Twosox: Learning about "Zero Brace"

April 8, 2011

Twosox and I had a fabulous session today. We started off with some zone 5 driving with one rein then played with the green ball. Twosox would show a little bit of interest and then walk right past it, not really putting any effort into actually pushing it or doing anything regarding it. So I made it a game. I knew that if I "made" him do it he wouldn't get it and I didn't want to tell him the answer because he wouldn't become a puzzle solver. It is amazing how easy it is to just tell you horse the answer... or you give him very specific hints until he stumbles across the answer. 

Like I said earlier, Twosox wasn't putting any effort into it really and so we played the game, you can go past the ball anytime you want but I will just change direction and resend you to it, while playfully tagging behind you. We did this about 4 times and at first it didn't really look like it was working. Twosox would just put his nose on the ball, and then walk around it. But slowly he started getting more interested and so we kept with it and then he started asking questions (very small, quick questions) I knew he had gotten it when he pushed the ball about 20ft, he was light on the rope (not pulling like he was before), asking questions, connected and when the ball left the fence he followed it and brought it to me. 

We had a long rest and time to lick and chew over that for a while. I felt like I am really starting to understand how to motivate this horse, and that is to not tell him the answers. He is really good at doing what he is told but his mind is not in it at all. I believe that this is could be the missing key that I have been looking for over the past year and a half!! 

After that we did Figure eights. I had a pretty good idea what Twosox was going to do so I had time to plan ahead and know what I was going to do if he braced. This is anther area I have been discovering with Twosox, no brace. What does that mean? How does it apply? What do I have to do to get zero brace? These were all questions that I had to figure out and just recently I have had the opportunity to see how they actually work!! 

It was always easy to get in a argument with Twosox. He knew how to push my buttons. So when I recently started playing with Twosox more, and wanting to progress, I knew that this would be more issue I would need to address in myself if we were really going to progress.

So off we went. The left barrel was great, nice and light Twosox was connected, soft and didn't brace. The right barrel on the other hand was where Twosox has always had a problem and today was no different, expect I was prepared to respond differently. He came around that right hand barrel and when I asked him to come between myself and it he said "no" and started heading in the other direction. So I said.... "let me help you!!" and we went trotting sideways across the riding ring then did a traveling circle right back to the barrels and continued. 

This happened about ten times. Twosox said "No" and I said "Okay, let me help you" I was having fun! Twosox about the third time in Twosox started going less and less sideways and more and more forward so I paid extra special attention to that the next time. 

After about the tenth time Twosox started to think about not bracing and he started to come around the barrel and stop. So I would lightly ask him to continue on, he would have a little bit of opposition reflex to the pressure on his head but then move forward. The whole time I made sure that I was offering the lightness that I wanted to have in the end. It was all so fascinating!! When Twosox walk around the ends, not stopping, we ended. Both sides were light and Twosox stayed connected. 

The best part was that Twosox didn't snort afterward. Quite often he will snort but right after he will lick and chew, all the while blinking and having his head really low. So I am not sure if it is a right brain thing or left brain but either way he didn't do it. He had a huge lick and chew and yawned for about 10 minutes then I took the halter off but he stayed with me so we just sat there for a while thinking :) 

So I don't know if that is exactly what Mrs. Parelli talks about when she talks about "No Brace" or "Zero Brace" but this is what it means for me and Twosox. Not getting a argument with him, taking his idea, "helping" him it and then bringing it back to my idea. 

One really cool thing also is was I was having fun the whole time! I had a smile on my face and it had changed from a frustration into a fascination!! 

Naturally,

~Keri