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Training Tips

Training Tips
August 25, 2020

Training Tip: Be Open to Change in Order to Keep Growing as a Horseman

One of the most important concepts you can understand when it comes to training horses is that great horsemen are open to change. When I was an apprentice for Ian Francis, he often said to me, “To change your life, you must first change your attitude.” Ian believes, as do I, that if you’re unhappy […]

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Training Tips
August 18, 2020

Training Tip: Make Safety a Priority When Saddling a Colt

When it comes to saddling a colt for the first time, I always assume the colt is going to break in two. I would say that 50 percent of colts buck the first time they’re saddled and 50 percent don’t. It’s almost impossible to tell which colts will buck and which ones won’t. Sometimes the […]

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Training Tips
August 11, 2020

Training Tip: Trailering Problem? Understand Your Horse’s Fear

To help your horse overcome his trailering fears, you have to look at trailering from his perspective. As prey animals, with a flight or fight response, horses prefer to be in big, open spaces where they can easily see predators approaching them and then be able to make a quick getaway. You’ll never see a […]

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Training Tips
August 4, 2020

Training Tip: There are No Shortcuts in Horsemanship

Too often, I meet people at tours or we’ll receive letters in the office saying that they have a problem that needs fixed. Everyone wants a quick fix, a magic cure that they can give their horse to have their problems disappear. Believe me, if I had such a magic cure, I would sell it […]

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Training Tips
July 28, 2020

Training Tip: Teach Your Horse to Lower His Head for Haltering

It’s a great habit to teach your horse to lower his head and then tip his head toward you when you’re haltering and unhaltering him. It’s an especially good habit when you’re turning your horse out in the pasture and bringing him in. If his head is low and tipped toward you, it’s a submissive […]

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Training Tips
July 21, 2020

Training Tip: Feel Unsafe Handling a Problem Under Saddle With Your Horse?

When I apprenticed with Ian Francis, he told me: “There are a lot of heroes in the graveyard.” Too many people try to play the hero by riding an unprepared or difficult horse and end up getting bucked off. They break their necks and die because they didn’t use their heads. If you’re having a […]

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Training Tips
July 14, 2020

Training Tip: Does Your Horse Refuse to Leave the Trailer?

If you’re at a show or on a trail ride, it’s common for your horse to develop a magnet with the trailer. In your horse’s mind, the trailer is equivalent to getting to rest, munch on hay and hang out with his buddies. Rather than trying to keep the horse away from the trailer, let […]

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Training Tips
July 7, 2020

Training Tip: Does Your Horse Have Bad Turnout Manners?

Almost all horses that bolt away from their handlers in the pasture are a product of a human’s negligence. Think about how you turn your horse out. Most people lead their horse out to the pasture and once they reach the gate, they immediately take the halter off and let the horse walk away from […]

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Training Tips
June 30, 2020

Training Tip: A Good Stud Makes a Great Gelding

One of the best things my mentor Gordon McKinlay ever told me as an apprentice was “If he’s a good stud, he’ll make a great gelding.” I have never forgotten those words, especially when I established my breeding program. Ninety-five percent of the studs out there should not be studs. I know I’m going to […]

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Training Tips
June 23, 2020

Training Tip: Don’t Get Stuck at the Arena Gate

At some point or other, almost all horses develop a magnet to the arena gate. To deter your horse from hanging out at the gate, make being next to the gate feel uncomfortable to him. Right now, your horse is attracted to the gate because he knows that’s how he gets out of the arena […]

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