Category Archives: SW News

SW Update – Lynn’s Corner, Drill Team Patterns

Good friends trying some drill basics at Summerwind.

A group of us have talked about forming an all-Marchador drill team.  We’ve had fun while we are together.  BUT, as you know, not many of us are in the same location which makes our “team” much more difficult.  So, the idea is to start practicing as individuals or however many Marchadors we can assemble.  If we can learn the manuevers, we can look for venues to get together.

Here is an article and some pdf files that show the components of a drilll.  Practice with any of your riding partners so you and your Marchador get to know them and we will work on putting together a routine!   Look for venues and to connect with other Marchador owners in your area!

Excerpt from the horsechannel.com  Illustrations by Tom Kimball

Joining a drill team for competition or pleasure can add a new dimension to your riding. All you need to get started is a dedicated group of riders with willing horses and somewhere to practice.  Print out these drill formations for your team to try out. Good luck!

THE BASICS  http://www.horsechannel.com/images/horse-exclusives/basic-drills.pdf

  • Straight Line Abreast  This is one of the most basic drill maneuvers. Riders line their horses up side-by-side with saddle horns in a row. The exercise starts at a walk with a lot of space in between horses. As horses and riders become more comfortable, the space between them can be decreased and the speed increased.  If this is too overwhelming at first, the exercise can be completed with two riders and horses in the formation, then eventually four, et cetera.
  • Nose to Tail  While the straight line abreast maneuver accustoms horses and riders to riding side-by-side, the nose-to-tail exercise lines the team up front to back. This can be done along the rail or in a serpentine around the arena.
  • Pairing Up  Everyone rides single-file down the centerline, and as they reach the end of the arena, the first rider and horse turn left. The second rider and horse turn right, and so on. When these two lines meet at the centerline again, riders and their horses pair up and continue riding.
  • 90-Degree Turn or Flank Turn  Riding single-file along the rail, riders turn their horses to the center of the arena at the same time, transitioning from riding nose-to-tail to riding abreast. When they reach the other side of the arena, they turn in the opposite direction so they are riding nose-to-tail again.

ADVANCED MANEUVERS http://www.horsechannel.com/images/horse-exclusives/advanced-drills.pdf

  • Mini Sweep  Everyone rides along the rail of the arena in an oblique pattern: Looking at it from the side, each horse’s nose should be in line with the knee of the rider in front of it.
  • Pinwheel  Two riders stand their horses side-by-side in the center of the arena, facing opposite directions. The others line up alongside, facing the same direction as their center, or pivot, rider. Then the whole formation rotates around the two pivot riders, who circle their horses in place. Everyone must ride a little faster than the rider to his or her inside to keep the line straight.
  • Full Team Crack  Riders and horses line up in the oblique pattern, and everyone moves around one pivot rider and horse in the center of the arena. Again, everyone placed outside of center rides a little faster to keep the line moving straight.

CROSSING PATHS  http://www.horsechannel.com/images/horse-exclusives/crossing-paths-drills.pdf

  • Single File Cross  Half of the team rides single-file down the centerline of the arena while the second half rides across the arena, perpendicular to the other line. The lines alternate crossing the center and make a cross pattern.  The more advanced version of this is to ride a cross in pairs, so each rider and horse crosses two lines of traffic while passing through the center.
  • Figure Eight  The team rides a continuous figure-eight, and horses and riders cross paths in the middle. The challenge here is to maintain equally sized circles on both sides of the figure.
  • Interlocking Circles  Instead of riding in a figure-eight, there are two separate circles that intertwine at the center.

SW Update – Lynn’s Corner, Crossties

Here at SW Future Foal, we don’t use cross-ties.   We use the Aussie tie rings from Clinton Anderson because we like the horse to be able to pull back if they feel they need to.   However, we know many barns have cross-ties, in the wash rack, for the farrier etc.

So, here is a training tip from Lynn Boone, NC:

This is how we train our horses to the cross ties.

