This endotapping method was "invented" by JP
Giacomini.
Baroque Farm USA
Here are some of the training situations and
behavior problems I have overcome using the
Endo-sticks as a primary tool for initial
training, then I follow up with the use of
Endo-whips which are longer, lighter
versions of the same tool.
Some of the following commentary was posted
on the internet with the trick horse
discussion group. I cannot, in a few words,
tell you how much positive effect JP’s
method has. It has worked with every !!!
horse that I have used it on.
The 3R’s Method
At the root of JP’s Essential Horsemanship
system of training is the
“Relaxation-Reflex-Reward” method of
conditioning a horse to stretch his neck and
lift his back at will by the application of
any ‘aid’ applied to any place on their
body. This is an educated response that is
first taught to a horse of any age by the
use of an ‘Endo-Stick’. To teach this
essential learning step one needs to
understand the following: Any shock applied
to a horse’s body, such as the tap of the
hand or whip sends a vibration through the
horse . If the horse is contracted he may
contract more at first, against the
vibration (this is how most horses react at
first to the contact of the legs, seat or
whip) In order to change this initial
reaction one must repeat, again and again,
the same vibration at the same place with
the same intensity. The reason why some
horses never get used to the aids is that
without this systematic repetitive
preparation, relaxation is never obtained.
Most horses end up spending their ridden
lives annoyed with the aids, especially when
they have a ‘high muscular twitch’ like
Arabians and Thoroughbreds.
As example of how to achieve the
Relaxation-Reflex Response, start with the
left flank of a horse and ‘pat’ or gently
strike it repeatedly with the flat of the
hand ( or better yet an Endo-Stick) until
the horse drops his head. As soon as he
drops it even an inch, stop and praise him.
Eventually he will stretch his neck
completely. The first success (depending on
the horse) may take from 2 to 20 minutes or
more. The second time, the whole process
will probably take only
half or one-third the time it took for the
first attempt. Eventually the horse will
lower his head with only one, or a very few
taps, or even the movement of the tap
without contact. (in my barn I am getting
the response by other horses in the
proximity of the horse I am working on...
AP). This teaching of the relaxation-reflex-
reward is just the first step. Now you have
a tool and a method of relaxing your horse
at a touch. When you want your horse to
perform a ‘trick’ such as a bow or a kneel,
to relax the gaskin to continue the movement
into a lie down, perhaps a ‘jambette’ (a leg
extension) or stepping up onto a pedestal,
the Spanish walk, a piaffe, etc. you use an
‘Endo-Whip’ä instead of a regular whip to
cue your horse. The horse will move in a
state of relaxation, instead of tension,
which is provoked by the snap (sting,
annoyance or fear) of a regular whip. This
tool, the ‘Endo-Whip’ may be used while
schooling in-hand up close with short
three-foot ones or on the long lines or at
Liberty with five to six footers. At Liberty
the high visibility and calming effect of
the horse’s awareness of two whips (one in
each hand) causes a horse to use both eyes
when observing the trainer and thusly you
have (as nearly possible) their complete
attention. Because horses do not fear or
misunderstand the presence of the
‘Endo-Whips’ they will perform more
willingly and with an exuberance and
reliability that must be experienced to be
appreciated. The same understanding is
tantamount during the initial months of
schooling a young, very young, horse. The
last thing you want is for the ‘fear&flight’
instinct/reaction to kick in while you are
trying to establish a pattern of quiet
compliance with
a foal in training. My three month old foal
Hasana is so well balanced mentally that I
can approach her in any situation with the
Endo-whips (or sticks) in hand and she not
only welcomes my close proximity but reacts
by initiating the relaxation-reflex-reward
even before I begin to tap or touch her to
give her a cue In my barn, more often than
not, other horses react to the
sight and sound of the endo-stick treatment
on their stablemates by making outward signs
of the relaxation-reflex response at a
distance as I am schooling another horse.
I have attended JP’s clinics and visited
with him at the Andalusian Nationals held in
Fort Worth last October. I contacted him
again recently about the possibility of
using one of his
stallions for my Russian Arabian mare. Our
discussions have ranged far and wide but the
focus has been of course our mutual love of
the art of training. He appears to recognize
that there was more to me than just a guy
with a cool horse that could do some tricks.
