Lessons Learned: Be Creative When Training Your Horse

Clinton Anderson from Downunder Horsemanship has developed a way to train horses, regardless of their past problems or traumas. It all begins with training the owners so they can gain their horse’s respect and understand how to properly control them. Join Clinton on his weekly endeavors of tackling some of the most challenging situations with problem horses and problem owners. This week, we watch as Clinton teaches us a little about how to be creative when training your horses.

Professional Clinician Kristin Hamacher starts this week’s episode by stressing the importance of having some imagination when working with your horse. You’ve heard Clinton say it time and time again, but that’s because it’s true. In fact, this is exactly what happened when Downunder Horsemanship moved to Arkansas. The new Arkansas facility has a much different setup than the Texas ranch. In the new facility, there was initially only one arena to ride in, and that first year it was a very rainy spring and summer. When the colts were started, a lot of the exercises had to be done in the same arena rather than spread across different locations. And you know that if you do the same boring thing every single day, your horse is eventually going to dread doing these activities.

So, how can you fix it? With a little creativity. Kristin says that this is the point where she had to get creative. For example, rather than just doing the same Cloverleaf Exercise, from the Intermediate Series, which would eventually result in the horse just learning to anticipate where you’re going to turn since it’s the same pattern, she mixed it up. She started adding Rollbacks on the Fence, doing a little Post ‘N Circle in the corners, and just kind of changed things up from the mundane. She even started to get a little bit of a turnaround in the exercises, so she was able to blend a few different features from each exercise and make it a lot more interesting for the horses.

Kristin also admitted that sometimes, doing the same exact exercises year after year gets boring for her as well. But when you bring in some creativity, you can make training fun for your horse and fun for yourself. So, just make sure that you don’t forget that once your horse knows the exercises, you’ll need to use some imagination to keep things fresh. Take him out on the trail or maybe make an obstacle course. Make it fun for him so he doesn’t hate his job, he doesn’t hate his life, and he doesn’t get cranky and sour.

Clinton Anderson has spent over 20 years devoting his time to creating the best training tools and videos available to horsemen worldwide. Unfortunately, you can’t bring your TV into the arena to watch videos. That’s why Clinton and his team developed a new platform to deliver the training in a whole new way that brings 20 years of horsemanship and puts it in the palm of your hand. Now, you can access the mobile method and get everything at the touch of a finger.

Always have access to the Downunder Horsemanship Method, even when you’re on the go or at the barn. The Downunder Horsemanship app gives you access to your digital training kits. It allows you to download videos and training content directly to your mobile device or view them on your computer. The Downunder Horsemanship app also offers over 100 hours of free in-depth training content. No Worries Club members will have full access to Clinton’s ever-growing training library and many members-only features and information. And the best part is that you can view and interact with each lesson on your mobile device or computer, giving you the ultimate access to the method anytime and anyplace.

To learn more about Clinton and the Downunder Horsemanship training method, become a member of the No Worries Club, or get information on any of the products seen on our show, head over to our homepage and download the Downunder Horsemanship app today!