A horse that jigs and goes too fast is frustrating to deal with and no fun to ride. If you feel like you’re in a constant battle with your horse to slow down his feet, a great exercise to practice is what I call bending transitions.

In this exercise, you’ll trot your horse on a loose rein and then transition him down to a walk, asking him to bend his body as he walks in a circle. It’s important to practice the exercise on a loose rein so that you’re not masking your horse’s problem by holding him back. Dare him to make the mistake. Even if you know he’s going to speed up, you have to let him.

Once your horse is trotting forward on a loose rein, bend him down to a walk by sitting deep in the saddle and taking your legs off to warn him that you’re about to slow down. To bend him to the left, slide one hand down the left rein and pull it up to your hip. At the same time, press the middle of your horse’s ribcage with your inside left leg to create bend in his body.

As soon as your horse transitions to a walk and softens to the bit, drop your hand down to your knee and release your leg at the same time. Your horse should keep walking the circle, bending his head and neck with slack in the rein.

If your horse tries to walk out of the circle, pull the rein back to your hip and apply pressure to his ribcage with your inside leg. When he drops his nose down toward your toe, release all the pressure. The end result will be that you can release your hand to your knee and your horse will keep the bend by himself and continue to walk forward.

After your horse walks three circles, let him out of the bend and trot him forward for a few strides before asking him to do another bending transition. Practice the exercise on both sides at the trot first. When he’s doing well at the trot and not taking off, then move on to the canter.

When you ask your horse to do the transition, even if he’s going faster than you want, be careful that you don’t panic and snatch his head around with the rein; this will just cause him to worry and go even faster. Pick up softly, and if you feel any resistance, use your inside leg to encourage him to bend and soften.

Also notice that at no point in this exercise are you to be pulling back on both reins to stop your horse. Pulling straight back on two reins will only add to his desire to go fast because it makes him feel trapped, which causes him to get nervous.
Since you’re working with a hot horse that likes to run and build speed, it’s important that initially you let him go only a few strides between each bending transition. This will help to “shorten” him mentally, meaning that it won’t take long for your horse to realize that he might as well slow down and relax because he’s not going to get very far before you shut him down. Don’t let him build his speed up to 90 miles an hour and then worry about how you’re going to stop him. Slow him down before he gets out of control.

The more you practice this exercise, the better your horse will rate off your seat and slow down.

Clinician CLINTON ANDERSON owns and operates Downunder Horsemanship in Stephenville, Texas, where his method of horsemanship has helped to transform the relationships between thousands of horses and riders. He also hosts two training programs that air weekly on Fox Sports Net and RFD-TV. www.downunderhorsemanship.com

This article originally appeared in the July 2014 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Slow Down a Fast Horse appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Riding a horse that refuses to go forward is like having a Ferrari with no gas pedal; sure, it’s nice to look at, but it’s absolutely useless. I teach horses to move forward off my legs using three separate cues: squeeze, cluck and spank.

To begin, find a safe, controlled area to practice in, such as an arena or a round pen. Ride your horse on a loose rein and don’t try to steer him. Your only goal will be to teach him to move forward off your leg pressure.

You’ll introduce the cue at the walk, and then move up the gaits as your horse catches on to the lesson. Ask him to walk forward by squeezing the middle of his ribcage with both legs. Squeezing is politely asking him to go forward.

If your horse doesn’t immediately respond by walking forward, cluck two times with your tongue. This warns him that he is about to feel uncomfortable if he doesn’t move. Continue to squeeze his sides with your legs as you cluck.

If he still doesn’t walk forward, spank him with the ends of your reins from side to side, or use a dressage whip to tap him behind your leg. Again, you should still be squeezing his sides with your legs. Don’t start off by spanking him really hard. Just gently spank from side to side. If he doesn’t respond, then gradually increase the pressure until he walks forward.

As soon as your horse walks forward, instantly release all the pressure: stop squeezing his sides, clucking and spanking. When he’s going forward at the speed you want, your legs should hang loosely against his sides, not applying any pressure.

The goal is to ask with the least amount of pressure possible until you get the response you are looking for. With a lazy horse, be prepared to put some effort into spanking him and sticking with it until he moves forward. Lazy horses will often kick out in protest when asked to move their feet, so you have to be confident enough to stay in the saddle and continue spanking with rhythm until your horse does as you ask.

