Mind Over Muscle

If you watch a week-old foal playing in the paddock, you’ll see that he already knows how to walk, trot, canter, do flying changes, turns, spins, levade, piaffe, passage, extended trot/canter/gallop and every other movement you ever dreamed of. When we ride, the problem we have is to convince our horses to perform these movements … Read more

Teach Your Horse to Move Forward Not Backwards

My pet aversion is seeing people chase horses backwards on the ground. The last thing I want any horse to do is move backwards away from me to relieve pressure. Everything you ever want to do with your horse relies on moving forward, not backwards. You must have forward movement to control your horse. Forcing … Read more

The Horse’s Way or The Highway

I’ve seen many of the big name trainers working with horses and I don’t agree with much of what they do or what they say. I don’t agree with harassing horses with ropes and flags or letting horses buck with the saddle or roping their legs or chasing them around until they’re sweating and distressed. … Read more

It’s What You Think That Matters

Your attitude and how you think about horses, is the most important part of horse training. Your ability to handle horses isn’t worth a dime if your underlying thinking is flawed. Here are a few examples: 1. If you think your horse is being bad or naughty on purpose, you’ll punish him for reasons that … Read more

Horse Training Home Truths

Here, in no particular order, are a few home truths about horses: 1. It’s always good to ‘pet’ your horse at the appropriate time. Every horse will soon learn to enjoy having his head rubbed. Being nice to your horse doesn’t mean that he’s allowed to push over you or do whatever he pleases. 2. … Read more