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Downunder Horsemanship - General

Downunder Horsemanship - General Training Tips
January 18, 2022

How to Introduce the Snaffle Bit to Your Horse

Like all pieces of equipment you use to train your horse, care needs to be given when introducing a bit to your horse. When starting a horse under saddle, Clinton recommends using a hackamore. “The hackamore gives horses a chance to learn how to give and soften to pressure while I’m on their backs without […]

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Training Tips
January 11, 2022

Training Tip: Your Horse’s Frame of Mind is Important

Whenever you’re working on desensitizing your horse – getting him to stand still and relax while you approach him with an object or stimulus – set the situation up so that your horse is in a good frame of mind. That means he’s using the thinking side of his brain and is wanting to stand […]

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Training Tips
January 11, 2022

Teach Your Horse to Stand Quietly While Being Groomed

If your horse constantly fidgets and paws the ground while you’re trying to groom him, he’s telling you that you need to evaluate how you’re interacting with him and brush up on the basics. Behavior like fidgety feet, pawing, rearing and running backwards, can quickly make grooming impossible. Clinton explains how to correct behavioral problems […]

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Training Tips
January 4, 2022

Training Tip: The Jeffrey’s Method: A Must-Do Desensitizing Exercise for Colts

When it comes to getting a colt quiet and prepared to feel a rider on his back, there’s no better technique than the Jeffrey’s Method. To practice the exercise with your horse, you start by rubbing his entire body with both of your hands. Then you lean and rub your body on the colt, acting […]

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Training Tips
December 28, 2021

Training Tip: Handling an Abused Horse

Question: My 16-year-old grandson bought a horse that was previously owned by a young girl who used him in eventing and for trail riding. She boarded him while she was in college, and while at that barn he was abused, being beaten by a stable hand every day for six months. This horse is very […]

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Training Tips
December 21, 2021

Training Tip: Why You Should Get Your Horse Outside of the Arena

No matter which category your horse falls into – he’s cold-blooded and on the lazier side of the scale or hot-blooded and more sensitive – one of the best things you can do is ride the horse outside of an arena. Riding outside gives cold-blooded horses a reason to go somewhere. They’re already unambitious as […]

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Training Tips
December 14, 2021

Training Tip: Stopping a Horse From Rushing Over Trail Obstacles

Question: I have been training my wife’s new horse for a while now. He is through Intermediate, and has lots of long trail rides under his belt. He has one bad habit, though, which scares my wife: When we come to a step down off a rock, say one foot or so, he will leap […]

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Training Tips
December 14, 2021

Help for a Horse That Won’t Stand Still

A well-trained horse stands quietly while you get in the saddle and waits for your cue to move off once you’re ready to head down the trail. A horse that fidgets, dances around and refuses to stand still when you mount up is not only frustrating but dangerous. In the training guide, “Stand Still for […]

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Training Tips
December 7, 2021

Training Tip: An Invisible Protective Bubble

There are two categories of respect: a safety category and a learning category. The safety category teaches you how to establish your personal space, which will keep you safe. The learning category is about how to earn the horse’s respect in order for him to learn what you’re teaching him. Before you can start to […]

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Training Tips
November 30, 2021

Training Tip: How to Stop a Horse From Putting His Tongue Over the Bit

Question: I have a 3-year-old Quarter Horse gelding that I bought just over six months ago. He was already “broke” when I got him, but I immediately started him on the Fundamentals. He had (and still has) a very bad habit of getting his tongue over the bit, and I don’t know how to break […]

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