It’s All About Communication
By Horse Guy | September 18, 2008
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Horses are thinking feeling, reactional equine animals. When we work with horses we need to take the time to understand them and how to communicate with them - we can’t expect to control them as we do a car!!
When you get your drivers license you learn the rules, practise with the controls and how to apply them, then drive about in traffic gaining valuable experience in changing conditions, whilst being responsible for what the car does.
With a horse you also need to understand how they move with different rhythm in their paces, their equine instinct and psychology, how to care for them, the riding aids and how to apply them - and most “importantly” how to communicate to them - understanding their language of “equus” - how they communicate with you and the equine rules and values.
For instance if you are horse back riding and your horse refuses to go forward on the leg, you have just unknowingly encouraged it to be disrespectful to you and whatever you ask - whenever they want. If you are squeezing so tight with your legs to hold on, the horse can’t move freely under you. Your horse wants you to communicate in a way that you are both comfortable with - and to be prepared for the increased / decreased energy and speed involved when the request being asked is executed.
If your horse perceives something as uncomfortable - such as trailer / float loading, something on the trail, clippers, you gripping with your legs or holding on tightly to the reins, and you don’t do anything to alleviate the horse and build his comfort zone - the equine reactional instinct will overtake your horses thinking and the horse won’t concentrate on focusing and communicating with you -BUT but how it will handle the situation - and guess what! - You’ve just LOST LEADERSHIP! - The HORSE is LEADER and your at the mercy of the horses equine reactions, as the horse doesn’t trust or respect you!
That is why you need to build the comfort zones of you and your horse, so that you can take and keep leadership, building your comfort zone - balancing your horse back riding seat, engaging communication of energy to increase your horse forward or slow and stop the horse, visualising your riding moves so your horse can instinctively pick up on what the cue of what will happen next while you unite the correct aid at the correct time of the horses rhythm of movement, so the horse respects you and gives you leadership.
You FIRSTLY, need to have your leadership - And have built the comfort zone on the ground, with the horse respectfully demonstrating all gaits before you can think of asking for it in the saddle (let alone demanding it with whips and spurs!). If a horse has no respect for you on the ground why would he have it for you when you are in the saddle?!!
Your horse needs to build his comfort zone when moving at various speeds of various requested gaits, slowing, stopping, turning and circling, backing up, trailer / float loading, leading being groomed, separated from his equine buddies etc.
If the horse isn’t comfortable, he won’t focus on you and and give you leadership - And you’re going to have to work to get leadership back.
Horses aren’t push button animals - it’s not a matter of learning a few horse back riding aids then treating your horse like a push button machine.
A horses equine instinct senses, reacts and communicates by sense, if you’re scared and stiff the horse will sense this and either become scared too - or take the leadership back.
It’s your responsibility to to build horse and human equine comfort and demonstrate leadership to your horse as you learn to communicate in the equine language.
When you advance in your equine performance and training - you are actually advancing your communication skills with your horse and building on you and your horses comfort zones at a higher performance level or move!! IT’S THAT SIMPLE!!
To advance your equine performance and horse back riding skills you need to increase your understanding and communication of the equine language, whilst building you and your horses comfort zones so you are both confident and happy with the horse back training you are performing - That is why this e-book offered by http://www.SmartHorseAndRiderCoaching.com is crucial to your training as it increases your knowledge, experience and success rate, and most importantly - compliments all other disciplines of equine training.
Suzanne Garrard has a post graduate degree in education and has been working with and training horses for 15 years - including horses that when purchased lacked impulsion or were a problem horse. She is passionate about continual and further education for horse and rider advancement.
If you are looking to advance your equine performance and horse back riding skills, and increase your understanding of the equine language, whilst building you and your horses comfort zones and your leadership with the horse, so you are both confident and happy then click on http://www.smarthorseandridercoaching.com
Article Source: Ezine Articles
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Horse in training video
By Horse Guy | September 16, 2008
Found a good horse in training video. Hope you enjoy.
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Horse Breaking Explained
By Horse Guy | September 11, 2008
Anyone wanting to know the basic method of horse breaking applied in the past can rent a western movie. Watching is about all the method is useful for as today there are far kinder ways in which to break in a horse.
I really do not like to use the term breaking simply as the word breaking, denotes force. Ultimately horse breaking is training of the horse. Training for a work or pleasure horse, has the same basic method of getting a horse to submit to man.
training horses has two main methods, the old and the new. The old technique is still very much in use today, but has been refined and altered along the way. That is to say that in most countries where horse folk are being educated, they no longer hurt the horse.
