Contemporary Horsemanship Podcast: Recent Episodes
Chandra
The contemporary horsemanship podcast’s goal is the share horse training information with as many people as possible. Here I will explain and discuss many horse behaviors, training techniques, and riding tips.
Clicker training requires a marker signal. This marker is usually a click from a handheld clicker or a tongue click. The marker signal tells the horse that what he is doing right now is what you wanted and he will be getting reinforcement soon. The signal creates a bridge between the behavior and reinforcement. It can be very hard to feed at the exact right moment when the behavior you want is happening and that is where the marker signal comes into play. I’ll talk about how to pick out a good marker signal for your horse and how to start clicker training with a fearful horse.
My mustang Atlas recently injured his eye which required me to put two different medications in it four times a day. I used clicker training to get him to cooperate during this process. I discuss how I did this with him at liberty and what I learned from this experience.
Training horses with positive reinforcement is different than training using traditional training methods. There is a lot more attention to detail, planning, and arranging the environment. These are all little but important things that will make you more successful in your training. I’ll talk about these small things that I didn’t realize were so important when I started training with R+.
I see people releasing a pressure cue before they are getting the behavior they want happen often and in many different forms. For example, picking up on the reins and asking the horse to stop. The horse ignores the cue and keeps going. The rider thinks he’s done something wrong or let’s go of the pressure on the reins for another reason. The horse has inadvertently been given a release of pressure which tells him that this was the correct answer. The horse then continues to ignore rein cues to stop. This miscommunication can grow quickly in to a frustrated and confused horse and rider. I explain why this happens, how to spot a miscommunication and what to do to make your cues more clear to the horse.
I wanted to do a revised version of my old episode on leading. I am always learning and adding new stuff to my training program and getting rid of old techniques or beliefs as I grow. I have definitely found what I consider to be the best way to teach a horse to lead and that is with a target. I’ll also talk about how to fix some common leading issues and why they happen in the first place.
There can be a lot of confusion about cues for both people and horses. Sometimes horses don’t respond to the cues we give them, sometimes horses do a behavior without a cue, and when the context changes (when you are in a new or different environment) the behavior can seem to fall apart. I’m covering what a cue is, how to train one, issues with cueing and what stimulus control is.
We can easily get wrapped up in why we want to show our horses. We can often forget how horse shows and other events feel like to the horse. Horse shows are filled with scary things that can cause a horse to be very stressed. I’ll talk about some important things that we should take into consideration and prep for while taking a horse somewhere new.
Shaping is done when using both negative and positive reinforcement. It is more often associated with positive reinforcement though. Shaping is when you reinforce small steps toward the behavior that you ultimately want. By reinforcing behavior that is close to what you want, the horse keeps trying and will be less frustrated.
I want people to have realistic expectations with horses. Everyone loses when a horse is promised to be bombproof and will never spook. I’m going to talk about why I think this is so dangerous and give some tips on what to really expect from a horse, bombproof or not.
We all get burn out and just need a break sometimes. There is a culture in the horse world that you must work with or ride your horse all the time, no matter how you or your horse feels. But instead of working just to get something done, there are lots of other things we can do while still getting a mental and physical break from working with horses. I’ll cover some of those options and why they are beneficial.
I’ve recently started participating in equine agility and I have really enjoyed training my horses through each course. I love that whips are not allowed, taking slack out of the rope takes points off of your score, and you are allowed to use food. I will expand on why I love these things and more reasons why I think horse agility is a fantastic sport and a step in the right direction for the horse world. To check it out for yourself visit https://www.thehorseagilityclub.com/
Start buttons are a tool used in clicker training where the animal performs one before to let the handler know he is ready for another behavior. I have found start buttons to be very helpful in horse training. I’ll cover what start buttons are and how to use them.
Once the horse is ok with crossing and standing on a tarp, then you can start training the next two behaviors. I’ll explain the process of teaching a horse to be ok with having the tarp over his back and how to teach him to drag a tarp from the beginning.
