As a clinician, there are a few training mistakes that I see again and again that are pretty easy to avoid once you know to watch out for them. At one point or another, I have fallen into all of these traps myself, and would like to help others avoid them.

1. Boring Your Horse

This problem is becoming more common all the time. It usually comes from a good place on the part of the trainer; he or she is trying to be thorough and cover all the necessary training steps, then repeat them until the horse has it down pat.

Although repetition is important when it comes to training horses, non-stop repetition is boring, takes away a horse’s desire to learn, and makes the training uninteresting. Think about the most boring teacher you ever had in school, and you probably get the picture.

Start to think in terms of quality instead of quantity when it comes to training. When you’re getting a good response from your horse, move on from that lesson for the day and do something else. Also try mixing in new lessons or putting little twists on old ones to change things up.

2. Only Trail Riding or Only Riding in an Arena

If you always ride in an arena, you stand a pretty good chance of ending up with a horse that knows a lot of maneuvers and handles well in a controlled environment, but he’s probably lacking in overall life skills because he hasn’t been exposed to much.

If you always ride in a straight line on a trail ride, you will likely have a horse that is very quiet and has been exposed to lots of things, but probably doesn’t handle very well—and he likely steers like a big cruise ship.

You need both types of training. You don’t need an actual arena to do what I’m going to refer to here as “arena-type exercises.” To have a well-rounded horse, you should work on improving suppling, steering, leg-yielding, and all the other exercises that you might do in an arena that will get your horse well-trained and handy.

You also need to spend time riding your horse on the trails to expose him to the world and to mix things up. Better yet, practice your arena exercises on the trail to make for a really well-rounded horse.

3. Too Many Programs

With so much horsemanship information available today from so many different sources, it’s very easy to get swamped with information and overwhelmed. This becomes a problem is when you take all this information and jumble it together, or even worse, constantly change the program you’re using.

Not all horsemanship programs fit together, and thinking you’re going to throw everything into a big bowl and mix it together often isn’t that effective. Think of it this way: If you add chocolate chips to a pancake mix, you have a slightly different type of pancake, which is fine. If you add onions, trout, and a bag of chips, it’s probably not going to be a very good mix, even though all those things are good on their own.

As you become more experienced, you can add little parts from different programs, but in the beginning, it’s usually better to stay the course with the program that you’re planning on using.

Constantly changing programs can be the most damaging because the horse never gets a chance to succeed. If every lesson is something completely different, he never gets a fair chance to learn anything properly.

This would be no different than if someone tried to teach you five new languages at the same time; chances are, you’re going to be overwhelmed and throw your hands up in frustration. I have seen several people take this approach with their horses, and they often end up with a horse that shuts down because he feels that he never gets a win and has never done anything right. Some horses will take it harder and completely blow up because they’re so exasperated.

I’m not saying that you can’t learn from everyone. But you need to stay the course with your training if it’s working and make small changes as you go instead of constantly making big changes.

If what you’re doing isn’t working, then you can make some bigger changes as needed. Also, as you get more experienced, you’ll know what can be added into your program with good results.

4. Tack or Equipment “Quick Fix”

Of course, you should use good tack and equipment that fits properly and is suitable for the job you’re trying to do.

What I’m referring to here is constantly looking for that one tool that’s supposedly going to fix everything with your horse. We all know that person who’s always buying a new bit, is constantly changing saddles, and is looking for every new training contraption on the market to fix the problems they’re having with their horse.

Switching equipment can help in some cases, but more often than not, the changes are minor. The main problem that I have with this isn’t so much that the person is changing equipment, but that they’re putting the focus and effort in the wrong places.

Assuming your horse is sound and healthy, 99 percent of the time the solution to training issues rests with you, his trainer. I can’t begin to tell you the number of times people have told me they were going to buy something new to fix a problem when it couldn’t have been more obvious that the person was making a training error.

While you shouldn’t be opposed to changing equipment if you’re having a problem, ask yourself honestly if you could be making a training error that is causing the problem. It’s pretty hard to buy the solution to a training problem—it’s likely going to be matter of working on yourself and your horsemanship.

What to Do with the Knowledge of Common Horse Training Mistakes

By being aware of the mistakes that are frequently made when training horses, you can spot the traps more easily and avoid them. I hope these tips help you in your horsemanship journey.

