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Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Alabama
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 Here are 2 posts I have made previously about Arabian Halter that you might/hopefully find helpful: Quote:
Training an Arabian Horse to stand and present themselves for a Judge is a lot of work. Everyone works on getting the horse to stretch it's neck out. They fail to pay any attention to what the rest of the horse's body looks like and is doing!
There is a lot more involved that the neck stretch...showing halter is NOT about the neck...in fact some horses look better with out stretching their necks out and other do it wrong period.
If you can ever go to a show where Michael Byatt is competing watch his horses! They tighten and use their bodies! If you can ever attend a clinic where he is the instructor GO! You will learn so much more than you even thought about!
Watching a top Arabian Halter Trainer like Mr. Byatt, doing his job in the ring during a halter class at a show is, in itself, a learning experience!
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Here is a condensed version I found online.
Plus there are several instructional video tapes that have been made that beginners will find helpful. I suggest you find some of them as well. 
Help with Arabian Halter Training
Young Arabians are a lot of fun to train as they are for the most part very intelligent and dying to please you. Remember to be patient , consistent and kind. Once you make a mistake or cause a bad experience they will never forget. It takes a lot of little steps to get the picture all there. Remember not to work on it for too long a period of time, ten to fifteen minutes at the most. Also, do not practice constantly doing the whole set up routine. Horses get bored of it very quickly, or if they figure they know exactly what you are going to ask, they'll try to anticipate and rush it. So just work on whatever bits you need to work on that day. I very rarely do the whole thing in practice sessions.
The very first thing the horse needs to learn is WHOA- no cheating, no scootching forward, resting a foot, nada! Whoa. Proceed no further until he/she has this step down. Practice by walking her with you backing away, he/she needs to not rush you and stay in THEIR space, and watching their hind feet. As the left hind starts to leave the ground, tell the horse "whoa." That will put his/her hind feet in the correct position.
You have to practice to get the timing. If it is not your fault that her feet are wrong, and he/she is just continuing after you said "whoa," then you need to reprimand her (I will shank, but I use a captive chain) and back the horse up as many steps as it took forward. Next, practice walking around the horse, having a conversation with a friend, doing aerobic exercises, whatever, and they need to stay where you put them. Play tricks.
He/she needs to know that unless you have given them the command to walk, those back feet do not budge. Again, whenever the horse moves, back them up the same number of steps.
When they have that step down, then you can move to the front feet. Tug the lead to the side, and I usually tell them "foot" or something similar so as not to confuse it with an O.K. to walk forward. The horse should move one front foot. Practice until you can do a one quarter circle to both sides without moving those back feet. That is how you inch the front feet up in to the correct position. Remember, one hind cannon bone must remain perpendicular to the ground.
For the neck, you can use carrots, treats, a hat, the shiny part of the whip, toy, or whatever to get the horse to reach. Don't forget whoa. Remember to ask the horse to show down some, too, or you get a really stiff-necked look.
Finally, to rock the horse back and forth, you have to teach it about your space. Where you stand is your space, then if you step forward or lean forward, it is now your space and she needs to move. I teach by first stepping toward them, and if they don't back up, telling them to back. If they still push into my space, I will either shank them once and repeat, or if really pushy, I will give them a tap with the whip. Praise the horse when it gives you what you asked for. Then practice to where if you take a step forward, then it takes a step back. It's like a dance, and the horse needs to learn to watch you for the lead. Then you can refine it to just leaning forward, while telling the horse "whoa." The horse should then rock back to move slightly out of your space.
Good luck and have fun!
Lori Savage
Head trainer for Champagne Royal Arabians
Floresville, TX.
| | Quote:
First off, I suggest you read and learn the rules: Arabian Rule Book (yes, even if your just showing in the Half Arabian Halter Classes)
Also, knowing what the Judge is looking for is a BIG help in preventing disappointments.
A lot of the crys about "politics" & "poor judging" is simply the result of people not educating themselves first. Usually the ones complaining about politics are the ones who come to a show with a horse that is not in good shape, neither horse nor rider are properly groomed, not as well trained, and in many cases, not as high quality of a horse for that show. When they get the gate, the poorly prepared exhibitors excuse is usually: it's all because the top trainer was there or because that Amateur had some "Big Name" Professional training their horse.
This site might help you out a bit....
Halter Training: http://www.akfentertainment.com/akf/halter.htm
The way the horse is being presented in the first photo is "the look" I would be going for until you have been able to attend a few Halter Showing Training Clinics and you are able to work with a professional.
I would NOT be trying to get my horse to raise it's head and stretch it's neck like in the second photo at the show!
Asking a horse to tighten it's back and use it's neck is most often misunderstood part of showing Arabian Horses. Halter Classes are not about "stretching the neck." They are about presenting your horse in a way that BEST shows off it's correct conformation and good qualities.
Just having the horse do it without any knowledge as to what will best show off your horse's neck can and often does cost people the class.
In fact some horses look best if they do not stretch their neck at all!
Yes, you see a lot of Arabians in halter classes and photos in the Arab Magazines using their necks...but the ones doing it and winning are horses with exceptional, long, well shaped, hookey necks and with handlers who know how to show their horses in their BEST, most flattering positions which will allow their excellent conformation and good qualities to be seen by the Judge/s.
A well groomed, well presented Arabian who is attentive to it's handler, moves out at a trot on command and will put it ears up and "look" on cue can beat an Arabian whose handler get's their horse to stretch it's neck out with no idea as to how to do it correctly and in a way that will make their horse look it's best!
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03-12-2009, 01:17 PM
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