If your horse stops moving, repeat the cues again until he walks forward. Always let him commit to the mistake and then correct him. That’s the only way he’ll learn to be responsible for himself.

When your horse is moving forward, practice transitioning from the walk to the halt and back again using the one-rein stop. Pulling back on both reins to stop a horse that doesn’t respect pressure can encourage him to pull against the bit, raise his head, grab the bit and bolt, et cetera. Using one rein gives you more leverage and helps your horse learn to read your seat.

Walk about 50 feet and then do a one-rein stop. Take your legs off your horse’s sides, sit deep in the saddle, and then slide one hand down the rein and pull it up to your hip. Hold the pressure until your horse stands still and softens his face. He should touch his nose to your boot, jeans, stirrup or fender before you release the rein.

Ask your horse to walk off again using the same squeeze, cluck and spank cues. If he responds by moving forward when you first gently squeeze his sides with your legs, there’s no need to cluck or spank. But if he doesn’t walk forward, cluck two times, and then spank if he is still ignoring you. Practice walking forward until your horse readily walks off as soon as you squeeze his sides with your legs.

Practice the same exercise at the trot and the canter. Be prepared to spank when you ask a lazy horse to move faster, because he’s likely to give you more resistance.

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Clinician Clinton Anderson owns and operates Downunder Horsemanship in Stephenville, Texas. He also hosts two training programs that air weekly on Fox Sports Net and RFD-TV. www.downunderhorsemanship.com

This article originally appeared in the September 2014 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Dealing with the Lazy Horse appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

After a few sessions in the round pen, your horse will have a higher level of respect for you. When you do put the halter and lead rope on him, he’ll be in a better frame of mind to pay attention and learn.

By working with your horse in the round pen, you’ll find out how athletic he is, how lazy or energetic he is, and how willing he is to move forward and follow your suggestions. These are all important factors to take into consideration as his training progresses.

Five Steps to Forming a Foundation

When round-penning a horse, your ultimate goal should be to teach him to move forward, backward, left and right in the direction you point. You also want him to “catch” you, rather than you having to catch him, by teaching him that the center of the round pen—being with you—is the most comfortable place to be. You’ll accomplish that goal by working on the five steps described here.

1. Establish a Direction: The first step teaches your horse to be responsible for his feet. When you set him in a direction at a certain gait, he should continue that way until you tell him otherwise.
2. Change of Direction to the Inside: Once your horse is going around the round pen without trying to stop and change direction on his own, ask him to do a change of direction to the inside. Always ask for the change to the inside so that he turns and faces you with both eyes before going the other way. Whenever your horse stops and turns toward the fence, he is trying to escape you instead of looking to you for security. You never want him to turn away from you.
3. Consistent Change of Direction to the Inside: When your horse understands the basics of changing direction, you want to establish consistency every time you ask for it.
4. Draw Your Horse in to You: You want your horse to realize that being with you is a safe place and that you’ll make him feel comfortable. He should acknowledge you, respect you and want to be with you. This is the step that will teach him how to “catch” you. A respectful horse will turn toward you, and even walk up to you, when you go out to catch him. A disrespectful horse will turn away from you and give you his heels.
5. Teach Your Horse to Follow You: You want your horse to follow you around the round pen like your shadow—walking when you walk, turning when you turn, and stopping when you stop. When he follows you, he is making a conscious choice to be with you. He is paying attention to your every move and isn’t afraid to be with you. The more draw you can create in your horse, the easier it will be to progress his training.

Rescues in the Round Pen

Don’t treat a rescued horse differently in the round pen. Making excuses and special allowances for an abused horse’s bad behavior will only limit him, while treating him the same as any other horse will actually accelerate his progress. All horses are looking for a leader to keep them safe; however, while horses are natural followers, they only want to follow a leader they respect and trust. Every day your horse will test you to see if you deserve to lead him, which means that you have to be worthy of your leadership role. You have to prove to him that you can move his feet forward, backward, left and right and are always willing to reward the slightest try. Although abuse is a terrible thing, once a horse is brought back to health, treating him just the same as you would treat any other horse breaks the cycle of abuse-related behavior and sets you on the track to enjoying a great partnership. It’s absolutely amazing to see how quickly a rescue horse will start to trust and respect you if you treat him like any other horse.