The usual ways of training a horse to cross a tarp include chasing, pulling, and pressuring the horse until he does it. By forcing a horse to cross in this way you can very easily make going near the tarp a source of pain and fear, making your goal even harder. By using positive reinforcement the horse will be more willing to cross the tarp and will do so faster and easier than any other form of training.
All horses spook at some point. I’ll give you some tips on how to help your horse when he is afraid. Keeping the horse under threshold and slowly building their confidence is key.
Whips are a highly debated topic in the horse world. Much of the debate comes from tradition or opinion and not from science. I’m going to talk about the science behind how a whip functions in horse training. I’ll also cover some of the side effects that can happen when the whip is used improperly.
There is a lot of myths around why a horse licks and chews. The behavior is often explained as a horse showing that it is relaxed. Licking and chewing is actually a calming signal. I’ll explain what a calming signal is and how they function.
I’m explaining the science behind ‘relationship training’ or getting a horse’s focus to get them to relax. Then I’ll talk about the different types of clinics and how they effect horses. Finally I’ll give my thoughts on the movie Buck.
I use protected contact quite a bit in my training, especially for horses who are fearful or display potentially dangerous behaviors. By using protected contact I can still train the behaviors I want, while we both can have the space we need to feel safe. Once the behavior is trained I can then progress to free contact.
Most people overlook this critical piece of training with their horses. How the horse takes the treat and when are extremely important as this information tells the horse what behaviors are being reinforced. I’ll go into detail on how to teach a horse to take a treat properly and when to give the food.
This week I want to cover some common misconceptions about clicker training, also known as positive reinforcement.
There are many misconceptions out there on how natural horsemanship, R- or pressure works. I want to clear up some of those ideas and explain what is actually happening when using those types of training.
I thought I’d do a quick episode about my horses. I talk about them sometimes in training episodes but never really gave details about them. They are very important to me and are the reason I’ve learned so much in the last few years. Later I’ll do an update on them in the future about where they are in their training.
I’m talking about more human examples on how we learn through classical conditioning. But I want to connect these examples to the horse world so we can see how easily connections can be made in the horse’s mind and how classical conditioning is always working whether we notice it or not.
I recently saw a video showing some of the reasons why a race horse had the best care. I definitely disagreed with these reasons as horses don’t care about most of them. People tend to anthropomorphize with our horses. We need to instead look at what is really important for a horse from his point of view. I talk about the 5 freedoms and what horses truly need.
I’ll go over the steps on how to teach a horse to do a spin on the ground. This is an easy trick, that my horses enjoy doing. I explain how to teach it using R+ or R-.
I’m discussing the different types and kinds of fly masks. I also talk about the process of training a horse to wear a fly mask.
I watched the most recent horse starting competition recently and wanted to share my thoughts on the event. I’m going to discuss the competition its self and the training procedures used by the different trainers.
If you are considering getting a mustang either wild or trained there are few important things you should know first. I have gained so much from my experience with my mustangs. I want others who are interested and their horses to have good experiences and stay safe too.
Having a horse that has more energy or gets spooky durning cooler weather is pretty common. It can also be very frustrating. I’ll discuss some reasons why this happens and how to deal with it.
There are many unwanted behaviors that can occur as consequences of using aversives in training. Escape, Avoidance, Learned Helplessness, Coercion, and Aggression are some common issues that can happen. I’m going to give an overview on what these side effects are and how to avoid them.
In this episode, I’ll talk about the punishment side of the learning quadrants. Unlike reinforcement, punishment is effective when it decreases or stops a behavior. Lots of people use punishment effectively or ineffectively without knowing it. I’ll discuss what punishment is and the details of negative punishment versus positive punishment.
There are four learning quadrants. They are positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment. I’m going to stick with the reinforcement side for this episode. It is common for people to get confused on what positive and negative reinforcement is and the terms are used in the wrong way a lot. I want to clear up what each of these are and how they effect us and our horses in training.
