Four Lessons to Teach Your Horse

What are the four most important lessons in horse training? According to experts, you need to teach your horse about motivation, spot, direction, and reward.

Horse trainers who find it hard to handle horses will need to teach these four lessons to their horse. It doesn't really matter if you’re training a performance horse or a colt because these lessons are essential to the training program. Don’t let your horse control you; you need to act as the leader of the herd.

Horse training is also about proper control. Training horses can be compared to building a brick house. It takes some time before you can finish building it. So you need to give your horse time in learning the various lessons of the training program. The different body parts of your horse should be easily controlled; you can start by controlling one part at a time. While doing this, you need to be an active rider, not a reactive one.

Motivation

This is the first lesson to introduce to your horse. Horses are wild animals by nature. They eat, play, groom, and sleep. However, they are also known as herd animals and a mare controls the whole herd. In order to effectively train your horse, you will need to act as the leader of the herd. Since you’re going to train your horse, it’s like asking your horse to work for you. You need to think of something that will motivate your horse to follow the training program you've set up for him. Horses don’t want to be led and that’s one fact that you should accept. But it doesn't end there. You should not give up yet.

Spot

This is where ‘spot’ comes in. You need to find a particular spot that you can control so that your horse will follow. This may take time but just keep on trying to identify the right spot on the horse’s body.

Direction

After you've found a spot, you need to decide on the direction. Each part of the horse’s body can go in different directions – left, right, forward, backward, down, and up. Choose only one direction. Make sure that your horse understands your aids or signal so that he will not be confused.

Reward

This is the last lesson. When your horse follows your signals, don’t forget to give him a reward. You can give him a treat or you can simply pat him lightly and say ‘that’s a good boy/girl’.

The four lessons seem very easy but it’s different when you’re already on the training ground. Stubborn horses are difficult to handle and you will need a lot of time and patience. If you lack experience, don’t hesitate to consult the experts. Don’t be discouraged because not all horses are stubborn; there are also those who are easy to work with. The secret is to teach the four lessons one at a time. When your horse is familiar with the lessons, you will encounter fewer problems.

Identifying a motivating factor is not as easy as you think. Start out early. You should also be a good rider so that you won’t be confused in interpreting the horse’s moves. Learn all that you can about proper horse training. You must study the horse’s behavior and personality. Try to learn how to incorporate these four lessons to your training program and best of luck to you.

Clinics For Training Horses

When you’re still learning to ride and handle your horse, going to horse training clinics is vital. You and your horse can encounter many great experiences in the clinic. It doesn’t really matter whether you’re an advanced rider or a beginner. Horse training clinics usually offer different levels of horsemanship classes to meet your specific needs.

Make the reservations early if you want to experience your first clinic. It’s like booking for your travel. Many people are now interested in horse training and so training clinics are usually fully booked or reserved. If you’re planning to sign up for a class, make a reservation now.

Look for horse training clinics in your area. It would be best to choose an established clinic because their services are already proven. You must meet with the teacher personally before you start the classes. Try to get the teacher’s contact number and call him or her before the start of the classes so that you can prepare for the exercises. If you’re prepared, you can participate in the different activities and exercises. If you ask for any homework, you need to ensure that you’re prepared the next day.

Since you’ll be traveling to the clinic, your horse should be familiar with the trailer; otherwise, you will find it hard to travel the horse when it’s already time for the class. Weeks before the clinic class, show your horse the trailer and allow it to explore the inside. Try to lead the horse inside the trainer but don’t move it yet.

Once your horse is comfortable inside the trailer, you can now take short trips. If your horse is still uncomfortable when the trailer is already moving, stop and try all over again. Do this again and again until your horse gets used to a moving trailer.

On the day of the clinic class, you should leave early. You’ll never know what’s going to happen. Drive carefully because you’re towing the horse. In the clinic, your horse will see lots of people and other horses. If they feel afraid or uncomfortable, your horse may not want to go out of the trailer at once.

When the teacher is giving lessons, you need to focus your attention. This is a training opportunity that you shouldn’t miss especially if you’re determined to learn. Don’t just do the exercises and lessons in the clinic; when you get home and the horse has rested for a while, you can now reinforce all the lessons taught for the day. This is one way to ensure that your horse does not forget the lessons.

It would be best to choose local horse training clinic because your horse may not be ready to take longer trailer trips. When your horse is upset, it will not learn anything during class. Some clinic classes are longer but they can teach you to be an advanced rider. However, you should be willing to exert more effort and be prepared physically and mentally. Hard work is on the way so you need to work more as well as your horse.

If this is your first time to go to a horse training clinic, try to choose the level one class. Don’t sign up for the advanced classes because it will not do you any good. Preparation takes time. You and your horse should be prepared by the time the class starts.

Horse Training Books

There are lots of informational resources that you can use to learn horse training. One of these info sources is horse training books. Check out the most popular training books out in the market today.