Clinician Clinton Anderson owns and operates Downunder Horsemanship in Stephenville, Texas, where his method of horsemanship has helped to transform the relationships between thousands of horses and riders. He also hosts two training programs that air weekly on Fox Sports Net and RFD-TV. www.downunderhorsemanship.com.

This article originally appeared in the January 2014 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Working with the Unhandled Horse appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

If you think training a horse is difficult, you should try keeping a trained horse happy and interested in his job. Drilling on the same exercises and routines tends to cause horses to get bored and sour. I’m always looking for ways to challenge the partnership I share with my horses and to keep training sessions fun for them.

That’s why a few years ago, I began introducing tricks to my finished horses that have been there and done that. When I begin trick training, one of the first exercises I teach a horse is to sidepass toward me. Not only is it just plain cool to be able to do, but it ensures that as the tricks get progressively more difficult I can control the horse’s movements without having to touch him.

Goal:
To teach the horse to sidepass toward you on the fence, keeping his body straight from head to tail, without having to physically touch him.

Why:
It’s all about body control. The more control you have of your horse’s feet—being able to move them forward, backward, left and right—the easier it will be to teach him what you want him to do. It will also make it easier to correct him whenever he makes a mistake or gets out of position. At different times during trick training, your horse is going to scoot his body away from you or get out of position. You need to be able to move his body back toward you without actually walking around to the other side of him.

Set Yourself up for Success
Before starting this exercise, your horse must be able to sidepass away from you well. You’re only asking for trouble by teaching the horse to push toward you if you can’t drive him away from you. Watch the video below for a tutorial.

1. Teach the exercise on the fence. The horse should be facing the fence so that his nose is actually touching it. Stand on the left side of the horse, with your belly button facing his head. You should be about a foot off the fence so that if you stuck your elbow out, it would touch the fence.

The fence limits the horse’s options so that when you apply pressure he doesn’t have the option of running forward. It’s important that you position yourself close to the fence so you don’t create a gap that the horse might be tempted to run through. Always set yourself up for success, and make it as easy as possible for the horse to understand.

2. With the reins looped over the horse’s neck, hold the left rein with your left hand. Hold your training stick in your right hand.

3. Start by isolating each end of the horse’s body. Ask him to take a step toward you with his hindquarters by reaching the stick over his spine and tapping the air on the right side of his hindquarters four times with rhythm.

Instead of asking the horse’s whole body to step toward you, break it down into steps so it’s easier for him to understand. Horses are intelligent, but they are simple creatures and learn best when information is broken down. The first goal is to teach the horse to move each end of his body toward you. Once he understands that, it will be easy to turn it into a sidepass.

If you’re not able to fully reach the training stick over the horse to tap the air next to his hindquarters because of your height, reach the stick as far across the horse’s side as you can. If you’re short and are paired with a tall horse, you may only be able to tap the air just above his hindquarters rather than right next to them. It might take a little longer for the horse to figure out what you’re asking him to do because the cue isn’t as exaggerated, but as long as you’re tapping on the opposite side of the horse’s spine, the cue will still work.

4. If the horse doesn’t respond to you tapping the air, then tap his hindquarters lightly four times with rhythm. If he ignores you, increase the pressure. Continue increasing the pressure with every set of four taps until he takes one step toward you with his hindquarters. As soon as he does, release the pressure and rub him to a stop on his hindquarters.

Just look for one step in the beginning. Your goal is for the horse to figure out the concept of the lesson: when you apply pressure, he needs to move away from it. As soon as he does, release the pressure and rub him on his hindquarters with the stick until he stops and relaxes.

5. Then ask the horse to take a step toward you with his front end. Reach the stick over the horse’s spine and tap with rhythm on the base of his neck, just in front of his withers. Start tapping gently, and with every set of four taps, increase the pressure until the horse takes one step toward you with his front end.

6. As soon as the horse takes one step toward you, immediately release the pressure and rub him to a stop with the stick on his withers.

7. Just like with the hindquarters, you’re only looking for the horse to take one step toward you. As soon as the horse does take a step, be quick to reward him. Stop tapping and rub his withers with the stick.

8. Continue asking the horse to “crab” toward you, moving his back end, then his front end.

Practice moving each end of the horse until he willingly steps toward you when you apply light pressure to either end of his body.

