Glossary of PonyPros Terms, Exercises, and Games

80/20 Guideline - A rest-reward is 20% as long as the work.

2 Kinds of Pressure - Pressure the horse can see vs. feel. Need see for working at a distance and feel for working up close.

Accidental Dismount Preparation - A game we play to help horses be a help rather than hinderance when the rider starts to loose her balance. Involves clicker training, targeting, and ground tying.

Balancera - Rocking the horse's weight forward and back to help him find his equal ease of movement in both directons. He should not be sticky going backwards, nor should he rush forward through your hand. You should be able to ask for the exact number of steps you want. Or, have the horse move 2 legs in a diagonal pair forwards and back, while standing balanced on the grounded two. Creates balance, patience, and impulsion and prepares the horse for piaffe.

The Balances - Standing beside the horse using the rein to cue forwards, backwards, pivot on the hind, pivot on the fore, shoulder-in, and halfpass. Using the whip for the "combined effect," pressing down on his back with the whip to cue a stop. Focusing on being specific - asking for one step vs two, or half a step. Teaching the horse not to run through your hand.

Be Together - The category of working up close. Tasks work towards your ability to just "be" together.

Bucket Game - Click and treat your horse for toying with a ball, bucket, barrel, plastic garbage can, or other object. Try to get him to sniff it, nudge it, nuzzle it, paw it, roll it, kick it, or pick it up. Turn away when he mugs you for treats. Play until he is confidently beating up the toy. Quit before he becomes too focused on the game and forgets about you.

Call - Walk away, pat your leg, look over your shoulder, expect your horse to follow.

Collect - Bring the horse's hind legs further under the body so that the forehand is lifted up, the balance shifts to the hind, and the horse can work off his hind end. NOT cued by bringing the nose in. Created by alternating various lateral movements that bring the horse into an athletic posture.

Combined effect - Cuing the horse to stop but remain at attention. Riding - close legs, hand, and sit up tall. Ground - press down gently on the horse's back with the whip and close your hand.

Chutes and Sardines - Working on horse's claustrophobia to prepare for trailer loading and jumping. Sending or backing a horse through narrow squeezes. Incorporate it into your daily routine – through the pasture gate, into the arena, between a barrel and the wall, between a cone in he wall – whatever you can come up with. Try to stay in one place and have him find the gap. Put as much responsibility on him as possible to navigate the space and move deliberately and snappily. Play until he is focused and willing.

Draw - Bend at the waist, smile, and beckon your horse with your finger. Walk backwards as he approaches to enhance his curiosity.

Drift - Drifting the horse out away from your aids. Moving sideways in shoulder-in, usually working on an oval.

Extend - Created by using the legs to swing the barrel so the back can move freely. Legs pull the barrel like they have glue on them. Do not push.

Flexions - From Baucher's Second Manner. Asking the horse to yield at the pole, throat latch, and jaw. Developing lateral flexion, vertical flexion, and ramener.

Foot to Foot, Face to Face - Developing connection by asking the horse to mirror your steps forward and backwards. Developing equality through space-sharing. Walk towards your horse and take his space, then back up so he gets to take yours. He should back up snappily out of your space and trot towards you when you run backwards, stopping immediately and not creeping up on you when you hold up your hands. Play until you feel like equals.

Get Together - Drawing the horse to you at liberty by engaging his curiosity. When in a round pen, done calmly at a walk or trot only. Done at a trot or canter with experienced horses in an arena. Akin to hook on, join up, or catching from Zone 5, but low drama.

Hippity Hop/Jeffery Method - Hop in front of your horse until you have his attention and enthusiasm. Skip away from your horse until he follows easily and contentedly. Jump next to your horse until he is relaxed. Lay on him like a surfboard and build up to sliding off is rump. Haunches-In/Travers - A form of halfpass. The horse moves with his haunches on the outside track and his shoulders on the inside track and is bent in the direction he is moving. The inside hand regulates the bend. The outside hand creates the movement.

Haunches-Out/Renvers - A form of halfpass. The horse moves with his haunches on the inside track and shoulders on the outside track, bent in the direction he is moving. The inside hand regulates the bend. The outside hand creates the movement.

Impulsion - The horse is alert and engaged, present in the moment. He has an athletic posture and working nimbly. Building athleticism and agility.

