Training

All our articles on training are now in one convenient place! Enjoy learning how to teach your foal to lead, ground drive, how to teach your horse to lead by your side and more! 

    • Using Long Lines - with photos and article by Pam Hunter
    • Tiger Gets a Lesson on the Hot Walker
    • Halter Breaking the Foal - Part #1 Training Series
    • Ground Manners - Part #2 Training Series
    • Horse Pulls Ahead - Part #3 Training Series
    • Horse Lags Behind - Part # 4 Training Series
    • The Heart Exercise
    • The Shetland Pony - Getting a Bad Rep
    • Training Books
    • Training to DRIVE!
    • Quick Release Knot

Common Sense Horse Training

When you’re into horse training, you need to find the best approach suitable to your horse. Some approaches work better than others and it all depends on the horse’s learning capacity. The learning pace of each horse varies; some learn faster than others and there are also those who are too stubborn to learn. Studying your horse’s personality is vital so that you can choose the best approach to use.

Beginners are advised to seek the help of professional trainers if they have doubts as to their abilities as a horse trainer. In order to be an effective horse trainer, you should be creative, a thinker, and most of all, use your common sense.

Horses are herd animals. If you try to observe a herd of horses, they usually eat all throughout the day, groom, and sleep; challenge one another to gain position in the herd, and play. It is important that you study the behavior of the herd so that you can incorporate the knowledge you’ve gained into the horse’s training program. Since each horse is unique, you will need to devise a training program suited to its ability or personality.

Most people think that a stallion leads the herd but they are wrong. In fact, a mare serves as the herd’s leader. It is the duty of the stallion to inform the herd when there is danger or when there’s a threat of marauding stallions. The mare leader on the other hand decides when it’s time to eat, the place where they can eat, and discipline other horses who are at fault. The whole herd respects the mare and supports her decisions; the herd also trusts their lives to the mare. So you see, in the training program, you should act as the mare herd leader. You must be able to win your horse’s respect, trust, and support.

In horse training, it is not a good idea to use force. Even if the horse will follow you, it is not a reliable move. There isn’t one ‘best’ training approach. As mentioned earlier, horses are unique animals and you must identify the best approach that suits the horse’s personality. Some of the famous horsemanship masters known today are Pat Parelli, Dennis Reis, Buck Brannaman, Tom Dorrance, and Ray Hunt.

Good horse trainers don’t just concentrate on one training technique; they strive to learn as many horse techniques so that they can choose the appropriate approach for each horse they train. If one of the famous horse training masters visits your area, why don’t you check them out? It’s an opportunity that you shouldn’t miss. 

It’s natural to make mistakes especially if you’re a beginner. If you make mistakes, don’t be ashamed and instead, learn from it. Trainers handling troubled horses need a lot of patience and determination if they want to be successful in the training program. This type of horses is difficult to handle and if you’re not careful, you could get hurt. If there are troubled horses, then you can also find horses that learn easily. Again, find the best approach that you can use in the training program.

Horse training definitely involves using your common sense. Without it, you may be in trouble. Even the great masters started out as beginners. Learn everything you can about horse training. Handle the horses properly and earn their respect and trust. This ensures a smooth training program.