Operant conditioning is the kind of conditioning that you will see most often during training and it is more obvious than classical conditioning. Operant conditioning is when an animal operates on its environment to get what it wants or avoid what it does not like. Operant conditioning is happening all the time whether using R+ or R- training methods.
Classical conditioning is happening all the time, for better or for worse. It is essentially learning by association. This can work in a negative way such as when you hear a bee buzzing right before you get stung. Now you associate buzzing with being stung. Or classical conditioning can work in a positive way. You hear the song of an ice cream truck and want to go toward it and get a treat. I’ll talk about how classical conditioning is training our horses and how you can use it to your benefit.
I’ll talk about what desensitization and habituation are and how they differ. Most importantly I’ll cover how they affect the horse during training. What we are usually doing and calling desensitization is actually not and is more flooding/ habituation. I’ll clear up what these terms mean and what’s best for the horse.
I’ll talk about the role sensitization plays in training horses. I’ll also cover what unconditional and conditional reflexes are. These topics are the beginning of training a horse to respond to different cues, either with R+ or R-.
I want to do a series on the science behind horse training and behavior. First I want to talk about reflexes. Why they are important to clicker training and why normal reactions in horses can cause us so much frustration.
I want to talk about common reasons why horses kick and some ways that we can help to change that behavior.
I wanted to do another book review, this time on Ray Hunt’s book Think Harmony With Horses. It had some good ideas, but overall I preferred Mark Rashid’s book Horses Never Lie. Mark has very similar ideas but explained them in more detail.
I recently read one of Mark Rashid’s books Horses Never Lie. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot, so I wanted to share what I though about it in a little review.
The reason that horses have problem behaviors is because they are either afraid or uncomfortable. When a horse feels like this they often default to using flight or fight behaviors, which almost all are what we consider problems. If the horse learns that a behavior, like biting, works to get the human to stop doing what is making them uncomfortable it then becomes a learned behavior. We need to find the cause of why the horse feels uncomfortable or afraid to truly solve behavior issues.
You never know when a horse will need eye drops or ointment. I like to prepare them for this by doing desensitizing and targeting so that they will be comfortable when I need to handle the eyes. I’ll cover why horses become afraid when you hold them for these procedures and how to train a horse to stand quietly for them.
Lots of horses get worried when they have to be near the clippers. I will walk you through the process that I use to get a horse comfortable being clipped.
Lots of things that have been happening in the horse world recently have really disappointed me and made me think of how we can change the industry for the better. I go into my story with horses and how I have grown throughout the years in my training. Hopefully this will open some minds when seeing or trying out new methods of working with horses.
This is a very quick episode talking about why horses chew wood and what you can do about it.
I just wanted to discuss some of the recent events that happened at this year’s derby. I’ll also talk a little about other horse sports and racing in general. These are just my opinions on racing. The overall ideas I hope to share are how to make the world better and safer for horses.
In part 2 I’ll be talking about feeding, environment, and exercise and how they effect the horse’s behavior. I’m also going to cover some red flags to look out for when buying and selling.
There are a lot of details when it comes to buying and selling horses. Horses are not machines and there are many variables that can change a horse’s behavior. I’m talking about some of the main things to think about when buying and selling horses. Hopefully with these tips both experiences go smoothly for you and especially the horses.
I’ll cover how to train your horse to pick you up from the mounting block using both positive and negative reinforcement. I’ll talk about how to teach your horse to side pass toward you using R-. And talk about asking the horse to come up to the block using R+. Having your horse come to the mounting block is very handy and will give you an idea of how your horse is feeling about riding that day.
There can be many behaviors horses show us that they are uncomfortable being mounted and ridden. Walking off while you are getting on is one of the most common. I’ll talk about this behavior and others, why they are happening and how to fix them.
