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Training Tips

Training Tips
July 5, 2022

Training Tip: Addressing Dominant Herd Behavior in Horses

Question: We are slowly introducing a 4-month-old weanling into a herd of 13. We have a dominant 19-month-old gelding that is displaying behavior that we can’t explain. When together in the paddock, the gelding is controlling basically every step the weanling is allowed to make.

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Training Tips
June 28, 2022

Training Tip: Work Through Your Horse’s Anxiety When You Haul Away From Home

It’s important to remember that horses notice every little change in their environment, and when you take them to new locations, they often have more energy and are spookier as they encounter new objects and unfamiliar territory. While your horse is calm and relaxed at home or on trails he’s familiar with, when you haul […]

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Downunder Horsemanship - General Shop Downunder Horsemanship Training Tips
June 28, 2022

First-Saddling Success Tip

When it comes to introducing the saddle to a horse for the first time, it’s important to give the horse enough time to get used to wearing the new piece of equipment before taking it off him. “The key to successfully introducing the saddle is to get the horse’s feet moving forward and to give […]

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Training Tips
June 21, 2022

Training Tip: Advice for a Horse That Cribs

Question: My friend bought a horse that has a cribbing habit. He is a very willing horse, smart and well trained for cow work and ranch riding. My question is do you think a horse that cribs is a big problem?

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Downunder Horsemanship - General Training Tips
June 21, 2022

Teach Your Busy-Minded Horse to Relax and Focus

There are some horses that are naturally really hot and nervous, and even after they’ve been taken through the Fundamentals groundwork and riding exercises and the foundation trail exercises, they still have a lingering desire to be in a hurry everywhere they go. “This is the off-the-track Thoroughbred that starts and ends a 20-mile trail […]

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Training Tips
June 14, 2022

Training Tip: Be a Thinking Horseman

One of the hardest concepts about training horses to get across to people is that horses do not think like we do. Your horse is a prey animal and you are a predator, which means he sees the world in a completely different way than you do. One of the major differences between us is […]

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Training Tips
June 7, 2022

Training Tip: Hold the Soft Feel Longer

Vertical flexion with your horse is something that you’ll build on with each give. First the horse has to understand that when you pick up on the reins and apply pressure with your legs he needs to maintain whatever gait he’s in and give to the pressure. As soon as he understands that concept, then […]

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Training Tips
May 31, 2022

Training Tip: Catch Your Horse in the Pasture Challenge

Can you go out to the pasture and catch your horse and lead him to the gate without having to halter him? How your horse greets you and what he’s willing to let you do with him when you enter the pasture says a lot about your partnership. As you progress through the Method and […]

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Training Tips
May 24, 2022

Training Tip: Horse Continues to React to the Saddle After Numerous Saddlings

Question: I have a mare that I’ve started with the Colt Starting Series. She has responded well to the training, except she is still reactive to the saddle, even after saddling numerous times. She saddles sometimes and does not panic, and the next day, I will do the same saddling process and she will panic […]

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Training Tips
May 17, 2022

Training Tip: Disengaging vs Engaging Your Horse’s Hindquarters

To be effective when training your horse, it’s important to understand the difference between disengaging the horse’s hindquarters and engaging them. I tell people to think of the horse’s hindquarters like the gas pedal of a car. The hindquarters are where all the horse’s power comes from. When you disengage a horse’s hindquarters, asking him […]

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