More Horse Training Advice from Jason Irwin

◆ Jason and Bronwyn Irwin Horsemanship Website
◆ Teach Your Horse to Stand Still While Mounting
◆ Training Your Horse to Cross Water

This article about common horse training mistakes appeared in the October 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Common Horse Training Mistakes appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Food Rewards Fears: The Pushy Horse

Many horse people have concerns about using food as a reward and believe their horse may become pushy, or aggressive about the treats. To explain why horses become pushy about treats, applied animal behaviorist Emily Weiss, Ph.D., always goes back to the “why” behind equines and all organisms doing what they do.

“They do it because it feels good,” she says, which means that if a horse is pushy, they must have been getting a treat at least every once and a while.

The horse thinks, ‘If the behavior results in the thing that feels good, I push, and occasionally I get a treat,’ then that behavior will persist.

Typically, it’s a case of user error; horse handlers just give in, or they’re not paying attention and inadvertently reward pushiness. While some horses are more persistent than others, every horse is susceptible to this inadvertent training, says Weiss.

“Food needs to be delivered very purposefully and never should be delivered when it is the horse pushing or touching you to receive a treat,” says Weiss.

Positive Reinforcement Pitfalls

If you’re looking to incorporate positive reinforcement in general interactions with your horse, which could include being on his back, Weiss recommends finding a sound you can make on your own as the bridge or marker, without relying on a clicker or other device.

“Holding a clicker, you can fumble a lot and you can end up missing [the moment],” says Weiss. “Timing is so important with any kind of training, and with positive reinforcement you’re capturing the behavior as it happens,” she shares.

Another pitfall can be using food as a lure, such as getting your horse from a pasture, where many people bring out a bucket of grain and shaking it to get their horse to come. This often results in the horse grabbing a mouthful and dashing off when you try to get the lead rope over his neck.

“It becomes a trick, and nobody likes to be tricked,” says Weiss. “The difference between going out with a bucket and getting that lead rope on really quick and a true positive reinforcement training where I’m teaching the horse to come to me, is that he is learning the contingency of ‘I get a halter on or rope around my neck and I get something good.’

“If the horse stood still as I approached, I’m going to whistle and give him a treat, and then I’m going to walk away,” she continues. “And very quickly that horse is going to just want to be with me. This isn’t that I’m tricking him to come be with me. He’s learning: ‘I approach her, I get a food reward. I approach her, she puts the lead rope over me, I get a food reward. I approach her, she put the lead rope over me, puts the halter on me, I get a food reward.’

“Ultimately, it will take less time to teach the horse to come on cue, rather than tricking him with the bucket,” says Weiss. “Because over time, tricking is not going to work, and it may be eroding the trust between you and your horse. And I guarantee you if there’s an emergency and you’ve got to grab him fast, it’s going to go much faster if he’s trained to reliably come on cue, as opposed to hoping a shake of the bucket will break through the stress of the situation.”

Next time you are finding yourself frustrated because your horse just won’t stop X or do Y, pause and observe what is happening before and after the behavior so that you can set him up for success by understanding what feels good (or less bad) to him.

The post Unlock the Secret to Equine Behavior appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Work on Your Own Fitness

It’s not fair to ask hour horses to get into summer riding shape if we have been slacking ourselves, too. It’s a partnership, after all!

Now is the perfect time to start a fitness program for yourself before you hit full-tilt summer show season. If going to the gym isn’t convenient, consider an online program. There are lots of YouTube videos to help guide you through basic working routines, and several subscription services targeted directly for building rider strength out of the saddle.

If prefer to get your exercise outdoors, the barn property can become a gym. Map out a path around the perimeter of the fields, or even just up and down the driveway, to go for a walk or a jog. Hills are ideal because they maximize the cardio challenge, build muscles and burn more calories.

There’s also plenty you can do in the barn to build fitness. If you board, ask your barn manager if you can pitch in to make their day go a little quicker. Carrying and scrubbing water buckets, mucking out some extra stalls, or even just helping bring the horses in and out from the fields will help you build up stamina.

Think about your summer riding plans, too. Is trail riding on your list? You can’t go trail riding if the trails are full of branches and trees that fell over the winter. Get in a full-body workout walking the trails on foot and helping remove anything in your way.

