Ga-Wa-Ni Pony Boy, Discourse on His Methodology Report
"A Horse is a Horse"
"Listen! Or your tongue wil make you deaf." Cherokee Saying
We went to see Ga-Wa-Ni Pony Boy on September 18, 1999, at the Flagstaff (AZ) Riding Center. It was a nice group, limited to 100 audience members. Lunch (fabulous) was included, as were pens and notebooks for taking notes. Pony has 3 books which were available for purchase, as well as T-shirts with the saying "Horses Don't Whisper".
Meaning, that the horse is not whispering to you, he is talking loud and clear....if you're listening.
Pony's methods are called Relationship Training. His way is more concerned with the relationship rather than results. Anyone can produce results, but they may not be lasting results. Quick fixes don't last. He works within relationships that horses can understand and he stays within those parameters.
Teaching (he uses the word teaching rather than training) a horse is similar to building a house. The most important part is the foundation. Problems result from lack of a proper foundation.
Pony believes in fixing problems, not symptoms.
Spurs were developed to communicate with a horse, not to inflict pain.
People ask him if his methods are based on a spiritual approach. He says that they are based on common sense and animal behavior, altho feels that if you do not have a spiritual connection, sell the horse.
Before using any method, ask yourself three questions:
1) Does it make sense to the horse?
2) Does the technique resolve around certains tools or required equipment? (A bit is a communication tool, not a control device. A bit does nothing without hands. He recommends a full-cheek snaffle as it pulls on the side of the face as a clear signal. A full-cheek has a 1-1 ratio of pounds of pressure; times this by 4 for each inch of shank.) Equipment does not train horses.
3)Does the method involve time limits? Time limits create stress for us; horses don't know what time is.
In house building, a good foundation is required on which to set the structure. Each cinder picked up is an exercise to do with the horse--one goes next to the other.
We have a tendency to work on a horse's strengths and ignore his weaknesses. In regard to trailer loading, he has seen these methods: The Broom Method (get behind the horse and hit him with the broom); The Pulley Method (put the lead rope thru the trailer window and attempt to pull the horse into the trailer); and The Alternative Method (tie the lead rope to a tree, and back the truck up). Pony lists several "cinders" of requirements the horse must know BEFORE trailer loading: trust, stepping up, being in a closed area, walking on noisy floors, etc.
The foundation under all disciplines is the same.
The mortar is the most important part of keeping the blocks of education/training in place where they are supposed to be; and the mortar in horse training is your relationship.
Diagnosing Problems: As an example, is head tossing a problem or a symptom? When you're attempting to diagnose
a program, but can't see anything, remember that there are layers
of bricks underground that you can't see. You may have to dig
up some layers to find the real problem.
When you do find a problem, you can (1) Live with it; (2) Sell the horse (mis-match?--abilities of
horse and rider should be matched equally); or
(3) Fix the problem, which takes time, patience, and possibly
getting dirty.
Fixing is easy--not simple or fast.
Also, in the diagnosis, the following should be considered: (1) Physical
problems--check on horse's physical health, tack fit); (2) Unclear Com
munication--horse does not understand what you want him to do, ears going different
directions, lips flapping, lips tight); (3) Unstable relationship.
Trainers & Training: Macho and horse training doesn't work. If
a horse has problems don't push him. Be creative with your teaching
tools to get the horse to understand.
Horses don't understand being told what to do.
Horses don't understand being asked.
Horses can learn to respond to requests, but it's not how they
naturally operate.
View your horse properly. Horses don't understand interpersonal relationships.
Domestic horses are pretty much over the prey relationship with humans.
Herd behavior is how horses view the world. Mustangs still view
humans as predators and this can be seen in their round pen work.
Some herd behavior language is: snaking of the neck, pinning the ears,
and even biting your foot under saddle. The latter means: "Get back
where you belong. I'm boss."
Leader and Follower Responsibilities:
Lead safely with the herd's best interests foremost. A leader
does not ask or tell. If you get a horse in trouble you, as a
leader, go down a notch in their eyes.
Follow with no questions asked. If you are a real leader, the
horse will do anything. Horses continually challenge the leader,
however. And if your horse is "stubborn", he is enjoying and experiencing
being alpha with you.
How to Become a Leader:
Alpha--usually lead mare.
Beta--second horse.
#3--several horses evenly ranked. An alpha and one #3 are
usually best friends.
Omega--last. The Omega fulfills a needed role in the herd--that
of helping the others release their tension. (In the horse industry,
65 to 70% of horse owners are women and their husbands tend to
be the Omega as they ask "How come he steps on my foot and not hers?".)
How does a Leader become a Leader?