1. First Aid for Horses by Eleanor Kellon – when you’re training horses, it is important to know about first aid. You’ll never know when an accident or an injury is going to happen. You must learn about proper splinting techniques and proper horse care. That way, when an emergency situation arises, you will know what to do. This book provides step-by-step guide which are concise and easy to understand. The pages are color-coded so that you can easily find the information you need.

2. Become Perfect Partners (Kelly Marks) – every horse trainer wants to be the horse’s perfect partner. This book can help you in identifying toxic plants from safe-to-eat plants. The book contains an organized list of plants like ferns, vines, shrubs, trees, wildflowers, weeds, horsetails, and grasses. Clear photographs are provided for easy identification when you’re in the outdoors.

3. Winning at Halter (Denny Hassett) – Hassett is champion in handling halter horses. In this book, you will learn the secrets to feeding, grooming, fitting, and training. Whether you’re joining congress or world halter competitions, this book will be of great use to you. The book also contains colored and detailed photos that demonstrate the techniques.

4. Horse Owner’s Field Guide to Toxic Plants (Sandra Burger) – this book is similar to ‘Become Perfect Partners’. You can keep the book in your barn’s medical cabinet or you can also take it with you when you’re at the outdoors.

5. Complete Plans for Building Horse Barns Big and Small (Mary Harcourt and Nancy Ambroisiano) – if you’re starting out as a horse trainer, you probably want to save money in building the horse barns. Well, you can use this book as a guide to building the perfect barn for your horse. The book contains instructions on how to build simple barns to sheds. The book will also teach you about the appropriate barns to build depending on the local climate, zoning requirements, and function. You will also be guided on site selection, preparation, planning, the right materials to use, and finally, the construction.

6. 101 Dressage Exercises (Jean Aristotle Ballou) – equestrians all over the globe are interested in purchasing this book. This book provides a step-by-step guide on how carry out the dressage exercises. This kind of exercise is less dangerous and strenuous on the part of the horse. It also provides training tips for dressage riders.

7. Conformation and Performance (Nancy Loving) – according to this book, the performance of each
horse depends on his conformation. The different characteristics of each horse are discussed well in the book. It also provides info on the appropriate training strategies to use and the performance consequences.

8. Bringing Up Baby (John Lyons) – this is a great book for horse trainers handling young horses. You will learn about the basics of horse training such as building trust and confidence. The instructions are coupled with photos for better understanding of the readers. Lessons such as haltering, clipping, bathing, catching, tying, leading, and longeing are included in the book.

These are the most popular horse training books sold in the market today. You can purchase the books from online stores and in your local bookstores. Get any of the books now.

Horse Training a Young One

Horse trainers have to have different approaches when dealing with young horses. One is by leaving the horse alone to learn the different skills and the other one is by training the horse at a very early stage. Horse training requires careful thinking in order to be an effective trainer.

Even without the presence of humans, a horse can learn the basic skills. Some horse trainers allow the young horses to learn everything on their own on the first two years of their existence. Herd dynamics can be learned even at this stage. When your horse reaches the age of 2-3 years, you can now start horse training. Other trainers prefer to train their horse after birth. They want to build a strong foundation for future partnership. So everyday is a learning process for both the horse and the owner/trainer.

It’s up to you whether you follow the first thought or the second one. Young horses easier to train as compared to older horses. But since you’re dealing with a young one, the training should be logical, progressive, and introduced in a slow approach. You will use this approach to weanlings, foals, and yearlings. You should value time because this is a very important factor when training young horses. Before you even think of mounting a young horse, you must first accomplish the many tasks involved in horse training.

If you want your horse to learn the basic skills, you can leave him alone for a while. Allow your horse to learn all there is to know at his own pace. You must learn the horse’s language so that you can easily tell when you’ve pushed your horse to the limit. Daily training is essential but you should limit it to only 20 minutes each day. The horse’s brain is continuously developing and daily training can help. Make sure that you teach simple and short lessons everyday.

As the horse ages, you can gradually add lessons to the training. It’s not a good idea to turn loose young horses after their lessons; instead, secure the halter and lead it in place so that the horse is always near you. You can take your horse when cleaning the stalls, working on the fences, or even on trail rides. You must provide ample time for hanging out or what the vaquero’s call ‘colgado’. This is an effective way of teaching your horse about daily tasks and routine. By building good habits and a good relationship, it will be easier to teach the horse more complicated lessons in the future.

While you’re ‘hanging out’, you can already conduct incidental training; for instance, you can ask your horse to step back, sidestep a few steps, or disengage the hindquarters to make more room or space where you can work on. When your horse immediately obeys, you can give him a reward. For the horse, this is already a way of establishing a strong foundation and relationship between the horse and its trainer.

Always keep in mind that lessons should be simple. If you think that the lessons are a bit difficult and the young horse can’t catch up, try to break it down to smaller components. Observe conciseness to avoid confusion. Being consistent in all your dealings is essential to successful horse training. Repeat the simple lessons until the young horse masters it and proceed to a new lesson.

