Suckla Lessons and Tune Ups

Suckla Lessons and Tune Ups Barrel/Breakaway Horse Trainer!🐴Shoot me a message if interested!

I hobble break every single horse I own. And every single horse that comes under my training programs. I’ve been caught ...
04/26/2024

I hobble break every single horse I own. And every single horse that comes under my training programs. I’ve been caught in wire on many horses and they always stop moving immediately. Allowing me to get off and untangle them and step back on. It saves legs. 

03/29/2024

Today I started teaching Slim Jim to back out of a trailer. With the wind I thought it would be the best time to try. I like doing a lot of training in nasty conditions to get the horse ready for every situation. All horses struggle to learn something new, and backing out of a trailer is hard. Below are three videos where you can slowly see his progress. The first video will be attached to this post, the next two will be in the COMMENTS. This is a super short training lesson today, about 30 minutes. The reason for the short lesson is a combination of the nasty wind and him picking it so fast.

If you have any questions please ask! There is no such thing as a stupid question when it comes to horses.

Important Tips:
• Make the horse back up outside the trailer with you behind them to give them a reassuring small lesson on listening to you while you are behind them. Also make them come around to the bridle in each direction with the rein right above the hock. This makes it easier to recenter them in the trailer.
• Treats are your best friend 85% of the time. It’s a great way to give them a high value reward. If you listen closely you can hear me saying good boy, that is my small value reward for taking steps back in the trailer.
• Keeping your voice calm will keep the horse calm. Even if something goes wrong, keep your voice level and control your heart rate. Horses can feel a fly on their back and can hear/feel your heart beat. They will always react if you react. If you struggle with the tone of your voice during any sort of problems just give yourself a second to breath and relax before starting again.
• Understand that you are basically teaching a 5 yr old toddler to listen to your commands with little/no rejection.
• Understand that you are making a prey animal go backwards off a small cliff. They do not know where they are stepping. They do not know if the ground will hold them. They do not know how short of a distance the trailer is to the ground. When a horse backs out of a trailer they are giving YOU their full trust in where you parked and how fair off the ground the trailer is.
• Stop them right at the edge of the trailer, that way they never coming flying out. They learn to take a deep breath and relax right at the edge. For a performance bred or hotter horse giving them a few seconds to relax and collect themselves is an absolute must. The horse needs to be focused on you.
• Use long split reins to keep a safe distance from the butt of the horse, but short enough to give you complete control. (I need to get a longer pair, but I’m using what I have at the moment)
• A hackamore or o-ring are my favorite bits to use when teaching them to back out. They are easy on the mouth and have much more give for human error. I am using a hackamore to resemble the pressure a halter would create.
• If you are struggling to keep the reins from falling to the ground or being stepped over, try saddling the horse and running the reins through the stirrups.
• They may not be able to completely back out of the trailer the first few times. You might get one foot out of the trailer, that is a win. Slow is the way to move with a horse.
• Make sure you reward your horse with a release of pressure inside the trailer. You can see Slim Jim try to turn around a few times. Thats fine. I hold solid pressure and I jiggle the rein to make him recenter his body and refocus on me. Once he recenters and refocuses I release all pressure.
• You will also see me pop the reins once. I did NOT pop him in the face. I was making him regather his brain. Slim Jim has always struggled with a short attention span. Some times I need a stronger way to recenter his focus. You can also see him panic and try and back out without thinking. He then looses his footing and has to step back inside in a not so pretty fashion. This where giving a them a few seconds to relax and refocus at the edge of trailer comes in handy. Instead of him lunging all the way to the front of the trailer, Slim Jim knows that moment he is inside, with all four feet, he can settle himself and refocus.
• Horses will spin and jump out a few times. It happens. You can’t keep a thousand pound animal in a trailer with brute force, but a horse can jerk you and spin itself around in a matter of seconds. I always let him jump out but I don’t give him a release. I will reload immediately and give a second to relax inside the trailer. I am making the inside of the trailer a safe place for the horse, not outside the trailer.
• Once they can back out easily with you behind them, with no jumping or lunging to get back inside the trailer, you can start trying to back them with you next to their head. I keep the outside rein draped over the horses back to give me a way to recenter his body with both hands and not just one.
• Any trailer will work. With a slanted trailer I like to tie all the slants back to make sure nothing catches or smacks the horse. In my opinion, using a shorting trailer is much easier the first few times. Slowly moving up to a larger trailer with a greater distance to back out will keep the mind of the horse calm. If you only have a long trailer, start the horse where there is about 4-5ft to the edge. Then slowly move to the front of trailer over time. My trailer is about 18ft long with a 3-4ft tack compartment. So I could easily start him in front of the trailer, but I chose to give him more room in the front than the back to begin with. 

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Today I started teaching Slim Jim to back out of a trailer. With the wind I thought it would be the best time to try. I like doing a lot of training in nasty conditions to get the horse ready for every situation. All horses struggle to learn something new, and backing out of a trailer is hard. Below are three videos where you can slowly see his progress. The first video will be attached to this post, the next two will be in the COMMENTS. This is a super short training lesson today, about 30 minutes. The reason for the short lesson is a combination of the nasty wind and him picking it so fast. If you have any questions please ask! There is no such thing as a stupid question when it comes to horses. Important Tips: • Make the horse back up outside the trailer with you behind them to give them a reassuring small lesson on listening to you while you are behind them. Also make them come around to the bridle in each direction with the rein right above the hock. This makes it easier to recenter them in the trailer. • Treats are your best friend 85% of the time. It’s a great way to give them a high value reward. If you listen closely you can hear me saying good boy, that is my small value reward for taking steps back in the trailer. • Keeping your voice calm will keep the horse calm. Even if something goes wrong, keep your voice level and control your heart rate. Horses can feel a fly on their back and can hear/feel your heart beat. They will always react if you react. If you struggle with the tone of your voice during any sort of problems just give yourself a second to breath and relax before starting again. • Understand that you are basically teaching a 5 yr old toddler to listen to your commands with little/no rejection. • Understand that you are making a prey animal go backwards off a small cliff. They do not know where they are stepping. They do not know if the ground will hold them. They do not know how short of a distance the trailer is to the gr

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