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Training Tips

Training Tips
October 27, 2020

Training Tip: It’s Never Too Early to Work With a Horse

Raising foals and bringing along a young horse can be very rewarding experiences. The thing to remember when you’re raising a foal is that the little things make a big difference – both good and bad. Using the Method to work with a foal just 10 to15 minutes a day for the first six weeks […]

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Training Tips
October 20, 2020

Training Tip: Understanding the Drive Line

When you’re studying the Method and working with your horse on the ground, you’ll often hear me refer to the “drive line.” If you imagine that your horse is wearing a saddle, the drive line would roughly be where the girth would lie, right behind the horse’s withers. Whenever you apply pressure or even stand […]

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Training Tips
October 13, 2020

Training Tip: Creating Softness in Your Horse

Horses have a natural instinct to pull and push against pressure – not give and soften to it. So every opportunity you get, teach your horse to soften to pressure. You always want your horse thinking of how he can give and soften to pressure rather than thinking of how he can resist, stiffen and […]

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Training Tips
October 6, 2020

Training Tip: The Importance of Protecting Your Personal Space

As a trainer, you need your horse’s respect and attention in order to teach him and gain his trust. Establishing your personal space will help you stay safe while doing just that. The first thing your horse has to understand is that you are fragile and he needs to be careful around you. I honestly […]

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Training Tips
September 29, 2020

Training Tip: Take the Worry Out of Blanketing

The biggest mistake people make when trying to blanket a spooky horse is sneaking the blanket up on the horse. If you reach the blanket up towards the horse and he gets nervous and tries to move away, repeat the same motion another hundred times. When he relaxes, retreat and rub him. Then do it […]

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Training Tips
September 22, 2020

Training Tip: What Bit Should You Use?

Bring up the topic of bits around horse people and you’re sure to enter into a conversation that’ll turn into a heated debate ranging from one end of the spectrum (you need a different bit for every horse in your barn and every situation you ride them in) to the other (only a cruel barbarian […]

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Training Tips
September 15, 2020

Training Tip: Use the Approach and Retreat Method to Build Your Horse’s Confidence

Whenever you desensitize your horse to an object, use the Approach and Retreat Method. Build the horse’s confidence by approaching him with the object that scares him and then retreating (taking the object away) when he stands still and relaxes. The number one rule to remember when using the Approach and Retreat Method is to […]

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Training Tips
September 8, 2020

Training Tip: Buddy Sour at Horse Shows

Show environments can be stressful to horses, and it’s not uncommon for horses to buddy up at the showgrounds and then react when taken away from one another. This is especially true when one horse is left at the trailer and the other one is taken away from it. The one left at the trailer […]

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Training Tips
September 1, 2020

Training Tip: Can You Work on Groundwork and Riding Exercises at the Same Time?

I often get asked if when teaching a horse the Fundamentals if you can work on the groundwork and riding exercises at the same time. People often wonder if it’s better to teach all of the groundwork exercises first, and then start to work on the riding exercises. At the ranch, when we get horses […]

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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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