Safety around a horse takes place on the ground and in the saddle. On the ground, horses can be extremely dangerous simply because they’re big and fast animals. A horse can injure you even when there was no intention to do so. To build safety with your equine, start on the ground.
The foremost concern on [...]
Posted on January 31st, 2010 by admin
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Horse rider training is nothing more than a continuation of groundwork but conducted from the saddle. If you’ve taught your horse to respond to the basic yields and have him paying attention to you, then he already knows what to do when you’re riding him. You’re just directing him from a different vantage point.
The first [...]
Posted on January 30th, 2010 by admin
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Horse back riding can be dangerous, but you can reduce your chance of injury by taking a few precautions. Some of them involve having the right equipment, while other things you should do are related to training. Here are 10 tips for horse riding safety.
1. Establish leadership on the ground
Before you even get on a [...]
Posted on January 29th, 2010 by admin
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Leading a horse is one of the most important training activities we do with our horses, yet so many people pay little attention to it. Next time you’re around people and horses watch everyone and see how things are going for them-you’ll be able to tell instantly who is in charge of the two-member human-horse [...]
Posted on January 28th, 2010 by admin
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We’ve all had problems catching a horse at one time or another. And if you’ve watched other people doing it, you’ve seen them out there with carrots begging their horse to come in, or rounding up a posse of friends to try and chase down the horse and corner him when he’s worn out. These [...]
Posted on January 27th, 2010 by admin
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Effective horse training methods focus on developing a communication link between human and horse. The goal is to have a horse that’s light and responsive, attentive, and safe. You begin by building a foundation on the ground, and this is true regardless of what riding style you’re using. While there are going to be some [...]
Posted on January 27th, 2010 by admin
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When working with a horse, especially a “green” or unbroken horse, avoid putting too much pressure. Apply pressure to ask for what you want and then back off. Then apply pressure again. This technique is known as Approach and Retreat. It can be applied to any work you need to do with your horse, including [...]
Posted on January 18th, 2010 by admin
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A central goal of natural horsemanship is assuming a leadership role for your horse. An easy way to do this without even having to lay a hand on the horse is with round pen training done “at liberty”. At liberty means that there is no lead rope or halter on the horse. Take your horse [...]
Posted on January 15th, 2010 by admin
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When you can catch your horse and lead a horse effectively, the next step in training is to teach basic movements on the ground. These include:
Having the horse back-up
Moving the forehand on your cue
Moving the hinquarter away from you
Side-passing
Flexing
Dropping the head
These exercises, which are covered in detail in Eric Bravo’s Starting Your Horse DVD, will [...]
Posted on January 13th, 2010 by admin
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Safety follows from having a horse that’s respectful and does what we ask. If you ask the horse to go, he walks out at the speed you ask him to go. He doesn’t just take off running at the slightest kick. If you ask him to stop, he stops no questions asked. When you go [...]
Posted on January 13th, 2010 by admin
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