How to Stop Your Horse from Tripping

For the past 20 years, Clinton Anderson from Downunder Horsemanship has devoted his life to creating the best training tools and videos available to help train your horse, regardless of their problem. He believes that it’s training the owners that poses a real issue. Join him as he tackles some of the most challenging situations with problem horses and with problem owners. This week, Clinton will tell you how to stop your horse from tripping.

Clinton begins by reminding us that a lot of horses actually trip while they’re on the trail. In fact, it’s an extremely common occurrence. However, when a horse trips on the trail, it’s not usually because he’s clumsy or has two left feet. A horse trips on the trail because he’s just not paying attention and he’s being lazy about the journey. Tripping happens when your horse’s mind begins to wander, and he stops paying attention to where his feet are going. Clinton tells us that this is more of a shame on the rider, as a general rule, because it’s an indication that he or she is not giving their horse something worth paying attention to.

So, if your horse has a habit of tripping on the trail, consider what he’s telling you. More often than not, it’s a sign that your horse is telling you that he’s not paying attention to you. Your horse knows that you’re not the one controlling his feet and that he’s not respecting you during the ride. While the tripping may cause him to stumble over his own face, it should still be seen as a problem the rider has caused.

Clinton then gives us a helpful tip. If your horse does end up tripping and stumbling over something on the trail, put him to work. Bend him around and start hustling your horse’s feet. Show him that if he’s not going to pay attention to you while you’re on a nice leisurely stroll, then he’s going to have to put in some extra work. Remind your horse that you don’t have time to be tripping and it’s time for him to wake up and move his feet.

Then, go back down the trail and leave your horse alone. If he trips, repeat the process. Eventually, he’ll begin to understand the connection between the two. After a few times of putting your horse to work, you should notice a remarkable difference in casual tripping along a ride. Your horse will stop being so lazy during the walks

In some instances, your horse might be tripping on the trail for reasons outside of laziness. For example, if a horse’s hooves have been neglected and have gotten really long it can increase the risk of tripping while you’re out on the trail. To avoid this problem, always make sure you’re taking proper care of your horse’s feet. If your horse is barefoot, take the time to trim his hooves every five and a half to six weeks. When you keep your horse’s hooves properly trimmed, you’ll help him trip and stumble less often.

Horses may also stumble due to health issues, such as EPM, which is a neurological disease that affects the horse’s central nervous system and therefore his balance. If you think that your horse may have EPM, consider having an equestrian veterinarian come out for an examination.

The Clinton Anderson Method is the key to getting the most out of your partnership with your horse and we want everybody to experience the difference it will make. That’s why we created three ways for you to get the training content you need at the price you want. Our basic level allows you to purchase and download training content to your device at our standard price with no annual fee. When you become a No Worries Club member for $19.99 a month, you get up to 50% discount on any of your purchases. You’ll also get eight digital videos and four digital journals a year and access to the No Worries Club website, the largest collection of Clinton Anderson Method material and resources in the world. If you want the ultimate experience, the premium membership is for you. You get all the benefits of the No Worries Club, a printed copy of our No Worries Club quarterly journal, and access to all the training kits and videos. Altogether, that’s thousands of dollars of horse training and 20 years of horsemanship delivered right to your fingertips.

Start your digital training experience today. Visit our homepage and download the Downunder Horsemanship app to experience the Clinton Anderson Method in a whole new way.