Articles & Tips

Training a horse is like dressing your kid in Garanimals.  It's mix and match so you'll find lots of articles listed in multiple categories below.  

​Remember, a carpenter can use the same hammer and saw to build a penthouse, dog house, or outhouse. You should use the same simple principle here.  If your horse isn't doing something you want it to do, ask yourself two things: "What body part do I need to control?" and "What cue is my horse ignoring?"  The cue to stop?  To go faster?  To drop it's head?  A horse that's rearing won't drop it's head on command.  A horse that won't turn needs to learn "shoulder control."  If you've got a horse that moves too fast, you can teach it to slow by gaining control over the hips (the driving force behind all that power).

​Ask yourself those two questions.  Use that understanding to chart your course, using the articles listed below - in order or a la carte - to build your "dream horse."

Training 2.5 Mustangs

How I turned three wild horses into model citizens

more >

Breaking & Basic Training

General

The Clockwork Exercise, Part 1
Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
Here's how to train your horse to neck rein, side pass, back up, move diagonally, spin, or do reverse arc circles using the John Lyons methods.

The Clockwork Exercise, Part 2
Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
Teach Neck Reining, Sidepassing, Backing Up, Spins & More​

Horse Riding Tips | Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
Here are five quick horse-training tips guaranteed to improve your riding.

Hip-Shoulder-Shoulder Part 1: Solve Every Horse Problem | Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
Every horse-related problem you can think of comes down to "going and stopping" and here's how to get that control.​

​Hip-Shoulder-Shoulder Part 2: The Exercise | Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
Get your horse to stop now, not later. If it takes 2 seconds to go from a walk to a stop - multiply that by 8 when he's excited.

Hip-Shoulder-Shoulder Part 3: Finish the Exercise | Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
​Teach your horse that it's just as easy to walk backward as forward and he'll do so, lightly and quickly.

Backing

Get Your Back Up  |  Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
​From our Learning To Ride a Horse series of free horse-training tips and articles: Improve your horse's back up.

Leads, Lead Departures and Loping

Getting Leads  |  Keith Hosman
Teaching the young horse to pick up the correct lead (any horse, really) is ninety percent "softening" through its transitions. The rest is "positioning."

Get Better Stops and a Smoother, More Willing Horse with the Three-Step-Stop Exercise  |  Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
From our Ask A Horse Trainer free article series: Get better stops, smoother transitions and a more willing horse with this easy exercise called Three-Step-Stop. Also, fix horses that root at the bit.

Softening & Relaxation

​Steering the Tail Exercise, Part 1  |  Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
"Riding instructions for you and your horse: This simple exercise teaches you how to control your horse's direction, speed, and more."
​
Classic Serpentine  |  Keith Hosman
"The Swiss Army knife of training exercises, use this routine to warm up, cool down, lower your horse's head, connect the rein to the feet, or to soften laterally."

Give Your Horse a Want-To Attitude  |  Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
Whether or not you're just learning to ride a horse, you can improve your horse's attitude with this simple lesson.

Speed Control

Speed Control - Basic | Keith Hosman
Teach your horse that there are as many speeds within each gait as there are shades of color.​

Speed Up Your Slow Horse | Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
This article is from the How To Break A Horse series and explains how to speed up a slow horse.

​Steering the Tail Exercise, Part 1  |  Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
"Riding instructions for you and your horse: This simple exercise teaches you how to control your horse's direction, speed, and more."

Slowing Your Horse | Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
Simple instructions for riding a too-fast horse: Here's a quick tip to slow them down.

Stopping

Teaching Your Horse to Stand Still | Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
If you simply want your horse to stand still, and you keep picking up the reins to try and stop him - then the only thing that happens is that the horse gets aggravated. Here's what to do.

Hurry Up and Stop | Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
This horse riding tip teaches you and your horse to stop on a dime.

​Make Your Horse Stop | Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
Simple instructions for when you're riding your horse and he starts fidgeting, jigging, prancing or otherwise acting up.

Get Better Stops and a Smoother, More Willing Horse with the Three-Step-Stop Exercise  |  Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
From our Ask A Horse Trainer free article series: Get better stops, smoother transitions and a more willing horse with this easy exercise called Three-Step-Stop. Also, fix horses that root at the bit.

Turning

Turn on a Dime and an End to Dropped Shoulders | Keith Hosman
Does your horse turn precisely or does it tip you in the saddle and drift off his path? Here's how to fix dropped shoulders and get quick turns.​

Serpentine Indirect to Direct | Keith Hosman
The following exercise will teach your horse to stay "upright" through his travels and help put an end to leaning.

​Improve Your Balance - Teach Neck Reining, Part 1
Keith Hosman
We'll improve our balance here in this material. We'll simultaneously improve our horse's ability to neck rein (or initially teach it to). We'll practice one thing, he'll practice another.

Improve Your Balance - Teach Neck Reining, Part 2
Keith Hosman

​Steering the Tail Exercise, Part 1  |  Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
"Riding instructions for you and your horse: This simple exercise teaches you how to control your horse's direction, speed, and more."

Steering the Tail Exercise, Part 2: What to Do If | Josh Lyons & Keith Hosman
Whether you're training a young or old horse, you need to steer him, right? Here's the follow-up article to our Steer The Tail exercise, explaining exactly What To Do If....
Classic Serpentine  |  Keith Hosman
"The Swiss Army knife of training exercises, use this routine to warm up, cool down, lower your horse's head, connect the rein to the feet, or to soften laterally."
more "Basic Training" >

Need a little more guidance?
Training plans for each stage of your horse's life:

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of training articles you find online or you're confused by conflicting advice offered up by friends at the barn... If you don't even know where to begin... Then might I suggest the following?
  • To train a foal (there's lots of time before it can be ridden - here's what to do in the meantime): Get "Your Foal."
  • To start a colt, begin with round pen training.  See my book (it's brilliant), "Round Penning: First Steps to Starting a Horse."
  • After the roundpen, it's time to break your colt to carry you and a saddle.  Get "How to Start a Horse: Bridling to First Ride."
  • If your horse was saddled and ridden for the first time today, then tomorrow you need to turn to my basic training book called "What I'd Teach Your Horse."  Not only will you find all the how-to you need to take a horse from "barely broke" to "broke," but it'll show you exactly what to do - and in what order.  You can see a sample - and even listen to an entire chapter - by following the following links: