Dash For Miles is learning that the trailer is home away from home. Being able to relax and eat despite the unfamiliar surroundings is part of seasoning. Photos by Cheryl Magoteaux.

 

Preparing your horse for a competitive career takes time. First you spend time at home teaching the basics, then the pattern. You add speed incrementally, staying at the same velocity until that pace becomes your horse’s comfort zone. Then you add a little more speed and stay at that speed until it becomes easy. Then you repeat the process. At this point, you are teaching your horse the skills and reflexes it takes to do his job.

Simultaneously, we begin what we call “seasoning.” Simply put, seasoning means we are getting the horse comfortable with all the variables he will face while being hauled to compete.

We begin by taking the horse to jackpots or playdays, simply because there’s so much he needs to get used to and learn about, before asking him to perform at a show. We like to take a youngster in the trailer whenever we have an empty stall on the way to an event.

The benefits are many. Your inexperienced horse hauls with other seasoned travelers and gains confidence from their company and their relaxed attitude on the trailer. Once you get to the event, the youngster will be ridden around and get a chance to see the sights. Almost as important, though, is that your novice horse will be tied to the trailer. He’ll learn to relax in the midst of the distractions, to eat hay and drink water away from home, before he ever feels any pressure to perform.

These trips away should be fun for him. Because we’re taking the time to let the horse see the sights and sounds of being on the road, we’re getting him comfortable with things that might be stressful for him later. In other words, he learns to overcome his fear or nervousness about being in strange environments at a time when he’s not really being asked to do much. Later, when we begin to ask him to perform, he will already be accustomed to hauling, being ridden in different places, and eating and drinking on the road, so he will likely find it easier to concentrate on working.

Taking him as a tag-along is just the beginning of the seasoning process. In between trips with the “big boys,” you’ll continue to work your youngster at home—fine-tuning his job skills. When he’s working well at home, consistently correct at the speed you want him to go, then you’ll go to the next level of seasoning. Now, not only does your horse get to see different sights on these road trips, he’s going to be asked to work his pattern in different pens, on different ground, with different noises.

Be prepared. In the beginning, when your horse gets to the turn in your barrel or pole pattern, he may or may not do it well. Perhaps the ground feels different from what he’s used to, or the arena might have banners that flap in the wind, or someone might move outside the fence, causing him to be distracted.

It’s important not to punish your horses for making these errors. Keep in mind that these are among the first few times that the horse has been taken away from home. When people get after a horse, they often think they are correcting the horse. But what they are likely doing is convincing him that the arena is a place where bad things might happen. That doesn’t build a confident competitor.

By the same token, you don’t need to be looking for scary things yourself. You might be nervous about what your horse is going to do, but you need to be a great actor or actress. Show him how relaxed you are. If he spooks, reassure him with a pat, and go on and act like it’s no big deal. Don’t tense up and go to battle, and don’t let your own nervousness make your horse nervous.

As our horse’s advocate, we need to take the time and effort to make this learning period as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. There are a few key points you want to keep in mind throughout the seasoning process.

1.   Make your horse comfortable away from home. This starts the moment he is loaded on the trailer. Make sure there is ventilation if it’s hot, or that you have him warmly blanketed if it’s cold. We also like to haul horses with another horse if at all possible. That’s comforting, as long as the other horses are good citizens.

We also like to have hay in the trailer for our horses to snack on.  When you get to the jackpot, try to find a shady spot if it’s hot, or a place where the wind is blocked on a cold day. Hang the hay on the side of the trailer, and make sure the horses have water in front of them. A lot of research has been done lately on competitive horses and ulcers, and ulcer medication is costly. Since horses are built to be grazers, it just makes sense that they’ll stress less if you let them have something going through their systems.

2.   Spend time with the horse. Brush him really well. Plan to spend time just riding him around relaxed, long before it’s time to warm up. Give him attention and your presence will reassure him.

You never know what will affect a particular horse. One of the colts we’re seasoning now is so quiet at home, and even when we started hauling him, nothing seemed to bother him. We rode him around and he loved it—he stayed relaxed.  However, on his first trip around the barrels away from home, he was going around the first barrel in perfect form, but then he happened to look at it and almost jumped out of his skin! The barrel was painted differently from the ones we have at home, and so he jumped sideways about ten feet! For the rest of that first run, he didn’t get any closer than 30 feet from each barrel—and snorted the whole time.

It is important not to get angry at your horse when he does something like this. Remember, horses do not think like we do. Just continue to reassure him and take him to different places. Soon these reactions will occur less often.

