Horse Training Essentials  – Horseback Riding

Most horse riders and owners have at one time or another thought that they would like to train their own horse. It is especially tempting to build up a special relationship this way when your own foals mature to a riding age, if you are breeding them.

However, horse training is a complex process that involves more than just giving instruction to your animal, followed by a reward. You really do need to know what you are doing to gain the results you seek. Properly teaching your charge how to follow your commands, each and every time, involves building a strong relationship with him/her.

Horse training is available for riders/horses wishing to further their education at a huge number of establishments nowadays which reflects the great popularity of horse riding. Many also have horses for sale that are currently in training and you may fall for one of these and be tempted to take on the completion of the training for such a beast. However, we would like to give you a word of warning: horse training is inherently dangerous, and much more so than riding a trained horse.

Horse training at first is teaching your horse and yourself foundation skills. I use the statement ‘and yourself’ with emphasis here if you are going to try training your steed yourself then when you start you will need to be a very competent rider already, but each horse will be different and train you as well in some way.

A serious service business has built up around the horse riding establishment. Many courses are offered where you can attend for your own training in horse breaking. The relationship works when both parties take their obligations seriously, it is as simple as that. Each training session should be seen as performing an art, not a science. Your technique will need to be capable of adapting to the particular wants of your charge. This is what works successfully for me in my situation most of the time.

The idea of horse training may seem very romantic especially when trainers talk of horse whispering empathies, and you may decide to develop your own business. In truth though it is like any other business. Success depends not only on the trainer’s horse training skills, but also on their business management expertise. Running a horse training business isn’t all that hard once you start getting into it. It may suit you, and enables many to work with horses successfully.

Within a few hours of birth, a foal still being imprinted to recognize its mother will have a human touch it all over, pick up its feet, and introduce voice and body language. By doing so, the foal will learn that humans will not harm it, but also it will be shown that humans must be respected.

I have heard it said that if you can relate to a young 4 or 5 year old child, then you can learn to relate to a horse. Experts have assessed their mental age as around that in equivalent human development terms. Think of your untrained young horse as if it were a child like that, and it should help you get onto their wavelength and communicate with them effectively. If you do this well the horse will want to just to obey you as their trainer, indeed many suggest that a horse trained expertly by these methods will soon start to pre-empt your commands. Horse whispering techniques can help with this, and help to bring you into the horse’s mental range.

If you have trained dogs though and you think that if you can do that you will be able to train horses, that is not necessarily true. Dogs are reputably significantly easier to train because they recognize us as fellow predators and we have a similar pack mentality. This is not so for horses.

Surprisingly, many do say that the most difficult part of equestrian training is to convince the horse that you are not intending to eat him/her. This would not occur to dogs. Dogs being pack bred, easily accept the role of helper to human associates quite naturally. In addition, we humans have elaborated this tendency by, as Charles Darwin suggested with usual amazing insight, selecting them to return our favors, plus some!

Horses have no highly co-operative ancestral DNA involving an inbred helper gene in quite the same way. Dog training, and horse training, is not rocket science but with a horse there is a much greater need to get into their mindset in order to motivate them.

There are many horse training courses that you can buy on the internet, and buying and using the best of them can be a great way to get started. However, do take care to do your research well before you buy.

We see it happening all the time, trainers from more traditional disciplines trying to capitalize on the newly rekindled interest in novel horse training methods, creating wonderful sounding internet books and video instruction products.

But, will they produce the results you seek? Do make sure that there are good honest testimonials for these courses before you buy. Read reviews from past users and analyze their statements with care, before you part with your hard earned cash.

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By: Steve Evans

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Steve Evans has produced his own Horse Training Course Review site at the Wild Horse Info Site. This site also includes articles and leading horse training insights and information.

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Natural Horsemanship Training Tools

Basics Of Horse Care – Horses are amazingly beautiful and sensitive creatures. Horses require not only understanding and patience to have a horse as a pet, it also requires a whole lot of care.

Herd Mentality:

Observe horses in the herd system, each horse’s welfare in the wild depends upon an instinctive submission to the discipline of the herd. The instinct is for immediate action. To the horse, action is survival. When horses live in an herd environment, they often take turns sleeping and standing guard for any predators. When the leader of the herd signals danger they take flight.

