse any harder than necessary. Just a light tap can be effective.The more you use a quirt the less effective it becomes. Horses easily become desensitized to it once they learn that it’s not going to hurt them.

   The next time I use a quirt is when I am working on the set and turn. Once a horse has a clear understanding of the set and turn and can perform it well I will use the quirt to speed things up. After the horse has stopped and once the horse is committed to the turn, I will hit him on the shoulder with the quirt to drive him through the turn. When he has completed the turn I will hit him on the rump to jump him back in the direction he came. I do this once on both sides and no more at this time. After this, I only use the quirt as a threat, if I need to speed him up. If at sometimes during his training my horse gets slow or out of shape on his set and turn, I will use the quirt to speed him up again. I have a snap on the saddle strings on the left side of the fork of my saddle. My quirt hangs here out of the way, but always in reach. Besides training, the quirt is also useful in the winter when wearing snow packs.

   My horse understands and respects the quirt by the time he reaches the two rein. I generally use the romal the same as I use the quirt, though seldom necessary by this stage of the training. When my horse enters the two rein stage he can become distracted by the bit and being constantly ridden one handed. When this happens I will use my romal to help guide him. If he doesn’t respond to the neck rein, I will reinforce the signal of the rein by tapping him on the side of his neck with my romal to drive him in the direction I want him to go. As with the quirt, if my horse gets out of shape on his set and turn, I will use my romal to shape him up. I will use my romal to shape my horse up, when needed, for the rest of his life. Throughout the day I will change hands on the reins and change my romal from one side to the other when I change. This keeps my horse balanced.

   I do not use my quirt or romal to discipline or punish my horse. I do not use my romal to hit my chaps, my boot, my leg or any other thing in order to move cattle. I find people who have to beat, scream and holler to move cattle very irritating. I’m sure the horse doesn’t care for it either.

Dennis Zeringue

March 31, 2015