Innovate - A clicker training game where the horse gets to make up his own tricks. He is clicked for doing behaviors he has not done before.

Laterals - The horse moves sideways, like he is doing the grapevine.

Lead - Guiding the horse by showing his eyes where to look.

Lengthen - Moving in your body as the horse does to amplify his movement. Reaching and opening. Adding 4 ounces of ownership to what the movement the horse is naturally creating in your body.

Liberty - Playing with your horse without any attachments to create connection.

Long and Low - The horse stretches and swings through his back while traveling on a loose rein. The pole is usually level with the topline. Created by pumping the reins out and massaging them downwards.

Longe for Relaxation - Encourage your horse to trot slow, steady, straight, and balanced. Play until your horse licks, chews, blows out, yawns, or gives another sign of relaxation. Do both sides.

Longeing - Traveling beside the horse at a walk while he trots. Developing calmness, straightness, and balance.

Migration - Migration is one of the 3 elements of the PonyPros program – it is about finding a quiet space and coming to center. Migration helps create peace and contentment. It is a way to spend undemanding time with your horse that keeps busy minds at bay. Migration establishes equality.

Natural Horsemanship Playground/Trail Course - Where we have obstacles like a car wash, barrel jumps, archway, teeter totter, tire pedestals, and bridges.

Meet and Greet - First part of our daily routine. Exercises that reintroduce you and your horse daily. Friendly, cordial, no-brainers.

Natural Hacking - Migration exercise. Trot jumps or poles. Shorter turns slow him down. Longer turns help him find rhythm, fluidity, and impulsion. Play until your horse has balanced go and whoa and is jumping in the style you enjoy. Click for the jumps you enjoy most.

Particular Pressure - Pressure the horse can feel. Used to establish precision. Practice forwards, backwards, hind, fore, and sideways. Be specific about the exact number of steps you want. Play until your horse is soft and balanced.

Play - Play is one of the 3 elements of the PonyPros program – it is about being recreation for your pony so he can be recreation for you. Play is the spice of life. It creates motivation, enthusiasm, and charisma!

Practical Pressure - Pressure the horse can see. Useful in playing at a distance or working with a challenging horse. Use your hands, stick, and steps to create pressure your horse can see. Play until a challenging horse is no longer nipping at you or swishing his tail, or until your more advanced horse is in the moment and attentive.

Pressure Practice - The second part of our daily routine, after Meet and Greet. Set the terms for the relationship. Establish your bubble and system of communication through body language.

Rein Aids - How we use our hands. Introductory: Lead the Nose, Swing the Hind, Fist stop. Advanced: Direct, indirect, primary, secondary, half-halt, reverse half-halt, shoulder-in, halfpass, suspension rein.

Togetherness - Having connection with your horse. A visible partnership.

Travel Together - Working at a distance from your horse. The horse trots while you walk, or canters while you jog. Your hand leads the horse and your stick maintains his distance to you, cuing his sidebody. Using obstacles, changes of direction, and transitions to develop focus, connection, and engagement. Play until the horse is focused and has balanced go/whoa. The horse gets a click when he creates fun ambiance through his style.

Send - Point where you want your horse to go. Swing towards the closest part of him, which is usually his neck or shoulder. Used in Travel Together, longeing, and liberty play.

Short Side/Long Side - Post and extend the trot down the long sides of the arena. Sit and collect the trot on the short sides of the arena. Play until your horse is in front of your leg, ie. forward-moving, good impulsion and engagement, not lazy.

Seatwork - Exercises we do on a longe to help the rider find her balance. Kick down left, right, both. Arm circle left, right. Pet down the neck, left and right. Fix your seat (pull yourself deeper into the saddle). Twist, left and right (look over your shoulder, put hand on rump). Kick up and touch your toe, left and right. Lay back. Touch your left heel, right heel. Frog on a rocket. Circle the stick forward, backward, kayak. Pass the stick behind your back. Pass the stick behind your neck. Pass the stick under each leg. Turn the stick end over end. Climb up and down the stick like a rope.

Spooktacular! - Carry the object away from the horse to create curiosity. Invite the horse to approach the object to create self-motivation. Touch the horse with the object to establish self-control. Akin to desensitization, bombproofing, or the Friendly Game.

