Horse Training

Mistake #1 – Assuming you can ride any horse.

Horses are not all the same.  Some will let you get on and you can ride them easily.  While others are so green that you could get hurt if you have little or no riding experience.  The horses that will let just about anyone on and ride are usually the older horses. Because they have been ridden the most they will be the most forgiving of the mistakes that a beginning rider can make.  The younger horses are a lot tougher to ride unless they have been completely broke. 

Mistake #2 – Assuming there is only one-way to train a horse.

When an experienced horse owner starts having problems with their horse, they will look for answers and ask questions.  One of the first places they look is in books.  When the author of the book explains a training technique, the new horse owner assumes it is the same technique used by all horse trainers. After trying the technique and the new horse owner can’t train their horse, then they tend to think they have a dumb horse or a horse that can’t be trained.  Usually there is more than one way to train a horse.  So if you are using one technique that doesn’t seem to be working, then you will need to try something else.  Usually by finding a book or video created by a different trainer the methods they use will be different than the methods you are trying.

Mistake #3 – Not riding the horse enough

As a new horse owner if you are having trouble with your horse, chances are the horse has not gone sour, but because the horse needs you to ride him more often. A horse needs to be ridden a lot to make them a good riding horse.  So the best thing you can do for your horse is to ride him, ride him and ride him. Every couple of weeks is not enough riding for a horse.

Mistake #4 – Thinking the horse is at fault when there is a problem.

Horses are not unlike any other creature they have their problems. Usually many of the problems you will see with a horse is the owner’s fault.  You will have to look at the problem you are having with the horse to assess the reason behind the problem.  In many cases it could be you don’t have the control over him you need to have.  There are various different methods you can use to create control.

Mistake #5 – The horse owner lacks the understanding how the horse thinks.

Because horses are not cats or dogs, they don’t think like them.  Horses are a prey animal meaning they run from anything that scares them.  Their “flight instinct” has been ingrained into them for thousands of years.  If you are training your horse, you will need lots of patience and understanding that they are just naturally afraid of almost everything.

Mistake #6 – The new horse owner doesn’t know that every interaction with their horse is a training exercise.

Whether you are petting him, brushing him or just grooming him you are training him. As a new and inexperienced horse owner you must stop and think about what you do and how you do it because the horse is a lot like your child, he will pick up things from you.  You have more of an effect on your horse’s behavior than you may be aware of.

Mistake #7 – As a new horse owner if you ride your horse when you have little or no experience of horsemanship, will do more harm than good.

Many new horse owners will ride their horse with no horse-riding training or skills. Horses react to leg pressure, how you sit in the saddle, whether or not the rider is tense and several other signals, so it is important that you have an understanding of riding procedures.

If you want to be successful with your horse, you need to have an understanding about him.  If you don’t know how to ride, it is best if you take riding lessons and learn how to ride before you ride your horse.  You also need to learn how horses think, the best way to shape a horse’s behavior, and consistently ride your horse for a good horse.