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

Feedback

Our feedback is both heartwarming and encouraging. I’d like to share this letter that arrived in the mail today.  Dear Neil, Thank  you and your wife, without whom I doubt you could have written us  another book. I can only imagine your frustrations between books. I am  stunned when people comment on our horses / … Read more

Neil’s Book is Unique, by Joan Klenger

  Review Fear-Free Horse Training Every Step of the Way By Joan Klenger We live in a Hurry Up Quick world, moving a million miles a minute.  We are inundated with information, a constant barrage of data, so much detail, in fact, that there isn’t really enough time to stop and think about what we’re … Read more

Pulling back when tied up

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

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

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

Round Pen Myths and Legends

There are many stories about round yards and chasing horses. One story often told is that if you chase your horse in a round yard, you enter the ‘mystical’ world of the horse herd. You become the dominant horse in a magical herd of two. When your horse eventually comes to you, it’s supposedly because … Read more