7 games (exercises to practise with your horse)

I want to do some training with my horse... where do I start? Right here!

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Below are seven exercises which would be the foundations that any nicely trained horse should be able to do. If you get these done, you are in a great position then to continue on to more advanced stuff, whether its 'trec', dressage, general riding, jumping, western or just having the pleasure of a nicely mannered, well behaved, happy confident horse. Sean was using some of these with Diesel and Freddie at our funday in Adare on April 26th.

To a horse prepared to be a nice ridden horse, you practise the following seven games on the ground first. Once they are good on the ground, then you can use them when you are in the saddle.

(Descriptions taken from www.todayshorse.com. More descriptions at iceryder.net/7games.html and www.wikihow.com/Do-the-Seven-Games-of-Parelli)
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Game #1: The Friendly Game
Game #2: The Porcupine Game
Game #3: The Driving Game
Game #4: The Yo-Yo Game
Game #5: The Circling Game
Game #6: The Sideways Game
Game #7: Squeeze Game
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Game #1: The Friendly Game

This game proves to your horse you will not act like a predator, that you are friendly and can be trusted. You need to gain his confidence and be able to touch him with a friendly "feel" everywhere on his body. Any area where he is defensive tells you of his skepticism about you. By using approach and retreat, get to where you gain permission to touch every place on his body without forcing him to accept it. You can then advance to tossing ropes, plastic bags, coats, anything you can think of to get him braver, more confident and less skeptical. Be sure the horse is on a slack rope, not being held tightly or tied up.

• Have a loose lead rope, and the horse in a safe enclosed arena.
  
• Take your hand and very slowly place it on the horses body. The neck or shoulder is a good place to start.
  
• Go at your horses speed. if you can't get near your horse, use a dummy arm or a long stick which 'pretends' to be your hand.
  
• Don't rush it. If your horse is getting panicked, you are going too fast. Go slower.
  
• Gradually allow the horse to get used to you touching the neck. When he is used to you, he will move move when you touch him, he will not put his head up when you touch him and he will not tense his body when you touch him. Then choose a new place.
  
• Do this until you can touch the horse everywhere without it having a problem.
  
• Be aware that you need to teach this twice - once on either side. Sometimes horses can be much more spooky on one side so you might need to be extra patient.
  
• Be able to safely rub your horse all over with a stick and then with your hand. Again always watch for the loose lead rope, and for your horse to be relaxed. You are teaching your horse to be brave which will grow his confidence.
  
• Then move on to more loud or irritating things to touch the whole body with like a piece of cloth or a plastic bag. This will take several sessions!
  
• Head shy horses will take extra times to touch the head. Before proceeding to step two, you should be able to put a small tarp over your horses head. This is going to take time. These are NOT one day things.
  
• Sometimes even progressing a few hair is a big deal for a horse.
  

Keys to Friendly Game: smile, relax, rhythm, approach and retreat, desensitization.



Game #2: The Porcupine Game

This game is called "porcupine" as a reminder that the horse should not lean against a point of pressure but learn to move away from it. Learning this prepares him to understand how to respond to the rein, the bit or the leg. It is applied with a steady feel, not intermittent poking. The steady pressure starts soft and slowly increases until the horse responds. When the horse moves away, the steady pressure is instantly released.

This pressure is applied in four phases - press the hair, then the skin, then the muscle, then the bone! Each phase gets stronger, and there is no release until the horse responds with at least a try. In this way, it's the release that teaches the horse he made the right move. If he responds at phase 1, then go no further. If it takes up to phase 4, be prepared to persist until the horse tries to find comfort by moving away from the feel. Reward the slightest try with instant release, rubbing and a smile (back to Friendly Game). The Porcupine Game needs to be taught in all different places on the horse - the nose, chest, neck, forequarters, hindquarters and any place you can touch.

• This game will begin to tell the horse that he should listen to your touch and go with it rather then fight it.
  
• If the friendly game (above) was done correctly, you should be able to touch your horse anywhere.
  