If you board at a facility, team up with some other riders to keep each other accountable. Getting a group to ride together after work or on the weekends can make it more fun. Workout classes are better with a friend, so you may want to join a gym with your barn buddies.

Peer support is trickier if your horses are at home or if you board at a smaller facility. There are plenty of Facebook groups with other riders in the same isolated position also craving support. Groups exist for different breeds, sports, and riding goals. An online community can be just as positive as in-person support to keep you motivated.

Get Your Horse Fit

If you return your horse to full work after two months (or more) of down time, he will have lost significant fitness and be more prone to injury. Although cardiovascualar fitness is relatively easy for horses to achieve, tendons and ligaments take months to strengthen when starting from scratch.

If you have space on your farm to go for low-intensity hacks, that is the perfect place to start, but walking in the ring works, too. You can walk even an unfit horse under saddle for up to 60 minutes per day, four to six days a week. Ride your horse forward and keep him pushing from behind, even at the walk. (Going around in an inverted frame with his back down and head in the air will strengthen the wrong muscles.)

Stick to walking for at least the first two weeks of your program. You can gradually increase the time and/or add hill work to keep things challenging, but always keep a feel for when your horse starts to get tired, and wrap up your ride at the first signs of fatigue.

After two weeks, you can gradually add in a few minutes of trotting. Take walk breaks after 2 or 3 minutes of trotting when you start, then work up to 5 to 10 minutes of trot over the next week as your horse is able. Don’t let your horse fall apart in his downward transitions, and think about him lifting his back and stretching down into your hand during breaks from higher-intensity work.

In week four, you can add 1 to 2 minutes of cantering, building up from there. After 30 days, you can introduce a few small jumps or very short bursts of more intense work as your discipline requires. It’s better to ask for successful smaller amounts of higher-intensity work than less-successful—and potentially detrimental—longer workouts.

After six weeks of consistent work, your horse should be much closer to optimum fitness. Throughout his conditioning period and beyond, continue walking as much as possible each day; this can be done before and after the more intense portion of your ride.

Also pay attention to how you feel during this process. It’s hard to ask your horse to carry you if you are starting to fatigue. If after trotting a couple circles you feel your leg slip and your hands start to bounce, it’s time to go back to the walk.

Getting both you and your horse back into shape in the spring takes time, and rushing only gets you to the wrong place faster. It’s better to take it slow while rebuilding stamina in order to reduce the risk of injury and to keep riding fun for both of you.

This article about horse and rider fitness for spring appeared in the April 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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The average ride in non-extreme heat and humidity should last about 30 to 45 minutes. No matter how much time you have to ride, I firmly believe that the warmup should take the most amount of time. A walk on a long rein followed by some basic trot and canter work on a medium-length rein is a great way to begin.

After that is complete, you can begin the targeted warmup. A targeted warmup is one that you create using critical thinking skills in order to improve on your horse’s specific weaknesses. Some examples of these weaknesses could be crookedness, reluctance to go forward, tension/stiffness, lack of engagement, et cetera.

By targeting the warmup to improve these qualities, you set the tone for whatever you’re hoping to practice during the “work” section of the training session, whether that is a complicated jumping track or more advanced dressage movements. This way, your horse is already engaging the correct muscles and having the correct reactions to your aids before being presented with something more complicated.

Having between three to five exercises to choose from is helpful so that the warmup changes somewhat during each session and avoids becoming a drill.

Useful Targeted Warmup Exercises for Specific Horses

Horse that drifts or pops out a shoulder:
◆ Square turns or turn on the haunches
◆ Shoulder-fore or shoulder-in
◆ Circles or figure-8s with focus on riding the shoulders

Lazier type:
◆ Lengthening or collecting of stride
◆ Frequent transitions
◆ Apply leg, use spur or stick if no reaction

Hotter type:
◆ Downward transitions
◆ Circles or figure-8s on a medium-long rein with a mild inside bend
◆ Ground poles (if he rushes the jumps)
◆ Collecting of stride and transitions from regular to collected gaits

Stiff horse:
◆ Circles and figure-8s
◆ Mounted carrot stretches after initial stretch warmup when muscles are warm
◆ Shoulder-fore or shoulder-in
◆ Leg-yields

Horse needing more hind-end engagement:
◆ Transitions on straight lines (with emphasis on even feel in the contact)
◆ Backing
◆ Sets of multiple ground poles or raised cavalletti
◆ Circles, figure-8s, and three-track movements (such as shoulder-in and shoulder-fore) with emphasis on encouraging drive through the hind end through half-halts and maintaining impulsion.

