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Training Tips

Training Tips
September 24, 2013

Training Tip: Two Eyes Are Always Better Than Two Heels

  What does a respectful horse do when you walk up to catch him? He turns and gives you two eyes, and even walks up to you. What does a disrespectful horse do?

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Training Tips
September 17, 2013

Training Tip: Don’t Let Fear Hold You Back

  If you talk to any good horse trainer about how they got to where they are, they’ll admit they’ve made some mistakes along the way. And if they’re worth their salt, they’ll probably tell you that the lessons they learned making those mistakes were invaluable. I often tell my Academy students, “If you haven’t […]

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Training Tips
September 10, 2013

Training Tip: Practice Patience

  If you want your horse to wait for your cues and be patient, you have to practice. 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
September 3, 2013

Training Tip: Horse Hurries Back To The Barn

  If you notice that your horse is in a hurry as you’re heading back home, do plenty of transitions with him to get his mind on you. When you do get back to the barn, put his feet to work. Spend ten minutes trotting and cantering him around the barn or in a nearby […]

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Training Tips
August 20, 2013

Training Tip: Beating The Spook On The Trail – Redirect Nervous Energy

  If your horse does spook 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 […]

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Training Tips
August 6, 2013

Backing Up – Don’t Drill On It

  When you first introduce the Fundamentals Backing Up exercises to your horse (Method 1: Tap the Air; Method 2: Wiggle, Wave, Walk and Whack; Method 3: Marching; and Method 4: Steady Pressure), spend just three to four minutes each training session working on each method. Backing up is not natural for horses (think about […]

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Training Tips
July 30, 2013

Training Tip: Beating The Spook On The Trail – Be A Leader For Your Horse

  When they’re on the trail, a lot of people put their horse on a big, loose rein and let their mind wander or gab with friends. They put their horse on what I call “autopilot” – he’s left on his own, which for a lot of horses means they go down the trail constantly […]

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Training Tips
July 23, 2013

Training Tip: Beating The Spook On The Trail – Warm Up With Groundwork

  Before hitting the trail, be sure your horse is in the right frame of mind, meaning he’s calm, using the thinking side of his brain and focused on you. Most of the time, horses spook because they’re fresh and using the reactive side of their brain. Don’t just pull your horse out of the […]

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Training Tips
July 16, 2013

Training Tip: Always End Training Sessions On A Good Note

  If you finish when the horse is frustrated or misbehaving, that’s what he’s going to remember the next day, and then getting him over his problem will take twice as long. If you find that you’re in a time crunch and your horse isn’t performing well at a particular exercise, stop what you’re doing […]

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Training Tips
July 9, 2013

Training Tip: Horse Personalities: 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 […]

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