Good Manners

(Page 36) The Lucky Three Mules prove that when you are polite, consistent and train your equines all in the same way, group lessons can be productive and fun! How they are led and how they enter the round pen is as important as the workout itself. For initial tune-ups, we do walk, trot, canter, reverse and halt with specific numbers of rotations, 10 in each direction, with a 3-minute halt between sets for relaxed, balanced and effective athletic conditioning….and then at the end, they are all allowed to lie down and roll. Lunging in just their halters gives me the opportunity to see who will need postural support with the “Elbow Pull” during lunging going forward after being off work for a while. When you do postural core strength exercises with your equine, most of the time, simple turnout is all that is necessary to keep him in good condition and it won’t take as long to build the bulk muscle that you need for extensive trail riding and showing. When he has been taught balanced body carriage in good equine posture, it becomes habitual and all he needs to do to reinforce it is to be able to move freely around in turnout.

Then only occasional tune-ups (reminders of good posture) are really necessary. Even when they are led from the round pen, or from any working area, they should remain calm, respectful and obedient, and always exercise the good manners that you have taught them. And remember, the way to obtain good manners from your equine is to exercise good manners yourself when dealing with him (or her). This provides MUTUAL satisfaction and makes training FUN for you all! To learn more about developing your equine’s relaxation, balance, core muscle strength and good posture with impeccable manners, check out our website at www.luckythreeranch.com under TRAINING and in the STORE. There is all kinds of helpful information and fun entertainment to enhance the relationship with your equine!