  1. They have a “breakaway” halter.
  2.  For the first few times we have someone at their head with a regular leadrope.  That person will drop the lead rope, walk away with a “whoa” command. Then after a few seconds, return and reward the horse for standing still. After a few times and when the horse is calm, the person grooming will put the horse in cross ties, lead rope hanging down, give the whoa command, walk around the horse (not necessarily behind, depending on how calm they are) and return and reward.  The time in cross ties during the first few sessions is very short at first with lots of positive reinforcement.
  3. Repeat as often as needed until the horse is calm and stands still.
Photo of twine in between the clips on cross ties.

Perhaps this should be number one! The cross ties are attached to a small piece of breakable twine and a double end clip. I use that at the halter instead of quick release clips, because lets face it, if a horse is having a meltdown, you sometimes can’t get close enough to release it.  The twine will break easily and there will only be a double end clip hanging from the halter.

As another safety note, do not leave your horse unattended for long periods of time.

It is a rather long training process but  I have never had a bad result.

SW Update – 2012/2013 SW Future Foals Expected!

SW Future Foal rarely breeds without a person requesting a foal.  However, in 2012, we received frozen Marchador semen from superior stallions from Agro Maripa, Brasil.   This was the first importation of Marchador frozen semen – a project we had worked on for many years.   Agro Maripa has bred Marchador horses for over 30 years and they focus on producing sport horses of excellent quality, beauty, comfort and intelligence.  They have a great formula!  Mr. Marcelo Baptista is student of genetics and puts this passion into practice also in cattle and goats as well as his prized and much loved Mangalarga Marchadors.

Oma de Maripa, a proven producer in Brasil!

So, this year,  we needed to prove the semen from Brasil and so we bred our mares using Maripa frozen semen even though we had no reservation.   We were thinking to keep these historic, unique and fabulous foals to be born for ourselves, but in the end, decided to offer them also as SW Future Foals!  Please contact us as soon as possible if you are interested in one of the SW Future Foals.

Brasilia do Summerwind, a perfect partner for Oma.

To be born November, 2012    Genghis-Khan do Summerind  (code name, you would get to name the foal if you decide to reserve it).   The product of Brasilia do Summerwind, imported in-utero and Oma de Maripa, still in Brasil.  This is our diamond foal: strong, brilliant and clearly a Mangalarga Marchador!   Power!    Smooth and cadenced marcha batida gait, a horse that can perform well at any discipline.

Reserve Genghis for $15,000 or reserve the foal in condominium with SW Future Foal for $10,000.  We are interested in future foals or breeding rights in exchange for the reduction in price.

 

Ximoio de Maripa, pure Abaiba bloodlines

To be born 2/2013 in AZ:  Hermes do Summerwind (code name, you would get to name the foal if you decide to reserve it.)   The product of Azenha de Maripa, imported MM mare and Ximoio de Maripa, still in Brasil.  This will be our sport horse foal in the true tradition of Agro Maripa!  Ground covering marcha batida!  Add the bonus of the most beautiful features in the head and neck.  Almost pure Abaiba bloodlines, this foal will be the one that people will stop to watch.  Before it is born, I am predicting it may be the most beautiful Marchador in America.

Reserve Hermes for  $15,000 or reserve the foal in condominium with SW Future Foal for $10,000.  We are interested in future foals or breeding rights in exchange for the reduction in price.

 

SW imported Marchador stallion (frozen semen only) La Paz Jivago. He represents Favacho and Tabatinga foundation bloodlines.
Bella with 2011 Jivago foal Tigre do Summerwind

To be born 3/2013 in NC:  Hallelujah do Summerwind (code name, you would get to name the foal if you decide to reserve it.)  The product of Elba Cruzalta (Bella), imported MM mare and La Paz Jivago, imported MM stallion.  This foal will be a full brother to Tigre do Summerwind, a striped dun, who is still everyone’s sweetheart.   This foal will be pure pleasure, laid back, so smooth, but still athletic, a marcha picada or marcha de centro gait.

