PNH Level One
1. Approach your horse from at least ten feet. Holding the halter in your
left hand, let him smell it. Rub him from head to tail with the Natural Halter.
With the halter on the ground in front of your horse, simulate cleaning all four
feet from one side. Squeeze chestnuts in front and hocks in back. Show
proper way to put on halter and tie proper knot.
****For excellence, tilt head in and down while haltering. Position your horse
so that his left side is slightly to the camera before putting on the halter.
2. Show Seven Games on the ground.
Game 1: Friendly Game: Starting on the left side, put the lead rope over
your left elbow. Touch your horse from where the apples go in, to where the
apples come out, down to where the apples get on the back foot. Do on both
sides.
****For excellence. Pass the lead rope from arm to arm. Left the tail using the
"special button". Pass politely from side to side. Remember to position your
horse for the camera.
Game 2: Porcupine Game:
Back your horse by the nose and chest;
Hindquarters right, pivots on its right front foot;
Forehand right, so the horse pivots on its left back foot;
Repeat on the left. Remember to position your horse so that the camera
person can see your hands;
Sidepass your horse left and right. You may use the fence. Position yourself
so that the camera is to your side;
Head lower and raise.
**** For excellence Rub first, stimulate, rub to stop and get your horse to pivot.
Game 3: Driving Game: Move horse with rhythmic pressure
Forward and Backward
Sideways, right and left. You may use fence.
Drive forehand without touching
Drive hindquarters no touching, "have your horse lung you";
Take one step. (Forwards or backwards)
**** For excellence. Get your horse to pivot
Game 4: Yo-Yo. Back to end of rope and then forward.
**** For excellence. Straightness. Position camera on side
Game 5: Circle Game. Send your horse to the right at a trot. Let the rope
pass behind your back three times. Stop your horse and repeat to the left.
**** For excellence. Show proper leg and hand positions (4:00 or 8:00). Keep
feet still when horse is on circle.
Game 6: Sideways Game. Start with one-half circle out to the end of the
rope. As horse approaches fence send sideways. Use energy as you walk
towards your horse. Stop your horse while he is facing the fence.
****For excellence. Keep the front and back moving equally, be at the end of
the rope. Position camera to the side.
Game 7: Squeeze Game. Walk forward, turn around and send horse
through a three foot gap between you and the fence. Send horse over a jump.
****For excellence. Your horse should pass you with respect. Position
camera to your side.
I got this guy when he was 6 months old and
had *no* horse experience at all, just a dream to have horses, I
believe we may be an exception to the rule green on green makes
black and blue, I started him with the help of a one week clinic
that was pretty natural although not PNH, and after that week I
knew I needed more help ie: horse knowledge. I wasn't willing to
send him off to a trainer as I had the notion that I wanted to do
it myself...silly me, fortunately for my horse and for my sanity,
I found the Parelli program. He's four now and we are about half
way thru level two. It's been a journey but one I wouldn't trade
for all the broke horses in the world!!! I have learned so much
from him, and the one thing that I hate to admit is that I can
see why you should start with a well broke horse as it's hard to
teach the human and also try to teach the horse, where if the
horse was already broke he might be able to help a person thru
the rough spots but as it is I continually strive to learn and
teach myself about horsemanship so that I have something to offer
the horse. Never a dull moment, I will say that! But I wouldn't
trade him for the world he is coming along nicely.
Some things to think about:
What motivates horses?
Safety, Comfort, and Play (in that order)
Think of things from the horses point of view...first. How might prey animals
perceive the situation?
Respect, Impulsion, Flexion.
Respect is what you get....or don't get....on the ground!
Continue developing hands that close SLOWLY and open QUICKLY.
The 6 Keys to Success:
Attitude, Knowledge, Tools,
Techniques, Time, and Imagination
3. Trailer load with a friendly swing of the rope. Your horse should be in the
trailer for sixty seconds. Unload without looking back at horse.
4. Mount bareback with help. Your horse should be wearing the Natural
Halter and Horseman's String. Camera sees hands on mane and rein.