JP’s first love is education as well as
performance. My interests and passions are
no less ardent. He has a fleet of well
trained stallions (representing all stages
of his method from colt starting to Grand
Prix dressage) to back up his lectures on
“Essential Horsemanship”. He has perfected a
method that
causes a horse to relax and thus become able
to face any situation with a more positive
emotional state.
The immediate effects are quite dramatic.
Apparently they are cumulative (easier every
time) and completely fail-safe, even for an
amateur. I have noticed before that one
could get
through to a horse and help him relax if you
tapped lightly on a tense spot. I had never
tried to really tap a lot, I just knew
intuitively that tapping with the metal ball
on the handle of my dressage whip was
useful, I was getting results, so I quit
there. For years now, I have been having a
39” schooling whips made with a chrome
plated metal ball as the knob on the
end of the handle. The ball is the size of a
ping pong ball and being metal is a little
heavy. It does however make the balance of
the whip perfect. When I hold the whip
backwards I can use the
smooth ball to caress when a horse is
relaxed or to tap on a tight muscle to get
them to relax. It also makes a very safe and
sane tool for maintaining a safety zone, if
need be, when handling
rowdy youngsters or disrespectful adult
horses.
What JP has figured out is, that a larger,
softer ball, when attached to a flexible
shaft is a better tool for the job and that
there is a predictable succession of
reflexive, relaxing
reactions from the horse that can be
observed and then utilized for enhancement
of any type of training (at liberty, in hand
or under saddle).
I have incorporated his method within the
structure of my daily stable rituals and
schooling and it meshes seamlessly.
Actually, it has improved the results and
has helped significantly during the
difficult introductory stages of a new trick
or movement. When his ‘Endo-stick’ (an 18”
‘bouncy’ whip with a soft rubber ball at the
end) is used first to relax and then an
“Endo-whip” (39” up to 72”) is used to cue
the horse instead of a regular whip, the new
movement is obtained quicker or is modified
easier. The same is probably just as true
for any other discipline
such as ‘Western riding’ or jumping.
I see this having an amazing potential as a
part of any horse’s education program
because of it’s simplicity and universal
application. Actually what we are talking
about here is a totally
unique method that incorporates a new tool,
a ‘kinder, gentler’ 21st century whip and a
method of schooling that does not rely in
any way on pain or the avoidance thereof by
the horse.
Let me give you several recent cases I have
in point:
Case One: Overly protective/dangerous
mare
My Russian bred Arabian mare is ‘cranky’ (to
say the least), when she had her foal last
year she was so over protective that she had
me buffaloed and I stayed well in the
background for months. This year I know her
better and was determined that she was not
going to set back the schooling of this
year’s foal. So every day I have been
leading her and the foal out of their stall
in the morning and then lead her back into
the stall and then work with the baby near
by. For the first three weeks while I had
been working with the foal she has been
making the most terrible faces at me, pacing
the stall and wringing her neck, even
gnashing her teeth in the most horrible
fashion. The first day I went into the stall
with the Endo-sticks and began to give her a
session I could see a very dramatic change
take over.
I began by lightly tapping anywhere I could
see a tense muscle/group and followed it up
on her entire body. Within a few minutes she
began to lower her head and give the
licking/chewing
relaxation-reflex-response. I kept up the
session for a good fifteen minutes, changing
over occasionally to tapping on the foal
standing at our side. The foal loves it and
I could tell by the way she wags her tail
and looks curiously at me and the sticks. I
then led the foal out to an adjacent stall
and began to school her. I looked back at
the mother and she was yawning, repeatedly,
not five, not ten, not twenty times, but
continuously for about seven minutes. I
tried not to look directly at her (which
might break the ‘spell’), but just observe
unobtrusively, she then walked over to the
stall door and rested her lowered head /chin
on the top of the gate and just stood there
for about three minutes. I have never seen a
horse do this! She then went to the feed bin
and ate contentedly not giving me the
slightest notice. This was a total and
radical change from what I had been seeing
the previous weeks.
