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"Scared of My Horse," from my FREE monthly newsletter

From the Ask a Horse Trainer Series:

"Your horse wants to eat, sleep and poop. "Bonding" has never been high on his list.

You can have a terrific relationship, but it takes respect – and respect must be earned. Begin by realizing that you're the one paying the bills. Your horse is certainly "not the boss of you." You keep your horse, giving him the very best of care, but in return he works for you and has a job to do. He'd be more than happy to sit on the couch in front of the TV, barking out orders for you to bring him pop and sandwiches – but it can't work like that. You have to go to work everyday; your horse has to go to work everyday. Typically horses work an hour or so daily while we slog through traffic before putting in our eight – so our equine friends, even those in full training, have a pretty good deal."

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From John Lyons Trainer Keith Hosman

Rein In Your Horse's Speed Online Course
A Downloadable Book

A sample from Day 3:

"Note: You may want to underline the next paragraph.

If you're guilty of being a bit heavy-handed (as evidenced by a stiff-as-a-statue horse) here's a Top Five Horse Training Concept that will soften your horse fast: Every single time you ask your horse to do something put the thought in your head that your horse will do it perfectly. That goes for handling him on the ground, riding him the arena, bathing him, every interaction.

Huh? What if it's the first time I've ever asked this horse to do a flying lead change or to back up or to neck rein? Logic tells me there ain't no way."

- Print out from home
- 5 Days, 5 chapters
- Learn at your own pace

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Available Downloads:
"Stop Bucking"
"Rein/Speed" (for Nervous Horse Owners)
"Round Pen First Steps"
"Trailer Training"

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GUEST AUTHOR ARTICLES Facing Your Horse Fear

 
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"Facing Your Horse Fear"
By RON PETRACEK

Almost every good rider has an accident at some point during her riding career. While some riders see accidents as a part of the sport and get right back in the saddle, so to speak, other riders lose their confidence and even experience gripping fear. Some riders are so afraid that they ask themselves whether the time and money they spend on their hobby is worth it after all!

Here’s the deal: unless you enjoy riding, then you shouldn’t be doing it. If every time you get on a horse you experience a pounding heart, dry mouth, and crushing anxiety, then I would ask you why you continue to torture yourself in this way. Especially considering that riding is an expensive, time-consuming hobby.

However, many riders continue to torture themselves in just this way. Why? Because they remember what it was like, before the unfortunate incident, to love to ride. And they want to experience that feeling again.

If you are still going out to the barn and trying to get on your horse despite having huge fears, my guess is that you want to return to the time when you loved horses. The good news is, there’s no reason why you can’t. If you take it slow and put yourself in the right situation, you can love riding again.

The first step is to figure out what is getting in the way of your enjoyment. For many people, they just can’t relax on their horse. They relive their bad situation, and this makes them tense. Knowing that you have a hard time relaxing is the first step in learning how to relax on horseback. Once you learn to relax, you’ll enjoy riding.

Of course, you can’t relax unless you are confident and comfortable. Being confident and comfortable are the cornerstones of relaxation. So how do you get confident and comfortable? By riding the right horse, and by taking lessons from the right instructor. That’s right, I said instructor. If you are so fearful of horses that you want to throw up every time you get in the saddle, it’s too much to ask that you conquer this on your own.

A good instructor is patient, kind, never demeans you, and understands that you’ve had a bad experience and need to move slowly. Since there are many riders who have faced fear, there are also many riders who help their students overcome it. To find the right instructor, ask others who have had similar problems for a recommendation. An instructor who is right for you should be downright enthusiastic about helping you get over your issues.

You’ll also need the right horse. A calm, confident, and bombproof schoolhorse is the best choice if you’ve been frightened. Even if your riding skills are good, you need to remember that the goal here isn’t to improve your riding skills. The goal is to ride without fear. The right horse will give you good experiences, and the more good experiences you have, the more your fear will recede. If you really love riding, face your fears but take it slowly. With a good instructor and the right horse you’ll be happily back in the saddle in no time.

Want some more great advice on horses? Just visit our resource links below and make sure to bookmark us.

About the Author: Ron Petracek was raised in Souther Idaho,with a black morgan as his adventure companion. His Love for horses has expanded into the largest equine classified network on the internet to date with horse articles,classifieds and social networking. Amazing Equine Network System - Buy Sell or trade anything equine related. Get More Horse Classified coverage and distribution with less cost and work. Amazing Horse Forum

Source: www.isnare.com
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Next, I'd Read:

Recommended articles featuring the methods of John Lyons:

• What Not To Do When Your Horse Bucks Or Rears
• Horses That Want To Bolt, Buck or Blow Up
• Scared of My Horse

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