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All about horses in northern B.C. Issue # 51: October 30, 2000 Published each Monday by Kristi McCrindle, editor I am continuing now with Skip's training, but I am having to take a serious look at where his future lies. He is really not a good looking horse (though we have hopes that he will grow into himself!) and that limits his salability in a lot of fields. While I am starting him in a reining program, I do realize that it is not likely to be the direction he takes. He may go to western pleasure, but without a gorgeous head and neck, he may not go far in that direction either. He did show talent as a jumper as a foal, but if that is his chosen path it will be another two years before he can start jumping. I guess he could make someone a good quiet trail partner, he certainly has the quiet and willing attitude for it. Mostly I am struggling now with what to teach this colt, and how long to take to teach it, when I'd really rather be putting all of my time into a horse I plan on keeping. So for now I'll keep bumbling around with things, and riding or lunging him lightly enough to strengthen his muscles and tendons without hurting him. Hopefully he will show me what he wants to do, or better yet, someone will come along looking for a willing partner, who has the time to develop one, and then Skip will find a new home. Till next week, happy riding! ~ Kristi :) email to editor: kristi@hiway16.com new! Photo Show search for horse or fair Check out the quilt offered in the Bulkley Valley Reiners Raffle - info on the Photo page Thefts: Fort St. John, BC has been experiencing a rash of horse thefts and we at Northern BC Horse would like to call it to your attention. We urge you to check out this link to find out more about these recent thefts. http://www.northernhorse.com/prcha/Stolen_Horses/Stolen_horse_list.htm

	Past articles are all available in the
Trail Horse series - The Bridge		Train-along - How to teach your colt to give to the bit
Some of these tips are from Chris Hassell, a horse trainer in Telkwa. Chris specializes in western, mainly reining and trail horses. Start with your bridge lying flat in the arena, make sure it is safe for a horse to cross (no rotten planks, no nails sticking out, etc). When first training your horse, don't use a bridge with rails or raised portions, just one that is flat and solid. As you may have figured out already, a sheet of plywood works well for beginning your horse's bridge training. During your warm-up, start quietly riding by the bridge. If your horse wants to look at it, don't discipline him for it but continue riding as if nothing is wrong. Work on other things that occupy his mind, such as your turns on fore and hind, giving his face, and so on. After the bridge becomes less of a concern for your horse, dismount and approach the bridge on foot. Pick up a can of grain and sprinkle some on the bridge. Chances are your horse will immediately forget it was scary and head in for the oats! If not, give him time to inspect things until his stomach overrules his mind and then he comes in anyway. Once the horse has discovered that the bridge contains nice things, feed him a little further forward from where he is standing - ideally he will set a foot onto the bridge to follow his nose, but more likely he will pivot his body around so his feet don't land on the bridge - this is okay for now! Try leading your horse across the bridge - start with one foot at time. You can approach the bridge from the side or the end at first (many horses will swing around to the side if lined up at the end), the desired response is for the horse to step one foot onto the bridge. Encourage him to step forward, praising him each time he moves a hoof in the right direction. After he puts his first foot on the bridge, ask him to back it off - this is very much like trailer training. Then ask again, this time for two feet, and so on, until in time he is all the way on the bridge and walking across it. What I found really helped was to place the piece of plywood near the feed trough and leave it there for a while, so that one of the horses ended up walking on it or standing on it every day at supper time. They get used to the sound and feel of walking on wood without the added stress of feeling like they are being MADE to do it. Eventually, your horse should be introduced to other styles of bridges - ones with side rails (though no longer legal in most rule books, they can still be found at some shows), ones with ramps up and down, the hollow feel underneath, and so on. Ideally, a Trail Class horse will appear attentive to the bridge, but unafraid, and using grain on the surface from time to time can encourage that 'look'. If you plan to compete, don't forget to also use props along the bridge to simulate trail class - shrubs at each corner, or pylons, or plastic on either side to simulate water, these things can all scare a horse who is used to walking over a plain wooden bridge.	