Case Two: Young filly with ‘horse show
jitters’
I spent a stormy night in San Antonio at the
Rose Palace with my horses last Friday. When
I got up and checked on them at about five
am. my two year old filly was anxiously
staring out of her stall across the darkened
arena at a brightly lit up Coke machine 250
feet in the distance. She would inhale
deeply and then exhale in a loud ‘blow’
through her nose. I have never seen her do
this before, however her cranky mother does
it often when another horse approaches her
stall when she is eating. It is, I believe,
some sort of territorial display. I went
into the stall and the filly would hardly
pay any attention to me. I tried to brush
her but she was fixated of the bright red
and white light in the distance. No telling
how long through the night she had been
worrying about the ‘spook’. I went to the
trailer and returned with two Endo-sticks
and a boombox. I played a familiar piece I
use every morning as I do my chores and gave
her a ten minute tapping/massage treatment.
When I finished she was no longer interested
in the coke machine and began to munch hay
in the opposite corner. She was back to her
normal, relaxed, self-confident personality.
Case three: Sympathetic reaction between
horses
Now this is perhaps one of the most
remarkable scenes I have ever observed when
handling horses.. My high-strung Russian
Arab mare is quite protective of her foal..
but at five weeks of age it was time to
begin the separation process that some day
will be complete at weaning time.
To that end I placed the mare inside a
temporary schooling ring made of a ribbon of
plastic pennants and began to ask the mare
to calmly circle.. at first the foal kept
pace on the outside of the ring strutting
that high step that all Arab foals exhibit
when in high spirits, a beautiful sight.
But the overly nervous mother began to
misbehave and cut back across the ring
calling loudly to the foal who then
responded by frantically running in aimless
circles. All semblance of control had broken
down .. so I retrieved an endo-stick and
began tapping to mare to calm her down ..
instantly , and I mean INSTANTLY!! with the
first tap the foal stopped in her tracks
about 50 feet away and froze. As I tapped
for the first few seconds the foal began to
lower her head just as the mare was doing ..
the longer I tapped the lower the foal’s
head went. I looked at a friend standing
outside the ring as if to say, “Do you
believe what we are seeing?” he nodded in
agreement and said, “Don’t stop.” I
continued long past what was necessary to
relax the mare.
The foal never moved a single hoof, not even
one inch.. but the head kept going lower and
lower, not trying to graze mind you, just
apparently relaxing more and more.. after 15
minutes I had seen enough. The foal was
standing quietly with her neck line about
30degrees lower than horizontal.. The mare
was totally at ease. I asked her to again
begin circling which she did and the foal
began to graze and nibble tall grass as if
nothing had happened..
Now I have seen similar reactions in my
barn, quite often horses in adjacent stalls
will exhibit all the outward signs of
relaxation when tapping another horse ..
They lick and chew, sometimes yawn, and pass
gas etc.. I have never witnessed any method
of relaxation that seems to invisibly pass
from horse to horse.
I have experimented with this quite a lot,
and have often lined all three of my adult
horses on pedestals and tap them from behind
seeing if I can induce one or the other to
relax while giving the actual concussive
massage to a different horse.. and this does
happen..
Fourth Case: A mare reluctant to breed
I have been standing my Arabian stud horse
for over ten years and have helped at other
barns in the management of their breeding
stallions for the same length of time. I am
a very careful handler and look out for the
safety of my stud as his real career is in
performance so his continued well being is
of the utmost importance.
Hasan is a very obedient and careful
breeding stallion. I can control him with
voice commands during the actual breeding,
something that has amazed experienced
Arabian breeders who are more used to seeing
out of control (or nearly so) stallions that
mount and breed with little regard for their
own safety. Hasan is quite gentle and knows
how to ‘make up’ with a mare to keep the
situation less dangerous for himself.
That being said, I would like to recount a
recent experience with a 16 year old Arabian
brood mare. The mare was brought to me the
first of June with a foal at her side. The
foal needed to be weaned which began the
first day of arrival at my barn. I allowed
two weeks to go by before I placed Hasan and
the mare in adjacent paddocks so that they
could talk over a fence and get to know each
other. This was an experienced mare who had
no previous history of difficulty. I watched
carefully for six weeks for outward signs of
estrous. By the end of the first month I
began to tease the mare in earnest. Every
three days I would take Hasan in hand and
allow him
nuzzle and otherwise talk to the mare who
was kept tied to a breeding stanchion. The
only thing this mare would do was to
‘squall’ belligerently, strike out and kick
repeatedly every time he would come close.
After two weeks of this behavior I had the
mare ultrasounded and found that she was
building a 31mm. follicle. Three days later
the follicle had grown to 44mm. A Lutalyze
injection was given that afternoon and by
late evening I began to tease the mare in
earnest. She would have nothing to do with
the stallion and continued her aggressive
behavior.
