Horses and Philosophy

Pulling back when tied up

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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 Truth About Desensitisation

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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

Teach your horse to mooove forward

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The same theory applies to your horse. Instead of cow; think horse. If you want to move a  horse or cow forward, you must apply pressure on his rear end in the ‘flight zone’. Pressure in front of the ‘point of balance’ will  move a horse or cow backwards. This is a very simple concept. … Read more

Give the Flap the Flick

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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

Here’s The Rub

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My wife Christine always spent lots of time rubbing and scratching her horses. Our grey horse ‘Kip’ soon learned to come to her and present the spot that he wanted rubbed or scratched. Sometimes it was his rump, sometimes his ribs, withers, neck or head. He’d back up to Chris to have his tail scratched. … Read more

Horse Behaviour

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The biggest problem to overcome in horse training is human behaviour. Humans come up with all sorts of theories and methods, then try to make every horse fit their set lessons. Many people cling to traditional theories and set methods, no matter how their horses react.   Instead of trying to make horses adapt to … Read more

Respect and Desensitisation

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I recently watched a video of a trainer trying to handle a horse’s legs. The horse was seven years old and kicked quite badly when anyone  attempted to pick up his hind legs. The trainer was obviously frightened of being kicked, so he flapped a rope around the horse’s legs to ‘desensitise him’. Though the horse kicked … Read more