I’ve heard it said, and firmly believe, every moment you spend with your horse is a training moment – whether you want it to be or not! Training, in this sense, means more than teaching correct leads or a fluid side pass; it means shaping our horse’s behavior for better or worse by how we [...]
If you have a horse that motors into a gallop everytime you ask for a canter while riding or on the lunge line then you might want to start from square one back in the round pen. Most of our problems with horses can be attributed to “Us asking but the horse isn’t listening” or “Us asking and the horse not understanding”. Both of these scenarios can be solved with the proper building blocks of basic training practices and good riding.
We make mistakes when we work with our horses. I’ve had my fair share. Fortunately the horse is a forgiving creature and hopefully we learn from our mistakes. Discover my initial mistake with Tessla, a beautiful 3 y.o. Friesian filly and our first four rides together.
Raising your own horse is like baking a cake from scratch. If you start with quality ingredients, follow the recipe, take your time, don’t open the oven door before the timer goes off, test for doneness, and don’t over-bake or set the heat too high, you end up with something delicious! In horse speak – [...]
In a previous post I went through techniques of working a horse in the round pen and the philosophy behind such work. There was nothing new and original in this ‘how to’, just my adaptations and interpretations of the many great horse trainers out there and a reference to my own horse training experience. However, [...]
