Training Tip: Horse is a Basket Case Around Other Horses
Question: My horse rides great on the trail when it’s just me and him, but when I try to ride with other people, it’s a wreck. He gets super nervous, and at times, I feel like I can barely control him. What can I do? Answer: It’s common for horses to ride well on the […]
Training Tip: Teach Your Horse to Be Confident About Having His Feet Handled
It’s not your farrier’s responsibility to train your horse to stand quietly while his feet are worked on. Long before you make an appointment with your farrier, you should begin working on getting your horse confident about having his feet handled and then preparing him for standing for the farrier. We begin teaching our horses […]
Training Tip: An Important Lesson All Horse Trainers Should Experience
Your farrier is vital to your horse’s overall health and wellbeing and plays a key role in your horse’s ability to perform. A skilled farrier is worth his weight in gold, but in a lot of cases, farriers are some of the most underappreciated and underpaid professionals in the horse industry. They are often put […]
Question: I have a gelding who will load onto the trailer—not confidently but he will go in. When it’s time to unload, he pulls back really hard to get out as quickly as he can. It’s really unsafe and I’m wondering if you have any advice on how best to approach this issue? – Meegan […]
Training Tip: Teach Your Horse to Lower His Head for Bridling
Anytime I’m haltering or bridling a horse, I want him to lower his head and slightly look in at me. That’s the complete opposite of a horse throwing his head up in the air, trying to get away from you, while you have to get on your tiptoes to reach his face. I teach my […]
Question: I’ve taught my horse all of the Fundamentals backing up exercises and she does them pretty well for five or six steps, but if I ask her to continue, she pins her ears and tries to run me over. What do I do? Answer: Without watching you back your mare up, it’s difficult to […]
Training Tip: Feeding a Horse Before a Training Session
If your mother was anything like mine, you probably heard, “Don’t eat an hour before you swim or you’ll sink to the bottom of the pool!” more than a few times while growing up. A lot of people have the same sentiment when it comes to feeding horses before a training session. Just like my […]
Question: When doing the starting point of Yield the Forequarters, I have applied pressure in the one-to-four rhythm from soft to high pressure with my stick being horizontal and my belly button being under the horse’s eye. My horse will not move an inch of her body no matter the pressure. Even with high pressure, […]
Training Tip: Is Your Horse’s Focus on the Puzzle or the Trouble?
Ian Francis used to tell me, “Training a horse is all about putting him in a mental or physical bind and allowing him to figure out the puzzle.” The only way the horse can work on figuring out the puzzle is if he’s using the thinking side of his brain and is relaxed. If a […]
