Your new youngster is going well. It has learned to trust you on the ground and allows you to swing the mallet, but you have not added in the ball yet. Maybe you made a mistake and figured that the horse would allow you to stick and ball since it allows you to ride, or perhaps you got a roping horse and figured it might be fine to stick and ball it! Whatever the case the horse has begun to shy from the ball and it might just be that you’re introduction to the ball was a bad one.

In the horse’s mind you are a no longer an adversary. It is plain that despite your eyes being on the front of you’re head, you don’t eat horses but instead you feed  horses, care for and in general love horses. You have become the head of the heard of two and as such should there be any trouble your horse will make sure you are the first to know. If the wind blows a bag through his pen as you walk by he will run to you to “tell” you there is a threat in the form of a bag. He might even bang into you if you are that close and then turn and look, ears pricked, in the direction of this threat, as if to say “if you don’t do something about that then I will.” 

The same can happen when you are on board. The bag, one of those brown bags that covers the dates in Indio, blows across  the field as you are stick and balling. You’re horse immediately gets tense and then turns and bolts. You feel like you have no control as you’re horse takes the bridle and splits. Well the truth is you should have taken note of his warning as soon as it was given. He warned you by becoming tense and getting ready for action. It’s what you do next that counts and could dispel his fear and since you did nothing he took it upon himself to leave the scene.

Introducing the ball to your horse is very important. At the stage that this becomes a factor your horse is forming a bond with you and as such it may well be looking for a chance to please you. Problem is he might take this chance when you go to hit the ball for the first time. After all it is something new in his world and it crops up suddenly in the form of a pop and scurry that was not in the swing you have been getting him used to. So when he shys from this new threat he’s just trying to be a good partner and tell you there’s a problem, not put you on the ground.

The first thing I do when going to stick and ball for the first time is show the ball to the horse. I use a partially deflated soccer ball. I want some air in it because it has to have some bounce for what I am going to do.

As with almost everything in the early days you can’t just expect. So for example you wouldn’t just throw a balnket on your freshly broke mustang expecting him to understand it keeps him warm at night. You can’t just add in the ball because it is part of polo either. So you have to walk up with the ball in plain view and allow the horse to sniff it. I rub some horse poo on it to make it more acceptable. Gueldings and Stallions are supposed to have a very good sense of smell and I have found this to work well when breaking to the mallet too.

Once the horse seems to have little interest in the ball and is no longer sniffing it I move it to his neck and just stroke him with it all over. I have never had a problem with this as he just thinks it is a brush of some kind and will accept the stroking. I then start to tap the horse with the ball. If he moves, I move him with some intensity and then stand him still again. Do not use the ball to increase the intensity if he moves. Instead use your body language. Move the back feet around the front feet or vice versa.

Once things are qiet again you can start rubbing with the ball and then go to tapping again. Be sure to go all around his head and ears as well as the rest of the body. You’ve seen the ball hit in the air and I know more people could do it if it weren’t for the horse shying as the ball comes past the eye.

Once he quiets and shows no resistance, stand a little way off and bounce the ball on your fist or hand. Just do 2 or 3 taps into the air then hold the ball. One you can bounce the ball all around the horse you can bounce it on the ground basket ball style, and then start bouncing it off the legs and so on. The horse should stand compltely still as you do this knowing and trusting that as usual there will be no pain and no one is going to eat him, least of all the ball.

If you have great ball handling skills you can get a mallet or foot mallet and hit the ball up in the air and around the horse. I have made too many mistakes doing it this way so I just use my hand. Yesterday my wife and I kicked the ball from person to person under her jumper who would not allow her to stick and ball it. Now it does.

You will know if the horse is broke to the ball for sure once you get on and try to push the ball around from the saddle. NB I say “push” not hit. If your horse is trying to tell you it is still unsure of the ball it will “keep it’s eye on” the ball. In doing so you will notice the horse bow out away from the ball as you ride up and it passes under your stirrup. If he does this then just ride by without touching the ball, get off and start again. 

One of the problems I frequently see is that the horse is too aware of the ball. Usualy this is because the first shot it ever experienced was a forward shot. The ball which he had not realy noticed as he passed it on his right, suddenly rocketed into his line of sight with a loud pop preceding it. Needless to say the horse will not be too keen to go to the ball now and will be a good partner and “warn” the rider that the ball is coming up by bowing. In the young horse who is well ridden this will eventually cease as he becomes used to it, but I find it easier to  make my first hits back shots away from the horse at a walk. That way you get the swish and pop of the swing and hit and then the noise of the ball rolling, but it is not rolling into the horses eyesight untill it is away behind him and not a threat. Also you can do this on a right handed circle. If you hit open away and back then the ball is always in your circle and less of a surprise. 

I aim to put this on video so keep your eyes on this space!