5. Lateral flexion to right and left using the Horseman's string. Position
yourself so that the camera can see your hand above your knee.
6. Figure 8. With Horseman's String on right, walk a figure 8. Repeat at the
trot. Put String on the left and repeat walk and trot. Ride toward camera
come down to a halt and backup.
****For excellence. Focus and straightness
7. Saddle from the Indian side and show cinching process. Remember, to
move your horse before you mount, for safety. Position your horse so that the
camera can see the cinch.
8. Mounting. Mount on the right side by looking your horse in the eye, then
step up and down in the stirrup three times with your hips parallel to your
horse's shoulders. Repeat on left.
****For excellence. Hold rein and mane with other hand on horn or pommel.
Reach over and pet horse's opposite side; settle softly into saddle.
9. Trot a figure 8 with the Horseman's String in your left hand and the carrot
stick in your right. Reverse and repeat.
****For excellence. Use only the carrot stick by using the right hand when
going to the left and changing to the left hand when going to the right. Make
sure the camera sees you put your string in you pocket.
10. Simulate bridling your horse from your knees by putting the horseman's
string or lead in his mouth.
****For excellence. Your horse needs to cooperate fully.
11. Indirect and direct rein. At a walk, start with an indirect rein to the right,
then change to a direct rein and repeat in a continuous flow to perform a
complete circle. Repeat to the left.
****For excellence. Your horse pivots on the front and back.
12. Canter. Using a casual rein, ride from a halt into a walk, trot, and then
canter to the right and then to the left.
****For excellence. Use the trombone exercise with an indirect rein to slow
from a canter to trot to walk, change directions.
13. One rein stop from canter. The "Save your life drill"
****For excellence. Pump your hand three times down rein. Using two fingers
and a thumb, bring your horse to a stop and hold for thirty seconds, while
looking at your stirrup. Make sure camera can see hand on your knee
14. Trotting task: Trot sitting, bouncing, posting, and standing for at least
ten strides each. Go both ways.
****For excellence. Post on proper diagonal, don't hold on during standing
trot.
15. Show turns at the trot by performing one-half circles to the right and left.
****For excellence. Focus up and around
16. Nine step backup. Trot a straight line toward camera, go from casual to
concentrated reins, stop and back up
****For excellence. Focus and straightness. Get good camera angle to show
fingers closing one at a time.
17. Sidepass right and left, using concentrated reins. Do not let your hands
come behind the pommel. You may use the fence. Keep camera to your
side.
18. Controlled Catastrophe. Help your horse handle the danger. Know
when to use the direct rein to face danger, the indirect rein to move the
hindquarters out of trouble, or the neutral rein to control a run-away.
****For excellence. Use short reins and keep horse facing the danger. Have
experienced helper and be careful during this task. Move side to side if horse
does not scare easily.
Yvonne is bridging the Parelli Natural Horsemanship tasks with clicker training. Magia is "smelling her tail"--a good way to get lateral flexion and suppleness to the back. Also, Magia is smelling (acknowledging) her saddle.
Magia stands patiently without headstall and then gives her head for bridling under saddle. Magia opens her mouth by herself to receive the bit.
Yana is having Shaleema bring her front feet into the center of the tire and then "standing on her head", as Greg says. Nice preparation for the bow; additionally good stretch for the neck and back muscles.
Friendly Game: Throw the lead rope over the horse's back, underneath,
around legs. Put the rope under the tail. Lift a leg with the rope. Toss
the rope from side to side over the head. Play the game with a tennis
racket, whiffle bat, plastic bag, hat, whisk, umbrella, tree branch with
leaves, coat, hose, cat, lariat, carrot stick/string, muck rake, shovel,
kitchen mop, safety vest, squirt gun, paper bag, feed bucket.
When you're
good at all
this, try it with a plastic chair. Practice hitting the ground with the
carrot stick/string without affecting your horse. Touch your horse
everywhere including sheath, under tail, inside nostrils, ears, mouth.
