The Road to the Horse

I just watched a DVD of the Road to the Horse. A revolution in horse training it isn’t. At the end of the event, not one of the horses could even walk a circle in a confident and relaxed manner. There was an obsession with harassing horses with tarps, flags and ropes. It went on … Read more

Horse Problems

It’s interesting to read of the problems people have with their horses and the advice given. In a lifetime of working with horses, the problems haven’t changed and unfortunately, the thinking about horses hasn’t changed much either. People think they need to make a horse ‘soft in the face’ or ‘control his hindquarters’ or chase … Read more

Groupthink in the horse world

Here’s a quote from a scientific magazine. Although it’s written for social psychologists, it also applies to the horse world. ‘Social psychologists, of all academics, should be particularly alert to the dangers of epistemological homogeneity, or groupthink as some prefer to call it. They would be aware of the errors that can pollute the group’s … Read more

Your most valuable training tool

Everyone looks for a magic fix to ‘cure’ their horse problems. Plenty of people will sell you a ‘magic’ halter, stick, lead rope, bit or some other contraption. None of them will really help. No contraption ever invented will teach your horse to be relaxed, confident and ready to learn. I’m going to tell you about the most valuable … Read more

How to use your most valuable horse training tool

Rubbing a horse’s head, neck and around his ears gives him to time to relax. I show every horse that life is easy and pleasant when he has his head with me. Rubbing your horse’s head will be the start of a whole new relationship between you and your horse. Whenever you ask him to … Read more

You Don’t Have to get Your Horse Used to Anything

Riding

Here’s a scenario to ponder: A person who’s never even been near a horse before, attends his first riding lesson. The teacher says, ‘Welcome, we’ll start by putting you on a horse that bucks. Don’t worry, just work your way through it. We’ll teach you coping skills and tomorrow you can do it again. After … Read more