BOGO

Yesterday I worked Bogo in the round pen. He is a three year old here for breaking and training. When he first arrived I felt that he was a bit immature for training, mentally and emotionally. He came to us exhibiting very coltish behavior; nipping and kicking for fun and in anger. That was two weeks ago.

In these last two weeks, Bogo has found focus. Bogo has also learned that he is not allowed to bite or kick a human for any reason. When he bit we would immediately pinch his top lip and tell him "No!" very sternly. When working with him we carried a short crop so that any attempts to kick were met with a swat on the offending leg and the stern "No!" was repeated. At first these things were met with shock and then, after he came to expect them when he misbehaved in either of these two ways, acceptance.

So yesterday in the round pen was the very first time he leveled and focused solely on me and the lesson. His gait changes, lead changes, stops and starts were smooth as silk. His little ears stayed attuned to my voice and he remained calm and on task. This is a major, major accomplishment for Bogo. We struggled in the beginning because he had the attention span of a gnat and after 10 minutes was bored. Boredom makes Bogo an unruly boy. We kept the lessons at fifteen minutes each, twice a day, for the first week. Then the lessons moved up to a half an hour in the morning and fifteen minutes in the evening.

Most of these lessons were spent on the basics. A lot of people want you to be riding their horse within the first week. They don't understand that if the basics are taught and respected that you get more of a well-rounded, respectful, and willing mount. We want every horse to have the concepts of longing, vocal commands, the "stand" command, and respect of our personal space (including not entering it with teeth or hooves). Once this is accomplished we add tack piece by piece and do some sacking out. This is usually a ten to twelve day process, depending on the horse. Then, and only then, will we ride.

When the horse has a concrete "stand", meaning that he will not move when saddled, bridled, mounted, dismounted, or when he is told to "stand" and then the person walks away, he is ready for me to get on. The stand command is one of the most valuable things you can teach a horse. Two examples:

1.) we took on an eleven year old gelding who was a chronic bucker. I'm not talkin' crowhoppin' either. He could flat out buck. I worked with him on the ground for over three weeks before Dustin got on the first time. He rode him for two weeks at a walk in the round pen, reining and doing starts and stops. There were tense moments but he never offered to buck. When The time came to trot though it was a whole different ballgame (or should I say rodeo?). I was on the ground in the middle of the round pen while Dustin rode him around the rails. Dustin nodded to me - our signal that he felt confident enough to trot and that he was set in case something went wrong. I asked the gelding for a trot. He lifted his head and quickened the pace but didn't change gait. I asked again. He trotted two steps and EXPLODED. I stood in the middle of the round pen with my mouth hanging open. I could believe that horse was getting so much air. He was the Micheal Jordan of bucking AND Dustin was hanging in there. Suddenly, I came out of my shock and I hollered "STAND!" in a commanding voice. That horse froze mid buck and stood. He was still set to go off like a bomb; eyes rolling, nostrils flared, chest heaving, and as I drew closer I half expected to hear a low thrum of an electric charge running through him. He was strung tight. I approached and put my hand on his nose. We just stood there, the three of us. I had to remind him to stand a few times but as the minutes passed, he relaxed. We started over. This time when asked to trot he trotted out nervously but with no buck. He went home comfortable in all gaits and with a concrete stand.

2.) I was taking a new mare that had just completed her training on a trail ride. We went into some trees that were new to us and she stepped into some old barbed wire laying on the ground, tangling it around her feet. She wanted to run away from this ouchy stuff and she sure as hell didn't want to stand still while it bit her but I gave her the command and she stood very nervously while I talked to her gently and cut all of the wire away. Turns out to only be superficial wounds but it could have been much worse if she had struggled.

So, I want the stand command down pat before I ride. When I have that, we ride in the round pen for 10 days and then take the remaining time to ride trails and fields. Bogo is about five days into the round pen riding. He is transitioning smoothly, has a wonderful "whoa", and is proving that he's a pretty smart fella. He also is doing great on the stand command. He is easily distracted and he gets bored quickly, however, he will stand for two full minutes before getting bored enough to risk getting in trouble and moving. For a three year old baby, two minutes is pretty darn good.

As he is progressing, he is learning that it is not only being in the round pen that signals work and focus. It's me, too. He is learning that when I put the halter on, pick up the lead, and we walk out of his run, that he is on the clock. Many people have trouble transitioning from the round pen to riding out in the world. I think if you take the time to properly teach a horse what is expected, earn his trust, and make sure that he has a thorough knowledge of all of the cues and commands that you shouldn't have much trouble.

Bogo's owners are coming next week to try him out. I will let you know how it goes.