MARK RASHID  Equitana

by Jennifer Rekers

I volunteered my three-year old colt, "Java" to be a demonstration horse for Mark Rashid at Equitana. Java has been at pasture for his entire life, and had one trailer ride other than this trip at age 4 months. Other than that, he'd been left to grow up on the farm in the company of his pasture pals. I had never met Mark Rashid, I had just read glowing reports of his methods on this list. Well, Mark turned out to be every bit as talented, perceptive and as basically kind as others have described him.

The Kentucky Exposition Center is a huge facility! There are just hundreds of stalls. We were lucky enough to be in a quiet far barn with lots of shade as it was vary hot most of the days. There's a brand new outdoor arena, many indoor areas that are used for demonstrations, talks, and clinics galore for all four days. The timing was precise and you had better leave when your time was up, because here comes another clinician. Noted Natural horse trainers John Lyons, Pat PareIii, Richard Shrake, Dave Seay, Chris Cox. Dan Sumeral and Curt Pate and more were all there.

But this article isn't about the other guys, it's about Mark Rashid, the trainer who introduced my little guy, Java, to the world of ropes and saddles and round pens in a vary gentle and kind way.

Our first demonstration ring was located in the west wing in a round pen set up inside in the corner. To even get to the building we had to walk behind the main buildings through a veritable smorgasbord of horsey-scaring things: flags, loud air conditioners, grills with smoke pouring off them, Icelandic ponies warming up by tolting by at full blast, golf carts running up behind him, tractors pulling long people movers, forklifts lifting and crashing down dumpstem etc. etc. plus the additional thrill of jet airplanes making their final approach directly overhead. Whew! When we got to the doorway where we were supposed to go in, ladies with walkie-talkies made us wait in a holding area on the side. This seemed OK, fairly roomy. Wendy, Java's buddy, stayed by his side and all was well for the moment. Then we got the cue to go, and suddenly we were routed up a narrow aisle with one person in front trying to get people out of the way. The people moved for an instant and then closed in around us. Java suddenly decided this definitely didn't look good and swung abruptly around to the left. Well, the area to the left also happened to be occupied by a hat display, so his head wound up under, over and surrounded by black western hats. I had a sudden vision of him going berserk and bodies and hats flying everywhere, but thanks be to God, he just stopped.

I managed to back him up a step and we sent Wendy on ahead. We made it to the round pen, I turned him loose and he decided it would probably be better to be somewhere else, but I got out of the pen and left him in Mark Rashid's able hands. Within a few moments, Mark had Java paying attention to him, and not worrying as much about all the activities going on around him. Whenever Java would turn his rear-end too close. Mark would flick him gently with the rope and move him off. He said the only two things he was asking of Java at that time were that he not turn his butt to him and to start paying attention to him. After getting Java to the point where he was consistently turning to Mark for "help" and getting a rub on the face for his efforts, Mark took a plain web halter and then started running the rope around Java's quarters on the opposite side and asking him to give to pressure and turn around. Then he introduced Java to a way of lunging at the end of a long cotton rope. Mark's lunging technique is a little different. He stays back by the hip and asks for motion forward by turning the horse's head away and flicking a rope on the hindquarters, then walks along beside just at the hip, not standing in the middle If he moves more forward toward the shoulder, the horse will stop. He says if the horse is moving and working, he wants to be fair, so he is working and walking too. This technique is really neat, the horse will read your speed and slow down or stop if you slow down or stop. Java was soon calmly lunging, and Mark brought me into the ring to learn this technique. Mark had me do every thing he did, at first following along directly behind him and then handing the lines over to me, We finished the first day on a good note, Java calm and relaxed. Going down the aisle out was much better, no hats this time! Java was really happy to see his stall buddy, Wendy, back at his quiet stall and got some hay, fresh water and down-time to ponder this experience.