Don’t exhaust your horse during the training to avoid any reluctance on the part of the horse.

Barrel Horse Training

Barrel horses are mostly stubborn, ringy, and they hardly listen to their riders. Because of this, many horse trainers have second thoughts in training them. If you were given a chance to train barrel horses, will you take up the challenge?

Well trained barrel horses have a cutting edge, ready to run barrels, and most especially, they have high energies. However, there is no reason for you to treat barrel horses like machines. Treating animals kindly is very important and there should be no room for cruelty.

You don’t need to train your horse to run barrels everyday. During the training, why don’t you try doing other things like trail rides? Taking your horse out for a ride, doing nothing and just having fun is an excellent training tool as well. By spending a fun time with your horse, your animal friend will be reassured that his life is not just about barrel racing; and that he can do fun things as well. This is another good way of using up your horses extra energy.

Consider putting yourself in your horse’s place. If you are required to work everyday, you will soon feel bored and exhausted. You will end up stressed out. The same thing happens to your horse. If you work him out everyday, he will eventually feel upset and uninterested.

During training, you need to train your horse to jump on the barrels. When you notice that your horse is tired, take him in front of the barrel and stop. Just stand and rest in front of the barrel. This gives your horse time to look around. He can explore the rest of the arena without actually running around. This breaks up the pattern of just running and jumping all day long.

As a horse trainer, you should learn a lot about your horse. You need to treat him as a friend. Every day, when you go out training, make your horse feel that he’s still your friend; spend time together without actually working out the lessons.  

Before starting out the training sessions, make sure that you know a great deal about the barrel horses. You can read books, magazines, or other online resources. You must be aware that in order to become a good trainer, you must continue learning. By working with your horses, you will also learn a lot of things from him. Always keep in mind that horses should be treated kindly. You can’t get him to follow you by constant whipping or hitting. Being cruel to horses and other animals are punishable by law. As a trainer, you should have patience whether you’re handling your own horse or that of others. Make sure that the horse will not encounter any injury during the training sessions.

All the equipments you’ll need in barrel horse training should be ready. Make the environment an ideal place to learn for the horse. Bonding is usually the first step to training the horse. When your horse is already comfortable with you around, you can now introduce the lessons. Training your horse takes time and you need to invest a lot of energy, time, and effort. By being patient and determined, you can train your horse to become one of the best barrel horses ever.

Good luck with your training. Soon, you will see your horses competing in the various barrel events.

Horse Trick Training

Did you know that you can also teach horses tricks? Horse training also involves trick training. The experience can be fun for both the trainer and the horse. There are times when the usual training routine gets boring. You can amuse yourself by teaching your horse neat tricks.

How to be Ashamed

Your horse should already be used to a halter and lead by now. Let your horse stand in the stall, near the fence, or the aisle. Get a carrot and hide it behind your back but turn around a little so that your horse can see it. Then tell him ‘shame on you’. Make your horse lower his head. When be obeys, you can now give him the carrot. Repeat this for about five times each day until he finally gets it. Make your tone a scolding one.

Saying ‘No’ by Head Shake

When an insect bites your horse, you will notice that he shakes his head. Horses have short attention span and so you need to make the lessons quick and simple. You can teach this trick when your horse is relaxed and standing still.

Get a nail and stand on your horse’s left side. Prick the horse near his withers but make it light, just like the bite of a fly. Experiment on the pricking until you find the right spot where your horse shakes his head. When he shakes his head, give him a reward or a pat. Praise your horse. Put your horse away and after an hour, repeat the procedure but this time, ask a question that requires a no answer. Again, you must consider your voice tone when asking the question; repeat this for a couple of times.

Keep on repeating but this time use your whip as a cue; you can still use the nail for pricking when your horse does not shake. Eventually, he will learn the cue when he sees the whip and shake his head.

Nodding

You can also teach your horse to say yes by nodding. Again, you will need a nail to teach this trick. Refresh the ‘no’ trick before you start teaching this new trick. Take the nail and prick your horse lightly on the chest. When the horse bites, it means that you’re pricking him too hard. The initial reaction of the horse is to pull his head down to bite the fly. Praise your horse when he moves his head downwards. Find the right spot where you can get an immediate response from your horse. Keep repeating this process.

Allow your horse to rest and then do the same thing but this time, ask a question that requires a ‘yes’ answer. Get the whip and use it instead of the nail. Use the nail if the horse doesn’t respond. As you keep on repeating the lessons, on the cue of the whip, your horse will bend his head downwards.

How to Smile

Horses look funny when they smile. You can also teach them how to smile. Remove the halter and lead and let him stand by the fence or in the stall. Place a thing which smells strange to the horse like an onion or ammonia near his nostrils, then say ‘smile’. Repeat this procedure until you’ve removed the ammonia or onion. Eventually, your horse will smile when you touch his muzzle.