29/10/2024
“𝐎𝐁𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄”
Far too often I have heard this said and it is often said by riders who have dismissed the merits of obstacle training before doing adequate research on the topic. Some of the best riders in the world compete in 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 which has obstacle courses designed to test ease of handling and speed. The competitors’ runs in those two classes are some of the finest I have ever seen. Lets not forget the rise of 𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 especially 𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹 where a rider has to calmly navigate obstacles in a ranch horse fashion. Those riders may not be as finessed and flashy as working equitation, but they are easily some of the smoothest and most functional riders. The 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘄𝗯𝗼𝘆 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗘𝗫𝗖𝗔), though not as big as the two aforementioned disciplines, has produced some of the fastest and bravest obstacle horses in the industry.
Even with the growth of these associations and disciplines, obstacles are still excluded for many other training goals. Obstacles can offer so many benefits to a horse’s training. They do not even need to be the focus of a horse’s training. Simply working on obstacles as a supplement to their other goals will help your horse with many things! So, what are some of those benefits? Here are nine I would like to highlight.
𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞
A horse can grow its confidence in a multitude of ways. The quickest way I have seen horses grow their confidence is through challenging unfamiliar obstacles. A horse who works only on their job, for example: reining, will only ever be confident circling, changing leads, sliding, and spinning. They may make a decent reining horse but that’s it! What happens when the environment changes? What happens when a plastic bag flies across their path in the show barn? They will not know how to process that “spook” leading to a potentially dangerous reaction as opposed to a horse well versed in obstacles. By working on obstacles such as bridges and tarps, a horse will learn how to process fear in a more constructive way. Slowly with the riders help the horse’s initial fear can grow into curiosity. This curiosity let’s your horse think which will quickly turn into confidence. The horse is able to be afraid of something without blowing a fuse. He learns to think.
𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫
The only way to begin creating trust in a horse is to be fair to them. The only way to expand that trust is to challenge them. A horse needs to understand they will not be asked to do anything that will hurt them. They need to know their owner would NEVER do such a thing! By putting the horse in positions where they need to cross an obstacle they fear and offering him the time to complete the obstacle at his own pace, he will grow to trust the rider. The rider should go slow and allow the horse to go at his own pace initially, then begin to push more with time. All the while, the horse is learning to trust his rider despite how he feels about an obstacle.
𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐭
How many times do we get on our horse and work on the same 3 or 4 things we did for the past week? To help break the cycle, work on obstacles. By changing the topic of work for the horse, he will not be so inclined to burnout from the previous training exercises. It also provides something new for the horse to try and enjoy. This will keep him happy to work and help to prevent souring. Lack of variety is boring to everyone, horses or riders.
𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬
A horse that is well versed in obstacles has a high level of body awareness and will thoroughly understand how big his body is. Crossing over bridges and poles will help to make the horse more aware of their feet. Jumping creates awareness of their strides. Gates and others squeeze through type obstacles, help to create awareness of their width. By doing obstacles and showing them how big their body really is, a horse can better understand how to use their body to the fullest.
𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬
An obstacle horse will quickly learn to keep their weight balanced and their feet sure. Constant ex*****on of bridges will help a horse learn to keep close attention to their feet. The reason for this is because the horse has to step onto a foreign platform then navigate the elevated platform and step off. The constant crossing over polls or deadfalls will also help a horse learn to step in such a way that does not hit the poles. A horse that is sure footed is one that will not trip over his own feet or any other arbitrary obstacle. That is not all that sure footedness lends a horse, it can also improve stops, spins, and lead changes, among other things. Because the horse understands where each of his feet are, he will be better prepared for a slide stop, spin, and/or lead change. There will hardly be a time where a horse is caught off guard for a maneuver. He will know how to bring his feet where they need to be.
𝐄𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞
Did you know track and field runners will often run on sandy beaches to improve their running speed on solid ground? It is an old form of conditioning, one that essentially follows harder training regiments than the actual performance will require. Working on lead changes, spins, and slide stops through and around obstacles is very similar to this. By working in a chaotic arena full of distractions, the horse will need to be even more in tune with their rider to properly execute their maneuvers. Mastery of technical maneuvers in a crowded, distracting arena will greatly improve performance during show day in an empty, quiet arena, where it is easy to concentrate.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩
Having a horse repeatedly do obstacles will help them to understand how to pick up their feet without being told. It will teach them to check their strides and jump in time, effortlessly accomplishing the maneuver with no rider intervention. Teaching a horse to think carefully about their jobs is invaluable. Teaching a horse to think for themselves will also reaffirm a bit of self preservation that can prevent accidents. To put it simply, the horse won’t put themselves or their rider in harm's way.
𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬
Obstacles such as pinwheels and maypoles will very quickly show a rider the problem with their circles and clarify the issue is a lack of engagement from the haunches. The rider will see this, work the haunches, and improve. Obstacles such as spin boxes will show a rider they travel too much during a spin and help the rider plant the horse’s inside foot in the spin better. Bridge or crossover obstacles will show the rider how centered he can get the horse and how much the horse respects the rider’s legs, especially if he is scared. Serpentines, barrel patterns and figure 8s will challenge a rider’s control of a horse’s lead changes and doing them fluidly. Sidepasses challenge a rider’s straightness during their sidepass. Backups, especially the narrow L shaped ones, challenge a rider’s backup. Obstacles will show a rider the holes in their training, and do so very obviously. For example, it is easy to think a backup is straight in a vacant arena, but when the back hoof hits a pole and that sound echoes across the arena…there’s some work to do!
𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝
Sure, fancy bridges and noodles are not found in the real world, but a horse that can handle things of that nature is a lot better off. By working on flappy obstacles such as slicker carries, tarps, flags, etc. a horse is less likely to dump his rider when a bit of trash is flying around on a trail ride. Horses that understand bridges will not hesitate so much at the sight of a puddle, stream, or mudhole. Trails, roads, etc. all have trash, some more than others. They also have loose dogs, coyotes, other animals, homeless people, big scary rocks, etc. By working in a comfortable environment with a horse on how to process fear and think before reacting, the horse will be more prepared for the real world… where he seldom has the time to go at his own pace.
Closing Remarks
Obstacles do not need to be practiced to a comical extent. A horse does not need to do curtains and noodles and other crazy decorations. With the exception of obstacle horses, many don’t need to be exposed to crazy obstacles, especially if obstacles are a supplement to their training. By simply working on bridges, jumps, equitation obstacles such as backups and sidepasses, circular obstacles such as pinwheels, and flappy obstacles such as tarps, the rider can reap all the benefits of obstacle training with their horse. Obstacles do not need to be crazy, a whole lot can be accomplished with every obstacle when done at each gate and successively.
Written by World Champion, Johnny Flores Horses
