Training Tip: Don’t Force Your Horse to Accept a Spooky Object
When a horse is frightened of an object, the worst thing you can do is force him to approach it. The more you say, “You WILL accept the clippers,” the more nervous the horse gets and thinks that there is a reason to be scared of it. If you want your horse to use the […]
Horses are a herd animal and their bodies are designed to be on the move. I try to keep my horses on turnout as much as I possibly can. It’s the best thing for them because they don’t develop bad habits and they’re just happier in general. The more you put a horse in a […]
People ask me all the time, “Clinton, what if I have a 9-to-5 job and don’t have time to work with my horse every day? Can I still get better and gain more experience?” The answer is yes! It doesn’t matter what job you have — you can still get real, hands-on experience.
Whether your horse doesn’t want to leave his buddies on the trail or overreacts when you take him away from his buddies at shows, use these tips to regain control and focus his attention on you. When you’re dealing with a buddy-sour horse, you have to use a little reverse psychology on him. Instead of […]
Horses have two sides to their brains: the left brain and the right brain. Each side of your horse’s brain is like a completely separate horse. You’ve got Lefty and you’ve got Righty.
Many horses become wary of the bit and find ways to avoid being bridled because they’ve had their mouths hurt from the bridle being taken off incorrectly, allowing the bit to hit their teeth. Taking the bridle off is something most people do without thinking and oftentimes rush through the process because they’ve finished their […]
Never give a horse a treat to bribe him to do something; only give a treat to reward a job well done. There’s a very big difference. Let’s take the example of asking the horse to load in the trailer. We’ve all seen the owner who asked their horse to get on the trailer by […]
A lot of people wisely start the Method with a horse that’s already trained, and often times, these horses have been ridden in shank bits. When starting the Method, I encourage people to use a snaffle bit to train their horses. Of course, this brings up the question of whether or not you need to […]
Until they’ve been taught to move forward off a gentle squeeze of your legs, some horses get crabby when asked to lope, especially those cold-blooded, lazier types. If your horse kicks up or crow hops when you ask him to lope and you feel it is more than you can ride through, do a One […]
If you have a horse that’s too busy eyeing up his next meal on the trail rather than paying attention to you, use these steps to regain control. 1) A horse can only think about one thing at a time. He’s either got his attention on you or on his next snack. As soon as […]