Don't forget the "button" that lifts the tail. Use the plastic bag under
the tail. Try standing on a bucket or
sitting on the fence and throwing the rope all around. Walking over
tarps--all different colors, some laid out flat, some crumpled up.
Put a
tarp over the horse's body, and then over his head and body. Put yourself
under the tarp and move (is your horse ok with this?). Walk drunkenly
toward your horse, or skip, jump, dance, flail, run. Also try this with
flapping chaps on. Bounce a ball around your horse, kick it under and over
him, bounce it off his side (maybe a beach ball). Play with balloons (maybe
helium).
Noise--Try bells, keys,
whistles, horns, manure shovel banging against pipe corrals, spray bottle,
radio, party favors, noisy hoola-hoops, bag of aluminum cans, kids toys,
the crack of a bull whip, cap gun, clippers, hair dryer, vacuum,
etc. Drag a milk container with pebbles in it, or 3-4
tin cans. Expose the horse to traffic sounds, earth movers, flashing
lights, etc.
Smells--expose him to many different smells including but not
limited to other animals or the manure of animals that you may meet on the
trail someday,
i.e. llamas, pigs, goats, sheep, etc. (rabbit skins, fox fur, etc.) Body
massage (possibly TTouch), endorphins are released at the base of the ear,
the nose, upper gum line, and by folding the ears and pulling to the tip.
Under Saddle Friendly: Twirling hoola-hoops, toss bag of crumpled aluminum
cans, play with a tarp, crack a bull-whip, have people hand you things
(coat, slicker, umbrella, etc.). Have someone run at you with scary things.
Ride with streamers.
Don't try everything in one day! Slowly is the best way to go. Use
approach and retreat if the horse shows any sign of nervousness. We're
looking for long-term good relationships. No fear or pressure.
The porcupine game will teach your horse to yield to pressure. Assuming
your horse leads, we can start into the other parts of the game. If your
horse does not lead well, you probably need to work on that first. Be sure
that he will give his head to pressure on the halter and try to lead him
from both
sides so that he gets used to seeing you from both eyes. It will help to
make him more even-sided. Optimally, you want your horse to stay at your
side (or behind whichever you choose) on a loose lead.
OK, keeping in mind that "it's the release that teaches" and the "release is
the reward" you can start on the following:
By putting pressure on the horse's nose, ask your horse to back up. At
first he may not know what you want. He may try to escape your hand by
moving his head up, down, or sideways. The horse is trying to guess what
you want. Stay with him until he slightly shifts his weight back. Instant
release. That is his signal that he guessed correctly. Try again and quit
the pressure as soon as his guess is going in the right direction. Build on
this until you get one step back and you're on your way to a back-up. This
may take only a few minutes or several days depending on the horse. Don't
get frustrated if the horse does not catch on right away. He doesn't know
the rules to the game--or even what game we're playing! You may have to try
this on another human (without words), by pressing into their face. See if
they guess correctly. Between every request, leave some time for the horse
to think (30-60 seconds). You may see him lick and chew. When the horse
guesses correctly, he is rewarded with the instant release of pressure and
also the time that nothing is asked of him. You can additionally reward
with "good boy" and a scratch. Treats are also helpful.
By putting pressure on the poll, ask your horse to lower his head. As soon
as it lowers just a smidgeon, release. You can build on this until he
lowers his head to the ground.
By putting pressure on the horse's chest with your fingers, ask him to back
up. Remember all the things noted in the back-up by nose. Instant release
for a guess that is in the right direction. Think time. Reward. Don't
spend a half an hour working on this. Under 5 minutes is good enough to
start.
Using the same methods, ask your horse to tip his head to the left. Then to
the right.
Ask your horse to lift his foot by putting pressure on the chesnuts (front
legs) and tip of the hock (back legs). At first release the pressure as
soon as the horse shifts his weight off of the requested leg. What we'll be
looking for is that the horse lifts his foot by himself just at the request.
The reason for using the chestnuts and tip of the hocks is to keep your head
out of the "football" (kicking) zone.
