Threadle: You have taught your 180s and 270s perfectly and you get on a course and there it is...the dreaded threadle. Sending your dog over 1 you scream the dogs name whilst lifting your opposite hand in the air, stopping momentum and turning into your dog...then watch your dog ignore you and do a perfect 180 taking the backside of 2. The dog of course is having the time of his life. The correct handler position after this happens is to crumple to the ground and cry.
Right now I'm working on teaching Fin "the Fish" Whisner to threadle. Somehow I forgot about this most wonderful cue until Laura set up a small course and asked me to do it. "Ahhhh," I said, "I forgot about threadles but doesn't she do a nice 180!" Laura frowned of course and shook her head and said, "Since you never taught Tazz to threadle, I figured you'd forget with Fin." This is why we call her Laura "The Wise One" Pryse.
Actually it is fairly easy to teach. You just have to practice ALOT! I do ground work (either circle or straight), raise my opposite hand running backwards and feed. Fin got it right away. Then I did it on 180 jumps where first I did a bunch where she had to take both jumps of the 180 and then I called her through using my threadle arm. She is doing them like she was born to it. We'll see what happens when I put a few jumps together and she is speeding along :)
Next Murphy's law will be Serpentines! Why, when you use the same arm on a Serp it is totally different than a threadle...position woman! position! (aren't you excited for the next installment)
1 comment:
Wow! i think I understand. You know folks said understanding a dressage test was complicated.... What the heck we gots no Thredles in dressage!
Off to the Worlds we go!
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