Hobbling is one of those things that can go wrong very quickly. It’s important to teach the horse how to give to rope pressure on each of his legs first. I’ll talk about some other steps to take in order to set your horse up for success. But also consider the cost v.s. benefit of teaching this lesson.
I’ll explain a few ways to load your horse into a trailer using negative reinforcement (R-). You can use different tools to load the horse, but the application and release of pressure will still be the same. I’ll talk about some ways that I use to load that are the least aversive to the horse.
Horses that rush through gates or stall doors can be frustrating and dangerous. I’ll cover some of the reasons why horses feel the need to rush through tight spaces. I’ll also talk about some ways we can retrain this behavior.
A horse that pulls on you while leading to graze can be frustrating and if the horse makes a habit of pulling it can get worse. I’ll talk about some ways to get the horse to stop grazing when you ask. But most importantly we need to get to the root of the problem and make sure that your horse’s needs are met so he doesn’t feel the need to be as desperate for grass.
There are two root causes why a horse would not want his ears touched or handled. Either he is afraid or in pain. I’ll cover some training tips to fix both types of horses.
I recently saw a video of a horse eating hay out of a hay bag that was attached to the saddle horn. This was a funny way of “teaching” a horse to bend and be softer on his stiff side. This made me want to explain how to actually teach your horse how to be soft. I’ll cover how to get a stiff horse to be responsive in the bridle and some reasons why he his is stiff in the first place.
I’ll explain what negative reinforcement is, how it is different from positive reinforcement, and what roll they both play in horse training.
Transitioning from traditional horse training to clicker training can be tough especially if you have been practicing for years. When I started adding clicker training to my program I struggled with these details that I had trouble letting go of with all my experience using R-. Hopefully these tips will help you use clicker training better with your horse.
I’m discussing what the difference is between actual desensitization and flooding. Tying things to horses has been somewhat popular on social media recently and I wanted to talk about some of the potential issues with doing this in training.
Horses can easily learn to bang on gates and stall doors or paw in anticipation of their meals. To fix these behaviors is pretty straightforward. You need to set aside the extra time while feeding and really watch what behaviors you are giving attention to.
Horses speak almost exclusively in body language. Some signs that the horse is tense can be hard to notice if they haven’t been pointed out to you. Being able to see small changes in posture, muscle tension, and body language will help you to understand what your horse is thinking. These small things can help you notice if your horse is starting to become worried and you can then help to calm the situation.
Trying something new with horses can be hard because we can get so stuck on doing things the way we’ve always done them. But the mat gives the horse a focal point to stand on and acts as a target. This can be helpful for training the stay, tying, grooming, tacking up, or tricks.
Wondering how long a normal training or riding session should last? I’ll tell you what I do with my horses and explain what ending on a good note should look like in a lesson.
Horses are designed to see all the way around them in order to look out for danger. When horses can’t see out when they are in a stall, wash rack, trailer, etc. they can become panicked. Horses can also be worried when they can’t see other horses. Being in a herd is a horse’s security system and without that the horse could feel like he has to look out for danger at all times. I’ll talk about what environmental changes you can make to keep your horse feeling safe.
Tying a horse can become dangerous fast if you don’t pay attention to the details. I’ll give some tips on how to keep you and your horse safe while he’s tied up.
Having a horse that resents being saddled can be very frustrating and even dangerous to deal with. I’ll talk about some ways to break the lesson down and rebuild tacking the horse up. I want the horse to have new, positive experiences with the saddle.
Riding with loose horses has become more popular with videos I’ve seen on social media. So I wanted to discuss some benefits and dangers of doing this exercise.
Having a horse who doesn’t want to stand for fly spray can be very frustrating. I had tried different methods of teaching my horses how to accept the spray and found that clicker training worked best for them and me. Here I will give you an overview on how to train this behavior using positive reinforcement.
I saw a dog agility competition recently and it gave me a lot of ideas about horse sports. I loved how happy the dogs were to be doing the course. I want to have horses be that happy about their work. I think it’s possible for horses to show as much joy as the dogs do (in their own way). So I just talk about thoughts I have about making this happen in the horse world.
