Safety First With Horses

When you buy a horse, the first and foremost consideration must be your safety. Forget about the breeding, the colour, the amount of ribbons and trophies that the horse has won – all these things are pointless if the horse isn’t safe for you to ride. Many people own horses that are dangerous and unsuitable … Read more

Teach Your Horse to Move Forward Not Backwards

My pet aversion is seeing people chase horses backwards on the ground. The last thing I want any horse to do is move backwards away from me to relieve pressure. Everything you ever want to do with your horse relies on moving forward, not backwards. You must have forward movement to control your horse. Forcing … Read more

Every Foal Must be Handled ASAP

One of my mates lives in a semi-rural area on the outskirts of Sydney. On a recent visit, my wife and I took a walk around the block from where he lives. The land is split into hobby farms between two and five acres in size. During our two kilometre (1.2 mile) walk, I counted … Read more

Safety First for Horses

If you want to handle horses, you must have good facilities. Horses can always find 100 different ways to injure themselves. If your fences and yards aren’t up to scratch, you can bet your horse will find a way to cut himself or become tangled in something. I’ve seen horse studs spend millions of dollars … Read more

Why I Never Use a Round Yard

Lots of trainers use a forty foot round yard for all their horse training. The main idea seems to be for the trainer to chase the horse around the fence until the horse is tired (and sometimes exhausted). In a round yard, every horse’s natural reaction is to run around the fence when he’s chased. … Read more