The near-side of a horse is his left hand side when you’re sitting on his back. His off-side is his right hand side. It’s ingrained into most horse people that horses should always be handled from the near-side. We’re told to always approach and catch a horse from the near-side and to saddle, bridle and … Read more
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
People always ask me for advice on how to ‘fix’ their horse. ‘My horse rears/shies/kicks up/won’t leave the barn/won’t leave his friend/won’t go into the trailer…’ On and on it goes and everyone wants their horse ‘fixed’. Others say: ‘There’s something wrong with my horse because he lays his ears back/chases me/bites me when I … 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
Many people have a happy agreement with their horse, whereby the rider is happy when their horse mostly does as they ask for most of the time. Whether they ride in an arena, in a paddock, down the road or on the trail, many people are happy to simply arrive at their destination. They don’t … Read more
The aim of every rider should be to have their horse confident and relaxed and moving forward with straightness. This doesn’t mean that your horse moves in a straight line. Neither does it mean that your horse keeps his body straight. Straightness means that your horse is relaxed and confident and moving forward with an … Read more
Many people have an unjustified prejudice against the use of sticks and spurs in horse training. They think that sticks and spurs are cruel and are used to punish a horse and ‘show him who’s boss’, and therefore should never be used on any horse. Some people believe that horses are naturally afraid of sticks … Read more
These days, we live in a world of political correctness gone mad. Many people say it’s wrong to use a bit or to tap a horse with a stick or touch him with a blunt spur. “It’s cruel” they say. This is complete nonsense. When a young horse is confident and relaxed, introducing a bit, … Read more
1. No matter how old your horse is, take him a treat each day and rub his head. If you do this, he’ll soon look forward to seeing you. Start each lesson by going to your horse and showing him it’s easy and pleasant to be with you. Every horse will learn to enjoy having … Read more