Waching daily May 31 2017

Hi, I'm Meredith Hodges, and welcome to the Lucky Three Ranch Training Tips.

Ground driving in the round pen before going into an open arena

is to teach your equine the elements of ground driving in a controlled environment.

This is important to avoid extensive resistance and to afford the driver time to practice technique.

Always be sure to undo the buckle at the end of the lines if they are excessively long

to avoid getting entangled or dragged in the lines.

Ask your equine to remain connected to your hands through the drive lines

while maintaining his good equine posture and balance.

Now you should learn to carry the whip and only use it gently if needed.

The hourglass pattern will keep you and your equine organized.

It will help him pay attention to his good posture throughout the lessons.

If he speeds up, just take circles at the cones, but don't pull hard on the drive lines.

Just use squeeze/release motions with your fingers.

When we used the hourglass pattern for leading training,

we stopped midway between the corner cones and the gate cones.

When ground driving, we will do the pattern uninterrupted except for random halts and reinbacks.

As you round the corner and center gate cones,

make sure your turns are not abrupt, but nice gradual arcs.

Stay in sync with your equine's hind legs and in good posture yourself.

Make sure to keep your even connection to the bit.

Allow the inside line to determine the degree of arc and the outside line to stabilize the arc.

To change direction in the pattern, just go past the second corner cone and cross the long diagonal.

Begin the hourglass pattern again from the next corner cone.

This pattern can be used with both singles and teams.

Two rotations through the pattern in each direction is usually enough time for one lesson.

If any mistakes are made, just get back into the pattern as effortlessly as you are able.

To finish the pattern, go past a corner cone and turn up the centerline.

Stop between the two gate cones

and then randomly along the centerline to avoid anticipation of the halt.