Episode 247: How do I know it’s the cue and not the repetition of the pattern?

Episode 247_ How do I know it_s the cue and not the repetition of the pattern_.mp3: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

Episode 247_ How do I know it_s the cue and not the repetition of the pattern_.mp3: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Speaker1:
So I hope what you're catching on to right now is that if you want to know if it's the queue, you're going to have to be really clear on which queue you are currently applying and which one you are softening or releasing when the horse does what you're asking.

Speaker2:
Podcasting from a little cabin on a hill. This is the Stacy Westfall podcast. Stacy's goal is simple to teach you to understand why horses do what they do, as well as the action steps for creating clear, confident communication with your horses.

Speaker1:
Hi, I'm Stacy Westfall and I'm here to help you understand, enjoy and successfully train your own horses. In this season of the podcast, I'm answering questions that your mind may offer you when you head out to train your horse or right in the middle of training your horse. Today, I want to look at a thought that is close to why ride boring patterns, which I talked about in episode 244. But this is kind of the next step. It actually indicates that you've been doing some sort of pattern. And this question is how do I know it's the cue and not the repetition of the pattern? Can you hear how it's a little variation like, do I still need to be doing this? Or it might sound like I should be able to do this in multiple places or I should be able to ask for this in different ways. So to begin addressing this question. How do I know it's the Q and not the repetition of the pattern? First, let it be the pattern. Get some consistency in a set location with a set plan. This is for your benefit as much as it is for your horse. It turns out you may not be as consistent as you think when you start changing locations. Then when you see consistency, let's say ten days in a row, 20 days in a row, that's when you begin to question what you want to change. And here's the answer Do the same thing you've been getting consistency with, but do it with more authority.

Speaker1:
The next thing to change will be asking for the same concept you've been working on but executed with more authority. Go for quicker answers. Think halt to trot transition is a lot more advanced than halt to walk. Walk to trot. So when I say more authority, think about something that's going to be quicker. Quicker answers reveal the depth of the understanding. So a lot of times these will be testing what we can consider your base cues like the ability to go. The ability to stop. The ability to steer. But they're going to be tested a little bit more because you're asking that horse to do that same thing, very similar pattern, but a little bit quicker. So developing this authority inside of this known pattern is going to come before you start trying to take this cue and transfer it to somewhere else. So let's go ahead and put it into some examples. I was just working my baby Minnie this morning and she has two different types of go forward cues. So this is a little baby that hasn't been weaned yet. And she understands halter pressure for go forward and she understands lunging pressure or sending pressure to go forward. Now, these actually function two different ways. So the halter pressure is a steady pressure that I hold until she releases it. Because that's going to be what's going to happen when she gets tied up.

Speaker1:
If I tie her in a stall or I tire in a horse trailer or any time for the rest of her life, when she gets tied to a nonmoving object, she's going to have to understand that when she feels steady pressure because maybe she's stepped back for some reason or stepped to the left or right for some reason. She needs to understand that when she feels steady pressure coming from that object that she's tied to, that she needs to step forward into that. So the training method I'm going to use with the halter is going to involve me adding a steady light pressure and then she will find that release. That's actually a different concept than the sending pressure. So let's say that I'm going to send her around me at a walk on the end of the lead line or a lunge line. Then I'm going to use a rhythmic pressure with a stick and string on her hindquarters to get her to take a step forward. So there's actually two different types of pressure that this little baby already understands. So even though we could be looking at something like a go forward cue, this starts to show you that even just leading a horse, you've got more than one option going on there. So when you are out there executing something that seems simple, you may need to watch yourself to make sure you're not switching back and forth between those two instead of making one of them 100% strong.

Speaker1:
So the halter pressure 100% strong and making the other one the sending pressure or the lunging, the tapping, the rhythmic pressure, also making that 100% strong. So how do I know it's the cue and not the repetition of the pattern? First thing, you need to make sure you're very clear in your own understanding of which cue you are asking with and rewarding. Then when those are working consistent in the same location, in the same setup, that's when you then start to add the different work at speeds or with more authority. So this morning, with the little baby, her mom was tied in the stall. I had her out in the arena. I am actually asking her to do leading with the halter pressure and then leading up into the trot. And so that is more authority to go from standing still. And then a few steps of walk straight up to a few steps of trot that is leading with more authority. And she's working purely off the halter pressure. I'm not using a verbal command to help her find the answer. I'm not using a whip and there's no other person involved. She's learning to come forward purely off the halter pressure at different speeds with more authority. And then the same thing is happening in the lunging. But I view that as two separate things. So it's very convenient to have the halter pressure one working before I begin doing the lunging one because I'm not using a round pen.

