Step 21 – Focus & Bend
Step 21 Focus & Bend
If your horse tends to have more “draw” than “drive,” or if you’ve already mastered the “Leading with Energy” exercise, it’s time to shift your focus to the “Focus & Bend” exercise. You can find the instructions for this exercise in the introductory video provided here. The remaining videos in the playlist demonstrate how this exercise was taught to several horses. Note that it was previously referred to as “Collision Avoidance” in some videos, so you might come across that term as well.
If you’re planning to work on “Focus & Bend,” here’s a critical reminder: Before you begin this exercise, ensure that both you and your horse are in a state of mental and physical presence. Your nervous systems should be regulated, and you should feel good. This means that you won’t initiate this exercise until you and your horse are fully prepared (this goes for anything you do with your horse).
To start the exercise, send your horse off to the left because they are more accustomed to looking at you out of their left eye and are generally more comfortable with you on that side. This principle of starting with the easier or more comfortable side is something you should carry throughout your training.
It’s important to be patient and understand that progress may be gradual. You might only reach step 1 on your first attempt, and the results may not be perfect, which is perfectly fine. During your training journey, remember when to conclude a session:
1. If your horse is receptive and quickly learning, stop when your horse successfully performs a particular action three times in a row.
2. If progress is steady but not exceptionally smooth, stop when your horse shows improvement in areas where they’ve been struggling.
3. If you encounter setbacks or regressions, stop on a positive note or when you see any forward movement.
Note: Only work on the left side in the beginning. We won’t move onto the right side until the left side is perfect (it might take a couple of sessions)
A reminder of how to use this course: click on Mark Complete below and move to Step 22 tomorrow.
Hi Warwick! I change side when the left side is perfect at walk, trott, canter or just walk?
Usually I will get both sides good at the walk first, before starting on the higher gaits.
I am having trouble determining when to let my horse stop once I send him and he starts moving. How long should I attempt to keep him moving with my “mom” look on his hind and/or flag? I seem to miss that perfect moment to let him stop. Should I let him stop after he takes a few steps voluntarily without any flag involved?
When he makes a change is the best time to stop. So you stopping your asl should coincide with a mental change from him, whether its from standing still to deciding to go, or the change from going with low enrgy to going with more energy.
Hi Warwick!
My horse is well trained and starts lunging herself (ex. putting herself on a nice circle around me) when I do this exercise. I have trouble getting her to stop. I walked in an arc to try and get her to come back to me, but she won’t stop walking in a circle. She finally stopped one time, but I was fully behind her and she still would not turn. Do you have any advice?
“but I was fully behind her”
When you spiral backwards, youshould be sprialling so that you end up in front ofg her, not behind her.
I have been working on the flowchart and focus and bend exercises for months without making any progress. I’ve watched the videos over and over. My horse never focuses consistently on me. She will be on lead standing still in front of and facing me and is often looking around with her head high. She’s looking at another horse, cars driving by out on the road, a person walking by the arena. When she is focused and present and I go through the steps to send her around me, she’ll go out to move around me and almost immediately be looking outward instead of in towards me. She will move very, very slowly and sometimes stop moving. I back up to draw her toward me again, stop and start the flowchart over. I get lots and lots of releases from her, but haven’t been able to get her to go around me consistently to the left (which is the side we’ve started on). She will do multiple yawns and eyerolls, blinks, twitches, shake her head, blow out. She’s always been very quiet until last night. Last night for some reason, she was running around me in circles and calling out to the other horses in the barns around us. I couldn’t back up quickly enough to draw her toward me.Â
Typically when we get to the arena, we start with her standing and facing me. I will ask her to go around me to the left. She will start to go and I will back up to get her to face me. I will give her a minute and she will release. Then I’ll do it again a few times. She will willingly start to go around me, but if I let her keep going, she will turn her head to the outside, walk very slowly, and stop. Sometimes she “corkscrews” her head up and to the side.Â
I follow the flow chart and she will often end up facing me while we are both focused and present. But she doesn’t stay that way long. She starts looking around at things and sounds with her head up. I stand relaxed and look at what she is looking at until she turns back to me. We spend much of our time doing that. It hasn’t helped her to go around me with a bend in her body and her head turned inward toward me. If I let her keep going, she will have her head turned out. I tried doing the exercise where you send them out, draw them to you when they turn their head outward, send them out again. She will consistently turn her head to the outside and barely move at the walk, sometimes stopping.Â
I’m going through the 30 Day Jumpstart. I didn’t do the Creating Connection Through change in Focus or Leading with Energy exercises becuase she has a lot of draw; she’s always waiting at the gate for me and will follow me closely when she’s not on lead. I’ve gone through the other exercises and am stuck at the Focus and Bend exercise. What do I do to move forward with her? It’s been months and I’m feeling very stuck and like I may need to try something else. I’m trying very hard to stick with this until we make progress.Â
can you send me a 1 minute video of this?
How do I send you a video? I actually started working on the Leading with Energy exercise and that has made all the difference. She’s not lifting her head sideways anymore. She’s more aware of my energy. She’s following the Leading with Energy exercise very well. I plan to continue to work on that before going back to the Focus and Bend exercise. If I do FAB now, she will go around me very, very slowly and will turn her eye out every few seconds. If I lean back I can draw her back in when she turns her attention out. It seems like the Leading with Energy is where she will start willingly moving forward with energy and impulsion, is that accurate?
She will tell you that.
I have been doing the focus and bend and he does both sides without the use of the flag, but I cannot get him to do a full circle at a walk without the flag. I should continue to work on this before I move to the leading with energy correct? I started with focus and bend as he is more draw then drive. Any advice on how to get him to continue? I have kept my arm up and pointed and he does do more but not the complete circle. Thank you.
“”
What does he do? Do he stop out on the circle, or come it toward you?
And then what do you do?
He stops and turns toward me. He does not come to me. I relax with my stance and wait for a lick and chew or yawn something that I know he is relaxing. I am learning he is an anxious horse, much like his owner and I am trying hard to work on that with him and be patient and do things slowly like in the video. He is responding more to that slowness. Also, I feel like he doesn’t have alot of bend, much like Oscar, but the more we do the exercise the better he is.
If you dont want him to come in, dont let him stop there. Send him back out and only bring him in when he’s not trying to stop.
Sorry I should have checked the problems with focus and bend videos before asking the question. If I can’t figure it out I’ll ask again but for now please disregard the question