Most people feel apprehensive when they start a horse under saddle. The last thing they want to do is actually get on the horse’s back, because they’re worried he might buck. So they spend days and sometimes weeks chasing horses with waving flags and flapping tarps. They saddle horses and drive them in long reins … Read more
A lady bought a horse to one of my clinics and said, ‘I’m having trouble with flying changes. Can you teach him to change leads for me. I’m doing dressage and I need flying changes.’ There are many steps that lead to a correct flying change. Your horse must be able to walk, trot and … Read more
When a horse is frightened, his first means of defence is to run away. When a frightened horse is cornered and can’t escape, he’ll instinctively defend himself by kicking, striking, biting or bucking. These aren’t signs of aggression, they’re simply signs that a horse is frightened and can see no other way out of the … Read more
When a horse pulls back, the first thing someone does is yell ‘Whoa boy, whoa’. When a horse bucks or takes fright you hear the same thing, ‘Whoa, boy, whoa’. When a horse falls or becomes tangled in a fence, you hear it again, ‘Whoa, whoa, settle down’. You’ve probably heard this a thousand times. … Read more
People often say “but my horse doesn’t like having his head rubbed”. I know this is true in many cases. No horse likes having his head rubbed when he’s first handled. Every horse will be worried when your hand first comes near his head and ears. If a horse doesn’t like having his head rubbed, … Read more
Many horse people like to think they are at one with nature. They feel it’s perfectly natural to chase a horse in a round yard. They have a warm fuzzy feeling about being a member of the horse herd. When their horse eventually faces them or follows them, it appeals to their ‘inner spirit’ to … Read more
Many horse trainers make lots of money selling all sorts of gadgets and widgets. You can buy ‘special’ lasso ropes to catch your horse and ‘special’ halters to make him ‘respect’ you. There are the ‘special’ sticks with magic powers, all sorts of bridles to solve all sorts of problems and halters to ‘cure’ a … Read more
The first thing I do with every horse is go to him and rub his head. I teach him that life is easy and pleasant when he has his head with me. This is the most important thing you can teach any horse. Next, I teach her to stand and keep her head with me … Read more
We’re often told that horses are mimics and will copy whatever their ‘leader’ does. I’ve seen trainers run along in a trotting motion when they want a horse to trot alongside them. Even better, when they want the horse to canter, I’ve seen trainers skip along pretending to canter, thinking that the horse will copy … Read more
Back in the early 1970s, the Megalong Valley Gymkhana was a horse event not to be missed. The gymkhana ground was just a clearing in the scrub, about two furlongs (400 metres) in length and fifty metres wide. There were flag races, bending races, pick up races and other novelty events. The main events of … Read more