There’s a big debate in the horse training world about whether you should be the ‘alpha’ mare, the ‘lead’ mare, the ‘boss’ stallion or the ‘submissive’ horse. Trainers have allegedly camped out in the bush for months on end to study the behaviour of wild horse herds. They say that observing horses in their natural … Read more
A fellow rang the other day to buy a copy of my book. ‘I need it straight away because I’m breaking-in my horse and tomorrow I have to tie him up and put the bit on for the first time. Everyone says I have to tie him up before I ride him. Is the book … 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
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
Many equine scientists say that horses must be habituated to every situation – a new stable, the saddle and girth, the headstall, bit and bridle, the saddle cloth, the rug and on and on it goes. If you ask ten different people what they mean by habituation, you’ll get ten different answers. Habituation seems to … Read more