Once the horse is confidently moving each end toward you, ask him to move his whole body toward you at the same time. To do that, reach the stick out over the horse’s spine across the middle of his back and tap the air four times. If he doesn’t step toward you, start tapping him lightly on the opposite side of his spine. Continue increasing the pressure with every set of four taps until he takes one step toward you with his whole body.

Always start by tapping the air first. If the horse doesn’t respond by taking a step toward you, then start tapping him, gradually increasing the pressure. With repetition and consistency, the horse will start responding when you lightly tap the air. Remember to reward the slightest try. Start by looking for the horse to take just one step toward you, and gradually build on it. By building the horse’s confidence, you’ll end up with a much better end result.

9. As soon as the horse takes one good step—he moves toward you while keeping his body on a straight line—stop applying pressure, relax your body language and rub him to a stop.

Keep in mind that you may initially be rewarding more of a shuffle sideways toward you rather than a perfect sidepass. Don’t be too picky about his feet crossing correctly. Remember, this is the concept lesson. All you’re looking for right now is that he understands the general concept.

10. Let the horse rest for a couple seconds while you rub him with the stick, and then ask him to take another step toward you. Continue down the fence line following the same steps.

11. Once the horse can consistently sidepass one step toward you, ask for two steps. Then ask for three steps, and so on. Every day, increase the number of steps you ask him to take.

If the horse can’t take two steps consistently, don’t ask for three. Make sure you get each step of the exercise down before moving on.

Success Tip:
The first lesson is the concept lesson.

Keep in mind that when you first start teaching an exercise, it often doesn’t resemble what you’d like it to look like in the end. Horses don’t learn perfectly, so in the beginning they make a lot of mistakes and get confused at times. Your job is to keep it as simple as possible for the horse to understand. Start by asking for just one step. Even if it’s not a very good step, reward it anyway to let the horse know that he’s on the right track. As his confidence grows, you can start asking for more steps and get pickier about the quality of the steps. It’s no different than teaching kids. You wouldn’t expect your kid to come back from the first day of kindergarten and be able to write his name perfectly. You’d be thrilled if he could just get one letter on the page. The first lesson is the concept lesson, and from then on you can work toward perfection.

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Clinician CLINTON ANDERSON owns and operates Downunder Horsemanship in Stephenville, Texas, where his method of horsemanship has helped to transform the relationships between thousands of horses and riders. He also hosts a training program that airs weekly on RFD-TV and can be streamed from www.downunderhorsemanship.tv. For more information, visit www.downunderhorsemanship.com.

This article originally appeared in the January 2015 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Trick Training with Clinton Anderson appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

The more things you desensitize your horse to, the quieter and more confident he’ll become. Your goal isn’t to make him so dull that he won’t react, but rather to teach him that he can trust you to take care of him when a spooky object appears, and to stand still and wait for instructions from you.

Tip No. 1: Don’t force your horse to confront a spooky object.
When a horse is frightened of an object, the worst thing you can do is force him to approach it. This will just cause him to become more nervous and think that there is a reason to be scared. If you want your horse to relax, you have to stop being the predator that takes a direct-line approach and start thinking more like your horse, a prey animal that is cautious. Rather than forcing the object on him, use the “approach and retreat” method, a step-by-step desensitization technique. Build his confidence by approaching him with the object he is scared of, and then retreating (taking the object away) when he stands still and relaxes.

The same approach and retreat theory applies if you encounter an obstacle on the trail that your horse is frightened of. Let’s say you come across a water obstacle and your horse plants his feet, raises his head in the air and refuses to move forward. Until they learn otherwise, most people’s first reaction is to spur the horse’s sides or spank him with the ends of the reins to get him to go through the water. A horse that is already frightened and using the reactive side of his brain gets even more upset when you try to force him to confront the object that he’s scared of, and it becomes an all-out battle to get him in the water.

Rather than forcing the horse through the water, you can use the approach-and-retreat method to make crossing the water his idea. In this example, you would ride the horse toward the water and just before he stops, you’d halt him and retreat (back him away from the water), which is the complete opposite of what the horse thinks you’re going to do. He thinks you’re going to force him to step in the water, but rather than forcing him toward the scary object, you’re backing him away from it. It’s kind of like a cat and mouse game. The more you say, “Don’t go, don’t go,” the more the horse wants to get closer to the water. You build up his curiosity until eventually he’s calmly walking through it and using the thinking side of his brain.

