 |
|
|
|
|
Sample Our Newsletter
"Good Now Bad Later," from my FREE monthly newsletter
From the How to Train a Horse Series:
"Every time you teach an exercise, your horse will go through the same learning cycle. He'll go from "Bad" to "Good" to "Worse" to "Not So Bad" to "Learned." That's the typical cycle: Bad. Good. Worse. Not so bad. Learned.
You know "Good." "Good" is where we get excited. It's the part where we want to show off to our friends. We want to show somebody how soft our horse has become, so we walk over to brag to somebody, pick up our reins and the horse sticks his nose straight out, stiff as a board. We're embarrassed and our friends snicker. We've just entered the "worse" stage. It's the part where "he was getting but now he's not."
It's during the "worse" part where we typically second-guess our training. "The horse was good but now he's worse. I must be doing something wrong." You begin to think you need to change what you're doing. "Maybe my hand's in the wrong position" or "I'm using too little pressure." You begin to think you're doing something that's not correct. That's when we're most likely to change what we're doing. But that's the most important time for us to not change, to keep on doing what we're doing. You've got to get through this stage by being consistent. Keep doing the same thing over and over so that the horse realizes all the movements that are "mistakes" and which single movement is correct. It's consistency and time that teach your horse."
(sign up | read more) |
| |
|
|
|
From John Lyons Trainer Keith Hosman |
| |
|
| |
Trailer Training Horses
A Downloadable Book
A sample from Day 1:
"Today we'll work on "prepping" your horse (you don't even need a trailer). Tomorrow we'll cover "speeding things up." Day Three covers getting your horse into the trailer. Day Four will include exercises for "hard-luck" cases and offer tips to further simplify training for both you and your equine friend. While the exercises included in that segment will make the entire trailering process smoother for all horse/owner teams, it's particularly designed for horses known (or forecast) to be trailering pains. We'll cover Do's, Don'ts and What-To-Do-Ifs, plus notes on tying on Day Five. In that section you'll also find hints on what to do with a horse that won't unload, the horse who thrashes about when the trailer moves and more. Be aware that I call them "days" but you should take this work at your own speed. Some segments, or "days," will be easier than others. And, while you can breeze through everything in hours, you might want to split it up over days or weeks. It's completely up to you. I would strongly advise that you read through the entire document before getting started, as you might find tips in one segment or another that might help in a slightly different order than initially presented. (The "Dos and Don’ts found in the fifth segment will certainly come into play earlier, for instance.)" - Print out from home
- 5 Days, 5 chapters
- Learn at your own pace
Just $4.99
For more info:
this course | all courses
Available Downloads:
"Stop Bucking"
"Rein/Speed" (for Nervous Horse Owners)
"Round Pen First Steps"
"Trailer Training"
|
|
|
 |
|
|
GUEST AUTHOR ARTICLES
Training a Barrel Horse
|
Tell A Friend (click to send them an email)
Link to this Page (click for code and easy instructions)
Find this article faster next time:
"Keeping Your Barrel Horse Focused at the Gate"
by Ron Petracek
Anyone who has spent any time around barrel horses knows that many of them can become very excited very easily. Bring them anywhere near an arena gate and they can go from calm to crazy in just a few seconds. Many people think that this is acceptable behavior and all great barrel horses behave this way. I am here to tell you that not only is this behavior not acceptable, but it can be downright dangerous.
There are a lot of people out there who know how to train a horse to run the barrels. The problem is that a lot of these people don't take the time to keep the horse focused on obeying commands. These horses are taught that upon entering an arena they should run full blast around the barrel pattern and the job is done. If you tried to ride this kind of horse you would realize that once you are heading in the gate, there is not much you could do to stop or even slow the horse down. This can be dangerous for the rider, the horse and anyone who happens to be in the way. I have seen grown men get run over while opening the arena gate because the rider could not control their horse. This is not what I would call a fully trained barrel horse.
There are ways to correct this, or better yet, to prevent this from becoming a problem with your barrel horse. First, make sure you don't run your horse through the pattern unless you are at a rodeo. Once your horse has been trained and knows the pattern completely, there is no need to run him every time. In fact, unless you are having a specific problem you need to work on in the pattern, you should not even practice the pattern very much. If you do want to go through the barrels you should walk or trot to let your horse know that he does not need to blast through every time. Another thing you can do is walk to your starting point and stop. Face the pattern and allow your horse to stand quietly, then turn and walk away. If your horse won't stand still at first it's okay, this may take time. The lesson is to get your horse to be able to see the barrel pattern and not have his mind go blank. Work on giving him simple commands to follow like backing up a few steps or giving to the left and right. Make him focus on listening to you. Once you have his full attention you can either walk away or walk through the pattern. Repeat this process until your horse can stop and stand quietly with a minimum command. Once your horse can do this you should try the lesson at an arena. Most horses will behave differently at practice than at an actual event, so you shouldn't expect them to stand perfectly at first.
Your barrel horse can be competitive, full of energy and fast while still obeying your commands no matter where you are riding. Being in full control of your horse at all times makes for a better horse and a better barrel run.
Equine training articles & dynamic forum Free Equine Classifieds,Tack and Equipment
http://www.Horsechitchat.com/equineforums
***
Next, I'd Read:
***
Disclaimer: Equine training can be a hazardous activity which may subject the participants to possible serious injury. Keith Hosman, Josh Lyons, Patrick Benson, their associates and other trainers listed on this site will not assume any liability for your activities. Our newsletter, books and videos provide general information, instruction and techniques that may not be suitable for everyone. No warranty is given regarding the suitability of this information, the instructions, and techniques to you or other individuals acting under your instructions.
All Rights Reserved (TM) 2008, horsemanship101.com
No part of this website, including newsletter material and photos, may be reproduced without our express written permission.
|
 |
| |
If you're reading this article, you may want to check out: |
| |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
Horse Owning: Training a Barrel Horse, advice for the horse owner provided by John Lyons Certified Trainer Keith Hosman
Bookmark horsemanship101.com for Horse-Keeping Tips
|
|
|
|
|
