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Training Tips

Training Tips
March 17, 2020

Training Tip: Practice Patience in Training Sessions

If you want your horse to wait for your cues and be patient, you have to practice teaching him to do so. Whatever you practice with your horse is what he gets good at. I literally include periods of waiting into my training sessions.

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Training Tips
March 10, 2020

Training Tip: Become a Better Rider by Riding as Many Horses as You Can

If you have a desire to be a great horseman, I encourage you to ride not only as many horses as you can, but a variety of horses. Otherwise, you run the risk of fooling yourself into thinking your horsemanship skills are well-rounded. No two horses have the same personality, move the same or react […]

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Training Tips
March 3, 2020

Training Tip: Don’t Be So Predictable

Predators are very predictable – they do the same thing every day. Think about yourself. What do you do every morning when you get up?

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Training Tips
February 25, 2020

Training Tip: How to Safely Handle Your Horse Spooking

When your horse spooks at something, put his energy to good use. If it’s an object you can ride around, circle your horse as close as you can to it, and every one and half circles, turn him into the object and head off in the new direction. Horses can only think about one thing […]

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Training Tips
February 18, 2020

Training Tip: Understanding Cold-Blooded Horses

While the Method works on all types of horses, every horse will require you to vary your approach slightly. I break horses into two broad groups – hot-blooded horses and cold-blooded horses. Cold-blooded horses are generally docile, laid back and relaxed. This category is made up of most draft breeds and some bloodlines of Quarter […]

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Training Tips
February 11, 2020

Training Tip: Understanding Hot-Blooded Horses

While the Method works on all types of horses, every horse will require you to vary your approach slightly. I break horses into two broad groups – hot-blooded horses and cold-blooded horses. Breeds like Arabians, Thoroughbreds and some bloodlines of Quarter Horses tend to be hot-blooded.

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Training Tips
February 4, 2020

Training Tip: Correcting A Faulty Spin

For a horse to be textbook correct when spinning, he should plant his inside hind foot. Horses that tend to plant their outside hind foot do so because they’re sucking back too much. While it’s generally a good thing to have a horse thinking “get back,” in this case, you want to get forward on […]

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Training Tips
January 28, 2020

Training Tip: Don’t Try to Conquer the Grand Canyon on Your Horse’s First Trail Ride

The ideal location for first taking a horse outside is a long dirt road because it gives you plenty of room to move the horse forward and it gives him a straight line to follow. Beyond that, you need room to move the horse’s feet, meaning you can bend him down in circles to soften […]

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Training Tips
January 21, 2020

Training Tip: Know When to Retreat When Building Your Horse’s Confidence

Whenever you desensitize your horse to an object, use the Approach and Retreat Method. Build the horse’s confidence by approaching him with the object that scares him and then retreating (taking the object away) when he stands still and relaxes. The number one rule to remember when using the Approach and Retreat Method is to […]

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Training Tips
January 14, 2020

Training Tip: The Key to Achieving Vertical Flexion With Your Horse

Everybody wants their horse to be soft in their hands and tuck his nose in vertically. I know I want my horses to be light and collected  more than anybody. But before you can ask your horse to soften vertically using both reins, you have to teach him to soften laterally using one rein at […]

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