In the old days one would tie a horse up to a fence for hours until he had no fight left in him and one could then sit in the saddle and not be bucked off. Today thankfully man has learned to work with horses instead of simply dominating them.
The new method of training known as natural horsemanship may not be entirely new, but the trend and following is. Natural horsemanship as against simple horse breaking does not involve the horse submitting to man.
Instead man learns to communicate in the horses own language and becomes the horses leader, like the stallion of a herd. You do not have to be an experienced horse professional of old nor an aspiring natural horsemanship individual to realize that violence is not needed to train a horse. No matter what method of training you follow it always pays to respect the horse.
If you are not a competent horse handler you have no place training a green horse. A green horse is the term used to describe a horse that is unbroken and thus had very little if any training. I say this because a green horse will be bold and challenge you and you could very well be tempted to react with force or violence through fear.
When you are considering training a young horse and you have never done so before, have a knowledgeable trainer with you. Untrained or green horses often cost less than a trained horse and it is for this reason many people are tempted to buy them. Once again if you do not have the skill to train the horse without using violence and force, either have someone help you or send it to a trainer first.
When you take the extra care and attention to train a horse humanely and effectively, you have a horse that is happy to be handled; a horse that can be handled by most people too. That way you ensure a beginning relationship of trust between man and the horse which is essential to get the best performance from your horse.
horse breaking is the start of training a horse to work with man. Today there is certainly no excuse when horse breaking is a cruel act. It makes common sense then to create a long lasting relationship of trust through kindness. It will continually be proven that horses do not need to be driven into submission. How wonderful the feeling is when this big powerful animal actually wants to please us. Horse Guide.
Get information on buying, owning and caring for your horse, learn about horse breaking. Learn about Horse riding safety.
Article Source: Ezine Articles
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What about the really fearful horses?
By Horse Guy | June 12, 2008
So far in this series we’ve talked a lot about training fairly gentle and reasonable animals- but eventually you’re going to come up against a real timid and scared horse…
One special fear that many horses develop is fear of the automobile, and there’s some simple ways to break them of this…
With a great many horses it is only necessary to make the proper approach and their habit is overcome, because with them, it is simply a case of not understanding.
Engage someone to use an automobile according to your directions. The first time you meet the machine be sure that you have plenty of room so you can get at least twenty feet away from it.
As you see it approaching, drive well out to the side of the road, take a firm grip on your lines, pull the whip out of the socket and prepare to force the horse toward the car.
Signal the driver of the car to slow down, and as the machine draws near, drive your horse directly toward it, approaching it from an angle.
Time your approach so that just as you get even with the machine the horse will be facing it and going almost straight across the road.
Use your voice: keep saying, “Take care sir,” over and over again. Just as the machine gets even with you, say “Whoa” and immediately give an action with the lines.
Have the driver go very slowly by the time you get even with him and have him stop. Allow your horse to reach out and touch the machine.
After allowing the horse to stand quietly for a moment, give an intimation with the lines, by first pulling the line NEAREST the machine, then the one on the opposite side, saying “Get Up” at the same time, and the horse will move quietly forward.
This is but a TINY sample of the potent training secrets to breaking your horse of all sorts of fears and habits…
That you can discover immediately by grabbing your copy of the incredible Train Wild Horses Course today:
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Teach your horse some cool tricks
By Horse Guy | June 11, 2008
One of the coolest things you can teach your horse, and a great way to develop an incredibly deep bond with your animal is by teaching them a few easy tricks.
The most essential thing necessary for the trainer to possess, in teaching tricks, is an unlimited amount of patience or self-control.
You cannot teach your horse a trick in a single hour or even in a single day; but only by persistent efforts on your part. You must repeat one time after another until the trick becomes a habit.
In fact, the teaching of tricks is merely the forming of unusual habits.
But here’s a warning: Never try to teach a horse tricks until he thoroughly understands the “Confidence Lesson” from book 1 of Train Wild Horses!
Give the first lessons in an enclosure and at the same spot each time, as the horse will grasp your idea much quicker. When he will perform his trick perfectly at this place, then take him to other places.
Types No. 2 and No. 4 are not suitable for a horse to be taught tricks as they are inclined to be willful, stubborn or treacherous and ill natured. A combination of types No. 1 and No. 3 makes the best trick horse.
No. 1 gives you docility, kindness and tractability, while type No. 3 adds the nerve and ambitious temperament, which enables you to exhibit a horse with nerve and fire, and still he is obedient to your commands.
