People often practice trailer loading shortly before they need to go somewhere – a trip to the vet, meeting friends at the trailhead or hauling to a show. Sometimes, it goes great, but sometimes it doesn’t. Your horse may balk, …
Training
Have you ever been out on a trail ride and felt that things were going pretty good until your horse suddenly became distracted? Maybe he stopped listening to you, wanted to be with another horse or started jigging once you …
It is so exciting to see that science-backed, positive reinforcement clicker training is catching on in the horse world. This type of training has been popular in the dog training world for a while and in zoos too, where the …
In part one of this series, in the September/October issue, you learned that by lunging your horse using the correct alignment, pushing the right buttons and using the right amount of energy, you’re speaking to him in a way that …
Flying changes are just that – a leap. But not so much a leap of the feet, as a leap of the mind. Your horse may be solid with his leads, never missing a lead cue. Nevertheless, as you now …
Your horse spooks at the plastic bag in the barn aisle…unless it has his treats in it. He doesn’t want to go past a driveway where someone has put out a garbage can. He has suddenly started to avoid going …
The exercise ‘Release to a Jump’ encourages your horse to engage physically and mentally in a free jumping challenge. Even if you don’t plan on jumping your horse, this exercise is a valuable tool that helps with good horsemanship, and …
Lunging is a valuable training tool that every horse person should be able to do well. It’s also something horse people often don’t agree on. There are those who believe that:
- free lunging is a better option than using a
Wrong lead!” The coach calls out and the rider deflates. Fast forward a year down the road to see the same rider initiating the wrong lead…on purpose. Why? She’s discovered the counter canter as an essential tool in building a …