Does your normally good mannered horse turn into a monster come feeding time, pinning his ears, kicking out or otherwise acting aggressively? You may be causing the behavior by feeding a horse with a cranky look on his face in your hurry to finish barn chores without even knowing it. Here I will help you prevent that from happening by giving you a few tips to keep your horse respectful during feeding time. Continue reading Feeding Time Frenzy
Now that you and your horse have mastered walking through a series of poles, it is time to continue building your skills by trotting through them. Trotting poles brings your control, timing, and rhythm to a new level. Continue reading Pole Progression: The Trot
Loading a horse on the trailer can be one of the most frustrating experiences you can have with horses. Fortunately it doesn’t always have to be like that. There are many easy, stress-free ways to teach loading the key is to think like a horse. The first loading technique works best for horses who have been loaded into a trailer before and now have a mild resistance to it, or horses who have never been loaded such as foals and yearlings. If your horse has a serious loading problem trailer loading method two or three may give you better results. Continue reading Trailer Loading Method One
The turn on the haunches, hindquarters, or spin which are all essentially the same movement at different speeds, bend, and degrees on a circle. For clarity, I’ll refer to the movement for this article as a turn on the haunches. Training the horse to turn on the haunches benefits all riders and horses. Reining is all about body control, as is dressage, therefore any maneuver featured in these two disciplines will be helpful to all riders. Continue reading Turn On the Haunches
Maintaining a consistent speed and changing directions at the cue of the rider are two basics that all horse should know and respond to. However, many horses will anticipate what the rider wants, or worse completely ignore the rider’s cues. Sometimes cues may be confusing to the horse such as constant contact on the reins, yet the horse is expected to stop when pressure is applied. This pattern will separate specific cues, making the correct response easy and the wrong one hard. Doing so allows the horse to figure out exactly what is wanted of him. Continue reading A Pattern For Speed and Directional Control
Hunter under saddle classes are a great opportunity to create obedience in your horse on the flat. This checklist goes over all the basics, as well as covering a few tips and tricks that will help you place higher and give you both more enjoyment. Continue reading Hunter Under Saddle Training Checklist
By nature horses are designed to live outside twenty four hours a day, rain or shine. They are made to graze and move almost constantly in a herd environment. When horses are stalled all the time because of cosmetic reasons, are injured, etc they can easily get bored if they aren’t socially and physically simulated and this boredom can translate into stall vices. Continue reading Correcting Stall Vices
All horses need to learn to tie safely. No matter what discipline you ride in, having a horse that stands tied in any environment is essential. Knowing how and when to tie a horse is just another part of good horsemanship. Continue reading Tying 101
This pattern is just as it sounds, a four leaf clover. Great for improving your horse’s steering and will balance out a horse’s speed so he stays at a consistent pace. Fast horses will slow down and lazy horses will speed up. All around, the cloverleaf is a good pattern for every type of horse. Continue reading Cloverleaf Pattern