Part 2

The next day the demonstration is in an easier-to-get-to ring, just down from the stabling. Once he's in the round pen, Java spends about 5 minutes trying to crash out of the round pen, testing all the panels. Mark Rashid again gets his attention, gets him to "settle himself down" and starts again with the lunging. Java begins to get more and more fussy with flies landing on his legs. He finally gets so bothered by them that Mark decides to end the session without the saddling that he planned to do. He felt that trying to get Java to stand still in spite of the flies was unfair to him and would just make saddling next to impossible. Even though he couldn't show the audience what he had planned, he put the horse's needs above the desires of those watching. Something we don't see very often, if ever, in the normal demonstrations of colt starting, especially in a big event like Equitana.

After the demos, sometime during the day Mark would give a lecture/question and answer session. I missed the first one, but made it in time for the session after this last demo. People were curious as to why Mark didn't saddle the colt and he explained Java's fly problem. I think many people appreciated his concern for the colt's mental well-being I know I did.

The next day I fly-sprayed him for 10 minutes before we went to the demo arena. He seemed pretty comfortable, so Mark had me lunge him and then ground drive him with long lines. Mark then had me run a lead rope over and around Java's girth area and tighten it slowly with reassurance in between. Took that off, then we introduced the saddle pad, letting him smell it and get a good look before rubbing it on him. Java was a little leery of it, but it was OK until he moved off and the pad fell. That alarmed him somewhat, so Mark helped him out by putting on a halter and lead and asking him to stand. The halter reassured him that he was doing the right thing and he relaxed and stood quietly for the pad and then the saddle. I rubbed both over his back and put them on and off from both sides several times. When I went to pick up the girth, the buckles clinked and Java's head came up, so Mark had me take off the saddle and pad and then show Java the girth and lay it on his back and jingle it all around him. Once he stopped reacting to that, we saddled him again and added the girth, loose at first and then tighter, walking him around between one notch at a time tightening. He accepted it well and calmly, and I even lunged him a bit with the saddle. We ended there and I walked him back to the stall wearing the saddle. He got a little startled when I took it off, I think he'd forgotten it was up there!

The final day we were back in the scary arena inside West Wing. This time there were barrel racers careening up and down the walkway. They called for reinforcements in the building and 4 escorts walked us up the aisle. It was all very well and good, but when we got to the arena, the young lady in front said "do you want to go in the pen?" and I said "Of course I want to go in the pen!" so she opened the gate. I walked in and Iow and behold there was another horse and Curt Pate giving a demo! Yikes! The other horse took an instant dislike to Java and charged as I was making a fast retreat. Java was kicking and the other horse biting him on his butt as I dragged him out to safety. I think Java thinks I saved his life! We stood in the aisle, pretty shaken so they asked us to move into an open area to the back. That was fine except people there were practicing roping cow heads on straw bales, so now he had ropes snapping around his feet. He tolerated that really well! I had to settle myself down, and get my breathing back to normal so he wouldn't know how scared I was too.

We finally got in the round pen, minus any other homes and Mark introduced Java and began to move him around by body language. Java settled quickly so Mark had me come in and do the lunging, ground driving and then saddle Java up. Everything went smoothly, Java even relaxing to the point where he was chewing on the lead and at one point, yawning and closing his eyes. Although we didn't actually get on, we did lunge Java with the stirrups banging on his sides with no reaction. Mark taught him to resist the sideways pressure of someone stepping into the saddle by pulling on a stirrup until he shifted his weight and braced against the pull. Mark said that's the only time you want them to not yield to pressure. Mark stepped into the stirrup and showed how he would increase the weight there and also get the horse used to the sight of his knee coming up off the ground. Mark had one horse who freaked every time he lifted his knee and it took him a while to figure out what was bothering the horse. He would then step up into the stirrup and get the horse accustomed to someone higher than his head. He also mentioned how one horse he had started to ride had lost it when he touched the horses croup with his leg when swinging it over the horse's rump to get on. He now makes sure the horse gets touched there prior to mounting and gets used to the feeling of something touching his croup.

We left the arena, walked ninety miles an hour neighing for Wendy back to the barn and called the whole event a totally awesome horse scaring experience that we had survived. Java walked right into the trailer with no problem and we headed for home. SO ...I heartily recommend Mark Rashid as a trainer and horse expert. If you get a chance to audit or ride in one of his clinics, GO, you will not regret it, and this is from someone who has seen many, many clinicians or trainers either in clinic or demos.