Standing Still  that first step

By Kerry Kuhn

How important is standing still? Is it overrated or can it influence your whole ride? Learn the value of that first step, so you can unlock doors in other places.

What I look for when I work with a horse is for him to get good at listening to me. I want him to learn to be patient and wait for me to ask before getting a response. If he has a hard time waiting patiently as I am getting on, I will most likely see the same attitude later on in my ride. To get my horse to be patient a mile away from the house, I start with that first step my horse takes by developing patience.

First thing I will do is get a hold of my reins as I step my foot in the stirrup, so if my horse stars to walk off I can bring his head around and disengage his hindquarters. With his hindquarters disengaged, he will lose his forward drive and simply be moving in a circle. At this time I can either remove my foot from the stirrup and hold his body bent until his feet stop, or I can maintain my weight in the stirrup as he is moving. When he stops, the reward is given by taking my weight out of the stirrup.

I prefer to stay in the stirrup and wait for him to stop moving so he doesn't think as soon as he starts to move or walk off I will remove my foot from the stirrup. This would reinforce a negative response. However, this takes practice and can be dangerous if you are not accustomed to standing in one stirrup as your horse is moving. If you do not feel comfortable with that, simply pull your foot out of the stirrup and hold his body bent until his feet find a place to rest. Then repeat this exercise until the horse remains still. The most important thing is to not restrict the horse's movement. If your horse moved without your asking, direct where he goes and allow him time to figure out that it is easier to stand still.

In my program, this is an extremely valuable spot. I feel that if the beginning of my ride is good, it will be easier to end that same way. So I encourage people to take a close look at that first step. See if their horse shows the same attitude twenty minutes into their ride that he showed as they were getting on. What they will see is how important that first step really is.