Learning respect and ascending to authority starts on the first day of life for the foals, there is a distinct pecking order in herds of horses.

It is important to keep a quiet profile around horses. Horses naturally do not like unnecessary noise because in the wild their survival depends on detection of predators with their hearing. Extraneous noise interferes with this predator detection. This predator detection is tightly coupled with a horse’s flight reflex. Due to these survival genetics, horses have a physiological wiring in their brains that predisposes them to prefer quietness and to become bothered by unnecessary noise. Many horses can get startled easily from abrupt noises and this could result in injury to the horse, the rider, or people around the horse. Talk to your horse in a quiet, reassuring voice.

Relationship With Horses:

A horse will love you if, first and foremost, you treat it fairly, and secondly, if you allow yourself to develop a relationship with it in the same way you would a human partner. There are too many who will look after the horse’s material needs but put nothing back into the partnership itself. The horse born in captivity will identify with an alternative provider and companion, resulting in a healthy relationship from the beginning. A healthy relationship with your horse requires: trust, coupled with respect, fondness with compliance, and a desire to please.

Check Your Horse:

Examine your horse every day and especially prior to riding the horse. Carefully examine the horse’s legs and back for any unusual heat or lumps. Make sure that the horse’s eyes are alert and not glazy. Listen for any excessive noise or gurgling sounds coming from your horse’s stomach. Catching problems before they become serious is critical to keeping a show horse sound and alive.

Exercise caution and discretion when around stallions and mares when they are in heat. They are dealing with hormones on an order of magnitude that you probably can not comprehend. Stallions typically bite and some may be easily triggered into violent behavior.

Grooming Horses:

Keep your horse clean. Keep your horse’s entire coat free from dirt, mud, sand, and sweat. Brush your horse every day. Pick out your horse’s feet every day. Wash out any sweat residue from the saddle pad or girth every day. Wash out any dirt or sand residue, as from the riding arena, on your horses legs every day. A number of different problems can result if a horse’s coat is not kept clean.

Barn Care:

Keep your horse’s stall clean. Make sure that your horse’s stall is cleaned every day. Be sure that any wetness is removed with the manure. Replace the removed bedding with fresh, clean, dry bedding. Water should be dumped from buckets every day without exception. Unhealthy dirt and bacteria can build up in a bucket if it is not cleaned on a daily basis. Clean water is essential to maintaining a healthy horse. Make sure your horse always has clean, fresh water available.

Training A Horse:

The intelligence of the horse increases rapidly with education. An intelligent trainer can make an intelligent horse. A kind but firm trainer will result in a disciplined but pleasing horse.

(For safety riders, especially those who are just learning should wear a horse riding safety helmet like the one pictured here-)

Horse Feed:

Feed your horse(s) at the same times every day. A horse may get upset and colic or injure themselves by kicking the stall or pawing, if not fed when feeding is expected. You should not make radical changes in a horse’s feed program. If you must make a change in the feed program, make the change gradually. Drastic changes in a horse’s feed program can cause the horse to colic and in some cases, may die. Your horse’s stomach is a highly sensitive bio-reactor that maintains a delicate balance of the organisms that digest food in your horse’s digestive track.

Visitors should not feed a horse that you do not own without the owner’s permission; no carrots, no apples, no treats, nothing. The horse could potentially, get sick if they have an allergy or sickness.

Pay attention to everything that goes into your horse; that means all feed, all hay, all water, all treats, all supplements, all pills, and all shots. This knowledge could save your horse’s life in an emergency situation. Post this information on your horse’s stall door so that it is available to a vet if you are not around in an emergency. Make sure that your horse gets high-quality feed and hay. Your horse’s health and soundness depends on the nutrition that you provide for them. Take good care of your horse. A rider without a horse is no rider at all.

Vet Care:

Make sure that you have a good equine veterinarian. A good vet will save you money in the long run and may save your horse’s life some day. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Make sure your horse has all the vaccinations that are normal for your geographical location. All horses should be on a good worming program to control intestinal parasites. A horse should be wormed by a vet at least twice a year.

Horse Flies:

In the summer spray your horse trailer down with fly spray about 10 minutes before you load the horses. The flies should leave, and your horses will be without those pesky flies!

