⤜ DCG Forum • Maintenance • DCG's Pack Account • Twitter ⤛

Del Cenere utilizes very specific standards when it comes to training all of their horses - regardless as to whether or not they are Polvo de Oro. Rather than train their animals via forcible methods, or negative association, Ashen handlers are expected to be exemplary with their patience when it comes to their approach with horses, deepen bonds through positive touch reinforcement communication, and enforce trust between horse and rider. As such, horse handlers undergo training much the same that the horses do, each learning method and tactic to which to best suit their equine companions and learn how to best understand the care to which these animals require.

Trainers and riders alike should be expected to understand how to read the nuance in equine body language - while low speech is something some Luperci may learn and utilize, learning to associate movements and actions tied to the wordless language horses speak is more immediately available. It should never be a handler's goal to subjugate the horse to their will, but rather to make a request, and have the horse heed it through repeated training and groundwork without the need for excessive force.

Handling happens young with the Polvo breed. While the first year is spent with the foal's mother, handlers are expected to give them each plenty of care to start the positive association with Luperci young - and the foal is only removed for short stints of time and given the beginning of halter training once weaned to help bolster the animal's confidence and independence. Trainers should be averse to utilizing treats when teaching the horses, especially when young, to avoid bribery for good behavior, and instead instill positive reinforcement through touch - such as giving scratches in 'hard to reach' areas on the horse's withers, hips or croup, or wherever else they may so favor.

With regular handling, horses are expected to participate in routine medical check up (ears, eyes, lips, teeth, hooves) without incident.

What is Liberty Training?

Once young horses are of the appropriate age and weight, at about generally a year old, they are brought into either the Arena or a pen for small socialization sessions alongside other horses of similar size, sex and age. This is the foundation for all of Del Cenere's trust building and horse work - After being turned loose and being allowed to settle in and communicate with one another, the handler then can engage in a liberty-training session. The goal of these sessions is simple - to reinforce the idea that the handler is a high-ranking herd member to the young horses, to assess the animals' well-being and cooperation, and to teach communication when making 'requests' on shared language.

While horses may not speak Luperci, Luperci may pick up on the quieter language of horses.

Handlers will engage the horses by seeking to 'drive' them - this is to say that they will make approaches and do what's called 'sending', where a raised hand, or shuffled feet, pass on the quiet request to move the horses from whatever area they occupy. Generally a handler will seek to move the group together as a 'herd', and will follow the horses in order to make the request clear. Similar to lunging, yet much more at-will, this low-pressure environment teaches rider and horse alike how to make, and anticipate, requests. Once properly driven with sending, the handler may choose to 'cut' pathways by intercepting the perceived trajectory of the horses on foot, or separate them by using presence, and send them elsewhere.

Handlers should always monitor the horses to ensure that they are 'checking in', to which the horse will pause in motion and regard the handler (Head turned towards them, ears alert and listening), and should always reward attentive behavior with touch to communicate.

While Liberty Training may start young, every horse should experience regular sessions in order to maintain the relationship.

In more extreme cases of unresponsive horses, or more commonly, in green or wild horses, gentling may be a required course of action in order to reprogram the animal's unwanted behaviors. Rather than 'breaking' the horse by throwing it into the deep end by chasing it down and tossing a saddle onto its back, experienced Caballistas will seclude the horse, bring it to a round pen, and work with it in sessions in methods similar to Liberty Training, yet much more intensive with its one-on-one nature.

Handlers will drive the horse continuously in these sessions, seeking to implement a persistent presence - while this causes the animal stress, it is only continued until the wild horse seeks to stop and 'check in' with the handler, to which the handler will reward the horse with a pause in movement, and space. Movements in these instances will be slow, and careful, but the moment the handler loses the horse's attention, the driving will resume, thus instilling and reinforcing that non-responsive behaviors results in stress.

While not preferable, some handlers may choose to wield flags (sticks with tassles, cloth, or leather attached to one end that makes ruffling or clapping sounds when moved) in order to aid in driving and to ensure that the horse does not counter and, in turn, rush them. These tools are frightening for the quick movement and noise - they are never utilized on the animal with touch, but are rather lifted and waved to induce discomfort or fear in order to command space and respect. This tool is used sparingly, and mostly only utilized in dire situations, of course - where the horse may have violent tendencies, or in persistent moments of non-responsiveness towards handling in order to draw the equine's attention.

Through repeated exposure, Caballistas are able to gradually build up a foundation of trust and eventually close the space between themselves and the horse, and begin associating positive reinforcement with touch. Once this point is achieved, gentling sessions may move into larger pens, or the Arena, and transition into the general Liberty Training sessions.

Horses can be fickle! Some horses may not be patient when it comes to removing halters, some may threaten or attempt to nip when getting cinched up in their saddles, some are reluctant to hand over their hooves for inspection and cleaning - and all of these are examples of poor behaviors which are certainly undesirable. Structure, schedule, and repetition tends to help in breaking bad habits, or stopping them from developing in the first place; and handlers are expected to catch these behaviors and correct them before they get to be problems.