Tip No. 2: Don’t be sneaky.
The biggest mistake I see people make when their horses are spooking at an object is that they sneak around, saying, “There, there, Precious. This isn’t going to hurt you.” Ironically, this behavior just makes matters worse. The truth is that the more you use the approach-and-retreat method, the calmer and less reactive your horse will become.

Tip No. 3: Retreat at the right time.
Timing—meaning when you release the pressure—is critical when training horses, especially when desensitizing. When you’re desensitizing your horse, never take the object/pressure away until he stands still and shows a sign of relaxing. When he relaxes, he’ll do one of five things: lick his lips, lower his head and neck, cock a hind leg, blink his eyes, or take a big breath. If you take the object away while your horse is moving his feet and using the reactive side of his brain, you’ll teach him to be scared of the object.

Tip No. 4: Don’t pass up a training opportunity.
When your horse spooks at something, don’t just ignore it and move on. Look at it as a training opportunity. You should constantly be expanding your horse’s comfort zone. A horse’s comfort zone is made up of the environment and objects he’s familiar and comfortable with. When you first start working with a horse, his comfort zone will be very small because he won’t have been exposed to very many objects or situations. The more you work with him and introduce new objects to him, the larger his comfort zone will become and the quieter he will get.

Tip No. 5: Remain patient.
Resistance is normal, especially when you’re introducing a new object to your horse. It’s very common for a horse to move his feet, raise his head or get nervous when he first encounters a scary object. Don’t lose your temper when he resists you. Instead, take your time and work through the situation, approaching him with the object he’s scared of and then retreating only when he’s standing still and relaxed.

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Clinician CLINTON ANDERSON owns and operates Downunder Horsemanship in Stephenville, Texas. He also hosts two training programs that air weekly on Fox Sports Net and RFD-TV.
www.downunderhorsemanship.com

This article originally appeared in the November 2014 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post 5 Tips to Stop the Spooking Horse appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

A: First, good job on eliminating your tack as the source of your horse’s problem. Now, let’s define what bucking truly is. What a lot of people call bucking is when the horse’s front feet stay on the ground and he kicks up his back legs. That’s not bucking. Bucking to me is what you see at the rodeo: All four feet are off the ground, the horse’s head is down low, and his mouth is open.

Kicking up, or “crow hopping,” is a simple demonstration of a horse’s lack of respect. What type of horse usually kicks up? A lazy one that doesn’t want to go forward. When you ask a horse like this to go from a jog to a lope and he kicks up with his back legs, it’s his way of telling you to get lost.

On the other hand, most horses that are really bucking are not showing a lack of respect. They are most likely reacting to fear: the fear of a rider being on their back, the girth, the back cinch, the rider’s legs, the spurs, or something that jumped out of the bushes. Something caused them to use the reactive side of their brain. That’s how most horses learn to buck. Sometimes, once a horse has dumped a rider three or four times and has gotten used to bucking, he starts bucking out of habit, not so much out of fear.

Whether your horse is kicking up to demonstrate his lack of respect or is truly bucking out of fear or habit, there are several ways to fix the problem. If he’s kicking up because he doesn’t want to go forward (which sounds accurate), get his feet moving better on the ground. Preferably, put him in a round pen (or on the longeline) and then point up in the air with your hand to signal him to move forward, then cluck and spank with a whip until he lopes around the round pen. First spank the ground, and if necessary, spank your horse. Get him so focused on you that as soon as you ask him to move by pointing with your hand, he immediately responds. If you get rid of his laziness and lack of respect on the ground first, he’ll be a lot more willing to go forward when you get on him. In fact, if you diligently do your groundwork, more than likely, kicking up under saddle will no longer even be an issue.

When you do get on your horse and ask him to lope, first squeeze with both legs to ask him to go forward. Wait for a count of two, and if he doesn’t go, cluck. Wait for another count of two, and if he doesn’t go forward, spank him from side to side with the end of your reins or a whip. If you spank with rhythm and he kicks up with both back legs, spank him again. You may have to spank him several times before he realizes that every time his hind legs leave the ground you will make him feel uncomfortable, but when he leaves his feet on the ground, you will leave him alone.

If your horse is truly bucking, the last thing you want to do is spank him because he’ll only buck harder. If he is bucking, immediately do a one-rein stop: bend his head and neck around to one side and try to get him to disengage his hindquarters. This takes away his ability to buck because his hind legs are moving laterally. As soon as he’s stopped, get off him and go right to work moving his feet on the ground. Don’t get off and put him away. If you do, you’ll teach him that bucking is what earned him a rest. Hustle his feet so he understands that bucking was a big mistake.

