Confused? Imagine how the horse must feel!

Seriously, the various canters are among the most difficult horse training feats because of their somewhat unnatural demands. Here’s what I mean:

Imagine taking a young child out to play, getting them excited and ready to run, but then insisting they adjust their pace to slower than a full run but faster than a slow jog. This is the same dilemma horse trainers face when teaching their animals to obey various canter leads.

Often, a horse will have difficulty taking the right lead when it is nervous. And this can happen when the rider is nervous and the horse picks up on it.

Also, a problem with canter can be a simple matter of the horse being stubborn. Remember this is a very disciplined range of motion; otherwise it wouldn’t be required for show horses in the first place.

As with many difficulties that arise in the horse training process, canter issues can be overcome with extra time spent building trust and creating a relaxed experience. And again, nervous energy is most often transferred to the horse from the rider, so it’s imperative that you learn to relax in the saddle while working through your canter problems.

Originally posted 2008-06-02 01:26:32. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Technorati Tags: canter, canter problems, horse canter, horse canter problems, horse training

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:

Originally posted 2008-06-06 10:12:23. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Technorati Tags: horse kicking, horse rearing, horse training, train horse

The word actually derives from the idea of breaking the animal’s spirit, and most evolved horse trainers of today dislike such a notion. The idea that a horse needs to be “broken” leaves a bad taste in the mouths of many modern enthusiasts.

In fact, the more gentle philosophies used in today’s equestrian circles result in a much stronger bond between horse and trainer. And such a relationship ultimately results in less risk of injury, improved training results, and more overall enjoyment for all involved.

Certainly more assertive techniques can come into play with wild horses, and when an animal displays aggression. The term gentle need not indicate a total loss of the dominance concept; in fact the natural order of relationship between human and animal requires some level of assertion.

It may well be a simple matter of semantics, but the term breaking is out of favor in most circles. Many legitimate horse trainers today are strong advocates of the deeper philosophical implications involved in the entire process of building trust, developing a relationship, and establishing respect as a matter of process.

Originally posted 2008-05-26 01:23:08. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Technorati Tags: breaking, horse breaking, horse training, ride breaking

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

Originally posted 2008-09-18 14:48:47. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Technorati Tags: equine training, horse communication, horse training

As you can imagine, most horses are less than thrilled about the idea of taking the bit. Would you be excited about the prospect of lodging a piece of metal in your mouth so another person could easily direct the motion of your head?

Therefore, when applying a horse training bit, it’s a good idea to use a commonly known molasses trick. Start by placing some sweet molasses on the horse’s lips and letting him/her get into the moment; most horses will love this.

Next, add some molasses to the horse training bit and work it slowly into the horses mouth. Do this for a while and finally leave the bit in loosely so it doesn’t cause any pain.

This exercise creates a pleasurable experience and causes the horse to associate the bit with molasses. Therefore, he/she will actually look forward to accepting the bit.

Over time, your animal will come to accept the bit without any trouble, and you’ll be able to easily move past this initially awkward phase in your relationship.

Originally posted 2008-05-22 01:19:19. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Technorati Tags: horse training, horse training bits, start with bit, training, training bits

When selecting horse training books to base your education and training program on, you should feel free to scrutinize the author(s). After all, it can be dangerous for both you and your horse to take bad advice or to proceed without complete information.

If you aren’t sure which horse training books to start with, visit your local farm supply store or do some online research by visiting a few popular horse training forums and asking questions. There are as many authors as there are philosophies on how to best train a new horse. And of course there are many well-known authors like the Horse Whisperer, who have a long-standing reputation within the industry; it’s hard to go wrong with these recognized experts.

The bottom line is you should choose a selection of horse training books that fit your specific needs. Different breeds and circumstances might warrant special approaches, and there are likely a variety of authors who can offer this specialized advice.

Originally posted 2008-06-03 06:22:08. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Technorati Tags: horse training, horse training books, horse training course, horse training ropes

When a large animal bucks and heaves with you on its back, things can really get ugly!

So what causes this serious horse training problem and how can you correct it? The root cause is often either nervousness or fear on the part of horse, rider, or both.

If you are a nervous rider, your mount will pick this up and react to it by bucking. Likewise, if your horse gets spooked or has a tenancy to become nervous in new riding situations, bucking is likely to occur.

So the first order of business is to control your nervousness and relax. And if your horse is known to be apprehensive, you’ll need to spend the extra time to calm him/her down before riding into new territory. Remember the relationship is the key issue and if your animal trusts you the odds of a bucking incident are decreased exponentially.

Many trainers recommend lots of time in a circular pen to reduce nervous energy for both you and the horse. Ultimately, overcoming the problem of bucking involves plenty of time spent with your horse and a strong relationship.

Originally posted 2008-05-27 01:23:56. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Technorati Tags: bucking, horse bucking, horse rearing, horse training, rearing

For instance, you’ll use a lead rope to communicate with the horse about the direction, speed, and nature of motion you want it to take. But let’s be honest: the rope is not leading the horse, you are.

So in philosophical terms, lead really is a measure of your dominance within the relationship. It’s a reference to your leadership in all matters of directing and controlling the horse.

It’s a good idea to initiate lead training indoors, or at least in an area with minimal distraction and noise. This will make it easier for a new horse to focus on your communications.

And probably the first time you bring the horse into the training area, he/she is going to want to check everything out. You can avoid a lot of conflict and distraction by simply allowing your horse a few minutes to investigate the area, and gently assuming a dominant position over a period of a few minutes.

Over time, you will be able to direct the horse anywhere in the arena, adjusting speed and direction as you see fit, and successfully executing stops and starts at will.

Originally posted 2008-05-31 01:27:17. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Technorati Tags: horse, horse train lead, horse training, lead, train lead

Rearing, when it occurs naturally, is the horse expressing fear and possibly resistance to the handler’s direction. A basic way of correcting this is to develop the habit of turning the horses’ head and moving his/her hindquarters as soon as the rearing starts.

This likely won’t work the first few times, but eventually it will teach the horse that rearing isn’t going to work and that the only option left is to move in the desired direction with his/her feet on the ground.

Many new riders want to know how to teach a horse to rear. To be honest, this is one of the most dangerous habits you could possibly encourage in your horse!

It can be done, but unless you’re a professional stunt man it’s best to leave this one alone and focus on how to prevent unwanted rearing. Horses that are taught to rear could conceivably fail to discriminate between proper and inappropriate times to display their talent, resulting in serious rider injury.

Originally posted 2008-05-25 06:30:24. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Technorati Tags: break rearing, eliminate rearing, horse rearing, horse training, rearing, stop rearing

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:

Originally posted 2008-06-07 10:16:11. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Technorati Tags: horse shying, horse training, overcome horse shying, shying, train horse