Always remember that the horse cannot reason from cause to effect and can only grasp your meaning by having an action associated with the command, and a lesson must be repeated until firmly fixed.
Never attempt to teach a horse but one thing at a time, and have this point taught PERFECTLY before beginning another.
If you’re ready to become an unbeatable training force, and discover some of the incredibly cool tricks you can teach YOUR horse, then…
Grab your copy of the powerful Train Wild Horses Course today:
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When your horse won’t take a bridle….
By Horse Guy | June 9, 2008
You may or may not know this, but some horses have an intense dislike for the bridle, and sometimes a bit of trickery is required to get them to submit to one- and train this bad habit out of them too….
If your horse is not too vicious, you should go into the stall with him. Find out where he is sensitive. If he doesn’t want to be touched about the ears, work down about the nose first; as his fear stops, work up about the ears.
Touch them very gently at first and, as soon as he will stand it, stroke them faster and a little more carelessly; then lay your right arm over his neck and press down slowly until his nose is nearly to the ground, all the time keeping his attention with your left hand by stroking his nose and forehead.
Should the horse be extremely bad, take him out of the stable, catch hold of the tail with your left hand, and the halter with your right, and whirl him around eight or ten times.
This will make him so dizzy that he will stand perfectly quiet!
After you are able to put on the bridle without force, repeat several times, holding his attention by giving him a little corn. He should be bridled very carefully for a few times.
Bridling a colt is a bit different…Do not attempt to bridle the colt until you have given it the Confidence Lesson.
Take the bridle, which has neither rein nor hitching strap in the right hand, and start away from the colt’s left shoulder.
As the colt approaches you, reach out the bridle and say, “Take Bit.” Make it easy for the colt to take the bit the first few times; remove the bit, and as soon as it moves its head toward the bridle, caress it, or reward it, by giving it a little oats, apple or something it likes.
After it reaches out a time or two and takes the bit, stop working with it for that day.
The next day, take it to the same spot and continue the treatment until it will come to you at command, “Come Here,” and then at the command, “Take Bit,” it will obey.
Those and many, many more incredibly valuable tips are revealed for you in the incredible Train Wild Horses course. If you’re ready to become a World Class Trainer, then you MUST grab this for yourself today, as in right NOW:
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A horse that’s easy to shoe is TAUGHT that
By Horse Guy | June 8, 2008
The reason there are so many horses are bad to shoe is because of carelessness and neglect in the proper handling of them when young.
Many people think that if they take their colt to the farrier and have it shod, it would assist them in training it, and it is a very common thing for the owner to think: “We want to break him next week anyway, and it will make him gentle to have the blacksmith shoe him.”
In the first place the colts feet should be handled before it ever goes into the blacksmith’s shop, or the farrier touches the feet.
It is an easier and simpler matter to handle the colt’s feet after he has been poled and taught the lessons given in Book #1 of Train Wild Horses.
Put a halter on the colt and take it out into a lot or onto the barn floor, or any place that his attention is not attracted elsewhere. Have your assistant hold the colt by the halter strap with his right hand, standing directly in front of it.
Step to the colts left shoulder and push against it with your shoulder as you stoop down to pick up the left front foot and the foot will come up almost of its own accord. Hold the foot up for a moment and then let it down carefully, holding to it until the foot rests on the ground.
Next, walk back rubbing your hand over the back and down the left hind leg, and by pressing in against the hip raise the hind foot carefully. Hold it for a moment as you did the front one and then let it down.
Now walk forward again and approach the right shoulder and raise the right front foot, as you did on the left side. Now go again to the foot you started with and work it in the different positions for shoeing.
Go only so fast as the colt can understand. If he does not fully understand what you want, and resists, do not attempt to hold the foot by “bull strength and awkwardness,”
For more information on training a horse to be shod and other inside secrets to being a world class trainer, then you need to grab your copy of Train Wild Horses right now:
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Is your horse shy?
By Horse Guy | June 7, 2008
Today I want to discuss another fairly common problem trait shown by some horses: Shying or running away.
If the horse has been properly trained when a colt, he will never develop the habit of shying. This habit, like most others, is acquired by improper handling at some time.
In nine cases out of ten your horse has been taught to shy on the road by the improper use of the whip. Types No. 2 or No. 4 seldom develop this habit. It is more often found in type No. 3 or a horse with this type predominating.
