HORSIN' AROUND WITH VAN HARGIS
"Pressure - On The Ground"
"Pressure - In The Saddle"

We've talked about ground control and ground manners. Now we're going to talk about translating some of that behavior into the saddle. Maintaining control of your animal is essential. Here are a few things you can do on the ground that will help you in the saddle:

Flexion is important. Flexion is the horse's ability to bend and turn his body and remain flexible. You can help your horse develop flexion by the use of what I call check lines. These are basically long trailer ties that can be adjusted. Hook the check line first to the D-ring on the saddle, then to the bit. Be sure the check line has a panic snap on it, just in case the horse gets in any kind of trouble, you can help him out by reaching up and immediately releasing him.

You don't want the check line tight at all; just long enough that when the horse turns his face away from the side with the check line, he feels some pressure on the bit. In this way, you are allowing the horse to exercise himself to develop that flexion. You'll notice as he feels pressure on the bit, he'll turn his head back toward the side, and probably take a couple steps in a circular motion toward the check line. I do not recommend ever walking away from a horse when you're doing this. All this is doing is teaching the horse to yield and give in to pressure.

Do this one side at a time. Start with the left side, then later, do the right side. Another time, come back and do it on both sides so the horse will learn to break at the pole and flex down.

You can practice the same techniques in the saddle, and I recommend doing this at all times at a walk, trot, and lope to make sure you've got good control of your animal. Start by pulling on the left rein to get the horse to yield and flex his nose a little bit toward you.

If the horse wants to stand still, that's okay. If he wants to move away, that's fine, too. You're really only concerned at this point with teaching the horse to give in to the pressure of the bit. When he yields to you, you yield back. When he flexes his nose toward you, you provide the relief by letting up on the pressure. As the horse flexes toward you, hold slight pressure for just a moment, then release.

The older your horse gets, the better he'll understand that he can get the same relief by standing still and turning his head, rather than walking in circles, but a young colt will probably do a lot of walking in circles during this exercise. Remember, all you're asking the horse to do is bend and flex.

What you do to one side, you want to do to the other side. Do the same thing with the right rein, getting the horse to yield to the pressure, then releasing the pressure. This exercise will help make sure you horse is nice and supple, and comes off the bit. These exercises on a daily basis will give you total control of your horse, and that's what you're looking for.