Training Techniques
What are your best training techniques?
Add your opinion below!
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Reward, reward, reward! The horse must have a reason to want to do what you are asking, i like to use hand-fed treats and soft rubs on the horse's neck. Different horse's require different rewards. While a voice reward such as "Good boy" or soft pet on the neck or face is enough for one horse to learn, others will need a stronger reason to want to change.
Posted By: anonymous
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There is one training principle I go by 100% of the time. When I am trying to teach my horse something new, I ask myself, "What does this horse want most out of life at this very moment?" For example, lets say it's a horse that's learning how to give to the bit. When there is pressure on that bit, all the horse wants out of life at that very moment is for you to stop pulling on his mouth. That's how I will reward him...by using what he really wants. He might pull and shake his head or pull in the opposite direction, but I do not give him that reward until he turns his head in the correct direction. Once he does, he instantly gets exactly what he wanted. This has worked for me for many, many years on every horse I have encountered.
Posted By: Jodi
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Unconditional love. If the horse knows that he/she is doing well and you'll love he/she for it then they will want to do it!
Posted By: Friesian_freak
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Don't start your training with your goal in mind. Instead, go to a point in your training where the horse responds 100% consistently and work up slowly from there. For example, if you are having trouble picking up leads at the canter, don't start training them at the canter...start at the walk. If you cannot get your horse to step off with the leg you ask slightly to the side at the walk, you definitely won't be able to do it at the trot or canter! So start with baby steps at the walk, and work up to the trot and then the canter!
Posted By: anonymous
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Remember first and foremost that you cannot stop a horse from being a horse. You must have a working knowledge of the horse as an animal. It is not like a predator like a dog or a cat or even us, it is a prey animal. It looks at us and sees a predator, its natural enemy. We must learn to understand the horse's method of communication and it's motivations. What may seem "stupid" to a human, may be a behavior that saves the horse's very life. Understanding this fundamental difference is the beginning of training knowledge.
Posted By: J
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When a horse pulls, I would suggest riding 2 weeks on a long rein, then gradually, day by day, pick them up.
Posted By: A secret affair with a 4 legged animal
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When you try to teach a horse something the horse must understand what your saying.Like if you can get the horse to stop with one word and stops he understands what you say.it really works cause i have a horse and i taught it to stay and not move until i tell it to move.
Posted By: D.W.
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Love, Respect, Knowladge that you gain from learning for one another,and harmony between horse and rider.(and you can't forget lottz of treats;the horse won't let you forget them (=
Posted By: Shannon
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Always think like your horse and how you would want to be treated. And never rough handle horse, and use body language. Most improtantly make sure your jorse respects you and trusts you.
Posted By: jenna
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reward is always good and never let the horse get out of working because of him acting bad.
Posted By: cecilia
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If you are trying that "no good horse" in to a jumper, try not to look directly at the jump, instead, look at the next barrier or the ground in front of you, also, do not actually scold, just pat your horses neck as a reward when he/she does something right.
Posted By: Mad about Arabs
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When you get frustrated at your horse for not understanding your cues, RELAX..we have all become frustrated at one time or another and taking it out on the horse by scolding, hitting or whipping will only make matters worse, and will make training more difficult in the future, since the horse will lose trust in you. When you get frustrated, stop what you are doing and take a deep breath to chill out. Then, take a second to think about what you could do to clarify your cues to your horse.
Posted By: anonymous
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A few months ago I imported a 7 year old friesian gelding. My key word for training is PATIENCE! I spent a lot of pleasant hours just making sure my guy understood english and giving him lots of love!He learned to trust me as I was building trust in him.Take things slow.
Posted By: Karyn
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I think that horse is the best teacher, and we need to be the best student for will do the best trainig.
Posted By: Marco
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well one thing u can enprove on is taking your time getting to know what u need to work onand if u come ride more often u can get better on whatever u need to work on
Posted By: Kara
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Remember the most important cues to guiding are your legs and seat position. The hands simply tell your horse where his head should be.
Posted By: Russ
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To Russ: some people know how to communicate with their horse in a way that every cue they use goes through the reins. I have taught horses to do everything from sliding stops to sidepasses and lead changes using nonthing but one rein.
Posted By: kim
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Start going into the paddock to your horse, bring him in, groom him, fuss over him, and let him go back and play. The next day, do the same. The day after that, bring him in, groom, fuss, ride, groom, put him back in the field. Every chance possible, bring your horse in just because and take care of him/her. They will be more willing to come in, a happier, more trusting partner, and you will learn a whole lot about each other in the process.
