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Training Insights by Steve
Heckaman:
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NEW Trainer Database: Ad a Trainer | View Trainers Steve Heckaman has answered several questions posted by our readers. We thought the answers would be valuable to all... Question 1: My three year old gelding is growing higher in the hip than the withers, should I be worried about this? ANSWER: It is not uncommon for three year olds to be experiencing this type of growth pattern. Certain bloodlines and certain types of conformation predispose young ones to this sometimes inconvenient condition. Bloodlines whereby offspring grow "one end at a time" have a tendency to be out of balance at different times during their two and three year old year. Horses that have sharper "angles" to their topline verses smooth flowing lines also tend to have more drastic periods. The last thing to grow on a horse seems to be their heart girth, so balance is not always achieved until the very end. As a side note, I would study the distance from the ground to the hocks on the back legs and the distance from the ground to the knees on the front legs to see that the two were on a similar plain. If the hocks are several inches higher than the knees, the likelihood is the horse may remain somewhat out of balance, instead growing the usual 1/2 to 3/4 " wither to hip ratio. Question 2 I have an 8 year old gelding that I ride in a tom thumb snaffle. My problem with him is that when he lopes, he opens his mouth really wide and it looks awful! I've had his teeth checked; he's fine. He has been doing this since I got him almost 3 years ago. He doesn't do it at the jog or walk. I've shown him, and we've still done well but I'm sure we'd do much better if he didn't do this. I've tried everything...different bits or nosebands, nothing seems to help. I'm thinking of starting him over again, with a bosal, but if he's been doing this so long will it help? If so, how would I go about this? Answer There are several key things to what Meghan said about her horse's problem that give us some insight. First, that he is 8 yrs old and has been doing this for most of the 3 years that she has had him. I suspect that the possibility exists that this habit may have started even before Mehgan purchased her horse and it never was properly addressed. Opening the mouth at the lope and not the walk or jog would tell me the horse may have some anxiety about loping and opening the mouth is his way of communicating this anxiety. Two things need to be analyzed. What is causing the anxiety and how to break the habit it has caused? The horse I had would not show you in his movement that he was anxious but only in his mouth by "gapping" it. The less mental energy he had, the less the tendency to "gap" his mouth. I addressed this horses problem by first, riding him in a bridle that had a roller in the port to give him another focus point. Second, to break the old habit, we put a tight fitting drop caveson below the bridle to make opening his mouth more difficult. In the stall, we would let him wear a snaffle with no reins, that had several small lead beads and bars that attached to a small center ring. These loose hanging objects encourages them use their tongue more as a way of expression. They in no way hurt or punish him only encourage him to change his focus. Try changing up your routine or maneuvers while loping. Counter countering and serpentines are good exercises that promote good balance and body control while lowering the mental energy level. There is unfortunately no quick fix for a problem like this, but consistency and patience will be your friend. And after time, we hope that the horse learns to use the roller instead "gapping" the mouth. Problems picking up the lope...  Question: My three year old mare has been started under saddle for about 4 months now, but I still have problems picking up her lope. I have been doing alot of leg yielding and pushing her off her inside shoulder before asking, but still she rushes a trot or even bucks before picking it up. She is still green, and despite being professionally trained for 3 months, she still does this. Any suggestions? Answer: It sounds as though your filly is a little nervous about being asked to lope off, thats why she bucks. I first wondered if she had too much mental energy, but horses that do usually lope off real quick instead of trotting. To get across that she must engage and lope off from behind first, you must have excellent control of her hind quarters. Start by making her move off your heel or spur with her back end only, moving around her front end. Just push and hold your spur back toward her flank, until she moves away from the pressure a step or two. Immediately release the pressure to reward her for the correct response. Then push again, three or four steps, release and pause and so on until she readily moves her hip around her front end. You might have to over-exaggerate this with her hip to get the end result you are after. Each time she tries to step forward instead of stepping side ways, stop and back her up a few steps. Then to improve her depart, push her hip over to the lead you wish to depart on, and ask her to lope. If she continues to try to trot, stop and back her a few steps, push her hip over again, leaving your spur on, ask to lope again. Repeat this every time she evades loping off by trotting. The only reward should be when she does this correctly and you allow her to lope around. Steve Heckaman On Shoeing a Pleasure Horse... I would like to ask a question regarding shoeing a western pleasure horse that is slightly over at the knees... What would be the best way to shoe him ( a sr. horse) to give him the most stability without compromising movement? Thanks, Jill Input from Steve Heckaman and his
farrier... Wide web aluminum shoes, fit full in the heels, also offer a great deal of support. A wedge aluminum shoe, for a horse with a low angle, helps raise them to a comfortable angle without the extra added weight that wedge pad affords. Sometimes a horse is so low in its heels, that the wedge aluminum shoe does not offer enough raise to accomplish a comfortable hoof-pastern axis, so wedge pads are necessary to bring the foot into proper align with the pastern. A horse with a higher hoof angle than pastern may need some heel cut off to balance this line. We would just make sure that the end of the shoe comes to a point at least half way between the back of the bulb and the point where the base of heel touches the ground. A final thought is just to try to refrain from extremes, keep it basic. Steve Heckaman Quarter Horses is located near
Pilot Point, Texas. Ph: 940-686-2700. Photo of Steve with his terrific stallion
Potential Investment, was taken in August 1999, by
HomePage Productions This original
article was printed with permission from Mr. Heckaman. Check out the Cleve Wells Article !
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Jill, you're in
luck. My farrier Mike Shaffer was here today and helped offer his input as to
your question. We both felt that, without seeing your horse's feet, the best
advice to give is "shoe him comfortable." Saying this, his hoof-pastern axis
should be a nice smooth line. Not a "broken" axis, as his foot is straighter up
and down than the slope in his pastern or where his pastern is straighter up
and down than the slope of his hoof.