Three Skills

There are several important skills at play when designing and executing a targeted warmup.

First, you must understand your horse’s weaknesses (or your weaknesses as a pair) and how to improve them. This could be a great conversation to have with your trainer. Being able to narrow down what may seem like a huge problem to a few tweaks to the basics is a crucial step in becoming a more well-rounded rider.

Having placed the extra attention on these weaker basics during the warmup, you will be a step ahead when you arrive at the “work” portion of your ride. Using relevant exercises, your horse will become physically and mentally engaged in a way that will benefit his work. Rather than getting frustrated when your horse is rushing the jumps or lacking spring in his hocks, now you will notice those problems arising less and less each ride.

Instead of feeling stuck and asking your horse to perform the more difficult work over and over in a futile attempt to fix it in the moment, the proper preparation has been done to ensure success. This also allows you to avoid unneeded wear and tear on your horse, both physically and mentally.

The final component of a targeted warmup that adds value to your overall training regimen is that even if you and your horse are having a difficult time on a particular day, if you stop your ride after your targeted warmup, you will still have progressed a little further towards your goals.

Your Horse Show Warmup

In this masterclass video from Ridely, Olympic medalist Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum talks you through how she warms up her horses when she competes. Meredith explains that the most important thing about warming up is that you stay as calm as possible. Competing can be daunting and the warmup ring is often busy with other competitors, so it is important to control the nerves and stay calm. She emphasizes the importance of giving yourself enough time in the warmup and to get on the horse early.

Register for Ridely PRO to access 450+ other useful training videos.

There are plenty of times when things don’t go as planned with horses, but by having identified the skills you need to improve on to get to the next level, no session can ever be considered stagnant.

This article about training your horse with a targeted warmup appeared in the January/February 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Target Your Horse’s Warmup appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Begin With Light Signals

An important point to remember throughout all these groundwork exercises is the use of escalating signals. If your horse doesn’t respond to your lightest signal, the volume of the signal should be turned up until he tries giving the proper response, at which point the pressure should be released altogether.

This requires being very tuned into your horse, noticing if he so much as rocks his weight in the desired direction. By consistently sticking to this system of progression followed by reward, your horse is better able to learn what is being asked of him and arrive at the correct answer sooner and with less pressure.

Groundwork Exercise: Hand Walking

When leading your horse, he needs to learn to stay beside you. Horses may be inclined to lag behind, drag ahead, or veer to the side. Establishing firm boundaries helps him understand that he must tune in to you.

A horse that lags behind can be encouraged with the use of a long dressage whip. Don’t walk excessively fast, but don’t slow down to accommodate him either. If he falls behind enough to put pressure on the lead, turn to escalating use of the dressage whip from a gentle tap up to a firm, repetitive bump as needed.

A horse that veers toward you can be corrected by holding the dressage whip perpendicular toward him while poking his shoulder with the handle end of the whip when he enters your space. This is another signal that can be escalated as needed.

If your horse veers away or drags you, walk purposefully and then give your preferred verbal cue for a halt (for example, “whoa”). A moment later, stop walking. Horses often are caught off guard and walk a few steps past you before feeling the pressure of the halter and stopping.

If your horse is one that was caught off guard by you stopping, continue this groundwork exercise on repeat until he stops at the verbal cue rather than the halter pressure. He will soon catch on that it’s in his best interest to turn his attention to you rather than to the world around him so that he doesn’t miss a verbal cue.

Groundwork Exercise: Backing

Once your horse has learned to remain attentive to you, backing can be introduced. When asking your horse to back, you should face his chest and hold the lead rope so that if halter pressure is introduced, it pulls down toward the center of his chest.

The first pressure used to ask your horse to back is a firm step toward him into his space. Second is a cluck; third is use of the lead rope toward the center of his chest. If he still doesn’t understand, it may take some taps from a dressage whip or the end of the lead rope to convey the idea.