Posted By: robin
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To Kim I dont doubt that you've done a good job training your horse,however, in the many years I've been training,riding, and competing I've gotten the best results by staying outof the horses mouth. I've trained several Vt. horseman's champs by voice command and seat position. I think it's a better compromise and makes for a better attitude.
Posted By: Russ
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I think the key to training horses is patience. dont scold, only reward. if he does something wrong, then just keep trying. if he does something right, then reward him.also, like robin said, groom lots and love lots. it builds the trust alot. hope this helps anyone who might stumble on it =)
Posted By: claire
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I think that the only way to properly train a horse is to make the horse want to learn, not try and force something on it. I don't think that a person should try and "train" a horse as much as make it want to learn and act well. The way to do this is keep all excersises intersting and don't let anything get boring. And always reward when he's good, not abuse when he's bad. Correct, do not abuse.
Posted By: adam
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i'm very lucky! I have a herd of 16 momma's and filly's.The thing i work with is the herd factor.Once you are accepted as not a predator but leader,you have a place in the herd.You now have complicity in your action's towards the horse you are working with.And you can take it from me,having several breeds,the Arab horse has only made me a better horseman,once one has learned the arab way all other horses are easy.
Posted By: dogsky
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KIM/RUSS..I must agree with Russ on this topic.Kim,apparently, some folks have made headway with the sudo John L. techniques of one rein control, but I must agree with RUSS.Keeping out of a horses face is much betterfor the animal. I train a horse to work off the leg and seat,NO MOUTH.My horse keeps a better head and is much more relax
Posted By: SJFORBES
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Patience! If you go into your work with your horse expecting the best, you will get it. YOUR confidence is the best motivator. You must be the leader-but you don't have to be mean to get there. A bad tempered person never made a sweet tempered horse!
Posted By: Kaiyoum
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For every request you make to your horse, every time you have physical contact with him when riding, YOU MUST reward him immediately when he does what you want by releasing that physical pressure.
Posted By: anonymous
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I'd have to agree with Kim's post above. It is much more confusing for a horse to try to process seat and leg cues than to process bit cues. This is because it is very very hard to be 100% consistent in your seat and leg cues. Why confuse the horse with so many cues all over his body, ones that happen at the same time? He cannot process 2 cues at once in his mind. This is why some people have turned to the bit for all of their cues. It is less confusing, less stressful for the horse to concentrate on one spot...the bit...and what you are communicating to him through the bit. You can control every part of the horse's body through only the bit. It is the most powerful training tool.
Posted By: anonymous
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To Russ and SJFORBES....the only reason your horses are fussy when you use the bit is because you don't know how to use it properly. Try learning how to use it properly so you can utilize ALL your aids well. Avoiding using the bit is one aid you can't do without, unless you have trained your horse to ride bridleless and without any equipment.
Posted By: katie pw
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To all those arguing to bit vs. leg/seat issue, don't forget that every horse is unique, and different methods may work equally well on different horses.Some horses need bit cues, while others are fine on just leg/seat aids.
Posted By: Gylliane
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To this bit versus body debate, Russ is correct. Every rider gives a cue whether intentionally or not with their body. As the rider turns, their hip turns. The horse feels the shift of the riders weight and responds, in part, to that. The seat and legs are much easier on the horse that feeling the bit pressure.
Posted By: anonymous
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Patience and understanding are the keys to training.My youngest horse in training responds very well to lots of praise,and if I dont go slow and give her time to understand what I want she gets confused so I just slow down and take it one step at a time.To get her used to the water hose I started by just spraying a fine mist then I gradually did it more strongly and I let her move around but I let her know that she can move but she wont escape it.She quickly learned that if she stood still it felt pretty good and plus the water would go away.Now she loves it and she will stick her head in it and play in it.I think you should not take away something that the horse is scared of,especially if you are trying to teach it to accept it,wait until the horse relaxes then take it away.I do not believe that you should tie a horse up to a tree or something to get it used to something,like to get your horse used to firecrackers you should not tie it to a tree because it will probably make the horse scared to death of any loud noise.