Cooling Horses:

Never spray a hot, sweaty horse with cold water immediately after working the horse. This can cause muscle spasms and binding, or shock that can lead to death. Wait until the horse is breathing regularly, and use warm water if it is available. If a horse has heat shock, consult your vet and the vet may instruct you to cold hose the horse, even if still hot and sweaty. Never put a horse in a stall or confined area while sweaty or while they are still breathing heavily. This can result in shock and/or colic that can lead to death. Walk the horse until the horse is cooled out and the breathing is normal.

Shoeing:

Horses’ hooves generally grow approximately 1 cm in a month, and take nearly a year to grow from the coronet band to the ground. Horse’s hooves need to be trimmed regularly (about every 6-8 weeks). Shoeing a horse does not hurt them. If you were to grow out your finger nail, you could put an earring/pin through it without causing discomfort; however, if you pushed the pin through the part of your nail that is attached to the soft tissue of your finger, it would hurt. When horse shoes are nailed in, they are nailed at an angle so which the horse doesn’t feel it.

Make sure that you have a good farrier, especially if you show your horse over jumps. The concussion from landing from jumps amplifies any problems in a horse’s shoeing. If a horse gets sore feet or legs from bad angles or bad shoeing, the horse can not just take his shoes off, sit back on a couch, and rub their feet, or find another pair of shoes like you can. Bad shoeing can result in your horse becoming lame due to a number of problems including: bowed tendons, popped splints, or shoulder/back soreness or spasms. Bad shoeing can ruin a good horse, so don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish where shoeing is concerned. A laid-up horse is far more expensive to maintain than a good farrier. And remember not all horses need to have shoes, only if they are competing, walking on hard/rocky surfaces, or have hoof problems.

Sleeping:

Horses do lay down to sleep, but only if they feel completely comfortable in their environment. It is not enough to provide a dry stable, food and water. Horses will often sleep standing up by locking their knees. Horses are one of the few animals that can put one half of their body asleep while the other half is wide awake. Emotionally and mentally, all horses need to feel they have and be comfortable in their own space!

To fully enjoy a horse’s finer qualities you must treat them with both kindness and quality care. In the end, a happy horse will mean a nicer ride and a happier rider.

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By: Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Rob Daniels has been an equestrian rider for 25 years. He has studied various disciplines additional articles are available at: Riding Stable – www.riding-stable.com and Horse Stall www.horse-stall.net Basics Of Horse Care – Copyright 2006 Rob Daniels

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Tips to Help Train Your Horse

Horse training is referred to the various techniques that are used to teach horses to accomplish some specific actions. There are various types of training modules that can be used to train horses and some specific types of horse training techniques to make a horse expert in different areas, like transport, sporting racing or other therapeutic works, for example, carrying physically disabled people.

Presently most horses are trained in entertainment and sporting activity. Besides, there are some horse training modules in the fields like crowd control, film work etc. But, the basic goal of horse training is to make a horse expert enough to perform some essential works as required.

Horses training practice can be started at a very young age. Even though it is not possible to ride on them at their infancy, they can be taught some preliminary skills.

Various training modules are practiced by a young horse at a young stage of 1-2 years of age. Liberty work, Desensitization, longeing, driving in ground, biting are popular amongst them. All of these techniques are aimed at all round development of a horse. All these training techniques should be introduced even before a horse is ready to be ridden.

After completion of above training phases, riding techniques comes in to picture. The riding techniques are commonly termed as backing, mounting etc. A young horse is not at all afraid of human and riding session is not a problematic matter. So at that junction of training period a horse is taught to respond to some essential commands to go ahead, stop, turn back etc. A horse is also taught to increase or decrease speed responding to a particular command. Once a horse is well aware of all necessary preliminary techniques, advance training can be scheduled for specialization in a specific field.

Before starting a special training session, it is always advised to watch some important factors. The physical ability of the horse and its stopping ability, the way of shodding, speed at the stopping time are very important. Horse training track is another prime factor before starting a special training stint. Apart from that, several equipments are also used to provide a scientific training to a horse. All of these things help to continue the horse training session in a rapid track.

By: DavidZ

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

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