The stop plays into most of the things we do in polo, and in training the young horse it is the prelude to roll backs. A good stop need not be a fight and when done well gives all confidence.
Category: "Horsemanship"
Schooling a Green Horse For Polo – Video 4
This is the fourth video in the Schooling a Green Horse for Polo series. Christian talks about talks about “playing” with problem areas to get the horse to more easily accept tack and commands, preparing the horse for the roll-back maneuver and continuing to practice halting.
Schooling a Green Horse for Polo – Video 3
Christian shows us how to prompt the horse to move forward with her rider and the proper reward for desirable behavior. He also shows us how only through proper repetition can we teach the horse to respond favorably to the mount and dismount
Schooling a Green Horse for Polo – Video 2
In this second video in the “Schooling a Green Horse for Polo” series, Christian introduces Hanalei to her first saddle and her first attempts at learning to steer.
Rein Action, Weight and Leg Action
Polo horsemanship: a discussion with Christian Moon about reining, weight distribution, and leg action.
Schooling a Green Horse for Polo – Video 1
Christian Moon has posted the first in a series of videos on schooling a green horse for polo. In this first video, Moon shows us how to acclimate the green horse to its first mallet and its first saddle. Moon talks about introducing the “whoa” command, keeping the intensity of the training session low to keep the horse relaxed, and punishment vs. positive reinforcement.
Riding off an opponent
When riding off, change your horse’s lead to the opposite one to the side your opponent is on. As you draw up alongside your opponent and when you are at the same speed and shoulder to shoulder give the aid to change leads to the side your opponent is on. The momentum of the horse changing from one diagonal to the other will usually win the ride off.