In this episode in the ground driving series I’ll discuss how to get the horse used to having the lines over his hocks and then actually driving him on a circle. Once all of the desensitization had been done at the stand still, you can move on the getting the horse used to the rope touching him while he is moving. After this, we will start the beginning of ground driving by teaching walking and steering in the round pen.
Protected contact is a great resource for when you are training horses. I love using it to introduce clicker training to most horses. It is also beneficial to use for aggressive, muggy, or scared horses. Having a barrier between you and your horse allows you both to feel safe, let’s you set your horse up for success, and helps you make less mistakes in your training.
Once your horse is accepting of the ropes, you can start to teach him to move off of rope pressure. This lesson is super important in teaching your horse to steer and not be afraid of the ropes while ground driving. Don’t move on until your horse does this step well. Once he can do this lesson in a relaxed manner, he is ready for two reins and the beginning of actual ground driving.
I wanted to cover some safety issues with leaving halters on horses. Horses are large prey animals and will react violently to being stuck on something when the horse realizes that he is trapped. We can’t change a horse’s natural instinct, but we can help set up a safe environment.
Before you start ground driving your horse there are a few things to make sure that your horse knows first. Ground driving can look easy but there is a lot of desensitization, rein management, and skill that goes into it. In this episode, I cover all of those important details to make sure you both stay safe and successful.
In this episode I explore all of the reasons why training a horse by using traditional training or natural horsemanship techniques to load in the trailer don’t always work. The root of both of these ways to train horses is negative reinforcement. By using negative reinforcement you are putting pressure on the horse. When using this technique you have to be really careful not to put too much pressure on the horse or too little. Oftentimes people have a hard time doing this correctly and because of this the horse has issues loading. I will cover some ways to fix these common issues and help you understand why they sometimes don’t work.
At some piont in time your lead rope will probably fall on the ground, and when it does you want your horse to stop and not react if he were to step on it. The goal with this exercise is to teach the horse that the rope isn’t scary and to give to pressure just in case this happens. It is also a good desensitization lesson for a horse that is fearful of ropes.
Some times we get so caught up with training, riding, or showing that we forget how beneficial it is to just spend time with them. Exercises such as taking your horse on a walk, siting near him while he eats, hand grazing, etc. are great for building a bond with your horse. These and other ways to just be with your horse are great for teaching him that it isn’t always time to work when you show up.
I’m giving a quick overview of bridling issues that I see pretty often. Most of the time bridle issues can be caused by an ill fitting bridle, bit, or mouth pain. Once those basics are ruled out, make sure the horse isn’t worried about being away from the herd. After all of this has been taken care of, use positive reinforcement training to start building good associations with being bridled.
Horses can become worried easily in wash racks or by being sprayed with the hose at bathing time. By taking the right training steps and making the whole process some thing your horse wants to do you won’t have nearly has much frustration. Also, make sure that the water isn’t too hot or cold depending on the season.
As I was watching a horse show recently on tv and I heard the commentator incorrectly describing horse behavior. This bothered me because what they were saying was just not true. If we truly want to understand and be partners with our horses we must accurately understand what they are saying to us. We all can benefit from reading our horses better and more accurately providing for their needs.
Using clicker training, I will go over the process of teaching a horse how to be dewormed. Deworming can be a stressful time for horses and their care takers. A lot of horses don’t like being dewormed and most people just want to get it done with because it is for the benefit of the horse. With some understanding and breaking down the process of desensitizing, your horse can learn to be dewormed in an easy quick manner.
When using natural horsemanship or traditional training techniques we can be chasing our horses and we don’t even realize that we are doing it most of the time. I’ll cover why we should stop using chasing and pressure to lunge, ride, and train our horses. And discuss better training options so that our horses are calmer, braver, and safer.
I’m sharing my thoughts on what I think horse training competitions can change and improve on.
