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The Spooky Corner by Jake Baker
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A lot of people think rodeo competition is all about the big crowds, buckles, saddles, money, and BBQ. As a spectator looking in it
appears to be so easy and probably not that time consuming, but the truth of the matter is that rodeo competitors spend more hours at
their profession than most. I do not compete at rodeos, but I know several people that do and they work extremely hard to make
their profession look so easy. Like the rest of us, they run in to situations they need help with.
Recently, I had a barrel racer run into a situation that many of us have fought. Her horse was scared of a particular corner in the arena
and she was not sure how to get her horse to over its fear. This month we are going to address how to get your horse over their fear of the spooky corner.
The Replacement Concept is where we will begin. The Replacement Concept is taking a negative thought and replacing it with a positive thought. This concept holds true for both the horse and rider.
For instance, if your horse is afraid of the far right corner, don’t think about that corner and instead work with your horse in the area
you know she is calm. Choose a particular lesson you want your horse to improve on and you feel comfortable teaching and begin to work on that lesson.
In this case, let’s work on giving to the bit. Begin by asking your horse to give to the bit on the right side. When you feel a change in
softness on the right side, start working on giving to the bit on the left side. Once you feel comfortable at the walk, begin working on
giving to the bit at the trot on both sides. Always reward for improvements.
At this point your horse is doing great! Continue to work on giving to the bit, but start working your way to the spooky corner. If you
feel your horse getting nervous at 20 feet away from the spooky corner than stay 25 feet from the corner. Ride back to a comfortable
area and ask her to give to the bit. Keep her mind occupied on something she has been working on. We don’t want her to have
enough free time to think about the spooky corner! Ride toward and then away from the corner 30 to 40 times. Try to get a step
closer each time without taking your horse over their nervous threshold.
With several days of practice and patience you will have a more responsive and better performing horse. With a little time you will be able to ride your horse over to the spooky corner.
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