If you watch the dynamics of a group of children between the age
ranges of 10-14 years old, you will find similarities to horse
herd dynamics.
Between two horses, at some point one will become alpha. One will
make the first move by focussing attention on the second. The one who
is NOT alpha will look away. The alpha makes the other more uncomfortable by
infringing on its comfort bubble. For horse's it's about 16-20 feet;
for humans, it's a 3 foot comfort zone. Horses understand from
herd behavior that if they are approached within 5 feet, they will
get bit. Therefore, the horse who is "more" uncomfortable, will move.
In transferring this information to the Round Pen, you can make
a horse uncomfortable by making him move and changes of direction
until he stands and faces. When he looks away, make him uncomfortable again.
In a 60' round pen, you can be within the comfort zone of the horse
within two steps. The Round Pen is not the be-all, end-all in horse-training.
Comfort and Discomfort:
There is a book called "Fixing Vices in Horses". The equipment shown
to be used ranges from 2 x 4's, chains, whips, tires, burlap sacks, and
other miscellaneous things. Yes, a 2 x 4 can make a horse uncomfortable.
It is important to decide how much aggression (pressure) to use
on a horse and you can find this out by asking the horse.
As a suggested method to determine amount of pressure/discomfort
to inflict on a horse, Pony suggests sitting square in a chair, feet on the ground
and then lifting one foot about 5 inches off the ground. And then
keeping it there for, oh, about a minute or two. That is all
the "nagging" pressure necessary to teach a horse anything.
In fact, a noise can be all that's necessary to "pressure" a horse.
When you train a horse, he is responding. When you teach a horse, he is
learning.
A young horse's attention span is about 4 minutes. After reaching
the end of their attention span, a horse can exhibit "behaviors", the
we have a tendency to work on the behaviors rather than teaching. You can
see the end of the attention span coming when the horse inhales and
lowers head about 4", eyes glaze over, and lower lip drops somewhat.
The exception to this is work in the Round Pen. It DOES NOT take
much time at all to establish alpha in the Round Pen. Keep it short.
If you have a Round Pen, keep it for use as a classroom, don't use
it for grazing, or a corral.
If a horse is pawing, it means he's not wanting to stand still, anxious.
Lower lip flapping means confusion. Tight lower lip, he's swearing at you.
If there are under saddle problems, there is a missing link in the ground
training. If you have to use more than two fingers of pressure, go
back to the ground.
If a horse cannot be tied, he has not learned to give to pressure
properly and should not be ridden.
Foundation Exercises:
The following foundation exercises should be done in order--building one
on top of the other. Pony also makes an except to the "no equipment
necessary" rule by requiring his followers to go to Walmart and buy
a notebook. He feels it is very valuable to keep a written record
of whatever has to do with your horse.
Take 4-6-8 hours in a day and passively observe your horse. Become
part of his landscape and just watch. There are plenty of books written
on horse training, on horses in general, but there is no book written
on YOUR horse and who he is. This is a part of your intimacy. You need
to know your horse to have a relationship. Treat your horse as an
individual rather than just another horse.
Pony gives you a free round pen--take some lime and use it to round off
the corners of any pen. At first working in a square pen, the corners
look like an escape route to the horse....until he gets there...then
it's an enclosure. Move him from corner to corner and he'll figure
out that corners are not comfort. Pretty soon he'll be rounding
the corners automatically.
Horses are lazy. If you could build a conveyer belt with grass on it, a horse
would never move.
Set the rules that cannot be changed or you'll be walked all over.
Do whatever it takes to initially get movement--not continually scaring
him. You can use: flag, whistle, lariat, rope, trash can lids,
anything to swing, chain saw....
First get movement.
Then get consistent movement. He would like to see the nostrils
just beginning to flare which indicates slight discomfort.
Get the change of direction (by stepping in to him). You might
not get a change of direction if you are not worthy of being alpha.
Outside Turns. Most of the first turns will be outside turns.
Outside turns mean you are nobody to the horse; he's turning his rump
to you.
Inside Turns. To start the inside turns, work the horse in only
half the pen (line between 3 and 9 o'clock). Keep asking him to turn
until he decides he wants to renegotiate. When the horse focusses in,
make a real clear signal by dropping back away from him, and letting him rest, and breathe.
The horse may test again by attempting outside turns when you are
asking for inside turns.
A horse is good at being a horse--he is not good at relationships
with humans.
It is more stressful to be a leader; it is better for your horse
if you shoulder those responsibilities.
