People often think if you can’t stop a horse then he’s ‘hard in the mouth’. So they use a more severe bit and force their horse to run backwards or make him back up time after time. Many people think this will make a horse ‘soft’ and make him easier to stop. This approach … Read more
Teaching a young horse to back up should always be one of the last things you do. Backing up is actually an extension of moving forward correctly and is quite an advanced movement for a horse. Though every young horse needs to be taught to back up, it must never be the first thing you … Read more
Your timing is critical in every aspect of horse training. If you’re even a few seconds early or late with your timing, your horse won’t understand what you want and he won’t respond as you think he should. Horses learn only from the immediate result they get. You must correct your horse by making things … Read more
NEIL’S HORSE TRAINING HISTORY By Christine Davies I’ve known Neil since he was twenty and shared his love of horses for all those years. While I rode my nicely trained (by Neil) horse five or six days each week, Neil rode at least eight or nine ‘outside’ horses that came to our stables for training … Read more
When I was about 14, people often sent ponies to us to be ‘broken in’. I got the job done on weekends and after school, with my father’s help. Looking back, we took a pretty crude approach. For the first few days, we put the girth and mouthing gear on and left the pony in … Read more
People always ask me how to overcome horse problems or does my book cover this or that specific issue. Here are some examples: My horse: Doesn’t trust people, Is herd bound, Is barn sour, Bites when I do up the girth, Has head-tossing syndrome, Shies or Rears, Kicks and Bites, Pulls back, Bucks, Won’t back … Read more
Most horse training is based on pressure and relief. Everyone uses pressure and relief in some way shape or form, even those who say they don’t. Pressure can be described as anything that a horse finds uncomfortable or unpleasant or worrying. No matter how slight the discomfort, unpleasantness or worry may be, it’s still pressure. … Read more
In my grandfather’s day, horses had to earn their keep. A horse eating his head off out in the paddock wasn’t much use to anyone. Not many people could afford to keep a horse as a pet or just to ride on Sunday. Grandfather managed ‘Abbotsford’ at Picton, about 60 miles south west of Sydney. … Read more
Giving is a state of mind. It’s not a physical condition whereby a horse carries his head low and feels soft in your hand. When a horse is ‘giving’ it means he’s relaxed, listening, moving forward and trying his hardest for you. To teach a horse to give, he must first be taught to move … Read more
There’s a misconception in the horse world that you need to do something to a horse’s mouth or nose so that he’ll stop or turn. In fact, I’m often asked how I ‘mouth’ a young horse. My answer is always the same, “I’ve never been able to teach any horse’s mouth anything.” There’s no process … Read more