Sample Our Newsletter From "Steering Your Horse," Issue 1, part 5 of our FREE monthly newsletter
Re: new horse owner
If you get too much of a slingshot action with the horse's head, where you pull it back and they give but immediately throw it forward, then you need to move your hands a little slower. Hold on longer, move slower to give back. Make them hold a little longer, until they really soften up, then slowly give it back and change direction.
Why Am I Doing This Again? Practical Uses Your horse "powers himself" from the hindquarters. Being able to "disengage" your horse's hips will allow you to unplug that power or use it to your advantage. You can move the hips to discourage your horse from bucking or rearing. Want to teach your horse to direct rein? This exercise gives you a terrific way to initially teach direct reining or to reinforce your direct rein when your horse misses a turn: Pick up the rein and say "Uh, no, we're going THAT way."
Keeping The Following In Mind Will Help You A horse always has one good side and one bad side. The problem with that is that it keeps changing. The left side might be the good side now, and the right side is the bad side. You'll work on that for fifteen minutes - and all of a sudden the right side is the good side and the left side is the bad side. It'll keep going back and forth. Smile, it's just part of training.
Common Mistake: Doing a U-Turn instead of insisting that the tail pivot around the shoulders like the hands of a clock. Watch that inside shoulder until it stops - that's when you're moving the hips correctly. Remember to time your release in order to let the horse know that that's what you've been looking for.
Don't: Ride in a straight line: You shouldn't spend more than one or two steps max going straight, then you should be turning. You don't want to be going straight. Getting your horse to travel straight is a perfection of going left and right. If I can't get my horse to travel straight, it's because he's either going left or right. If he's going left when I'm asking him to go straight, that means he's not responding to my right cue. (That is "turn right.") So what you want to work on is going left and right. The more you work on left and right, the easier "straight" is.
Do: Make sure you sit up. Don't get too hunched over. If your nose gets beyond that saddle horn your body will get out of position. If he stops hard or does something, your body will have a tendency to fall forward. If you're kicking and that horse isn't moving, you keep bumping and pick up that rein. If you bump and he's not moving...
Cues are like passwords - cues are secret codes between you and your horse. No trainer - no problem. This book explains how horses learn and the characteristics of a good teacher. Develop a partnership and working relationship with your horse. Help your partner to understand the cues, when to teach a new lesson, getting consistent performance, and understanding learning cycles.
Section I: Training Principles
• No Trainer? What Can You Do? (developing lesson plans)
• The Horse Has The Money (develop a parnership with your horse)
• Figuring Out Those Cues (developing cues, voice cues)
• Tackling Training Slumps (when to teach a new lesson, learning cycles)
Section II: Ground Handling Problems Solved
• The Go Forward and Yield to Pressure Cues (Does my horse know how to lead? Trailer load preparation)
• Head Shy
• Accepting the Bridle
• The WESN Lesson (get your horse to stand still and/or back up while you're on the ground)
• Standing Tied
• Hooves Under Control (how to tell the horse to pick up its feet)
• Reform School for Biters (deal with a biter)
• Lunge Line Training
Section III: Riding Problems Solved
• Who's In Charge (the active vs reactive rider)
• Is the Gas Pedal Stuck (developing speed control, the speed up cue, getting your horse to hold a steady speed)
• Buddy Sour
• Stop Without a Stop Cue (five ways to tell the horse to stop his feet before you've trained him to give to the bit)
• The Calm Down Cue
• Is This the Party To Whom I'm Speaking? (the philosophy behind giving to the bit, communicating through the reins)
• If At First You Don't Succeed (train your horse to stand still for mounting)
Section IV: Having Fun With Your Horse
15 Trail Riding Tips
Teaching Your Horse To Lie Down
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