Carrot Stick Riding Workshop with Berin MacFarlane 07/03/10

Carrot Stick Riding Workshop with Berin MacFarlane 07/03/10
Saddle and warm up your horse
Do three cinching
Is horse acting like a partner? If yes, go ahead and mount. If no, continue warm up
Phases for carrot stick: out to the side at 90 degrees, out to the side at 45 degrees big overhand circles, closer to zone 1 small overhand circles, touch zone 1
When using two carrot sticks make sure to only use one at a time – DON’T MICRO-MANAGE by holding your horse’s zone 1 between the two sticks.
After using carrot stick, make sure to go back to neutral and do lots of friendly
Use the reins if necessary to reinforce/for control, but try to leave them alone
Make sure your friendly game with carrot stick is good in all zones, rubbing, swinging, tapping noises, etc.
Check lateral flexion in both directions
While doing FTR you can pass carrot stick back and forth between your hands to get comfortable with tossing it, handling it, feeling it, knowing where it is, etc.
Carry carrot stick in neutral (on shoulder or straight up), FTR at a walk and when that’s going well, stop riding, ask for flex towards fence using phases
Horse should flex zone 1 toward fence and stop. The idea is to just flex zone 1 but if horse turns body that’s o.k. for now. Eventually just want zone 1 to flex without moving feet.
When FTR and flexing to stop is going well at walk then can try trot then canter.
Eventually add in a barrel in the corners, FTR at trot, when get to barrel slow to a walk, come off the rail and circle the barrel, come back to the rail and leave at a trot. Do the same at each barrel and do it in both directions. This is beginning to build for simple lead changes. If at canter, come down to trot, circle barrel, come back to the rail and leave at the canter.
Do weaves in both directions at walk, trot, canter
For Renegade, long lines to build impulsion, not a lot of circles – they stall him out
While doing long lines, point to point, when we arrive at the target point, give him a long rest
If Renegade dives for grass, reach carrot stick over shoulder and tap him on the bum, don’t change my focus (so don’t look back at his bum…get eyes in the back of my head!!) – keep my focus and keep it strong!!