Instead of doing a episode on training or behavior with notes, I wanted to use my driving time for something productive and do an episode just on thoughts and ideas about shows. I also talk about timelines when it comes to training horses. My take is to slow down and enjoy the ride and maybe do some online horse shows.
I’m going to talk about what a shut down horse is, what causes a horse to do this, and how to prevent it. Resources for this episode include: How to Tell if Your Horse is Shut Down, article by Katie Boniface. What is Learned Helplessness and How it Can Make a Horse Shut Down, article by The Whole Horse.com. The Willing Equine Blog by Adele Shaw.
The third episode in the equine body language series is about how to spot a calm, happy horse. This body language may not be as easy to notice as the worried or mad body language but it is equally important. When you see a horse show these behaviors you know you are moving in the right direction with your training.
Probably some of the most frustrating behaviors for riders and trainers are displayed by scared horses. In this episode I will talk about some common behaviors you will see in horses who are worried, scared, or panicked. Being able to read when a horse is scared is important so that you can take steps to calm your horse down and then carry on with your riding or training.
In this episode, I’ll talk about some common equine body language and what it means. I’ll stick to just general angry, frustrated, and aggressive body language in this episode and try to describe it the best I can without being able to see a picture of the behavior. Hopefully this will help you understand what your horse is telling you so you both can communicate better.
There can be a lot of confusion between the two main types of reinforcements that are commonly used when training horses. I explain the basic concepts and how they affect the horse mentally and physically.
In this episode I’ll be explaining how to teach your horse how to lower his head on the ground using negative reinforcement. There are two main exercises I use to teach this. I then go over some common issues and how to continue with the lesson under saddle.
I am discussing the training of teaching a horse how to lower the head on cue using positive reinforcement.
This episode will discuss ways to teach your horse to stand still using positive reinforcement. Starting in protective contact and then building up the amount of time the horse can stand still. Then change positions, and take the horse out of protective contact. Add a cue to this behavior and start practicing in different locations.
Yielding the hindquarters on the ground will get the horse more maneuverable when tacking up, grooming, and trailer loading. In this episode I will be talking about training this lesson with R-. I do have another episode where I talk about this same exercise using R+. You can also mix the two if you’d like. Teaching the horse yielding the hindquarters on the ground will help him understand what you want once you are ready to teach this same lesson under saddle.
This episode is about training the horse to stand still in default. Default is what I want my horse to do when I haven’t asked him to do anything else. His default position would be to stand still and wait. This lesson is also good for teaching the horse to stand out of your space, prepare for ground tying, and grooming or tacking up without being tied. The R- stands for negative reinforcement, which is using pressure and release, which most horse trainers use. I will be doing another episode on how to do this same lesson using R+ as well.
This is a summary of my training philosophy. I cover training theories, horse care, common problems, and problem solving. With this episode you can get an idea if this podcast is right for you and your horse.
In this episode I am discussing how to train the hindquarter yield on the ground using clicker training. I am splitting each lesson up into how to train the behavior with clicker training and negative reinforcement (natural horsemanship) into their own episodes. Starting on the ground, the horse will learn to move his hindquarters over on cue. Once this is established, you can start transferring it to under saddle work.
Training a horse to touch a target will allow you to train all kinds of behaviors without chasing or putting pressure on the horse. I’m covering what kind of target to use, how to train the targeting behavior, solving common problems, and where to go from here.
I am discussing from the very beginning how I start to train horses. First, the horse needs to know what the click means. From there, you pair the click with food. Once the horse understands this, I start training a default behavior. The default is standing still relaxed, with his head straight. From this starting point I can train targeting or any other behavior.
Most people don’t know what poisoned cues are or how they affect the horse. Poisoned cues are ones where the horse isn’t sure of or doesn’t like the outcome of the cue. Some times the horse will get a release of pressure and/ or a treat. And sometimes the horse gets no release or gets punished. I’ll talk about common examples of these cues in training and what to do about them.