3.  Remember, your goal is to help the horse learn that his job is the same no matter where he is. He needs to know that when he goes into an arena, he has a job to do. Often, when you first start taking a horse to different pens, he does not realize what he is there for. When we first start to exhibit, we will try to get two or three “runs” on the same horse. During the first one, we just trot through the pattern. At the trot, you should be able to control your horse and his body, and have a perfect pattern, but he is still going to be going fast enough to be interested. If he goes through the pattern at this speed and has no trouble, you can go a little faster the next time. We usually go back to the slower speed the last time through, providing a novice horse with plenty of reassurance. 

If you’ve been consistent with your training, your horse will likely try hard for you. The understandable cues you give, the familiar feel of the bridle, and your reassurance will help him learn to focus. Taking a horse that’s working great at home to his first little exhibition away from home is pure fun. He’s coming into the gate, looking around a lot and hopefully has an ear cocked back to you for reassurance. As you come in, you guide him in the right direction. Then, finally, he gets it. He sees the barrel or the pole and you can just feel him “lock” onto it. He understands and knows what he’s supposed to do. That’s the first sign that he’s becoming seasoned.

Do You Have Questions for Cheryl & Savannah? Fast horses and timed events are a two-generation topic for the mother-daughter team of Cheryl and Savannah Magoteaux. Cheryl is a former college horsemanship instructor and Professional Women’s Rodeo Association barrel racing national champion. She was an instructor for R.E. and Martha Josey barrel racing and roping schools, and conducted clinics on her own as well. Cheryl co-authored Charmayne James on Barrel Racing. Savannah, 21, is a journalism and broadcasting senior at Oklahoma State University. Her earliest riding time was spent on timed-event horses, and in 2006, Savannah filed her Women’s Pro Rodeo permit and is now competing as a rookie. Together, Cheryl and Savannah will share their insights and techniques when it comes to developing timed-events skills that are fun and rewarding for horse and rider. Cheryl and Savannah would love to hear from Perfect Horse readers. E-mail your questions to info@magoteauxcom or perfecthorse@horsemediagroupcom

4.  Your horse needs to learn how to handle different types of ground. Make sure you go to plenty of different pens. Find ones that are worked really deep, some that are shallow. Your horse will have to handle himself a little differently on each type of ground, and it is better to let him learn when there is less pressure on both of you. Do not try to make him go faster than he is comfortable with when he first starts learning.

5.  Don’t get upset about how fast the horse’s times are, or the silly mistakes he seems to be making. As tempting as it may be to just keep pushing him to go faster, remember that this is a tough time for him. If he messes up at the jackpot on part of his pattern, go home and emphasize the basics and fix the problem. If he is scared of things, continue to take him along so he has more opportunities to see the world.

Also, there are things you can do at home to help. If you have banners or streamers, hang them around your arena. If your horse does not like other horses going by him, tie him in the arena while you work other horses.

We’ve always known that if you are afraid to be embarrassed in public, then you should not have a career with horses. This goes double if you are trying to train and season a horse for competition. Remember that everyone goes through this process, and there are plenty of people who have had worse things happen to them when seasoning a horse. If your horse spooks at something, laugh about it. It’s no big deal. And eventually, if he turns into a great and famous horse, you will have a memorable story.

We had a colt who was afraid of the tracks left in the ground by the horses that ran before us. He would not step near them going around a turn. We looked ridiculous turning a barrel outside everyone else’s tracks, but slowly he learned that he could step into the uneven ground.

We’ve had horses who really wanted to go fast from the very beginning. Then there was the colt who, even after three months, could still barely lope through the pattern because he was so laid back. But he actually turned out to be a very good games  horse. Experience has shown us that both types of horses make great timed-event competitors. Some of the great ones were those laid-back guys that nothing bothered. Others, like barrel racing legend Scamper, who belongs to Charmayne James, have definite quirks in their personality and they love to spook and play. But allowing the horse time to develop, and riding for him—instead of the calendar—will let the horse become the best he can be. 

Don’t rush the seasoning process. Let the horse’s mind and ability guide how much you ask him for at each event. Sure, you can push a horse quickly to the point that he can make competitive runs. But if you want a horse to have a competitive career, it takes time and patience. 

Once the horse can consistently go at a good lope without being distracted away from home, begin the process of increasing your speed, just like you did at home. Add speed, see how he does. If he’s good, stay at that speed a while, then add more. If he makes mistakes, go back to a slightly slower speed that allows him to think as fast as his legs can move. Review the basics at home.

On the road, as at home, the correct speed is the speed at which your horse can keep his head and be mistake-free. If you stick with this program, and keep a record of your times each week, you’ll see a gradual improvement. And gradual is the ideal.

The great horseman Don Dodge once asked a younger, but eventually legendary rider, Dick Pieper, “Did you improve your horse 1% today?”

Dick nodded, “I think so.”

“Then you pushed him too darn hard,” retorted Dodge. “If you did that you would be perfect in a hundred days—and that is way too fast!”

So think of little improvements each day. And before you know it, you’ll have accomplished tremendous results.