Reserve Hallelujah and sing Hallelujah for only $6,500.

Perhaps a fourth as Bacara do Summerwind will be bred this June.  Pricing dependent on stallion used.  We’ll let you know shortly!

Please visit the mare and stallion pages for more information about the parents and for more photos and videos..  We would be delighted to talk to you in depth about the Future Foal program, what we offer and if this approach would be right for you!

SW Future Foal offers a 10% appreciation discount on any product to our current SW Future Foal customers and to any Marchador breeder.

 

 

SW Update – SW Wins and Clinic Results!

While the main reason for holding the clinic was our education, the format was fun and exciting.   Evaluations by the judges was very informative and helpful.   We did learn a LOT!  Thank you Kate and Tiago!

A blue ribbon for Connie and Leo!

The Trail Ride – 1st place went to Aline Greene of Saint Horse Marchadors, SC on Erva-Doce de Tesouro.

Conformation and Marcha – 1st place stallion to Bill and Sandy Kambic of Haras Lucero, TN with Ritmo A.J.

1st place mare to Bill and Sandy Kambic of Haras Lucero, TN with Aliane Fazenda Zouga.  Aliane was bred in Brazil by Rick Schatz, then Fazenda Zouga, now in the U.S. breeding as Flying Oaks Ranch, OK who also was at the clinic.

1st place gelding to Connie Claire, our clinic organizer, of Ocala, FL with Leo, aka DaVinci do Summerwind, bred by us.

Jeff showing his winning form on Bacara! Whew - it was close!

Functional Test – 1st place won by Jeff Bosley of SW Future Foal @ Lumber Bridge on his mare, Bacara do Summerwind, bred by us.

For many participants, this was the first time they had ever done this!  The riders and horses were learning fast, but there was only time for one run.

Grand Champion – Combining all of the scores over all three days, this was awarded to Jeff Bosley of SW Future Foal @ Lumber Bridge with Bacara do Summerwind.

Almost every person and horse earned a ribbon!  There were quite a few Marchadors just started under saddle so we were all impressed by how well they behaved.   As Tiago would say “You can see, this is a real Mangalarga Marchador!”

Congratulations to everyone!  It was a great accomplishment!

The awards ceremonies were on Sunday, a great finale!

 

 

 

 

 

 

SW Update — Clinic, Marcha Gaits 2!

Kate riding Cheveyo do MManor, owned by Brooke Little, Marchadors InMotion

We all had a taste of riding and training under Kate’s expert guidance.   Kate was able to ride each of the Marchadors herself to understand the movement and what it might need.   She brought with her a toolkit and recommended different things with each horse, sometimes changing to a milder bit.   Because she only had a short time with each horse and rider, she worked on getting the rider to feel the marcha when it was correct.  Then they could recreate it when they got home.

The quality of the marcha is based on many components, not just smoothness.   So, there was some range in the smoothness of the gait, the extension, the lift of the front legs and the expression of the movement (as compared to the “diagram” that should be in your head at all times.)  Part of the answer in the difference was in conformation, which Tiago evaluated on every horse at the clinic with the owner and sometimes the breeder paying close attention!

Conformation check for Leo (DaVinci do Summerwind) by Tiago with owner Connie Claire looking on.

The Brasilians have a complicated and precise expectation about each body part, the angles, the length and the proportion to one another.   Both the conformation and the marcha are evaluated and tested on all Marchadors being registered in Brasil by the ABCCMM.  Some breeders in the U.S. like us, also follow that tradition.  SW Future Foal is an  ABCCMM breeder.

These measurements and evaluation relate to the horse being able to move and flex the front legs and the back legs in a similar fashion.   In the marcha, the front leg hits before the opposite hind leg – this is called dis-association and it’s why it is a marcha and not a trot.  There is often over reach where the hind legs hit in front of where the front legs landed.

