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Training Tips

Training Tips
August 29, 2023

Training Tip: Horse Avoids Flexing

Question: When I do flexing from the saddle, my horse lowers her head to the ground and she will stay that way. At first, I thought she was just relaxing and stretching out her back, but now I wonder if it’s an attempt to avoid flexing? – Jaycee Clinton’s Answer: Good job on working on […]

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Training Tips
August 22, 2023

Training Tip: Don’t Ignore Your Horse’s Spooky Behavior

Whenever you’re with your horse—no matter whether you’re on the ground or under saddle—anytime a training opportunity presents itself, don’t ignore it. If your horse uses the reactive side of his brain and spooks at an object, get him back to using the thinking side of his brain and build his confidence about the object. […]

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Training Tips
August 15, 2023

Training Tip: Safely Leading Two Horses

Question: I lead both of my geldings at the same time next to a road to get to their pasture that’s 200 yards away from the barn. The one gelding is always in a hurry and walks faster than me and the other gelding. If I put a little pressure on his halter, he slows […]

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Training Tips
August 1, 2023

Training Tip: Trust vs Respect With Horses

Question: My Thoroughbred mare had an abusive past and was quite fearful when I bought her. I followed your advice to treat her as any other horse and not worry about her past. I have done a lot of groundwork with her, and we’ve made a lot of progress. Several people in my riding group […]

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Training Tips
July 18, 2023

Training Tip: Filly Pins Her Ears When Fed Grain

Question: I have a 4-year-old Quarter Horse filly. When I approach her with the grain bowl, her ears go flat back. If I walk away with it, her ears come back up.

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Training Tips
July 11, 2023

Training Tip: Why Horses Become Aggressive Towards Humans

Horses become aggressive towards people for two main reasons. Sometimes they develop aggressive behavior because they feel threatened and think that aggression is the only way to protect themselves. Horses that are trained by people that I describe as barbarians often fall into this category. These trainers keep increasing pressure without giving the horse a […]

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Training Tips
July 4, 2023

Training Tip: Mare is Aggressive About Protecting Her Foal

Question: My mare has become very aggressive about protecting her foal to the point that she’s lunged at me and bitten my shoulder. Before the foal, she was a gentle mare. Will she begin to lose her aggression?

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Training Tips
June 27, 2023

Training Tip: Practice Handling a Spooky Horse in a Controlled Environment

Knowing how to handle when your horse spooks and actually getting in the saddle and doing it are two separate things. If you want to get good at handling a spook, you have to put yourself and your horse in the situation to practice. You do that by introducing your horse to as many spooky […]

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Training Tips
June 20, 2023

Training Tip: Horse Bites When Asked to Flex

Question: My horse either grabs the reins, bites the stirrup or tries to bite my boot when doing lateral bending. I have tried kicking him in the mouth when he goes for me, but that doesn’t stop him! I am riding him in a sidepull currently until he gets his teeth floated. My mom bought […]

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Training Tips
June 13, 2023

Training Tip: Why and When I Introduce Spurs to My Horses

When I start a horse under saddle, my first two goals are to establish a gas pedal and a brake. A gas pedal refers to the horse increasing his speed as soon as you gently squeeze his sides with the calves of your legs and maintaining that speed until you cue him otherwise. If a […]

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