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by Alison Visokay It was a cooler than normal Sunday morning in August when I pulled up and parked my car at Hacienda de Majo. Today I was invited to see Terry and Baretta work together in the round pen! Baretta is Terry and Pam's three year old pure Spanish Andalusian mare, a gorgeous daughter of the impressive California sire, Bravio. Terry had worked with her for a total of about 4 hours in the round pen previously. Today, with any luck, he would saddle her for the second time in her life (the first time was a year ago), and mount and ride! Terry's training philosophy blends a large amount of John Lyons' theories and practices along with a good amount of his own instinct and ability to "read" his horse. Sure, I had read the Horse Whisperer, even saw Robert Redford in the movie, and I had read "The Man Who Listens to Horses" by Monty Roberts. I had even (because I am an avid reader and horse fan) read John Lyon's own book, Lyons on Horses. But, with a "conventional" horse training background, I was still a bit unsure just how different Terry's approach to starting a horse would be. Terry and my husband work together, and in the spring he had invited us and several other families from work over to meet his pure Spanish Andalusians. Little did he know that one of the attendees, a "horse person" all my life, would be completely bowled over by his beautiful horses, and determined to "branch out" from the thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses I was accustomed to, to get to know the pure Spanish horse. After many emails back and forth, Terry let me know that he was ready to start Baretta and kindly invited me over to watch. This was the big day! Leading Baretta into the round pen, he took off her halter and let her loose, and sent her out to trot around the pen. They practiced changing direction, changing gaits, and stopping on command. Terry teaches voice commands to all his horses, which was to come in handy a little later! Once Baretta was warmed up, "mouthing" nicely, training her inside ear on Terry, and lowering her head (all signs of submission and "ready to work") they began to practice having her "follow" him. It was a treat to see! Terry allowed Baretta to stop, and by standing facing mostly away from her and lowering his head, he invited her to come forward to him, until she was standing on one side of him, behind, muzzle to shoulder. Then he began to walk, changing direction and even backing up. She stayed right with him, like a dog at heel! (Remember, the horse did not have so much as a halter on!) The next step was introducing "scary" new things, like a rope, a saddle blanket and a black plastic bag. These were introduced to Baretta, still loose, by rubbing them all over and laying them on her back. If she shied away, she was sent out to trot or canter the round pen until she shows signs of submission and "ready to work" once more. Terry made NO move to go after her, no move to hold her still, and no move to reprimand her. If she moved away, he sent her out to work. This way, although the horse had the control to leave if she wished, she gradually learned that it was a lot less work to stay with Terry, and that she could leave without punishment if she wanted to. I could see the mare working this all out and deciding to trust and calm down. Before she knew it, she was dozing in the sun calmly with a saddle blanket on her back. The halter and lead rope were put on. Baretta is well used to these and has been taught from a foal to "give" to light pressure on the lead rope. These lessons were reinforced by putting light pressure on the rope, and having her turn her head, or her whole body, in response to light pressure. The lead was then laid over a fence post on the outside of the round pen, left completely loose. The saddle was introduced to Baretta. It had been a year since the only time she had seen one, making this equivalent to a first-time experience. The same procedure that was used to introduce the saddle blanket was repeated with the saddle, this time using the light pressure of the lead rope over the fence post to guide her to stay put. She could have easily pulled it through the fence and escaped if she chose to. Once she was standing calmly, saddled, Terry unclipped the lead rope and sent her out to trot the round pen a little, so she could feel what that was like, after which they back-tracked to Baretta following Terry, an exercise she was familiar with, this time saddled. Once she began to doze and stand quietly, Terry began to pull on the saddle and slap the stirrups against the saddle on both sides. As before, when she got nervous and moved away, she was sent out to trot and canter the round pen, making changes in gait and direction often. Upon submitting to him and showing herself "ready to try again" (mouthing, ear on Terry, head lowered) she was allowed to stop and come to him. In this way, the horse CAME to him, for more. He did not hold her with a rope or pull her in. He did not reprimand her. He simply made it less work to be near him. I could see that she had already figured that one out! The slapping stirrups were the most frightening thing to Baretta, but with patience and no attempt to hold her, Terry was able to soon slap the stirrups and put his weight in them without her so much as raising her head. Adding the lead line to the halter again, and after a few times bouncing up and down, she was ready to be mounted! Terry mounted, Baretta stood quietly, turning her head to look at him, then turning her head the OTHER way to look at him, as if to say "which side are you on, anyway?" She was interested but calm. Terry dismounted, commenting that one must always dismount right after mounting the first time, so the horse will realize the added weight is not there forever. Things progressed quickly now. They walked and even trotted around the round pen. This was where the voice commands came in handy, because although Baretta was giving to his pressure on the lead rope, he was not yet using his legs on her. At first, she seemed to be unsure that she could pick up her feet with Terry's added weight, and her movement flattened as she figured things out. Soon, though, her pure Spanish movement returned. Then, a little break. Terry dismounted, and worked on getting her to trot in hand beside him, in preparation for an upcoming breed show. They did some more following and some more giving to the halter from the ground. Next, on went a bridle! She had never had a bit in her mouth, but the bridle was put on as if she were experienced, in a matter-of-fact way. She definitely was surprised by the bit! Still, Terry remounted and rode her around the pen at a walk and trot, with a little canter. She gave nicely to the rein pressure, but mouthed and chewed the bit. Terry ignored it. It would go away on its own as she grew used to the bit. Baretta was so calm and willing that we opened the round pen and he took her out into the world! A green-broke horse! Thank you Alison for sharing the day with us and your enthusiasm. Kind words are always lifting to the spirit. The following day, Baretta and I rode the green hills of the Shenandoah Valley for hours. Oh yes, on such days, it is a wonderful world! terry
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Baretta's Pal Terry
To "Starting Baretta!"