Speaker1:
I have her on the rope. It's important to me that I understand that when I go to lunge her that say I'm going to send her counterclockwise, I'm going to raise my left arm, take the slack out of the rope, but not really add the pressure. I'm just indicating the direction she's going to go. When I start to add that rhythmic tapping pressure on her hind quarters until she takes a step and then I soften and release, then we go back to last week's podcast about how do I keep getting the horse to do it longer? Well, first I have to get it consistent about working at all. Then I would again do what I recommended in last week's podcast. And then eventually that's when we start going to still the same location, still the same setup. Now we've worked several different areas around that circle, that lunge circle, and now we start to go to more authority or different speeds. So can I send that little baby jogging around me? So let's go back to the question, but let's shorten it to how do I know it's the cue? One common mistake that I see made is that the writer will often accidentally change things. Some of the questions that came in around this topic were ones that address things like, I'm leading my horse and sometimes she'll just stop or I'm riding my horse and sometimes he'll just stop or not want to walk on.

Speaker1:
And inside of these questions, I want you to pay attention the next time this happens to you. If you're one of the people that wrote in with this notice, if you are changing the way that you're asking the horse to go forward in the moment. So oftentimes, let's take that leading example. Oftentimes I'll see people walking along, leading the horse, and the horse will stop. At the moment, if you watch a video recording of it at that moment that the horse stops, the handler is often surprised. So the handler is walking, the horse stops. What that does is that means there's a pull on the rope because the handler wasn't expecting the horse to stop. So horse stops, pressure gets added to the rope and then the handler often stops, turns back to look at the horse to assess what happened and doesn't realize that they released the pressure in that moment. So the horse gets a release for pulling on the rope. Because remember, from the horse's point of view, you guys are walking. There's no pressure on the rope. The horse stops, there is pressure on the rope. And then there is a release of the pressure on the rope. After the horse stopped, the handler and the handler then thinks that whatever follows that is still the same conversation. So maybe the handler turns around, looks, decides that the horse is okay to keep going and then decides to add pressure again.

Speaker1:
And the handler oftentimes thinks that this is the same conversation. But for the horse, that release was the end of a paragraph. It was an end of a small portion of the conversation. It was an answer to a question. So whatever you start up with after that pressure and then release. Is the beginning of a new paragraph, a new sentence, a new part of the conversation. So a lot of times what's missed by the handler is that pressure and then release that just happened there being a sentence in and of itself. This is also super common when people are writing, it just looks a little bit different. So when the person is riding the horse and the horse is going along and the horse stops and the rider begins bumping and it's supposed to be rhythmically. But a lot of times what the rider does is they bump, bump. Look around. Shift Bump. Bump. Bump. Bump. Bump. Look around. Shift. Bump. Bump. Bump. Bump. Shift. Bump, Bump. Bump. Bump. And all of that loss of rhythm. Every one of those moments of a loss of rhythm is actually easy for a horse to perceive as a release. It's not that you have to get harder and harder, it's just that it's important to carry rhythm because the rhythm is going to be what gets the horse to search for a new answer.

Speaker1:
What's interesting about this example is that when you're using rhythm. It's actually amazing how short those moments of loss of rhythm can be for feedback loops to the horse. You don't necessarily see this as purely in the very beginning, but boy, does it become evident as the horse progresses and becomes very advanced because inside of very advanced movements that you watch with horses, there's often a communication happening between the horse and the rider that involves this. Addition and release of pressure in these very minute. When you talk about people like opening and closing with very small muscle movements in their hands or their arms or their legs or their calves or any of these different things, those little tiny movements are indications to the horse of warmer, Warmer. Good. Good. Those little muscle movements that the horses can read when they're very advanced, when the rider does such small shifts that you can't hardly perceive it as an observer. But you can see the horse changing, the speed, the direction, and the cue system seems invisible. That's because the horses so clearly understand those tiny releases inside of those tiny rhythmic additions. And what people often don't see is that that's possible in the very, very beginning. So another real common thing with the horses that will just stop when being led is that the person will stop, release the pressure and then switch to a completely different method, like using a whip and using sending pressure.

Speaker1:
Just keep in mind those are actually two different cue systems. And before you start trying to put them together and use one to strengthen the other, make sure that each one works independently. So I hope what you're catching on to right now is that if you want to know if it's the cue, you're going to have to be really clear on which cue you are currently applying and which one you are softening or releasing when the horse does what you're asking. So to go another level deeper, how do I know it's the cue and not the repetition of the pattern? First, let it be the repetition of the pattern and be okay with not being completely clear on how much that pattern is helping you get that correct answer. Then once that pattern is working consistently, then go ahead and change the authority level. After you do that, then you can begin changing locations. So a great example of this is if you teach a horse, a theory like a cue for going forward that involves a rhythmic tapping and you do it using a pattern like I was just talking about with the Weanling where I'm tapping and then I release when the Weanling walks forward and then I'm tapping and then I release when that little baby goes forward. So as I'm doing that, the horse is theoretically learning the cue, but we're also doing a repetitive pattern. So I've already talked about how I've now started to ask her to go into more authority.