Stopping. If the horse stops on his own, keep him moving. When
the horse goes to turn, there is a built-in momentary pause--at this point
draw yourself back for the "whoa". This ground training is the
foundation for a good stop under saddle. When you get a good stop, pet
him, allow him to rest, and say "good boy". In asking for the stop, turn
your shoulders perpendicular to the horse, otherwise your shoulders
should be straight on to him, to "push" him.
Use the Round Pen initially to establish status. You do not need to
use it again and again. You must maintain status in real life.
Forward cue--your horse should move when you ask.
You can modify round pen exercises to lead line exercises. You will
need to determine what YOUR horse needs.
Biting horses: A mare teaches a foal not to bite by grabbing a chunk
of skin at the shoulder and twisting.
Pony is now working with a horse on the lead line. The following are
notes from this portion of the day.
Your relationship should be started right from the beginning with any
new horse. "Kissing" sound is associated with movement. At this
point, he is asking Pepper to move around him on the line. He can'
tell when the horse is "thinking" about moving by the slight raise
of the knee. Pivots are not allowed; the horse must have "forward"
movement. Sometimes the first couple of times you request movement,
he'll say "OK". Then, he may challenge you by saying: "And, you are who?"
Shake of the head means NO.
It is not necessary to "run" the horse. Just ask for forward
movement.
Turn your shoulders for stop.
There may be a time of request for renegotiation from the
horse.
Reward when the horse is facing up.
This is not lunging.
When the horse is willing to follow your request, you have gained
a tiny bit of leadership.
Horses cannot move their mouth parts when they are in fear. Licking
and chewing shows they accept you as the leader.
The horse is NOT allowed to touch me.
Sacking Out (Pony prefers to do this at liberty):
Rub the horse all over. If he moves, send him out for two laps.
Pat the horse firmly all over. Watch his lips and ears to see if
he's annoyed. If he moves, send him out for two.
Poke him all over with thumb.
Use the rope all over his body next.
Further, introduce him to pieces of equipment, then rub him down with
the equipment; and then pat lightly with the equipment.
All the time, watching for the end of the attention span.
The horse will realize this doesn't hurt--it's just annoying.
Ear/Head Shy:
Rub slowly at the withers and then go one inch upward; retreat.
Good time to work on this is when they're eating.
Take it slow--don't over expose.
If the horse is blinking at regular intervals, he is thinking--
if eyes are glazed over, he is shut down.
Round Penning: Be sure to go in with a plan and stick to it.
Become familiar with easy horses before working with aggressive or intimidating
horses.
Information learned from horses BETWEEN exercises is 1,000 times better than that
observed from exercises.
Fears:
You cannot teach a horse NOT to be afraid. But you can teach him to
control his fear. Provide a "stimulus" (an item of fear) for working
in the Round Pen. If the horse shows fear, move him two laps. If he faces
the "stimulus", remove it (hide it behind you).
Start small. For example, a Walmart bag. If the horse shows fear,
cut out a 4 inch square and start with that. Let him hear the sound.
See if he will allow himself to be touched with it. Try to get the
horse to respond to fear by facing it.
If a horse is afraid of a hat flying in the wind, first ask him
to touch the hat, don't throw it at him.
Halter Training: Giving to pressure.
In this demonstration, Pony is asking the horse to lower his head
with two "straight" fingers worth of pressure, pulling straight down
and releasing with the give. These two fingers worth of pressure
will be worked down to 1/2 finger of pressure.
Pony prefers rope halters to train in--easier for the horse to give
to pressure. Web halters encourage horses to lean. Nylon and polypropylene
material has 2,000 lbs pressure strength--it can burn the skin. He
suggests using cotton rope which is easier on the horse and has
a breaking point of 400 lbs. He does not use clips on the lead ropes,
just a single loop thru and pull. He feels the additional weight
and bouncing around distracts the horse.
Gives to Pressure:
Head down
Move forward
Neck bends
Moving sideways. Press on thigh or shoulder to move outside leg.
Constantly chattering to the horse does nothing for the horse--it's only to
satisfy myself. Altho the emotion of the phrases means more. We
can communicate to horses far more than we realize. Pony says he does
not know how they view reward, but they know appreciation.
Desensitization: We are making the horse "sensitive" to his surroundings
not looking for the horse to become numb.
Leading:
The lead rope has very little to do with leading a horse. You
should strive to lead the horse with your status, your mind, and your
relationship.
It is a Cheyenne custom when one "obtains" a horse to tie a 10' lead
around the horse's neck and then around your waist, and stay with
the horse until you become one.
Give the horse 5' of lead, put your thumb in your pocket and start
walking. Don't remove your thumb, and don't give any extra rope to
the horse.
Progressively shorten the lead (take up the slack by one foot) as
you walk and lead.
Start with 30 seconds and then progressively increase your
horse's attention span with this exercise.
