If you walk into the paddock and your horse runs away, guess what? Your horse isn’t bad, naughty or disrespectful. It’s absolutely nothing to do with being his leader or showing him that you’re the alpha horse. The plain fact is, your horse is worried and nervous and doesn’t want to come near you. Never … Read more
Every time I pick up a horse magazine, I read that horses are prey animals and humans are predators. Many articles say horses are ‘naturally’ afraid of humans because humans are predators. Others say it’s ‘natural’ for a horse to buck when the saddle is introduced, because a ‘dead animal’ is being strapped onto their … Read more
In my opinion, advance and retreat is the key to introducing everything to every horse without frightening them. Equally, when a horse has previously been frightened by a specific item, advance and retreat must be used to overcome the bad experience. When advance and retreat is used, two components of learning theory are at work: … Read more
I’ve heard at least a thousand times that you must gain your horse’s respect. It’s a mantra parroted off by horse people everywhere and many trainers say that respect is the first thing you must achieve. There are countless videos, articles and books on how to gain respect from your horse. Respect is often explained … Read more
We should try to use as little unpleasantness as possible at every phase of horse training. Everyone thinks horses stop when you pull on the reins. However, before you apply pressure on the bit, bring your legs on and sit in the stand and relax position. If your horse is ‘giving’ and ‘listening’, he’ll understand … Read more
Last week, I read an article in an old issue of a prominent horse magazine on tying a horse for the first time. There were graphic photos of a terrified horse pulling back and fighting against a post. The article recommended the use of hobbles and ‘special’ headstalls while the horse pulled back. Here’s my … Read more
The most misunderstood part of horse training is the idea that you have to get horses ‘used to’ new things. Many trainers advocate to keep exposing horses to things that frighten them and they’ll eventually ‘get used to it’. Others say, when a horse is frightened of something, just keep frightening him with it and … Read more
This was filmed in Australia in 1989. I’ve been dong this for a long time. Learn more here
When you ride your horse, many trainers would have you believe that the biggest problems to overcome are plastic bags blowing in the wind, umbrellas suddenly opening and a world covered in plastic tarps. The first thing these trainers do is frighten young horses with plastic bags, flags, tarps, umbrellas and goodness knows what else. … Read more