Speaker1:
So moving forward at a quicker pace, shortening the amount of walk steps. Well, another thing I can do is I can start to apply it to something like sending her over an object. So when I start applying it to something like sending a horse over a tarp, sending the horse through a kiddy swimming pool or sending the horse into a trailer, what I'm doing is I'm using that same type of a cue, that consistent tapping rhythm and then that release when the horse steps forward. But I'm using it in a different area. But again, whatever area I pick, I want to make it something that I can do very well and then with authority. So for me, sending the horse over an object, something like a tarp, is a great example because that's something I can do slowly. And then it's something that I can do at a trot or even a canter. And then one thing to remember, if you start using something like an object like I'm talking about in this example, is that you again need to stay very clean on your application of your chosen cue. So I'm using the tapping or consistent rhythm of tapping and then a release when the horse steps forward, you need to make sure that you stay very clear with that cue and the reward when the horse does what you asked. And what often happens is that people put down, say, the tarp, and then they get very focused on this almost win lose concept of whether or not they get the horse on the tarp or over the tarp or touching the tarp or near the tarp.

Speaker1:
And what happens then is you start to lose your focus on the cue, on the application of the cue and the release for the successful movement that you want to associate with the cue. So this goes back to that mistake of changing too many things. It's not that the Tarp is a thing that's the problem. It's you changing your focus on what the cue is and the release of the cue. This goes back to last week's episode. How do I get my horse to do it longer? You could literally be very successful tapping, getting one of the horses four feet to move forward. Just one hoof moves forward towards the tarp you release. And that would be success if you got consistency in the tapping rhythm, one foot moves and you release and then eventually the horse will start stringing that together into more and more steps. But very often, as soon as that tarp comes out, the tarp is not the problem. The tarp becomes the problem because the person changes their focus and begins pulling on the rope to try to help, begins tapping for more and not releasing to give the horse that consistent cue release and they start going, Well, I just need it to take two steps now.

Speaker1:
I need it to take three steps now. I need it to go over the Tarp today because if I don't go over it today, they'll maybe they'll think that they're never going to go over it. And I'm getting further and further away. Do you see how you start changing the rules? Because you have whatever that object is and don't worry if you're not interested in the objects. People fall into this changing rules things when they start heading out on the trail or they start changing locations and they're not paying attention to how clearly they are applying the cue and then releasing the cue. So again, I'll say it often times. The pattern is helping you become more consistent with your application of the cue and your reward when the horse does what you were asking for. I think one thing that often accidentally misleads people about the importance of applying a cue and then giving a reward or a release is that oftentimes experienced horses fill in the blanks really well. So you may point your horse at an object, and the horse that has experience goes got a pretty good idea of what they're about to ask me to do. So you ask very lightly. And the horse fills in the blanks. Any time that you run into a glitch or a problem, for example, leading the horse and it just stops or riding the horse and it just stops, I highly suggest you go back to pretending the horse doesn't truly know the answer because all that's going to do is make you use really clean and clear application of the cue and release or reward, which benefits even the experienced horses, because if nothing else, maybe it clears up the way that you're asking and rewarding.

Speaker1:
I would highly encourage you to rely on repetition at first so that you can gain consistency and the horse can see consistency. And if nothing else, hold on to this idea. If you create consistency on a pattern or in a certain location, then when you run into challenges, you can always return to that level of consistency by just simply returning to that location and that pattern. And if that works, then you truly had it. And if you return to that and you don't have it, then you didn't really truly have it. And you need to go back down to that foundational level any time you need a successful ride, it should be easy for you to go, I know exactly how to create a successful ride. I'm going to go over here and I'm going to do that thing that I practiced that many times. Then when you do that, you can then build more authority inside of it. Then you can begin to change different locations and then you can begin to refine that communication in all of those fun, fancy ways where you have multiple ways that you can ask for the same thing.

Speaker1:
And a lot of them start to feel very magical. But remember, how do you know it's the cue and not the repetition of the pattern? First, let it be the repetition of the pattern. I promise, when your horse has questions, those ten rides, doing a very similar thing won't feel boring because you'll be answering so many questions that your horse has and that you have. And once you start to get consistency, see over ten rides, over 20 rides, and you start to change small things again, that will be introducing something new into the conversation and that will again make it more interesting. I promise you, you can keep these things interesting and moving and always have something solid to go back and return to. If things start to feel a little wobbly. And any time you guys are questioning base cues which are go stop left, right, those are absolutely red flags that you need to go back to the basics. That includes if you're doing real fun, fancy things. And one of those starts to get broken. Always go back to the really foundational exercises that got things going in the first place. Your experienced horses will actually enjoy that return even more than you might imagine. That's what I have for you today. Thanks for listening. Keep your questions coming in at Stacy at Stacy westfall.com and I'll talk to you again in the next episode.

Speaker2:
If you enjoy listening to Stacy's podcast, please visit Stacy westfall.com for articles, videos and tips to help you and your horse succeed.

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