So, I returned the stallion to a nearby
paddock with a fence just four feet from the
mare and began to tap along the mare’s spine
with JP’s Endo-sticks. I kept up the tapping
for nearly ten minutes, working along the
back and up towards the crest of her neck.
When I could see noticeable sign of
relaxation I stood facing the rear of the
mare and with one arm over her back I began
to focus on the croup area and down her back
legs using two Endo-sticks. I was trying to
mimic the action of a courting stallion.
Every time I touched the mare with the
Endo-stick she would kick out, usually
squalling in defiance. This behavior had
kept Hasan at a distance and disinterested,
as he well knows how not to get kicked by an
unreceptive mare.
I however was in no danger and continued to
tap. After a few minutes the mare began to
relent and started to show signs of
relaxation. She no longer kicked at every
touch. I continued to tap a little more
aggressively and within minutes the mare
began to act like a normal receptive mare
who was responding to the affectionate
nuzzling of a stallion. I hesitate to
describe in detail the graphic nature the
mare’s reaction after five minutes of this
treatment. But never the less,
here goes. The mare began to respond to my
treatment like a typical healthy mare in the
throws of a full blown heat. She began to
urinate while squatting down and winking.
The more I
tapped the more she responded. I have seen
mares ‘spray’ like a skunk before and this
mare was no different. Well, as you can
expect this kind of activity began to have a
noticeable
effect on my stallion. He was quite
interested by this time and began to
repeatedly show that he well understood what
his job was. I brought him out, let him
nuzzle the mare’s neck from the side and
when I gave him the command to mount, he did
so without hesitation. You should understand
that this is an extremely well trained
horse, most likely like no horse you
have ever seen. He is ‘trick trained’ and
will rear and walk on his hind legs by voice
command. A breeding situation to him is no
different. I use the same cue to tell him
when to mount.
The mare was totally receptive , there was
no misbehavior and she was quite receptive
to his approach. The breeding was
accomplished. I do not believe that the mare
would have ever let Hasan approach her much
less mount without the relaxation and
desensitization to touch that was
accomplished by the use of the Endo-sticks.
This was my first experience using the
Endo-sticks in this manner, but it will not
be the last.
Fifth Case: Minor Colic remedy/aid
By now it was after dark and I began to
gather my other horses from their respective
paddocks and from pasture to put them up for
the night. I brought in my two year old
Arabian filly and when I placed her in the
stall she began to circle immediately with
her nose to the ground. I recognized the
sign of colic immediately. She dropped to
the ground and began to roll before I could
prevent it. I clucked to her and she rose,
only to circle again and drop to the ground.
I immediately took her out and tied her to
an overhead lead rope on brick pavement. She
was pawing the ground desperately and I
could tell that she would drop to the bricks
and roll if given the chance. I began to tap
along her spine and neck to begin the
relaxation process with which she was well
accustomed. After about five minutes I had
begun to tap along the midsection of her
belly and on her left flank. My vet had told
me once that this area has a loop in the gut
that is especially prone to impaction.
During the first few minutes I would stop
momentarily and step away and the filly
would paw the ground and try to circle.
After about seven or eight minutes total
time, she had quit pawing and was acting
more normal.
I kept up the tapping for another ten
minutes. Total time elapsed was
approximately fifteen minutes. I stepped
back and observed the horse, untied her and
we walked around the yard area, she seemed
quite normal and kept trying to nibble at
the grass. I
returned her to the stall and she
immediately went to the feed manger and
began to munch contentedly. I of course
removed all food, refilled her water buckets
and continued to observe her for the next
couple of hours. There was absolutely no
sign of the colic.
What a relief it was to be able to do
something except give a Banamine shot and
worry throughout the night or to call a vet
at that late hour, spend about a $150 for
the emergency call and still worry. I am
absolutely convinced that the tapping was
able to relax the filly and
alleviate her distress allowing the colic
symptoms to subside and me to go to bed.
What I had witnessed this night has only
deepened by absolute belief that the tapping
method of relaxation is subject that should
be explored more scientifically as it
has worked time and time again for me as a
professional trainer to elicit profound
changes in horse personality or to solve
problematic situations.
I shall recount what I call a problematic
situation.
To be
continued...
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