Tweedsmuir Cavaliers Saddle Club Year End Windup Now we are into the windup season! The time we take out to party it up and celebrate the fact that yet another club show season is behind us! The first windup I attended this year was for the Tweedsmuir Cavaliers Saddle Club. TCSC is based in Burns Lake, and has members from Burns Lake, Francois Lake, the southside, Decker Lake and Topley. The club was taking a bit of a break this year and did not have shows, so they implemented an Area Show Program to recognize members who had shown at other club's events. A potluck dinner was enjoyed by the members that came, though our turnout was lower than hoped for. It is still fun to get together with other horse people, especially without the stress of showing horses at the same time! Being in charge of the Awards program this year meant a lot of prep work on my part, from tallying everyone's points, to printing the certificates, to buying the awards themselves. Because the TCSC did not have shows this year, we didn't have a huge budget to work with, but we still managed to put some nice prizes on the table. As the High Point winners were announced, they were allowed to pick one item off the table. The Reserve High Point winners were given a gift certificate for a bag of rolled oats, generously donated by Burns Lake Building Supply. Full results will be available soon on the TCSC page There were also recognition awards in the form of fancy certificates handed out to some of the more involved club members this year - a little thank you can go along ways! The TCSC hopes to have a more active season next year, and we welcome new members. Anyone interested in horses who lives in the Lakes District is encouraged to join us - the more members we have, the more events we will be able to put on (shows, clinics, poker rides, etc). For more info on joining the club, please call our Treasurer, Bea Hart, at 250-698-7615. Western, English, Penning or Trail riding, all equine sports have a voice on Northern B.C. Horse. If you are new to Northern B.C. Horse, check out all the previous issues on the Archive page. Kristi is building a great knowledge base about horses, with the emphasis on our area of the world. Northern B.C. Horse is brought to you courtesy of our advertisers including: The Tack Store Ridennoure Paint Horses Burns Lake Building Supplies Northern Horse Supply Hoskins Ford Uniglobe Travel North Griffin Enterprises Thanks to our advertisers for making this all possible... ...for information about advertising, email jim@hiway16.com	Much like the last two weeks when I've talked about teaching your colt to guide, teaching them to give to the bit is very similar. Basically, you have to know what your cue will be, what your desired response is, and then have the feel and timing to reward the horse when he does it right. Starting in a simple snaffle (I prefer using an O-Ring with a curb strap fitted below the reins), I will start on the ground asking the horse to turn his head towards me. When I did it with Cody, I also had the halter rein on and used both, with the snaffle rein pulling up taut before the halter rope did. At this point, the horse will do just about anything besides the correct response, which is actually better than if he did it right on the first try. The reason that all these wrong answers are good is so that the horse learns that they are not the right answer. The horse will try quite a few things, such as pulling his head away from you to the other side. Don't pull harder, just keep a steady pressure. He'll toss his head and try to jerk away from you - again, try to keep a steady pressure. He might try to back up, and this is where I use a trick taught to me by Chris Hassell. She showed me how to use my foot under the horse's fetlock along his pastern to keep him from backing up. As the horse moves his leg, you catch it with your foot and keep it pulled to the front. I find it easiest to balance by holding on the saddle horn or the withers with my free hand. None of these evasions the horse has given will be the right answer, so he finally tries to come towards you. When he does so, release and praise him by rubbing his neck and talking to him, then let him stand a moment and think about it. Then try it again. I usually repeat 3 to 5 times before switching to the other side, the number depending on how sure the horse seems that he is giving the right response. The reason I like to do this on the ground before climbing into the saddle is to prevent panic. If the horse's flight response was extremely strong, when you took a hold of his mouth the first time from the saddle he could panic and run, putting you at high risk of injury. If you have accustomed him to the feel of the bit before you climb aboard, he is more likely to give the correct response from the saddle. Now, climb into the saddle and repeat the cue - draw the rein toward you, or even out to the side (called an open rein or leading rein as it allows the horse to better see and feel the 'open door' you have left him). Make sure the rein on the other side is completely loose so it doesn't interfere. As soon as the horse gives the desired response, give back to him. Over time, as he progresses in his response, you can ask for more bend, or bending but not dropping his head too far, or not shaking his head at all, or putting his nose a certain way, but at first you'll need to reward him for every good try. And much like the guiding, it really is that simple!
	If you have tips or questions you'd like to share with other local equestrians, please mail them to kristi@hiway16.com

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