Covering the details of lateral flexion and how they affect your horse mentally and physically.
I’m discussing the ways we keep our horses, and how those practices can affect our horse’s training and overall well being.
I’m talking about all the little details that are involved in clicker training horses that make a big difference in your training outcome. The horses relaxation, attention, and ability to understand pressure are important yet not often covered as far as clicker training goes. In this podcast I’ll talk about those topics and more.
The next ground work lesson that I teach is the back up. This lesson is important for your safety in teaching every other lesson. I go over the main ways to train a horse to back up and how to fix some common problems.
I am talking about leading today. How to do it, how to teach your horse to lead, and how to fix any problems you may have run into.
In today’s episode, I’m talking about how to get started with clicker training in a safe and successful way. I am also covering common problems and how to fix them.
This episode is all about catching horses. How to catch one if you’re not sure how to do it properly and how to solve many issues when horses don’t want to be caught. I will be explaining how to catch a horse using natural horsemanship as well as covering some clicker training techniques.
Some not-always-thought-about tips for keeping your horse and yourself safe while handling, riding, and around the barn. This is part one of an ongoing series.
In this episode, I will discuss some ways of teaching the stand still, both on the ground and under saddle.
It’s been a common idea that you must gain your horse’s respect in order for the horse to listen to you. Here, I’ll share some theories about why that’s not true and how it can actually be harmful for your horse’s training and relationship.
Uses for and reasons why using head down cues both on the ground and under saddle are helpful. Teaching a head down cue on the ground will help you to halter and bridle easily, while also helping your horse stay calm and relaxed while riding.
Teaching your horse voice cues can be really helpful for riding and ground work. I talk about some tips and what to avoid while teaching these types of cues.
If you want an easy and gentle way to teach your horse to trailer load, this is it. I’m absolutely amazed by how much horses love positive reinforcement and how easy it is to communicate with them. Horses who won’t load, rush off, or who just don’t like the trailer will be changed into horses who crave the trailer.
Today I’m talking about the different types of blankets for horses and their uses. I am also covering how to blanket a horse and when and why it’s important.
It’s important to have realistic time frames and goals when working with horses. I have some lofty goals, so I need to remind myself to be realistic when considering the needs of my horses. Every horse learns at their own pace and will be brought along in varying amounts of time. Knowing this and making a reasonable plan will help you become successful.
If you would like to start round penning your horse, thinking about buying a round pen, or are having trouble connecting with your horse inside the pen this episode is for you.
In this series, I’m going to talk about the different kinds of lunging. I’ll start off talking about the ‘natural horsemanship’ type of lunging. From how to do it, to common problem solving and tips.
How to fix a horse that doesn’t want to move forward off of your leg or is just lazy in general.
Having realistic expectations with your horse based on his price, breed, and temperament are vital to your success and safety.
I wanted to give an overview of what clicker training for horses is, how it is used, and how you can get started today.
Here I just give some general information on cross tying from the horse’s perspective. I also talk about some training tips to help you as you teach your horse to cross tie.
I like to think of horse training as a two way communication between horse and human, not just the human telling the horse what to do. When you listen to your horse, he can tell you if he is ready for a particular task. He will tell you he is not by struggling with it. This is when you go back and break down the lesson so your horse is always successful and therefore so are you.
Horses all want to be comfortable just like we do. When riding or training, a horse will want to get to the place that he perceives as a comfortable area. That place is what I call the horse’s magnet. Magnets are usually the gate, which leads to his stall, field, or buddies. Another horse in the arena or on the other side of the fence. Or the side of the arena where the horse lives. The horse wants to go to these magnets seeking comfort. Most horses will display ‘bad’ behavior in order to get to that place where they feel safe.
Horses who pin their ears can be frustrating to handle and convince to change their habit. You want your horse to enjoy your time together, as well as keep yourself safe from any behaviors that could escalate from that attitude. Here I will talk about my experience with my mare who pins her ears and some solutions for the behavior.