Posts and Articles related to the training of horses.
Just as some people are more trusting upon meeting a stranger than others, herd bound horses react in the same way. Some will get on just fine alone and others panic at the idea of being trapped into a room with a stranger and no one they know to be found.
“My horse refuses to stand still at the mounting block, or even get close!” Sound familiar? I discovered this clever trick to make the mounting block issues a breeze and to entice your horse to WANT to hang out nice and close…
“In training one always wants to go too fast. To arrive quickly, do not hurry, but be firmly assured of each step. The lesson should be for the horse, as for the horseman, a rewarding exercise, an instructive game which never brings fatigue. When sweat begins to show, it is because the man has gone too far.”
If the horse is spooking one or more of these elements is missing, plain and simple. If the horse is incapable of being ridden in this way then it is time to investigate a pain issue – be it muscle, joint, hoof, saddle fitting, etc.
It is absolutely, 100%, scientifically certified as fact – certain breeds of horse are too lazy to canter and instead they prefer to run faster and faster at the trot instead.
This question is raised frequently – how to soften and flex a horse who is stiff in the neck. There is a problem with the question however, because it assumes that addressing the horse’s stiff neck will actually correct the stiffness. In reality, flexing the horse’s neck alone only causes a disconnection between the neck and the hind legs. If you do not understand the implications of this disconnection you can create more problems later on – making it difficult or impossible to get true collection from the horse.
Commonplace I see horses who mow over their owners’ personal space, who root and push with their heads and faces, who poke their noses in every crack and crevice for a small nibbling of sustinence… not to mention those who simply drag their unwitting handlers half a mile for a mere blade of green grass.
Don’t get me wrong, I have been teaching my horses to perform various tricks since I can last remember… the key difference is whether that is ALL you do. Certainly not all trainers who specialize in trick horse training focus all of their attention on the tricks, and that is particularly what caught my eye in this video.
Outside of naming names this week has been an eventful one already. Just after she first arrived I found some very tender spots along her back and since then I’ve been giving her regular back massages (aren’t you jealous?! I know my boyfriend wishes I’d give him a back massage!), the benefits of which are becoming readily apparent.
Unfailingly I flinch when I hear someone call their horse a jerk, dummy, stupid, or other more offensive words. The horse is our mirror so who is really being called those names?
Even underweight and sprouting a dull coat in preparation for winter she garners the attention and appreciation from fellow horsemen. Lit De World On Fire may not have impressed racing aficionados but off the track…
and into the training ring… At least that is the plan, and the project. If you frequent Writing of Riding then you will know that there are several new things – new site layout, new…
I really prefer having things told to me straight, don’t lie to me and then give an excuse as to why you couldn’t tell me the truth in the first place. That is why I strongly dislike this common and popular tool of Natural Horsemanship and feel it is of greater detriment to horse and rider than simply putting the facts out there.
Even if you strictly ride western and loath the sight of any english discipline you can benefit from incorporating the fundamentals of Dressage into your riding and training habits.
Sticking to something until you see it to the very end just might earn you a reputation of being reliable and a success, or it may hold you back for years and years and years chasing something that is not worth the effort. But how do you decide which is which?
One of the most difficult things for a rider to learn is how to use their hands properly. Wait, no. Let me restate that. THE most difficult thing for a rider to learn is how to use their hands properly. Why you may ask.. because the hands are connected to the wrist bone, the wrist bone is connected to the arm bone… and so on right down to your ten little piggies and the hair on your chinny chin chin.