Make Your Horse Stop
July 10, 2014
Written by: Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
Written by: Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
|
Here's a great riding tip: I won't ask my horse to stop. I just quit riding. If he doesn't stop then I go right back to working on something I need to work on. The more excited the horse is, the more important it is for you as a horse trainer to do this. You gotta work hard; you've got to pick up the reins, move the shoulders, soften that nose up, make something happen. You want to make sure that your aggressive, you're assertive. You know what you're doing and where you want to go.
Simple instructions for when you're riding your horse and he starts fidgeting, jigging, prancing or otherwise acting up. 
This is the solution anytime your horse is doing something you don't want him to do: You need to replace the action you don't want with action you do want. Don't discipline, replace. If I don't want my horse to stand here and paw, then I'm going to ask him to practice something we need to practice. If he wants to fight with his head, then I'm going to keep pressure on the reins, waiting (on my release) for him to soften up - all the while practicing a particular step such as consistently stepping the left front foot up and to the right. If he wants to paw, we work more intensely. If he even thinks about laying down, I'm going to ask him to move. If he wants to dance around... you guessed it, I put him to work. I turn the negative into a positive by improving some aspect of that horse's training.
When he decides he wants to stop, then I'm going to stand here and wait. But if he decides to move (or paw or antagonize another nearby horse), I'm not going to stop him. I'm going to ask him to get moving and improve something. I'll become a more assertive trainer; I'll ask more out of my horse. I can't stress that enough: the more nervous, the more excited the horse is, the more important it is for you as a horse trainer to become more active. Put energy into it and make the horse sweat. Make something happen. Don't wait.
Tip: Teach almost anything to your horse with the "Clock Work Exercise." That's a chapter in the basic training book "What I'd Teach Your Horse" - and you can hear the whole section right now for FREE on audio when you click here.
Print this article:
Wanna teach your horse to drop its head and stay relaxed? When you're finished with this article, click here to read about the "Classic Serpentine."
|
| ||