You do have to be a confident rider to go through this process. If you’re not, make sure you do your groundwork thoroughly and correctly so that your horse will go forward under saddle as soon as you squeeze and cluck. Or, have a more experienced rider get on for a few days to get your horse’s feet moving at the lope.

Clinician Clinton Anderson owns and operates Downunder Horsemanship in Stephenville, Texas, where his method of horsemanship has helped to transform the relationships between thousands of horses and riders. He also hosts two training programs that air weekly on Fox Sports Net and RFD-TV. www.downunderhorsemanship.com

This article originally appeared in the June 2012 issue of Horse Illustrated. Click here to subscribe!

The post Ask the Expert: Respect at the Lope appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

A: Dealing with a horse that tries to race ahead of other horses in a group setting is not only frustrating, but it’s also tiring. The first step to fixing your horse’s speed-demon tendencies is to understand why he feels the need to get ahead of the other horses.

Horses, just like all prey animals, feel the safest in a herd. Prey animals rely on “safety in numbers”—the more bodies there are, the greater the chance they have of surviving. And the faster they’re moving, the more of a tendency they have to race one another.

While no amount of training can completely wipe away your horse’s natural instincts, you can teach him to use the thinking side of his brain, relax and trust you when he feels threatened. Any time you need to get your horse’s attention and get him to use the thinking side of his brain, move his feet forward, backward, left and right, and reward the slightest try. The more you move his feet and change directions, the more he has to pay attention to you. He can only think about one thing at a time; he’s either listening to you or worrying about getting ahead of the other horses.

When your horse shakes his head, kicks out or tries to race ahead, pick up on one rein and bend him in a circle around your leg. Then, change directions and bend him the other way. More than likely, it’ll take several minutes of bending him before he relaxes and focuses back on you instead of the other horses. Once he’s working well (i.e. he’s calm and paying attention to you), put him back on a loose rein and continue your ride. Give him the opportunity to speed up again and commit to the mistake.

If you constantly try to hold your horse back, you’ll always have to baby-sit him. If he starts to build speed and heads after the horses in front of him, bend him around again. With repetition, he’ll learn to relax and stay at the pace you set—not getting any faster or slower. If he speeds up, he knows you’ll put him to work. Horses are creatures of habit and are basically lazy; they’ll always choose the option with the least amount of work involved. After a few repetitions of bending and hustling his feet, your horse will realize it’s far easier to stay at the gait you set and go down the trail on a loose rein.

Set Him Up for Success
Before expecting your horse to calmly lope out on the trail with a group of horses, be sure that he can lope on a loose rein in a controlled environment without shaking his head or kicking up his heels. If he can’t calmly lope around the arena or pasture on a loose rein without misbehaving or maintaining the gait you put him in, then you’re just setting him up to fail on the trail with other horses.

Everyone dreams of having a horse that lopes in a relaxed manner, but very few people are willing to put in the time necessary to teach their horse to lope slowly. It takes a lot of time and concentrated training in order for a horse to develop rhythm and cadence at the lope. If you want your horse to lope slowly with rhythm, you have to let him practice loping until he learns to get comfortable in the gait and relax. Always set your horse up for success.

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Clinician Clinton Anderson owns and operates Downunder Horsemanship in Stephenville, Texas, where his method of horsemanship has helped to transform the relationship between thousands of horses and riders. He also hosts two inspirational training programs that air weekly on Fox Sports Net and RFD-TV. www.downunderhorsemanship.com.

This article originally appeared in the September 2011 issue of Horse Illustrated. Click here to subscribe.

The post Ask the Expert: Runaway Trail Horse appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Have you made the mistake of coddling your horse and indulging his every whim? Allowing your horse to bump into you, nuzzle you for treats and nip at you creates a spoiled horse—one that’s pushy and has no respect for you. When a 1,000-pound animal throws a temper tantrum for not getting his way, it’s dangerous. Worse, if left uncorrected, his pushy behavior will escalate into aggressiveness. Soon he’ll be biting, charging and kicking anyone that stands in the way of what he wants.