Surprisingly, all but one of the Marchadors in the clinic were marcha batida horses, even though some owners had believed perhaps that they were marcha picada because they were so smooth.

Kate in teaching mode. Bill Kambic, owner and rider on his stallion Ritmo A.J., Haras Lucero

So much valuable information given to each rider and owner!  Much of it was videotaped and I will be producing videos all summer so that we don’t forget!

From this year’s clinic, here are the learnings that are ringing in my ears from Tiago and Kate.

“There are 5 senses to help you feel that the marcha is correct.  Two eyes (if you are watching).  Two ears (close your eyes and listen).   One seat.  (you can feel it).”

“Relax your horse – the neck must be flexible and supple.”  

“Don’t bounce or post! Relax your hips and move with the horse.”  If you move up and down the horse will follow you and not stay smooth.

“Keep your hands steady with his mouth, but relax your arms and shoulders.”  I found this instruction fascinating. How can I keep my hands set but keep my shoulders relaxed?  But yes, you can do it.   If your shoulders are not relaxed, your hands will not be quiet.

“More speed!  More leg!” Most of us here in the U.S. seem to be riding our Marchadors way too slow for them to find their way.   The marcha has speeds and often the horses smooth out at higher speed, almost at a canter.

“Disassociation”  The rider should be able to feel AND hear that the hind feet are not hitting the ground at the same moment as the front feet.  The shoulders and hips of the horse should be swinging free and easy.  That’s why it’s so important that the horse stay relaxed.   And it’s also why some horses get smoother after they warm up.

“Inside rein.  Move your fingers!” To keep the head flexed and neck bent and soft.

“Breathe!”  To keep you soft.

Rebecca Boone on Aviadora do Campo Real, waiting her turn. Aviadora was the most improved marcha at the clinic. For her it was all about releasing tension.

Here’s what I wrote up after the 2011 Clinic and it is remains the same too.

  • Perfect the 4 beat extended walk.  (How many times are we told to practice a good walk in other disciplines?)  It is ESSENTIAL for a good marcha as it is the take-off point and retreat point always.
  • Practice in straight lines before teaching in circles, lateral work or ANY other discipline.  Teach the horse to elongate his back, his stride, relax and stretch without speeding up.
  • Always start on the good side for the stretches, but do both sides.  Stretching from the good side will help the bad side to stretch easier.
  • To move into gait:  From the walk, apply more leg pressure and ask the horse to speed up without losing the smooth rhythm that was there in his walk.  Collect the reins (have contact) with the horse’s mouth to ask him to collect his body in a good frame.
  • Do NOT let your horse continue to gait if it is gaiting badly.  Go back to the walk and start again.
  • On the other hand, keep the marcha going for long and longer periods of time.  Don’t stop! Ask for MORE SPEED from his legs while maintaining the collection.   You are trying to build MUSCLE MEMORY.  (This works really well!  I tried it on my horses after the clinic)
  • A marcha picada horse that paces is often still very smooth (I was surprised by this).  You can tell because your hips will go side to side instead of forward and back.  Try to put your leg on for more leg speed, but if that doesn’t work, return to the walk and start over.
  • Place your horse on the marcha gait line L4-D4.   Some horses will need training help because of poorer conformation or genetics, but some horses might need help because someone interfered with their natural gait during training.  The Marchador is a willing partner.  If you ask it to change its natural footfall, it will learn to do what you want.
  • You can use dressage to supple the horse and build muscle, but not too soon (remember straight lines).  Once you can do the circles, you can move to a higher-level figure.  The Marchador can do lateral work and the higher moves IN GAIT!  (Another surprise for me!)

Click here if you want to read the whole SW News article:   SW News411

Also, for Kate’s slides from the 2011 Clinic, follow this link:   https://www.namarchador.org/2012/04/mm-clinic-slides-2011/