Training sessions for desensitization and repetition tend to be done in one-on-one instances, and generally begin after groundwork has been laid with liberty training and a foundation of trust has been built with the horse. While on a lead, horses are brought outdoors into pens, or the arena, where they may be exposed to distractions, and they begin their work. Many poor behaviors regarding tack tend to stem from anxiety or excitement, and thus, re-association with items that may cause these stresses need to be reprogrammed into good stimuli. Each training session starts off with a de-stressing groom session, in which the horse is thoroughly brushed out and cared for. Not only does this help in the case of tacking up horses to keep from getting uncomfortable grit ground against their skin, but it strengthens bonds between rider and horse. In the case of saddling, which is a common trouble with young Polvos undergoing rider training, handlers will tailor a training session involving throwing the weight of the saddle over the horse's back, removing it, and repeating the motions until it no longer prompts the horse to move away, or turn, before moving onto actions like cinching the girth, where the process begins again. Once the saddle is in place, handlers will reward the horse with a good itch and scratch session around points where the saddle makes contact, thus relating the unfamiliar pressure and rather frightening object (saddle) with good stimuli. The goal is to exercise patience and calm - and in time, the horse will mirror that as well.

Repetitive exposure is not only useful in breaking habits, but is vital in instilling new ones, as well. Whether pull training, rider training, or preparing an equine for a job as a warhorse, handler teams are encouraged to find ways to slowly introduce these new behaviors into the horse's lives through small increments until the animal is used to whatever stimuli is being introduced. Horses working livestock may end up doing liberty training or otherwise having sessions alongside small hoofstock or cattle, a secondary handler might make noises outside of the arena or wave a weapon if the horse is being trained to handle the stressful environment of warfare, etc. - Handlers, however, must be mindful of the horse's limits, and take care not to push them too far too quickly.

Trail Saddle (General Use)

• Weight: 35 lbs (15.8 kg)

A western styled saddle of relatively light weight for its make - this saddle is generally favored in day-to-day use by most Del Cenerens thanks to it's utility. This trail saddle is sturdy and designed for prolonged use without compromising the comfort of rider or horse - with a moderately high profile and rounded, medium-length skirt to help in distributing weight most effectively. The horn has a somewhat high profile and is well suited for the prominent-withered build of the Polvo de Oro - and it's sturdy enough to fulfill it's use for tethering and roping, and the padded seat has an equal heighted back support to assist in keeping the rider seated and in place over the uneven terrain of Del Cenere.

The bulk of the saddle's weight comes from it's very sturdy saddle tree, made of wood, and then is followed secondary by the amount of leather and padding therein. Saddle padding is generally made of coarse-grade wool, valued for its inflexibility which makes it more liable to hold its shape and provide ample suport. The leather itself is generally sturdy pig skin or doe skin, and tends to be dyed per the rider's preference. Del Cenere does prefer that riders have tack that keeps to earthy tones - though will permit redder dyes as accents. The stirrup is wooden, wrapped in skin, and then further padded with wool wrappings. Generally this saddle only has the single girth strap for the horse's comfort - it has a broad, fine-quality woven wool band that will flex with the horse's body and provide lighter weight as well as amplifying comfort for the animal on its sensitive skin of the belly behind the elbow. If riders desire more stability with the saddle for certain work, they may add a secondary strap for the mid-barrel referred to as the Flank Cinch, behind the stirrup, and a breast strap at the front of the saddle. The flank cinch is generally used with roping work, or when strain is put onto the saddle horn. Generally, the saddle's trim is decoratively accented with braided leather cording.

The saddle also possesses three anchored tie-downs on either side of the saddle: In front of the saddle horn, beneath the seat, and at the rear of the saddle. These are used to attach small game, weaponry, or, in the case of the longest tethers at the rear of the saddle, to attach a bedroll to the back of the saddle in the case of longer trips.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nam lacinia sem ornare nisl malesuada commodo. Donec blandit metus congue nisl varius venenatis. Praesent pulvinar sagittis iaculis. Aenean quis tempor odio, ut tincidunt sapien. Donec sit amet rutrum sapien. Aliquam tincidunt porta feugiat. Praesent pellentesque ut mauris nec fringilla.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nam lacinia sem ornare nisl malesuada commodo. Donec blandit metus congue nisl varius venenatis. Praesent pulvinar sagittis iaculis. Aenean quis tempor odio, ut tincidunt sapien. Donec sit amet rutrum sapien. Aliquam tincidunt porta feugiat. Praesent pellentesque ut mauris nec fringilla.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nam lacinia sem ornare nisl malesuada commodo. Donec blandit metus congue nisl varius venenatis. Praesent pulvinar sagittis iaculis. Aenean quis tempor odio, ut tincidunt sapien. Donec sit amet rutrum sapien. Aliquam tincidunt porta feugiat. Praesent pellentesque ut mauris nec fringilla.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nam lacinia sem ornare nisl malesuada commodo. Donec blandit metus congue nisl varius venenatis. Praesent pulvinar sagittis iaculis. Aenean quis tempor odio, ut tincidunt sapien. Donec sit amet rutrum sapien. Aliquam tincidunt porta feugiat. Praesent pellentesque ut mauris nec fringilla.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nam lacinia sem ornare nisl malesuada commodo. Donec blandit metus congue nisl varius venenatis. Praesent pulvinar sagittis iaculis. Aenean quis tempor odio, ut tincidunt sapien. Donec sit amet rutrum sapien. Aliquam tincidunt porta feugiat. Praesent pellentesque ut mauris nec fringilla.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nam lacinia sem ornare nisl malesuada commodo. Donec blandit metus congue nisl varius venenatis. Praesent pulvinar sagittis iaculis. Aenean quis tempor odio, ut tincidunt sapien. Donec sit amet rutrum sapien. Aliquam tincidunt porta feugiat. Praesent pellentesque ut mauris nec fringilla.