Altering Instincts: If a horse is startled, if you are in charge, they
will spook anywhere but on YOU.
A horse should be conditioned to light pressure, but also know heavy
pressure so that they will be able to cope with it in an emergency
situation.
Trick: If your horse does not want to move, Pony suggests getting
out of his field of vision. Pony moved behind the horse and the horse
got a little nervous wondering where he was, therefore, he had to
move to find him. (Editorial note: Behind the horse may be a risky
position to be in.)
Picking up Feet:
Establishing trust is very important. The feet of the horse were
put on by God to carry the horse away from mountain lions. When you
try to lift his feet, you take away his ability to flee, so better
work on trust, first.
The hoof starts at the shoulder; run your hand down the shoulder to the knee and
lean into the horse, and apply slight pressure. If the horse bends
his knee, hold the bend with one finger, then release. If the horse
leans on you, move. You may have to show the horse what you want
(at least to start with) by having him relax his leg and putting
the toe on the ground.
Trailers and Water:
By going into trailers and water, a horse is putting his body into
something he fears. Find out where the line of comfort is for your
horse and then try to go 1/2 inch past that line; back the horse away,
and restart. This is good practice as the horse needs to know how to
exit as well as enter.
Learn how to "drive" the horse in, rather than leading. Pony does
not care for bribery as a teaching technique.
Bitting: Put the bit in and go thru the pressure and leading exercises,
being mindful of the end of the attention span.
Under saddle: Teach a horse to turn by walking a straight line. Use
focus 3 miles ahead to aim for your destination. Never use more tha
two fingers of pressure. Line up two spots in the distance and keep
them in line. Eventually, when you are going in a straight line and
you look to the left, the horse's left ear will turn--waiting for
the next cue ("are we going to turn, or no?"). If you focus on
the horse's head, you may get misbehavior since he doesn't know
what you want.
Start young horses in the snaffle. A jacquima (hackamore) takes not
as much skill as does a bosal, but more than a snaffle. Pony rides
in a rope halter, but in public uses a bit for additional control.
For a backup: Ask with pressure on the halter than add a hint of pressure on leg/
body. Backing occurs by your status and request not by "making" him back.
For intermediate work (prior to under saddle): After basic groundwork,
perfect your ground driving.
Horses do not mind pain so much when they need to flee--a chain
saw will not stop a horse that wants to go.
Hitting a horse: In becoming the alpha, sometimes you must match
aggression, but not by hitting (and never on the head). Hitting a horse will
not hurt him, but the emotion in it will affect him. Better to yell and
then forget it. Don't get angry and don't scare the horse.
Rearing: Rearing is a symptom. Anxiety is the problem.
Separation anxiety: On the trail, if your horse shows separation
anxiety from the other horses, drop back and then catch up. Repeat until
the horse shows less worry.
Barn sour: Work 50 feet from the barn for a short time and then
put the horse up. Next time, extend the distance from the barn. Continue
working in small progressions.
Lunging: Lunging used to be an art form. People would go to school
for years
to be able to lunge their horses in an open arena. This proved the
communication between horse and human. Now lunging basically exercises
the horse, wears him down, and then beefs him up. Try to do your
lunging with a purpose of improving communication between horse and rider.
Abuse: In cases of abuse, please try to contact as many people/agencies
as possible to get some results. Horses that we bring into our lives are
part of our families, do not let abuse continue.
Cribbing: There is a new study that shows trace minerals may inhibit
cribbing.
Mounting bareback: Pony says the chapter in his book that pertains
to mounting bareback is mostly for the kids who follow him. (Editorial note: We, us older
ladies!, are not to worry about that.)
A bucking horse is saying: Get off my back!
Pony will be having a new book out in the Spring 2000, called "Of Women and Horses",
about the special relationship between women and horses. He also
has a video series coming out.
From his book:
Native Americans usually held a piece of cloth or leather in one hand.
The cloth served as a focal point for the horse and defined where he
should devote his attention. As you work on this exercise, hold
a cloth in one hand. Don't wave it around or touch your horse with it--simply have it
with you. The role played by the cloth in this exercise is simply to get the horse
to associate it with opportunities to communicate with you, learn, and receive praise. It
serves the same purpose as a uniform or a desk. Your horse will become accustomed to seeing
it in his field of vision and will associate it with a lesson. He will
come to attention when he sees it. This is not to say that you will
never have his attention and cooperation unless you have the training
cloth--your relationship with your horse is what develops the cooperation and connection you're seeking.
But the cloth, and your horse's association with it, will help put your horse in the right
frame of mind because he will know that you and he are about to work
on something that requires his focus.
