Training Tips
STARTING YOUNG HORSES
Bella is a three year old Dutch/Oldenburg filly who was started 3 months prior to winning second place with a score of 71.5% in the 3 Year Old Filly Materiale Class at Dressage at Devon. This result is a true testament to the quality and thoroughness of Rex Peterson’s training program.
Each young horse is started the same methodical way. They are flagged with plastic bags, tin cans, plastic bottles and large excercise balls. Next they learn to move off pressure with excercises on the ground and at the mounting block. They move on to learn to spin out, teaching them to bend correctly and give to the lightest possible pressure of the bit.
The training then commences under saddle and you already have control of the hips and each corner of the mouth.
Olympic Judge, Anne Gribbons commented on how obedient and beautifully trained this filly is. She was very impressed with her manners and ability. Little did she know what we started with just 3 months prior.
How do you train a horse to work on a film set? Develop confidence and trust with your horse on the Obstacle Course.
Laying Down the Law: Bucking is Unacceptable
A law is not a law without consequences if broken. We believe the punishment must fit the crime and if a horse chooses to buck, we spur the belly and turn them in tight circles to convince them that this is not allowed.
Does Your Horse Think the Trailer is a Monster?
Is Your Horse a Convicted Felon??You can REXERCISE your horse and reform him.
EXTREME HORSE TRAINING FOR A FILM-TEACHING A HORSE TO WALK A PLANK
Rex is training this young 2 year old colt how to pay attention to where each foot is placed as he learns to negotiate walking across this narrow plank without falling off. Training this kind of stunt takes hours of practice and endless patience. Notice how Cache, Jr. trusts Rex’s guidance as he carefully walks all the way across without falling off.
HOW DO I STOP MY HORSE FROM SPOOKING?
HOW DO YOU STOP A HORSE FROM RINGING HIS TAIL?
There are several solutions to this annoying habit many horses have. One effective method is to ride in an ANCORA, pictured above on a horse who constantly rings his tail prior this excercise. This apron is designed to desensitize the horse from being afraid of movement behind him and also prevents him from lifting his tail. What happens is he will lift his tail out of habit and soon release the desire to do so because he is met with a heavy barrier making it impossible to raise his tail. Horses learn differently from humans, and after breaking the habit of lifting the tail, he will soon release those muscles and put his energy into the work you are asking of him.
HOW DO YOU SOLVE BRIDLING ISSUES?
Rex refined a training tool that has been around for thousands of years to solve this problem. The Magic Rope or Sugar String helps teach the horse to lower his head with very little pressure to the poll.
Click here to view a video about how to successfully use this training tool.
This is also a useful technique for teaching a horse to allow you to clip his head, play with his ears, or teach him to push the ball or bow. Rex believes all horses should lower their head on command which shows concession and that the horse respects you as the leader of the herd.
HOW DO I STOP MY HORSE FROM KICKING?
HOW DO I TEACH MY HORSE TO RESPECT ME ON THE GROUND? HE PULLS PAST ME WHEN LEADING
The first lesson all horses have is to respect the space of the trainer. He must keep a respectable distance to the side and behind, only coming close when invited. A simple training tool to use for quick and efficient corrections is the War Bridle which has been around for thousands of years.
WATCH THIS VIDEO TO LEARN MORE ABOUT REX’S TRAINING METHODS
HOW DO I IMPROVE THE PIAFFE?
It is very important that the horse be willing and confident in the piaffe. He must be active, moving off the aids when asked. You can see in this video that Rex is activating this talented horse who tends to be lazy, correcting him with the bridle when he dives down to avoid coming up under himself to carry more weight behind. Every day Rex will ask for a few more steps, slowly and methodically building the horses strength just as a weight builder would do in the gym. It is critical to build the muscles over time, working a few more steps each day until the horse is strong.
I WANT TO TAKE MY KIDS OUT OF THE ARENA AND RIDE CROSS COUNTRY BUT THEY HAVE NOT YET MASTERED THE SKILLS TO STEER AND STOP THEMSELVES, WHAT CAN I DO?
A simple solution is to pony the kid using a neck rope which will allow you to control the pony if he goes too fast or stop him if necessary. However, the kid will start to feel some independence as he guides the pony himself. This is a great training tool to help build confidence in the kid without taking unnecessary risks. Rex designed this period neck rope to be used in making movies. As a result of many requests he now offers them for sale on the web site, visit the products page to purchase.
Learning to Ride in Balance
The first thing we teach any rider is to ride in balance following the movement of the horse. Imagine dancing with a partner and allowing your energy to ebb and flow with the other person. Now the horse becomes your dance partner and you must feel his movements, allowing yourself to follow the rhythm and not arrest the motion in any way. This image shows an extreme example of riding in balance, standing on the horse and is the first step toward learning to roman riding. If you watch the old movies involving chariot races, some of the drivers end up roman riding the horses with one foot on each horse. Watch Ben Hur to see many outstanding sequences of driving and riding chariot horses.
Many of us spend our lifetime perfecting our skills as horseman. Each day offers a new challenge and each horse teaches us new lessons. Imagine the challenge of arriving on the set of a film and being asked to teach an actor to ride like an expert in a few days. Nothing is impossible and we often perform this miracle of creating the illusion of a natural rider. We bring expertly trained horses with experience around a movie set. They are relaxed among the cast, crew and equipment including scaffolding, cranes, trucks, trailers, cables, booms, carbon arc lights and large reflection shields that would spook most horses. The actor is taken to a round pen where they drop the stirrups and reins and have to learn to ride the motion of the horse at walk trot and canter. Each rider goes through the same experience of gripping and holding on with tense legs and hips to eventually relaxing and moving at one with the horse. Steering is then introduced so that the actor can guide the horse to their mark. The next step is to ride with the actor and build their confidence to control the horse in an arena and finally on set. Here I am working with Ray Stevenson (The Book of Eli, The Three Musketeers, HBO Rome, Thor) riding Mr. T (Secretariat, Dreamer, Temple Grandin, Arthur) preparing for a scene in Billy Bob Thorton’s film, Jayne Mansfield’s Car. He is working on staying balanced in the canter by moving his arms independently from his seat. Finally he was able to gallop through a field of sunflowers and look like a natural rider.
WE WELCOME YOUR TRAINING QUESTIONS WHICH WE WILL ANSWER IN THIS COLUMN
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