Posted By: amanda
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Amazing sensible advice on this board !!! When you purchase a horse do not presume that it is a natural jumper, dressage, western, stock, ect. You must know what you want from a horse when you purchase it and aim for a compatible partner, if you cannot jump for crap, would you like somebody to dig it's heels into you and make you do something that you do not enjoy or simply can't? Horses are like people, different horses, different strokes. Also, if you were only about 12hh would you like somebody about 10 stones and 5ft5" high on your back? Of course not. Lets look at being sensible. Choose your horse correctly. If you know what you are doing when you train, or are learning to train, if that horse (lets pretend is learning to back up), if it just takes one step backwards, do not make it go any furter backwards, stop and reward with a huge pat, encouraging words, ect. Go onto something else. Do not go around and round in circles, do a snake shape, staight lines, would you like to work around in circles continually. Also when your horse gives into the bit only hold his head in position for about 5 minutes then release, only do this for 5 minutes in every 20 minutes. Gradually build this up to 15 minutes straight to the hour. Keep doing this until it becomes natural for the horse to carry the head this way. If I asked you to hold your head low or folded back for long periods of time would you feel unconfortable, using unused mucles? Be patient, be loving, do not lose your temper. Instead of retiring your horse to a paddock or stable try hosing your horse after a ride, where the saddle and bridle was, inbetween the legs, and around the bum area, then dry with a towel. When you've been for a big run and are hot and sweaty don't you want care too, a shower would be nice. Don't just throw the horse into it's paddock stable, pull up a unused feed bin, bucket, chat to your horse, talk to another person infront of your horse, get the horse to make you feel apart of it's herd. There are so many things to learn about training a horse, if you don't know, are very serious, do stuff a horse up, you're feeding it, bought it, whatever, seek advice with a professional. Remember, even with a professional trainer, instructer, he/ she is being patient with you, be patient back.
Posted By: rachel pearce
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Yes I was alwaysroldthat when you are trining a horse you should always do new excersises to keep his interest. So can anyone please email some new excersises that I can give my horse. alpha12213@aol.com
Posted By: tiffany
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NEVER take it out on your horse if you are having a bad day
Posted By: who has had a lot of bad days?
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to katie pw and any one else who agrees with her: some horses are too stupid to learn at such a high level, but most would rather that you ride using their mouth sparingly. I know that i would rather have soft signals given to me then to have my mouth yanked on. There arn't many horses that are too stupid for seat/leg reining. I use my horse for trail, barrels, western riding, and some cutting. I know i'll be glad that if my tack EVER gives out I'll be able to turn, stop, back, or pivot my horse using just my seat. The only horse that i donot use leg and seat cues is a percheron/morganX. He is only used to reins because he is only driven (now i am training him to ride). The firse thing i do is teach leg/seat cues. you may not ever need them, but they will be a life saver if your horse trips and the rein goes over their head, or the bit/rien snapps.
Posted By: Alison
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I believe that a rein cue can be much more specific than a leg or body cue. It is more specific and more obvious and it gets a specific response from the horse. I much prefer the use of rein signals to any other because of this fact. When I am specific in my cues, my horse becomes specific in his response, When I am vague with my cues, my horse becomes vague in his response. Using the reins does not mean that you are yanking on their mouth! Although ignorant riders do yank on their horse's mouths, GOOD riders do not. Good riders realize that body and leg aids are more vague than rein cues. When you use a rein cue, you are talking to the same exact spot on the horse every single time you use the same cue. When you use leg cues, you are not necessarily cueing in the same exact spot. It is much more easy to be consistent in your rein cues than leg cues.
Posted By: anonymous
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I am in a bad place here,I have a horse that is ready to go on and show for me,BUT he wil have NOTHING to do with a trailer anyone at that.He has been abused in the past by his last owner.This horse is wonderful in every way.I just want to know what can I do to make getting in a trailer good for him.How do I do it and how long will it take?I have done food,time,rope behind him,feeding him into it,man handling him.you name it I have done it,I need to know what can I do,I don't want a quik fix I just want a horse to load.HELP...E-mail me Pintocrazie@netscape.net
Posted By: C.Ishee
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Exactly what Josi said- release of the pressure!! Sounds like Jodi did some John Lyons Training!!!
Posted By: SJ
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the best training techniques are those that are not artificial, do not take advantage of the horse, and that leave him confident and not "broken". I've been on horses taught to stop very harshly by the reins, and you pick up the reins and the horse tenses. that is wrong, and sad. you want to think stop, and the horse thinks stop, not having the horse think "oh no". training them with force shatters their trust in you. i want me and my horses comfortable and at peace with eachother
Posted By: pluto
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