The best way to cure a pushy horse is to earn his respect by doing groundwork exercises with him. A respectful horse is a willing horse. When you ask him to move, he instantly moves. When you walk, he walks beside you like a shadow. When you go in his stall, he gives you two eyes and comes to you; he wants to be your partner.

Every time your horse pins his ears, tries to kick or bite you, steps on your foot or pushes you out of his way, he is being disrespectful. Allowing a disrespectful animal to invade your space creates a dangerous situation.

Stop a Space Invader

Your first order of business is to not allow your horse to invade your space. Anytime you’re with him, keep him out of what I like to call your personal “hula hoop” space—a 4-foot circle that surrounds you and serves as your safety zone. Imagine that there’s a 4-foot circle drawn around you—almost like an invisible electric fence. Unless you invite the horse into your space, he should stay a respectful, safe distance away from you.

I honestly don’t believe that most horses intend to hurt us. They just don’t realize that they’re bigger and stronger than us. Your horse is roughly 10 times your weight. He’s in a 1,200-pound category and you’re in a 120- to 200-pound category. Your horse may not necessarily mean to hurt you, but because of his size, if he comes into contact with you, it can hurt. For example, when a horse kicks another horse in the belly, the kicked horse grunts, walks a few feet away and starts eating grass again like nothing ever happened. It doesn’t really bother him. But if you get kicked in the ribs by a horse, you’re in the hospital for a week with seven broken ribs. It’s the same kick, but it means a lot more to you because you’re a smaller creature.

By being conscious of keeping your horse out of your personal space, you’ll stay safe while working around him and earning his respect.

Push Back

One of the most effective exercises for nipping pushy behavior in the bud is yielding the horse’s forequarters (click here for a video of this exercise). When a horse pushes into you, he uses his neck and shoulders to barge into your space and direct you where he wants to go. The horse’s head and neck are basically his steering wheel. The better control you can get of his steering wheel, the more responsive he will be. Horses seem to have an entirely different perspective of you when they know you have the power to drive their front end away, because they know that if you are able to do that, they no longer can push you around. Once your horse knows the exercise, you can use it anytime he gets pushy around you—at feeding time, while leading him, et cetera.

Keeping a pushy horse in check comes down to daily maintenance—being aware of the behavior you’re allowing your horse to get away with. If you teach him to yield and move away from pressure, he will be respectful of you.

Clinician CLINTON ANDERSON owns and operates Downunder Horsemanship in Stephenville, Texas, where his method of horsemanship has helped to transform the relationships between thousands of horses and riders. He also hosts two training programs that air weekly on Fox Sports Net and RFD-TV.
www.downunderhorsemanship.com

This article originally appeared in the May 2014 issue of Horse Illustrated. Click here to subscribe.

The post The Spoiled Horse appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Circle driving gets a lot accomplished by working on several key areas at once. It teaches the horse to be soft on the halter and bend his ribs around you in a circle. It helps horses that are reactive and nervous to relax. It also teaches pushy horses that are always running into you to stay out of your personal space. It will further improve your hindquarter control as well as the horse’s ability to come forward off of halter pressure. Because of the many benefits of this exercise and the fact that it’s low-key, it’s great to use as a warm-up for your horse. It’s one exercise that I do with even my well-broke horses on a consistent basis; it’s a constant reminder to them to stay attentive and soft on the halter.

The goal of this exercise is to get the horse to trot around beside you in a circle, staying 4 feet away while remaining relaxed, maintaining an arc in his body and keeping slack in the lead rope both in the circle and during changes of direction.

Step 1
Get started by standing next to your horse as if you were going to lead him. Hold the lead rope in your left hand, about 4 feet down from the clip, so that your knuckles are on top of the rope. Keep your training stick in your inside hand and rest it on top of the horse’s withers.

Step 2
Look straight ahead and take three steps forward.

Step 3
As you walk forward, point up high straight in front of you with your left hand to show the horse the direction you want him to go. If the horse doesn’t trot forward off the pressure from the point of your hand, tap him with the stick as far back on his body as you can reach until he trots up beside you.

Step 4
As soon as the horse comes up beside you, start walking a small circle to the left. Your belly button should be facing forward and around so that your body is twisted slightly away from the horse. If you face the horse with your belly button, you’ll unintentionally drive him away from you.

Step 5
Glue your left hand, holding the lead rope, to your belly button and keep the training stick on the horse’s withers.

