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Welcome to the May 2009 issue of "Lyons Training 101," written by John Lyons Certified Trainer Keith Hosman.
Is it time to buy a horse? Know the common traps?
Will it be your first? If it is, there are a few things you need to know. Owning a horse is a huge commitment of time, not just money. Make sure that you'll have no buyer's regret; make sure you get the horse of your dreams, not somebody else's nightmare. This month: Five tips to do it right.
Free! Print this article for zero dollar-oonies for the next thirty days. Hang it in the tack room for all to peruse, haul it out at your next lunch break, show it to a fellow equestrian nut, hand it out to your local 4-H riders! (It's kind of a big file and will take a moment or two to appear on your screen after clicking that link.)
You'll find "When Buying a Horse: 5 First-Timer Tips" sampled below. To read in its entirety or to print it out, follow the links provided. If they don't work or you're not getting the emails properly, see the bottom of this page.
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More articles you can print out and collect...
Do It Yourself Training:
1) Teach Your Horse to Drop His Head
1) 6 Easy Ways to Improve Your Training
3) Whoever Moves First Loses: Rainy Day Training
Note: These large files can take several minutes to come up on your screen.
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Previous horse-training tips and articles can be found 24/7 at Horsemanship101.com/Articles. All can be printed out & saved for easy access later.
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Get themed articles emailed each day for a week! Examples: Ridling Lessons, Curing Vices, Leading and Ground Manners. Sign up now (Total cost $0).
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If you're buying a horse, especially if it's to be your first, here are five tips that'll save you (and your family and your local horse trainer) plenty of headaches in the coming years. It's far from a complete rundown and you are advised to seek further guidance from your trainer, your vet – and any experienced horseman you can corner before putting any money down (or "accepting" in the case of a free or rescued horse). Note that the following may very well read like a list of things "not to do," but you'd be amazed how many emails I receive (nearly on a daily basis) from folks who "just seemed to have acquired a couple of horses"... and are now in over their heads, sending emails begging for help because they can't afford a professional trainer. I'm going to be blunt in the coming paragraphs and I do so as a service to your pocket book and family. Horses are not toys, nor are they machines that can be tuned using objective measurements out of some book then stored away till the next season.
Owning a horse is a full time commitment; it's 24/7, 365 days a year – for years and years. It means boarding bills and feed bills and vet bills and farrier bills. (And always at the worst times.) It means finding someone to care for it or turn it out when you go on vacation or work long hours. It means being solely responsible for an animal that has feelings and learns both good and very dangerous habits. It means putting compassion in its place and making hard choices – and, to that end, here's a little dose of reality: While owning a horse has its rewards, a horse is an animal that could kick you in the head and sleep soundly tonight. Their behavior evolves every moment of every day and if you can't afford training...
keep reading this article
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"Round Pen: First Steps"
- Spook In Place, Pick Up Feet
- Come To You, Sacking Out
- Bonus: Trailer Training Using a Round Pen
- Print from home in 2 minutes, be training in 5!
Find out more
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Now Get *Any Two: Trailer Training, Stop Bucking, Rein In Your Speed, or Round Penning
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- *Sorry, "Your Foal" excepted
Yes there's a catch! Get details
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Here's an excerpt from a previous article called "How to Make Horse Training (More) Affordable." Just as this month's featured article ("When Buying Your Horse") deals with the dollars and cents of purchasing the animal, the following offers advice on cutting the long-term costs associated with keeping it: namely quality training.
"Got a horse that needs training but you can't afford it and you'd never consider giving away so much potential? The horse you saved from the packer or bred yourself or adopted at the BLM? He loves you and you love him and you gave him a really cool name. Yet you're getting the creeping feeling that you're in over your head. Flicka seems to be getting more dangerous daily and you're beginning to believe that he lies awake at night thinking of ways to torment you. But, darn it, he's got potential! Things could be so good! Flicka's bred to death; he's "out of Texas by Boxcar." He's a free spirit, gorgeous and happy. Sure, he gets grumpy when asked to do... anything... but if you could just figure out how to unlock all that potential...
And what's really driving you nuts is that everybody at the barn has an opinion. "Use a stronger bit, use a leverage bit, throw the bit away and ride with a hackamore." You'd tell them to stick their advice – but you just got dumped again and you're in no position to argue...."
Read the entire article by following the link or by visiting Horsemanship101.com/Articles.
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More articles for the horse owner:
- "I'm Scared of My Horse!"
- "Whoever Moves First Loses" (Ground Control)
- "Leading the Spoiled Horse"
All articles are online and available 24/7.
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Thanks for reading - and regards,
Keith Hosman, John Lyons Certified Trainer
Horsemanship101.com
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If you're having trouble with links and want to continue reading today's edition, you'll find all issues listed here:
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If some of our emails reach you and some don't, here are some suggestions. |
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How will you train your new foal?
My downloadable book "Your Foal: Essential Training" shows you exactly what to do!
Here's a sample
from Day One:
"Weanlings are like hot house flowers. There's only so much you can do with them while you're waiting for them to grow and blossom into something you can ride or ask to pull a cart. You feed them; you water them; you show them off. Still, potted plants don't grow progressively more dangerous with each passing day as can the typical colt beginning to feel his oats. Few florists are done in annually by your average petunia, yet growing your horse into a safe and obliging member of the family requires buckets of consistent training from you, the owner. Loving horse owners are done in frequently by well-placed kicks; they lose fingers to "playful nips" and have their toes stepped on all too often. For safety's sake – and to ensure his value in future years as a quality "riding horse," there are certain training milestones that must be met..."
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