Once he understands and moves backward any amount, reward, walk forward, halt, and reset. The goal is for your horse to eventually back in response to just the step into his space. This groundwork exercise is best done from both sides so that your horse learns to respond to you stepping toward both his left and right forelegs.

Groundwork Exercise: Moving the Haunches

The last of the groundwork exercises covered here will be moving the haunches. Stand facing your horse’s hip, and from there, the progression of pressure is identical to backing. Step into your horse’s space toward his hip, followed if needed by a cluck, then a tap from a dressage whip.

This is another exercise that should be done equally on both sides of the horse. It’s important to note that neither in backing nor in moving the haunches is the horse moved by you pulling him into position. All of his movement should be self-motivated and in response to the pressure you applied.

These basic groundwork exercises are just the beginning of many ways we can better relate with our horses from the ground. Once these concepts are solidly taught, your horse is one step closer to being a better partner under saddle due to his improved understanding.

Groundwork Exercises for Young Horses

As an important tool for establishing communication with your horse, groundwork exercises are quite beneficial in developing young horses.

In this video from Ridely, in-hand and long-lining expert Claudio Oliveira demonstrates the first steps when starting this work with the young horse. The aim is to get the horse to move away from the pressure and to listen and respond to Claudio’s voice aids. He starts by desensitizing the horse to the whip to build his confidence and once the horse understands moving away from the pressure, Claudio introduces some baby leg yield and some turns on the forehand. He emphasizes that it does not have to be perfect; the horse just has to respond. This is a great beginner’s exercise to build the horse’s confidence in the groundwork before starting with long lines. Register for Ridely PRO to access 450+ other useful training videos.

A Note on Nose Chains

If your horse tends to pull you off balance or at any time you feel out of control, use of a nose chain is completely acceptable. Some horses may be able to graduate from the nose chain, while others may not. Escalation of pressure applies to nose chains as well. Walking a horse with a nose chain doesn’t mean that the chain is being used constantly—it’s simply an additional, stronger boundary.

This article about groundwork exercises appeared in the August 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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Getting to know how your horse feels by doing groundwork before a ride is a great idea. However, the groundwork you do has to have meaning. Make sure that your groundwork doesn’t become routine and allows time for you to notice your horse’s reactions and willingness.

“Just going through the motions doesn’t accomplish anything,” says natural horsemanship trainer Mike Brashear. “Most trained horses that have done some groundwork can go to the left, right, stop and back up. They learn a pattern. Instead of just doing the moves, you need to learn to notice if he moves willingly with his head down or if he’s tense and resisting.”

Here, Brashear helps you learn how to make sure your horse is tuned in instead of using groundwork to tire your horse out.

“Make sure your horse is with you mentally and physically before you get on to ride,” he says. “We aren’t talking about longeing your horse for 30 minutes to tire him out. We are looking to make sure that your horse can move easily and that he’s in a stable mental state to go work. And if he’s not, we want to work with him until he is.”

Brashear likes to work with his horse on the ground before he gets on. To start, outfit your horse in a rope halter with a long 12- to 15-foot rope leadline attached with a knot. You may choose to use a stick with a flag to help you give your horse more direction.

Turning with Purpose

The task: Ask your horse to walk in a circle to the right by holding the long leadline with both hands. Place your flag in your left hand to drive the horse to the right while simultaneously raising your right hand to point in the direction you’d like the horse to move. If your horse just turns to face you and stops, wave your flag to cue him to keep moving.

“I’m not asking the horse to disengage his hindquarters and stop and face me; I want to see him move around me in a consistent, round circle,” Brashear says.

Cue him forward in the circle by walking forward toward his tailhead and waving your flag as needed. You only want your horse to walk; if he trots, slow him down by tugging gently on the lead rope.

If your horse only moves his hindquarters away, use your flag to also move his shoulder away. If your horse only moves his neck in the turn, use your flag to push his hindquarters away.

Once your horse will move to the right well, it’s time to change direction. Change your hands on the lead and move your flag to your right hand. Your horse should cross over and move to the left.

Behaviors to notice: You don’t want your horse to move lethargically. He should have some movement and willingness to follow your directions in a timely fashion.