• Gently spread your fingers and press them against your horses skin, gently touching your horses hair.
  
• Wait. If the horse moves, immediately rub that area with your hand and praise... even if it's only a half a step.
  
• If your horse does not move after a while (depends on the horse be patient), apply a small amount of pressure, so it feels like you are touching skin.
  
• Wait. If the horse moves, immediately rub that area with your hand and praise... even if it's only a half a step.
  
• If your horse does not move after a while (depends on the horse be patient), apply a small amount of pressure, so it feels like you are touching muscle.
  
• Wait. If the horse moves, immediately rub that area with your hand and praise... even if it's only a half a step.
  
• If your horse is not moving yet, you have two options. You can increase the pressure some more, or to help him out its often easier for the horse if you help him out - use a another cue as well. For example if you want a HQ yield so you are pressing where your heel would lie if it was behind the girth, ask your horse to bend his neck a little to you. This will help his to move his HQ away from you. If you have your hand on your horses nose and you want him to step back, touch his chest lightly with a rope or stick to help him understand what you want. Work with your horse the whole time and be a good teacher. It's not about 'making' him to stuff.
  
• Continue doing this until the horse moves by just the touch of your fingers.
  
  

Keys to Porcupine Game: concentrated look, steady pressure, use four phases.



Game # 3: The Driving Game

This game teaches the horse to respond to implied pressure, where you suggest to the horse to move and he moves without you touching him. In the beginning you may need to be at close range. As you advance through the levels you will be able to affect him from greater and greater distances. As this game progresses it looks like invisible communication between the horse and the human.

Again, four phases are important - phase 1 is tapping the air, phase 2 is light tapping with fingertips on the horse, phase 3 is medium and insistent tapping with the fingers, phase 4 is slapping with flat hands. All the while the rhythm does not falter, does not change. As soon as the horse responds with even a try, relax your arms, smile and rub him. It does not take long for the horse to learn how to move away at phase 1. Learn to drive your horse in different directions - backwards, move the front end, move the hindquarter (hold the neck bent towards you for this).

• This game gets the horse to move without actually having to touch him. You literally have to the touch the air. You get close, but you shouldn't have to touch the horse.
  
• Have your horse in a safe arena. Stand by his shoulder looking the same way your horse is looking. You should be holding a training stick.
  
• With your inside arm, hold the bottom of your horses mane to keep you in the right place.
  
• Stick your outside arm with the stick right out at a 90 degree angle to your horses head. So if you and your horse are facing north, your hand and the stick are pointed towards the west roughly at your horses head level.
  
• Start to circle the stick at bit at that distance. If your horse moves his front feet away from you (forequarter yield) stop moving the stick. Just ask for one step or a half step to begin with. To end rub your horses neck with the end of the stick.
  
• If you horse stands there half asleep, generate a bit more energy with the stick and move it a little closer to 'north'. Once your horse *thinks* about moving a front foot to the side (east) away from you, stop waving the stick and rub him and tell him he's marvellous.
  
• Work up to being able to do either one step, 180 degrees or 360 degrees with the horse putting his weight on the hind leg furthest away from you, and can so this from just light energy while the stick is pointed 90 from his head.
  
  

Keys to Driving Game: Concentrated look, rhythm, four phases.

Game #4: The Yo-Yo Game

Send the horse backwards, away from you, and bring him forwards to you in a straight line using your lead rope. The object is to get backward and forward movements equal and light.

Use four phases and the "hinges" in your finger, wrist, elbow and shoulder. Start phase 1 by just wiggling your index finger at the horse. Phase 2, wiggle your wrist so it affects the rope only slightly. Phase 3, bend at the elbow and shake the rope using your lower arm. Phase 4, straighten your elbow and shake your whole arm and watch how much more the rope moves. Only escalate the phases until you get a response. The instant your horse moves backwards, stop! This will let him know he's done the right thing.