Stick Together - Traveling up close to the horse, sometimes with one hand on his neck or back, and matching his footfalls.

Stretching Program - Stretches we do 3-4 days per week to develop a horse's flexibility and build trust. Click when he leans into the stretch and you can feel him lengthen. Do Shoulder open forward, Foreleg forward, Open hip to side, Hind leg forward, Belly lift, Rump roll, and Tail pull. Play until he is relaxed, standing still, and seems content.

Shorten/Lengthen - Shorten the walk. Raise your horse’s shoulders, hips, and poll. Ask him to step his hind feet under his body further so his base narrows. The poll MUST remain the highest point of the body at all times. When you’ve reached the max that he can do, lengthen the walk. If your horse stops, ask him back until you have a little gas in your engine, then zoom forward into a long trot or walk, or working canter. Play until your horse is focused and energized.

Shoulder-in - The horse is looking away from the direction of travel. Inside rein creates a bend and carries the shoulders and hips away from the rein. Can be a 3 track or 4 track bend.

Silky Smooth - Snake and weave your horse to supple him and help him find rhythm and relaxation. Swing his hips to loosen his hindquarters and slow him down. Drift his ribs to loosen his shoulders and sidebody, and to create impulsion. Play until he is soft, supple, smooth, and relaxed.

Snake - Track around the arena at a walk or trot, creating big, snakey bends. Whenever your horse gets heavy or speeds up, pick up on a rein and move him through a bend until he softens and slows down. Then release and allow him to track straight until you need to snake again.

Spank - Also called "tag." Swing your stick over-hand so that it makes a loud, popping noise on the ground.

Suppling - Creating softness, flexibility, and limberness through the horse, so he is light and fluid to ride.

Swing - Swing your stick over-hand at your horse so that the popper brushes his sidebody 2-3 times in a row. It enlivens him but does not "tag" him.

Swish - Hold your stick like a joystick. Swish the string at your horse to move him away from you. The string will define the boundaries of your bubble.

Synchrony - Synchrony is one of the 3 elements of the PonyPros program – it is about bringing you and your pony together so that the sum is greater than either of the parts. Synchrony helps create suppleness, flexibility, and a soft feel. As you work on synchrony, you work to increase the range of your pony’s and your abilities.

Tag - Swing your stick over-hand so the popper lands on your horse and creates a noise. Used in response to a horse threaten you by throwing his sidebody into you on a circle. Tag the closest part to you that won't move.

T.A.G.[T]eaching with [A]coustical [G]uidance. Using a clicker as a marker signal to make learning faster, easier, and stickier. Also called Freeze Framing.

Tail Tag/Chase the Tiger - The horse chases your "tail," a special bandana on the end of a training stick or longe whip. The horse gets a click and treat when he catches the tail. Builds motivation, enthusiasm, charisma, and endurance. Play until your horse is excited about catching the tail. Quit before he is hyper and demanding.

Traveling - Go some place with your horse. Give your play some purpose.

Walk About - Have your horse walk but do not steer. Ride on the buckle, ie., on a completely loose rein. Don’t let him stop. If he stops, urge him on again courteously but deliberately. Keep your hands on his neck and let him go wherever he wants, unless there is immediate danger. If he speeds up, bend him down to a walk and immediately walk out on a loose rein. Play until he is in harmony with you and thinking like a partner. It should feel like he is ready to help you work towards a mutual goal, rather than feeling heavy and oppositional. *You can also do this task at a trot.

Weave - Also called "snaking." Move around the arena with your horse at a walk or trot. Work on suppling him up. Pick up on a rein and hold until the horse softens. He should learn to differentiate between a rein aid that suggests that he continues moving versus a rein aid that means stop. Most horses immediately speed up when you pick up on the rein. Instead, the horse should follow the feel of the rein like you were taking his hand.

Whinny Waltz - 3 steps movement alternated with 3 step pause. Hind, fore, side, back, forwards. Creates balance and attention.

The Whippings/Aura Whipping - Spank or crack a whip loudly. Use your lead rope or rein to cue the horse to stand still. He can move sideways, but not forward or backwards. The horse will see that you are not worried about the frightening noise and come to stand quietly with you. He will stand square, alert, and attentive, but patience. This exercise creates bond and enhances the effectiveness of your rein aids in a spooky situation.

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