John Lyons discusses collection of the horse at Equine Affaire 2010

John Lyons is a well known clinician and horse trainer, especially in the western stock horse world.  He has been active in the horse show community for many, many years and has won numerous accolades and awards for his riding and teaching abilities.  I was very excited to see the number of John Lyons clinics offered at the Equine Affaire this year.  His “U-Pick” system of training provides a number of exercises geared toward a particular goal and the rider can choose which exercises appeal to and work for each horse.  In addition, each exercise has a few variations that can provide varying levels of challenge as the horse progresses.  There were a number of Lyons clinics I was interested in seeing, including ones for developing better control, controlling speed, and improved stopping.  The first one we made it to was the speed control clinic. 

The arena was packed with spectators, and seating was tough to find.  We were lucky to have some folks offer us their seats as they left and we got front row.  The one hour and fifteen minute clinic began with John coming out and talking a bit about his experience and then introducing the three men that were on horses riding around the arena.  It turns out that they were not “students” as in most clinics we watched – they were John’s two sons Josh and Michael, and a man that began the Lyons training certification many years ago.  John proceeded to talk about the unnatural manner in which we ask horses to remain collected and illustrated his points with a horse he led around as he spoke.  During the entire monologue, his two sons were mounted on horses and were riding around the arena behind him doing their own things.  It sort of looked like a warm up arena at a show, with John Lyons wandering around in the midle with a microphone.  To say it was a bit distracting would be an understatement. 

Finally John mounted up and the exercises for speed control began.  The first one he chose to talk about was doing a directional change – as you walk around the arena and your horse increases speed, stop and do a 180 degree turn and walk off in the other direction.  Each time your horse speeds up, change direction.  Simple enough, right?  Well, it felt like he spent fifteen minutes discussing this exercise, how to increase the difficulty (change gait), or include variety (turn on forehand versus hind).  The whole time he talked, his sons were riding around the arena doing their own thing – reining spins, loping, lead changing.  Finally he finished and moved on to Exercise #2, one of Josh’s choosing.  Unfortunately, Josh did not have a microphone and so John had to translate everything he said to the audience.  This one involved spiraling off into smaller circles if the horse speeds up; however there was some confusion as to how the exercise began.  At one point John seemed to be indicating that the rider should hum to the horse to slow it down.  I found the lack of microphone to be particularly troublesome, as Josh would lope off to demonstrate the exercise, but the audience was unable to have it narrated as it happened.  Once again, the other son was off doing his own thing, adding to the chaos.  I also felt that John wasn’t clearly explaining his techniques to the audience.  Maybe someone that has completed his video series would have understood him better, but I found instructions such as “Move his tail back” unclear and confusing.  This scene repeated for the first four exercises, but eventually I felt that the clinic was not serving the purpose I’d hoped it would and we left. 

In summary, this clinic was not well organized.  All three riders should have had microphones, or at the very least, the one demonstrating the exercises should have been narrating.  All the riders should have been demonstrating the exercises being discussed or they should have been waiting quietly for their turn, in my opinion.  All the activity had the effect of appearing chaotic and was a distraction to the exercises at hand.  Finally, I felt that the demonstration was very commercial.  In his defense, I had that same feeling at several of the clinics we went to and it’s a feeling I don’t recall having had at previous Affaires.  There was a lot of self promotion of the Lyons name and product line, and I felt that took away from the point of the clinic.  I would have liked to see students participate and learn the exercises with the audience, so we could grasp what issues the horses may come up with.  The exercises were that were provided were useful, albeit a bit basic for my own riding level, but a good refresher.  All in all, there was some good information there but I had higher expectations from a clinician of his caliber.

…and you won’t need a big stick.

What’s your communication style? Have you ever thought about it? Consider your friends and family: are you a chatterbox, firing off the commentary at machine gun pace? Or are you an observer, speaking only when you have a point to make? I’d bet money that the way you communicate with the people in your life mirrors the way you communicate with your horse (or dog, for that matter). The manner in which you communicate to your horse has a profound impact on the nature of your relationship. There are four common styles of communication: Assertive, Aggressive, Passive, and Passive-Aggressive. Let’s look at these styles in a bit more detail:

• Aggressive riders want what they want when they want it.  The communication between horse and rider tends to be more of a demanding nature, akin to shouting all the time.  The downside to this style is that it leaves no room for conversation.  A successful rider must be able to hear what the horse is “telling” her and adjust accordingly.
• Passive riders are just the opposite:  they don’t want to force the horse to do anything he doesn’t want to do, so they won’t rock the boat.  It’s great to be gentle and kind to the horse, but after awhile you find yourself nagging because they quickly learn they can do what they want. 
• Passive-aggressive riders are a combination of the two.  These are the riders that don’t communicate directly what they want , and when they don’t get it  they try to manipulate their horse into giving it to them.  One such example would be  a rider who is struggling with a horse  to soften and travel on a loose rein, but the horse resists.  The rider then ties the horse in a stall on a short rope (‘hanging it’) to teach it a lesson.  Once the horse is exhausted from having its head elevated for hours, it will travel slowly and with a low head carriage – but NOT because the rider communicated properly to the horse. 
• The best style of communication for riders is the assertive style.  These riders will communicate clearly, softly, and efficiently.  They don’t nag, or ask repeatedly for a maneuver.  They carefully consider their cues and respond to what their horse tells them.  They understand the “reward-correction” model and utilize it.  This is critical to successful riding.  The best reward for a horse is a release of pressure.  For example, if you want your horse to move forward you might squeeze your legs.  Once the horse moves, you release your leg pressure.  This is a reward.  The best correction for a horse is to make the incorrect choice much harder than the correct choice.  For example,  if I want my horse to lope softly around the arena on a loose rein and he drags his hip and falls out of frame - I will gather my reins, increase my speed, and counter canter him, really driving that hip under his body.  Chances are, when I ask him to lope softly after that, he’ll be more receptive. 