It is also important to keep both your horse's eyes on you. As soon as the horse turns one eye away from you by turning his head, you will lose the back up and the straightness! Pay attention to the details and make corrections before he gets off course. You can play the Yo-Yo slowly at first, on flat ground. As the response improves, get more provocative and play it on uneven ground, at a faster pace, over a pole or log, or on a longer rope. This is how you teach a horse to respect your space when leading, to develop suspension and self-carriage, improve his stop, develop a slide stop and teach him to come to you.

• Stand in front of your horse with a plain "poker" face.
  
• Wiggle your finger and see if he/she backs up. if not, shake your wrist, if not...if you've got a stick handy you can tap your horse under his chest to help him out. Sometimes this can work better than continuing on with the rope shaking as you get less resistance and the front end will not brace/get stuck as much (and you don't want braces)
  
• When they have backed up (just one step, or indeed, just the *thought* of one step would be lovely first), soften your face, smile and praise.
  
• You have the "Yo" now you need the other "yo."
  
• So now we have to get the horse to come back. Milk your lead rope - Make smooth combing motions on your lead rope and keep the constant motion. If he/ she doesn't come to you, close your fingers a little bit.
  
• If the horse does not come towards you, then continue to close your fingers (keep your motion) If you get to the point where you are completely closed and you can't keep combing. Hold the rope.. DONT PULL, just hold the rope until the horse comes to you and PRAISE...
  
• Keep doing this until all you have to do is wiggle your finger and comb the rope for your horse to go back and forth.
  
• if your horse doesn't move, and maybe his shoulders & front legs are a bit stuck, you could unstick his shoulders by asking him with your stick for one step sideways first.
  

Keys to Yo-Yo Game: straightness, responsiveness, imagination, four phases.

Game #5: The Circling Game

Do not confuse this with mindless lunging! The Circling Game develops a horse mentally, emotionally and physically. It teaches him to stay connected to you and get the tension out of the line between you while maintaining his gait and direction.

There are three parts to the Circling Game - the send, the allow and the bring back. All of it needs to be done without moving your feet. To send the horse, "lead" his nose in the direction you want. If the horse does not follow the rope, lift the tail of your rope and swing it toward his neck. Once he is traveling around you, smile and pass the rope behind your back (you don't have to do this), giving the horse the opportunity to take responsibility for maintaining gait and direction on the circle. This is "the allow" part. Do a minimum of two laps and a maximum of four. If you have to continuously ask your horse to keep going, he is winning the game. Trust the horse to do the right thing. If he stops, turn and face him with a concentrated look, redirect his nose onto the circle and start again. When he goes, smile! To bring your horse back to you, turn and face him for Phase 1. Phase 2, start reeling the rope in until you have enough tail in the rope to lift it. Phase 3, swing the rope towards his hindquarters. Phase 4, touch the hindquarters until he has swung them away and faced you. Again, stop and smile at any moment the horse makes the right response. Bring the horse all the way in to you and rub him (back to the Friendly Game). Disengagement of the hindquarters (swinging them away from you) is very important. It is how you teach a horse to be easily controlled - mentally, emotionally and physically.

• Stand with your horse facing you.
  
• Back him up using the rope while you stand still.
  
• To get him on the circle, you can either milk the lead rope so he steps half way back to you, then point out the hand with the lead rope in it, the direction you want him to go OR (my favourite from Steve Halfpenny) as your horse is standing still, first drive/push his forequarters away from you, then as he walks on, just stand still and he will circle around you. Sometimes if you pull your horse into you they get a bit confused. The 'push the shoulders away first then circle' works ok for me anyway, and if you're doing Steve's clinics work on never pulling your horse, always push.. its a bit like riding, you want to get away from pulling (for example) the right rein, and instead get your horse to turn right by PUSHING with your left foot neat their shoulder. Pulling horses tends to throw them off balance which we don't want.
  

Keys to Circling Game: Three parts - Send, Allow and Bring Back; four phases; allowing the horse to learn his responsibilities.

