You don’t need to be a professional horse trainer to help your horse be more responsive to your cues, behave better when being handled on the ground, and even perform tricks on command. In the section, we collect horse training ideas that are usable for the average horse owner.
Horses with a reputation for spooking can be unnerving to ride. In this article, you’ll learn tips and strategies you can use to: Exposing your horse to as many obstacles and objects as you can in an environment they are comfortable in will help to build their confidence for similar situations outside of their comfort …
If you want to improve your riding skills and make your horse more responsive, lunging before a ride is a great option. If you lunge before you ride, you will also increase both your and your horse’s fitness! Lunging a horse before riding has many health benefits for you and your horse. These health benefits …
Many people are surprised to learn that it is normal for horses to foam at the mouth during or after intense exercise. In this post you’ll learn: Why horse saliva foams, and why a horse foaming at the mouth is a good thing. Some red flags to look for that indicate the foam around a …
Horses are enormous creatures – legally, the largest pet most people can own- so staying safe and enjoying horse ownership requires being able to recognize and retrain dangerous behaviors before they cause an accident or injury. In this list of surprisingly dangerous behaviors that many horse owners reinforce, I explain how some things horses do …
Most people have never seen a horse roll over, so it’s not surprising that one of the questions I hear most often about horses – especially from kids – is whether horses can roll over. In fact, horses can roll over, and in this post, we will explore some norms about how often horses roll …
Training a horse to fetch a ball, a hat, or any object on command is possible- it just takes practice and patience! In this article, I’ll walk you through the steps I use to trick train horses to retrieve objects on command. Teaching a horse to pick up an object and bring it to you …
A riding arena is often considered to be essential for serious riders, riders training young horses, and for those preparing for horse show competitions- but not everyone has access to an arena. While training a horse without an arena can be a challenge, with a bit of creativity, you can successfully ride, train, and prepare …
Canter transitions can sometimes be tricky for even skilled riders. When we talk about picking up the correct lead, we tend to think of it much as we think of a “trick” or simple trained behavior, rather than a complex interplay of training, balance, and timing. Actually, getting your horse to pick up the correct …
[Jump straight to questions, or keep reading] With so many different approaches to horse training, methods, and even riding disciplines, knowing how to choose the right horse trainer for you and your horse can be difficult. The process can be made a bit easier by considering what your goals are for training, the individual needs …
Teaching a horse to pull a cart can be tricky. Many trainers argue that breaking a horse to safely drive and pull a cart is more challenging than simple saddle training- and for good reason: many horses initially have a strong reaction to the sensation of the long shafts on the side of their body …