If you practice riding assertively, you’ll soon find that your horse will begin to read your more subtle cues.  Your horse will respect you and be more comfortable when you ride him, because he knows exactly what you want from him.  Many times when a horse is nervous under saddle, it’s because that horse is a “tryer” and he just doesn’t get what you are asking him to do.  Be clear, concise, and forgiving and you are on your way to developing a relaxed, comfortable partnership with your horse.

Addressing the Great “Spur Stop” Debate

Imagine yourself in the arena, loping softly down the rail.  The announcer calls for the walk, and you……press your heels into your horse’s sides?  Thus begins the Great “Spur Stop” Debate.  The spur stop is a training technique that is commonly used in stock horse breeds and especially western pleasure events.  This technique allows the rider to bring the horse to a halt using only the rider’s spurs or heels.  Spurs are not necessary to perform this technique, although riders at this advanced level often use them. 

The most common misconception about using a spur stop is that it confuses the horse, as leg cues are used to encourage forward movement.  However, this idea is not entirely accurate, at least not in this context.  Riders use their legs to establish forward movement, yes, but seat and body position are also important.  And don’t forget that you should be able to control your horse’s lateral (sideways) movement with your legs as well.  Different cues mean different things and a highly trained horse can distinguish whether a cue indicates to move forward, move over, or stop.  Falsely believing that legs mean to go forward and hands mean to stop is where a lot of riders get into trouble. 

It is important to remember that essentially all movements that the horse performs require impulsion - defined as a driving force that provides forward motion.  Wait!  Forward motion?  At the stop? Yes, in a manner of speaking.  Think about it like this:  what happens when you pull back on your horse’s face (without applying leg aids)?  Chances are, he raises his head, hollows his back, and stiffens.  Keeping your legs on him when you pull back keeps him driving forward into the bit and staying soft and round.  The spur stop is merely an advancement of this technique, in that the hand motion is eliminated and the horse is taught to soften, round, and slow or stop using leg aids.  If you would like to see an example of a highly trained  horse that responds to seat and leg cues, check out this video.  The entire video is shot bridleless and demonstrates the spur stop a couple of times.

In recent years the spur stop has incited controversy, largely due to its misuse as a shortcut in western pleasure training.  Western pleasure, in my opinion, has devolved into an event that is more about strategy and slowness than about showcasing a smooth, relaxed, pleasurable horse.  As as result, some trainers have increasingly developed tools to give them an edge in the show ring.  The spur stop fits the bill – the perfect way to slow or stop your horse without using your hands (which is often impossible due to the ridiculously long rein length that horses are often shown with).  Riders will sometimes lope while using the spur stop at each stride to keep the horse extremely slow.  Opponents of the spur stop frequently refer to it as “riding the brake” in a western pleasure class as it results in a jerky, halting lope.  Recently some trainers (like western pleasure legend Cleve Wells) and judges have spoken out against misuse of the spur stop.  Organizations like the AQHA have come together to penalize undesireable traits of the western pleasure lope – at the top of the list?  The spur stop.  This policy has trickled down to other breeds and now the ApHC specifies in western pleasure classes to “lope with forward motion” in an attempt to eliminate the misuse of the technique. 

Critics claim that a horse with a spur stop will be a one-trick pony, and that serious injury could result to riders that attempt to ride a horse with a spur stop over jumps or in a barrel race.  This idea is ludicrous to me.  This training technique is advanced and generally speaking, only top level horses would be trained in this manner.  While versatility is great, the reality is that there are very VERY few top level western pleasure horses that also compete in barrel racing or over fences.  In fact, I can’t think of any.  I rode a horse with a spur stop for years and I did all-around events.  The spur stop, when used properly, is extremely useful in pattern classes and trail, as well as western pleasure.  When you are in a class of 50 National caliber trail horses and you can lope your horse into a 12 foot box and stop using only your seat and legs, you score big points.  Additionally, my horse was trained to drop his head with a particular type of leg pressure.  That was a handy technique if his attention was caught by something while we were waiting for our turn to ride a pattern, or when we approached a trail obstacle that he wasn’t paying attention to. 

My opinion?  I think there is a place in the show ring for the spur stop if it is used properly.  I completely disagree with the idea of riding a western pleasure class with your leg dug into your horse’s side so he doesn’t run off with you.  But I do think that having that round, square stop achieved so effortlessly (at least from an observer’s point of view) adds a level of pizzazz to a performance and might score you a second look with the judges.  Just for the record, I have shown many horses that were not spur stop trained, and I did equally well with each of them.  One of them was even a western pleasure horse! 

What is your stand on this topic?  Ever ridden a horse with a spur stop?  Let me know what you think!