Ask your horse to lift his tail by pressing the tail-lifting "button". This
button is located next to the anus (sort of where east and west would be if
the anus was the center of a compass). You might have to feel around until
you hit the right spot. You might consider not standing down wind as this
exercise helps the horse to release gas.
Standing on the side of the horse, tip his head toward you as you bring his
tail to his nose. He needs to "smell" his tail for a few seconds. The
horse may try to disengage his hindquarters, but he will eventually stand
still.
Here's a good one to help your horse learn to yield to pressure: If you are
standing on the left side of the horse, put the rope over his head, to the
off side of his whole body. Step back and put a little pressure on the lead
rope. Your horse may try to turn towards you (which is fighting the
pressure) or try to back up. What we'd like him to do is yield to the
off-side pressure, moving away from you until he "untangles" himself (sort
of twirling out) and ends up facing you. This is a good exercise to teach
the horse to yield to pressure if he ever gets caught up in something.
Hopefully, he'll yield instead of fighting and hurting himself.
Riding Games
We did a lot of interactive games....throwing a tennis ball from one to the
other while we walked in a group...(more like tag..you knew who could
tolerate you trotting up behind and who couldn't yet manage that.).we all
got better at it. Passing the carrot stick...we tried this at the canter at
one clinic..I'm not that good a shot, but it was fun. Strange friendly
games for snorting horses, where everyone rubbed something on the nervous
horse...I spent one ride just whirling the rope about until Prancer ignored
it, then Nathan came by whirling his rope at a canter!. We also did a
zigzagging between horses game, simply walk or trot in a single file, then
the last horse has to serpentine between all the others until it is the
first horse, at which time the new last horse bends it's way to the front
and so on. This is fun for several reasons, if you are serpentining forwards
you have to travel faster and bend around lots of other horses. If you are
in line you have to keep you pace even and allow enough room for the
overtaking horse to get by, of course we didn't try this on narrow trails..
But you could do this lots of other ways too.
We thought of lots of childrens games and did them while riding along. We
took some cattle working ideas one time and pretended to cut out another
horse and work it....mirror image movements by two horses. It was fun,
unfortunately most of the group are now doing other things, but still we
played cowboy polo the other day with three of us, but not on the trail, in
an arena. We used carrot sticks and a large plastic ball. I was amazed,
Prancer just walked all over it, no worries, only problem was i'd focus on
the ball and he would head straight for it...and then I'd be unable to hit
it because we had walked or trotted over it. Great focus, shame about the
rider!
Just thought I'd share a fun time I had today at a Pony Club ground
where bits and pieces of equipment were left out. There were barrells
and some jumps, poles and sandpits and bog holes. After trotting and
cantering around for a while we started point to point riding. At
first it wasn't the best, but we improved and got to where we were
cantering pretty well between points and stopping on cue (ie my focus
improved!) When I was feeling comfortable with this we tried going
over a jump, then focussing on a barrell and riding to it, then going
over the jump and through the sand and then the barrell, then over the
jump and through the bog to the barrell and then on to another barrell
etc. We got better and better at this, each time coming to a great
stop and backup at the barrell or post or whatever was the chosen
stopping point I'd focussed on. Up till today our point to point
riding had been a pretty boring affair really .... not any more,
incorporating jumps and other equipment was much more fun, and Ellie
really cottoned onto the game and was looking forward each time to the
rest so that our stops were quite impressive!
Why does it so often take so long for the imagination to kick in!!??
I thought of another fun thing we do on the trail...an impromptu
trail tournament. Someone will see a log and go over to straddle
it- other riders will assign points...like, "Oh good, 5 points !".
Then the next person may not only straddle it, but side pass
with the log between the horse's legs.." Oh, nice, 10 points !"
Or they might side pass both ways...more points. Now no one
is really keeping score, but its fun.
Other good ones - look for a low limb and a log so you can do a
double squeeze game. Going through a puddle exactly in the middle
when there is lots of room to go around is worth points. Backing
through two trees that are close together. Just look for things
to play with. One time we were all involved doing little obstacles
over logs and through brush and under limbs and one of the riders
just went around all of it and waited for us. She got "points" for
taking the easy way !
