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"Ready for Your Next Spook?," from my FREE monthly newsletter

From the Learning to Ride a Horse Series:

"It's not a matter of "if" your horse spooks, it's "when." It's not a matter of how broke your horse is. Sooner or later it will see something that makes it spook. You can't control your environment so you can't blame your environment. If somebody comes up and throws something at your horse or drops something in front of your horse, and your horse spooks and you get bucked off, it's not their fault and it's not the horse's fault. The first thing you do may be to blame that person – but it's not their fault that your horse bolted or spooked. It has nothing to do with them. It has to do with …"

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From John Lyons Trainer Keith Hosman

Trailer Training Horses
A Downloadable Book

A sample from Day 5:

"Notes Regarding Tying
The long and short of it is that we don't tie a horse in a trailer unless we've got a reason to do so – and never tie a horse that "doesn't tie." If you've got a horse that tries to bite another horse or maybe tries to turn around, you might want to tie. I've had a horse or two that will drop its head but they'll quickly learn to travel well. Besides, most horse trailers are dusty, with wind blowing shavings everywhere. It's a good thing to allow the horse to position his head in such a way that he can clear his passages; tying would make that difficult if not impossible. Also, never tie your horse before you've first closed up the butt bar and back door."

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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 Basic Horse Safety

 
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"Ride Smarter and Safer"
By Bonnie Martin

No one likes to think of an accident happening when they ride, and that certainly should not be our focus while riding (there's something to be said for the idea that our images become reality). However, we certainly should take precautions ahead of time to make sure our rides are as safe as possible, and then ride like we expect that.

This means homework should be done with our horses ahead of time to make sure they have the foundation they need. It also means doing pre-ride checks each time before getting on to make sure our tack is in good working order, fitting our horse and adjusted correctly as well as checking our horse out to be sure he is ready and willing to be mounted and ridden. We should also be prepared ourselves with proper footwear (boots or paddock boots with heels, not tennis shoes), clothing that will not catch on the saddle horn, and a well fitting, adjusted helmet for the rider.

Western riders often balk at the idea of a helmet. It do not fit their "image" after all. For many years I never wore one. It never occurred to me that I might need one other than if I was showing in an English hunter or dressage type of class. Helmets were hot and uncomfortable, expensive, and certainly not fashionable for most styles of riding. If there were studies back then about riding injuries, I was not aware of them.

Times have changed since those days and there is a lot of information out now about how the majority of serious riding accidents involve head injuries-particularly of non-helmeted riders of ALL levels of experience. Most bones in the body will heal over time, but head injuries frequently leave the unfortunate person with permanent disabilities or worse.

I personally know several people, myself included, who hit their heads in a fall from a horse. Of the ones wearing helmets, there was little serious damage other than to the helmet. Those without helmets were a different and sadder story.

All kinds of things can lead to falls no matter the rider's ability level. Sometimes horses slip or stumble and go down with their riders, sometimes something happens suddenly and the horse shies or bucks. One of my friends got her leg hung in a vine and her horse kept walking while she was drug off in a slow motion fall. She landed on her bottom, but then her head hit the ground. She was left with a brain bleed that put her in the hospital for three weeks, caused her to miss months of work, undergo lots of therapy, left her with memory problems, and worst of all to a horse lover, has taken her off horses for over a year now.

Helmets have improved vastly in looks, style, comfort, and expense. They are so well ventilated now that they are cooler than wearing most hats and provide protection from the sun like a hat does. Approved ASTM/SEI helmets come in a wide array of colors, coverings, head shapes, and sizes. Go to a tack store and find one that fits you. Wear it each time you get on a horse, even if you do not think you need it for that particular ride or horse.

Proper training, pre-ride checks, and helmets are some of the best insurance you can provide yourself that you will be riding safely for years and years to come. Happy riding!

Bonnie lives on Gemara Farm Foxtrotters located in Barnesville, Georgia. The currently have eight fox trotters of their own and practice natural horsemanship with them, and Bonnie coaches others. There are usually some fox trotters available for sale. http://www.gemara.homestead.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bonnie_Martin
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Next, I'd Read:

Recommended articles featuring the methods of John Lyons:

• Scared of My Horse
• Rider Checklists
• Ready for Your Next Spook?

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