Step 6
Anytime you see more than 3 inches of the stick on the other side of the horse’s spine, it means he’s too close to you. Use the stick to tap him away on the side of his neck. Start gently and gradually increase the pressure until he moves away.

Step 7
To change direction, yield the horse’s hindquarters by turning your belly button 90 degrees toward his hindquarters. Then take one big step toward his tail, swinging the stick toward his hindquarters at the same time. As soon as the horse yields, freeze (do not turn to face the horse). If done correctly, the horse should be staring directly at your left shoulder.

Step 8
Switch the tools in your hands. Pass the stick underneath the lead rope to your left hand and grab ahold of the lead rope in your right hand. Then look up. Take three steps forward, keeping your eyes focused straight ahead.

Step 9
Once you’ve taken three steps forward, point up high in the air directly in front of you with your right hand, asking the horse to come up beside you. If the horse doesn’t immediately trot up beside you when you raise your hand and signal him to move forward, start tapping him with your training stick.

Step 10
When you and your horse are proficient at changing direction, you can refine the exercise by continually moving your feet when you ask the horse to change direction. That means that you’ll yield the horse’s hindquarters, look up and continue walking a straight line as you change hands, point, and if necessary tap with the stick. Once the horse is beside you, you’ll head off in a new circle. When done correctly, it should look like you’re dancing, with each step flowing smoothly together.

More from Clinton Anderson:
Ask the Expert: Runaway Trail Horse
Video: Backing for Respect

This article originally appeared in the February 2015 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Circle Driving with Clinton Anderson appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

A: Whether you are in the arena or out on the trail, a good stop is important for overall control and your safety. To teach my horses how to stop on whoa, I use the steps below.

Put your horse on a loose rein and ride alongside the rail at a jog. Following the rail gives you a straight line to work off of without having to focus on steering your horse.

When you’re ready to ask your horse to stop, say whoa in an assertive voice and sit down deep in the saddle. Count to yourself, “one thousand one, one thousand two.” When you say whoa, you want all forward movement to stop immediately.

If your horse doesn’t stop by the time you’ve counted to “one thousand two,” bend him into the rail by picking up on the rein closest to the rail, and use your outside leg to drive him through the turn like you would for a rollback. Next, bend your horse around in several circles at the walk, using your inside leg to encourage him to soften his ribcage, hustle his feet and really put some effort into the bending circle. Then, jog him off in the opposite direction. You want your horse to understand that every time he doesn’t stop when you say whoa, you’re going to make him do extra work by making him put some effort into the bending circle. If you just let him lollygag around the circle, it’s not going to work very well. Don’t think, “Make the horse stop.” Think, “Give him a reason to want to stop.”

If your horse does stop within the acceptable time frame, let him rest for a minute and then gently bend him in a couple of circles toward the rail to reinforce softness before taking him off in the opposite direction. Horses are motivated by rest, so if you give your horse a rest when he responds to whoa, it will build an incentive for him to want to stop.

Jog your horse off for 30 feet on a loose rein and then ask him to stop again. You don’t want to go too far before you ask him to stop again, especially if he has “go” on his mind. The longer you wait before you ask him to stop, the greater the tendency he’ll have to ignore you.

Establish a starting point for your training. Once you do, you can start expecting your horse to stop quicker every time. Let’s say that the first time your horse stops on his own, it’s within five steps of when you say whoa. That means for the rest of his life, he must stop within five steps of the word whoa, or there will be a consequence. Every time he improves, he creates a new standard for himself.

Once your horse understands the concept of the exercise at the jog, do the same thing at the lope. Again, do not let him go very far in between stops, especially at the lope.

When your horse can do the exercise really well on the rail, you can start to mix it up by doing the exercise off the rail. Say whoa at different times throughout your ride just to make sure he’s paying attention. When you first practice the exercise off the rail, don’t be surprised if your horse acts like he doesn’t even know what whoa means. If he doesn’t stop, bend him around and hustle his feet just like you did when you were on the rail.

Clinician Clinton Anderson owns and operates Downunder Horsemanship in Stephenville, Texas, where his method of horsemanship has helped to transform the relationship between thousands of horses and riders. He also hosts two training programs that air weekly on Fox Sports Net and RFD-TV. www.downunderhorsemanship.com.

This article originally appeared in the July 2011 issue of Horse Illustrated. Click here to subscribe.

The post Stop on Whoa appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.