"Once I began teaching this simple concept in my clinics, it made a dramatic difference immediately. What I would first see were people who were thinking "Horse, you're not going to do this; I'm going to have to force you to do this." And then they'd yank. Again and again and again. What works exponentially better is to start with: "My horse stops on a dime every time; he's the best" (yes, even when the last four hundred times he didn't), then ask your horse to stop. If and when he blows through that stop, I want you to literally act shocked. Say out loud "I can't believe you just did that. I must not have spoken loud enough." Then find the pressures or angle it takes to get a response."
- Print out from home
- 5 Days, 5 chapters
- Learn at your own pace
"What you should do: Diagnose the problem and form a plan. Is your horse simply being a pest as you feed him? Or is he literally trying to kill you when you enter the pen? Do you know the difference? Are you looking to improve his transition into the proper lead – or does he have a bucking fit every time you mount up? To put it succinctly, if the horse is annoying, you've got time to figure things out. If the horse is dangerous, you don't. If the horse is dangerous, you don't get on him, you don't get near him. What about the gray area in between? To decide which end of the spectrum your horse falls into ("dangerous, not dangerous") I would advise listening to that little voice in your head and you may need to do so daily. If you're about to get on your horse and that little voice says something's amiss, get back off. I realize that's no "fix," but that's not what this article's about. This is about diagnosing situations, creating plans to remedy the situations, and moving forward.
So, let's break this down. Let's say that there are five different levels you can find yourself facing: 1) My horse is going to kill me today. 2) I believe my horse is going to hurt me the next time I ask for (a lope, a halt, fill in the blank). 3) My horse makes me nervous (when I'm on the trail and he sees something spooky, for instance). 4) When I try to (bathe the horse, bridle the horse, etc.) he gets really cranky. 5) I would like to improve my horse's (lead departure, spin, etc.)."
Equestrians: Find A John Lyons Horse Trainer Near You
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HC 71 Box 116-C6, Augusta, WV 26704 USA
Email: dpeer*frontiernet.net (replace * with @), Site: http://www.dannypeerhorsemanship.com
John Lyons horseman Danny Peer lives in Northeastern West Virginia (Hampshire county) within 100 miles of the following cities: Washington DC, Winchester, Leesburg, Cumberland, Hagerstown.
PO Box 2776, Cody, WY 82414 USA
Email: bliss*wavecom.net (replace * with @), Site: www.diamondcreekmules.com
John Lyons horseman Tim Doud lives in North Western Wyoming (Park county) within 100 miles of the following cities: Bozeman, Powell, Red Lodge, Dubois, Jackson, Billings.
30 Road 6 Rt, Cody, WY 82414 USA
Email: forjess11*hotmail.com (replace * with @)
John Lyons horseman Jessica Forliano lives in North Western Wyoming (Park county) within 100 miles of the following cities: Bozeman, Powell, Red Lodge, Dubois, Jackson, Billings.
PO Box 151, Greybull, WY 82426 USA
Email: training*mcfaddenranch.com (replace * with @), Site: http://www.mcfaddenranch.com
John Lyons horseman Sandy McFadden lives in North Central Wyoming (Big Horn county) within 100 miles of the following cities: Greybull Basin, Byron, Shell, Cody, Worland.
John Lyons horseman Sean Paden lives in Northeastern Wyoming (Crook county) within 100 miles of the following cities: Sundance, Gillette, Newcastle, Custer.