Game #6: The Sideways Game

This is teaching the horse to go sideways equally as well to the right and left, with ease. The two important areas on the horse for this are the neck-to-nose area, and the hindquarters. We'll call them zone 1 (the nose) and zone 4 (the hindquarters). You need to play the Driving Game in repetitions of zone 1 then zone 4. Send zone 1, then zone 4, then 1, then 4, etc. until the horse straightens out and moves laterally sideways. Allow a loose rope and a little distance for the horse to get moving but not so much distance that he could turn away and kick you.

Sideways is important for developing suspension, lead changes, spins and to balance out "forwardaholics". Start slow and right; use a fence or rail to help prevent forward movement while the horse is learning.

• In this game we are going to instruct your horse to move "Sideways."
  
• Your horse should be on a leadrope standing loosely.
  
• Point his/her nose towards a wall, fence or other large solid object so your horse cannot move forward. Use your fingers ( see porcupine game) to push the horse sideways. Even if the horse makes a teeny weeny step, praise.
  
• Sometimes it's easier to get your horse to move using a stick. Move the front end by driving (above). After the front end is moved, focus your energy behind the girth where your foot would be if you were riding to move the HQs over as well. Repeat, doing one end, then the other end. If its all a bit messy, stop, and just practise your forequarter yields (driving) and hindquarter yields seperately again for a while.
  
• Continue this until you don't need to touch your horse, there is no wall in front of the horse and so he/ she will go sideways until you stop giving the commands.
  
  
  

Keys to Sideways Game: loose rope, Driving Game in zone 1 and zone 4, four phases.

Game #7: Squeeze Game

Horses, by nature, are claustrophobic. They are afraid of any small or tight space. The Squeeze Game teaches your horse to become braver and calmer, to squeeze through narrow spots without concern. Start with a large gap (it might have to be very large) between you and a fence, wall, or even a barrel. Ask your horse to go through the space while you stand still. In the beginning, it may help if you walk backwards and parallel to the fence to help your horse squeeze through. The reason walking backward works well is because it helps draw the horse toward you. For phase 1, direct your horse's nose into the gap. Phase 2, lift the tail of the rope. Phase 3, swing the rope a few revolutions. Phase 4, touch the horse behind the withers once. Then stop and begin again until the horse tries to move forward into the gap. As soon as he does, release the pressure, relax and smile. Pretty soon your horse will make it all the way through. Stand still and allow the rope to slide through your hand as he passes by you so he feels total release. You want to avoid him feeling a jerk backwards on the rope. As your horse gets more confident, make the space smaller and smaller until it is just three feet wide, like the stall of a horse trailer.

You can use the principle of the Squeeze Game to teach the horse to jump, or to go into trailers, wash bays, starting gates or roping boxes. Getting less claustrophobic also helps a horse to accept the cinch.

• You will need a large open space between you and a fence,wall etc.
  
• Send your horse through the gap between you and the fence,wall etc.
  
• Each time your horse goes through it, close the gap by a half a step or so, until your horse can do it in the smallest amount of space possible.
  
• This will help with things like trailering.
  
  

Keys to Squeeze Game: walk backwards, start with a large space and move in small increments to smaller spaces, use four phases, play it with practical objects like trailers and jumps.

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TIPS

• Remember that this is going to take a lot of time and patience and your horse is not going to do everything right the first time.It is helpful to know your horses history ( have they ever been trained with this?, another way? Were they roughly handled before? etc.)
  
• Different horses learn differently... This is more the "basic" horse version.
  
• Don't push your horse into something it doesn't want to do. That will weaken the trust bond. If the horse seems uncomfortable with something, talk to your horse, let it know that everything is going to be ok. Occasional breaks are always nice.
  
• Remember, your horse is trying really hard so they should be praised, even if they only sorta do it.
  
• More frequent shorter sessions are better then less frequents longer sessions. They just get boring for you and your horse.
  
• Each training session should be ended on a good note and with a little freetime and some playing time.
  
• If you're getting confused, that's normal! Log on here, ask questions, post a video, ring your trainer for a chat. You are not alone.
  

And most importantly... have fun and thank your horse for everything he gives you.

Reference info: Zones of the horse