Watch your horse’s poll and jaw. Ideally, your horse will relax his poll and tuck his jaw down. This shows that he’s moving in a relaxed fashion. When a horse lowers his jaw, he can’t brace. Any time your horse lowers his poll and tucks his jaw, make sure that your body cues are relaxed.

You want your horse to round his body and his topline in the direction of the circle. Make sure that your horse bends his neck and his hindquarters equally. You don’t want your horse to only move his hindquarters or only move his head. Look for overall body flexion.

“I look for the horse’s expression, as well as his neck position in relation to his body,” Brashear says. “I want to work with my horse through his mind, down to his body and his feet.”

Walk With Me

The task: For this exercise, drop your flag and work with your horse’s halter and nose pressure. You want him to move forward and back on command. With your horse standing still, stand in front of him (and slightly to the side for safety). Hold the sides of your horse’s halter and ask him to move forward one step. When he steps forward, release the pressure on the halter.

To go back, gently push on your horse’s nose where the halter’s noseband touches his face. Push gently and release your pressure when he steps back willingly.

You can also push down gently on your horse’s poll to ask him to drop his head and move away from the pressure. All of these movements require your horse’s quick and willing reaction.

Behaviors to notice: Make sure to notice your horse’s slightest try. Doing this simple activity will help your horse learn that if he does the right thing, you will praise him with a release of pressure.

When you release the pressure, make sure that you move slowly instead of quickly removing all pressure, which can spook your horse. When you take off pressure, the horse feels a relief and wants to work to get that release again. When you move slowly, you’ll teach your horse to give and help him soften and relax.

Your horse’s willingness to give and release will transfer to your rein and leg aids when you ride.

“I just want to get along with my horse,” Brashear says. “Instead of getting my horse in a sweated-up fit, I want him to do as I ask, relax, and try.”

This article about groundwork with your horse appeared in the January/February 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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◆ Pushes against you when you catch him.
◆ Walks so close when you’re leading that he shoves you from behind with his head.
◆ Has stepped on your foot when you’re leading or grooming him.
◆ Will swing his body into you when you’re grooming him or working with him while tied.
◆ Moves so close to you that sometimes you have to step out of his way to avoid being bumped or stepped on.
◆ Rubs his head on you if he has an itch.
◆ Gets very pushy when there’s a treat in your pocket or hands

Who’s the Boss?

If you recognize more than one of these behaviors, your horse is telling you how he views your relationship. If this is his normal behavior, he sees himself as being in charge.

“If a horse is being dominant on the ground, it’s going to translate to when you get on his back,” says trainer and clinician Lynn Palm, who is based in Ocala, Fla. “If he pushes you once, next time it will be harder. If he moves into you and you have to take a step away, the next time you’ll have to take three steps.”

In addition to her own impressive performance record in the show ring, Palm’s teaching has helped countless horse owners understand how horses communicate through body language.

Palm finds there are two basic reasons that a horse is pushy and disrespectful on the ground:
◆ He’s a young horse that hasn’t been educated about boundaries, or
◆ He’s a horse that doesn’t see you as the leader in the relationship.

You might be thinking that you don’t want to be your horse’s boss—you want to be his friend and partner. But no matter how you view it, the horse’s brain is hardwired to have someone in charge.

Understanding Why

It all goes back to the fact that as prey animals, horses instinctively trust a leader to keep them safe. Palm urges owners to watch the herd dynamics of horses at pasture.

It doesn’t take long to identify the “boss mare” or “alpha” horse. She or he is the horse that all others defer to. If a horse don’t show respect to the alpha, the leader demonstrates dominance by getting in the personal space of the other horse and quickly makes him move away.

If you say, “That’s just horses being horses,” you’re right. But, your horse will treat you like another horse if you let him. He’ll do this with dominant body language, such as the actions listed earlier. A horse without personal space can be dangerous to people.

“Because of the horse’s size and strength, safety has to be No. 1 in horse ownership,” says Palm. “When horses don’t have manners, they can become unsafe, even if it’s not intentional.”

It’s up to you to teach your horse without personal space to respect you and to see you as the leader.

“On the ground, don’t allow the horse into your personal space unless you intentionally invite him in. You have to establish and maintain the boundary.”