For more on classifying your horse, see volume one of Training Wild Horses:
I have always claimed that the trainer instills this trait in the animal by getting away from the true principles of horsemanship first. In all probability, he is driving a high-spirited colt of type No, 3, and he comes to a stone, stump or some other object that it is inclined to frighten at.
The colt, obeying a natural instinct, pauses in his gait in an effort to understand the meaning of this unusual object, or he may notice the object just as he gets even with it.
In either case, the driver, instead of giving the colt an opportunity to examine the object, pulls out the whip and forces the colt past the object, and in many cases, whips him for five minutes afterwards, in an effort to convince him of the foolishness of frightening at a stone or stump.
He has now laid the foundation for a shyer, and one or two repetitions of this kind will put him in possession of a confirmed shyer, one that will rush to the side of the road, or whirl and upset the rig, or possibly, in its fright run off and break things to pieces.
See, a horse can think of only one thing at a time, and while his mind is on the object, and the driver applies the whip, it is the object that inflicts the pain, and NOT the whip.
If the horse could reason from cause to effect he would understand that the whip, and NOT the object, was responsible for the pain and when passing the same spot at another time, would know that if he paid no attention to the object he would not be hurt.
But, as I’ve said repeatedly: This reasoning process is impossible for the horse to perform, and for that reason, any time he sees the object, or one similar to it, he is reminded of the former experience, and the result is that he shies worse than ever.
To find out how to avoid making mistakes in training like this (and hundreds more), simply grab your copy of the phenomenal Train Wild Horses today:
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Do you know why horses kick?
By Horse Guy | June 6, 2008
We’ve been talking about training horses recently, and I think you’re probably figuring out by now that there is quite a bit to know if you want to become REALLY good at this…
But that’s why I’m here! And today I want to cover a common problem: Why Your Horse Kicks.
All horses will kick when threatended- It’s the primary means of defense given them by nature. That’s not rreally the issue here…what we are talking about are horses that have the tendency to kick with hardly ANY provocation…
Because it has this disposition is no reason for classing it as an outlaw and thinking it cannot be handled. Its natural tendencies will only require more patient and persevering effort to make it as obedient as those in any other type.
See, most horses do not kick on account of a bad disposition, but because their owners were ignorant and REALLY TAUGHT them to kick by poor management in colt training.
If the horse kicks when the hold-back strap breaks and leaves the cross-piece of the shafts strike the hind quarters, it is only an indication that he was not properly educated when a colt.
Kicking because the line gets under the tail is another indication of poor training when a colt.
Would you like to know HOW to avoid these mistakes in training…and correct them if they are already present in YOUR horse?
You can — once you have the inside secrets of Training Wild Horses in your own arsenal. Grab your copy, available by instant download here:
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Contain your Colt
By Horse Guy | June 5, 2008
The other day I shared some basics about my training philosophies and some first steps to understanding your horse.
Today I want to get into your first lesson with your colt- one of the most important lessons you will give your young animal!
First, It’s critical that you contain the colt in an area that’s manageable. If you don’t have a small enough corral, you will need to construct something. This can be done easily and cheaply…
Turn the colt loose in an enclosure, about twenty-five feet square without any harness whatever on it. A good portable enclosure is made as follows: Build eight panels of fence, each twelve feet long and from five and a half to six feet high. Use poplar or any light timber except for the uprights. These should be 2 x 2 pine timber, without knots and straight grained. Five boards to each panel is sufficient.
These eight panels can be joined together with “pin hinges” so they can be put together and taken apart easily. When ready to make the enclosure, simply fasten these panels together, then form them into a square, two panels to each of the four sides and this will make a pen twenty-four feet square.
Drive stakes at each of the four corners and fasten the corners to these stakes with ropes. The stakes will permit the fence to give if the colt runs against it; however, it will not break, but will spring back into position again.
I used an enclosure like this for years while on the road and never had a horse tear one down.
After he has gone around the enclosure two or three times, you should walk directly towards the corner, giving him an opportunity to turn his left side towards you. If he rushes by you, strike him around the hind legs with the whip and keep him moving until he is again ready to stop.
You then approach him quietly. If he turns his heels toward you, either to kick or run away, strike him sharply around the hind legs.
You will find that colts of different temperaments respond quite differently to the action of the whip.
Some are very sluggish and slow, and it requires quite a sharp stroke of the whip to “waken them up,” while others, just a mere crack of the whip is all that is necessary to make them give you their undivided attention.
To finish this lesson, and discover hundreds more valuable tips and techniques to training even the most recalcitrant horse, you must grab your copy of Train Wild Horses today:
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