Change It Up

Teaching this starts with the most basic interactions with your horse: catching, leading and grooming.

“If the horse is used to taking charge, initially you might have to be assertive in making him move away,” says Palm. “We’re talking manners, not punishment or making the horse afraid of you. But you have to draw a line, and the horse has to be obedient to your commands.”

When a horse doesn’t respect her space, especially if it could become dangerous, Palm uses her hands to make a firm shooing gesture toward his head and uses a stern tone with words such as “move it,” “no,” or “away.”

As soon as he moves out of her space, she stops the hand movements, softening her tone as a reward. She repeats as needed, just as the alpha horse shows dominance as often as necessary.

“What matters is the tone of your voice, not the word,” explains Palm.

How Are You Leading?

Many people slip on the halter and start walking without putting any thought into how they’re leading their horse. Leading correctly is a clear way to assert leadership.

“Never let the horse walk behind you—it’s not safe,” cautions Palm. “He can push you with his head, or if something startles him, he can jump right into you.”

As Palm explains, the horse should walk beside you, and no closer than an arm’s length away. Your shoulder should be parallel to his throatlatch or the side of his head, which should face straight ahead, allowing you to easily see his eye and ear and where his attention is focused.

“Too many owners are always underneath their horses’ heads,” says Palm. “They’re too close and pull the horse with their hand on the lead right under his head. The more you use the lead to pull on the horse, the more you give him the opportunity to lean on, push or pull you.

“That’s why you want to control his position with your body position and voice commands,” she adds. “Your touch should give direction rather than pulling on the lead.”

When teaching any horse to lead, Palm uses a cluck sound to move forward, and an in-hand whip directed toward the hindquarters.

“If you need forward movement, step back to his shoulder and direct the in-hand whip to his hip to send him forward,” she says. “When he responds, move back into position, walking with his head parallel to your shoulder.”

She uses “whoa” for stopping, but owners can choose different commands, as long as they’re consistent. Instead of pulling back on the lead, put the in-hand whip in front of the horse’s face like a stop sign while giving your “stop” or “whoa” command.

“If he gets too close, use a pulsating touch with your hand to direct him away,” suggests Palm. “Touch the side of his head—midway between his eye and nostril—and use the pressure of a pulsating touch to move him away. Don’t release this pulsating pressure until he turns in the direction you’re asking. When he takes even one step that way, release the touch and reward him with your voice.”

Palm encourages you to practice leading and turning on both sides of your horse and in both directions.

What About Treats?

Do you have to forego feeding treats for your horse to respect your space?

No, says Palm, but she emphasizes to treat the right way, at the right time, and for the right reasons, and not as a “bribe.” She warns that over-treating can lead to pushiness, and your tone of voice should be used more than treats.

“Remember that praise from your voice and touch is often enough reward,” says Palm.
She notes that if you really want to give a treat after a good ride, don’t do it as soon as you dismount or when you’re grooming.

“Wait until you’re completely done and turning the horse out or putting him in his stall,” says Palm.

If you find yourself backing up when offering a treat because your horse is on top of you, this is a clear sign you need to rethink how you’re handling the treat scenario.

“You should invite your horse in for affection or a treat; he doesn’t get to demand it,” says Palm. “A better way to give a treat is to put it in the horse’s bucket instead of hand-feeding.

“When a horse is mannerly and obedient, you’re setting the precedent of having safe, enjoyable times with that horse on the ground and when you’re riding,” she adds. “Your horse will be a better friend if he respects you with manners and obedience.”

This article about teaching horses to respect personal space originally appeared in the September 2021 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Teaching a Horse to Respect Personal Space appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Since 2014, MacDermaid has trained and placed close to 300 Mustangs. Over the years, she has gained valuable training experience that can be applied to a wild horse just off the range or the domestic horse in your pasture.

A Strong Foundation

As a Mustang Trainer Incentive Program (TIP) trainer, MacDermaid’s job is to train Mustangs from the BLM pens so they can be safely handled on the ground before being adopted.

MacDermaid believes in laying a strong foundation of groundwork so they are ready to be trained for any discipline under saddle.

“Building a good foundation on a horse is like building a foundation on a house: if you skip blocks or leave holes, your foundation will crumble. But if you take your time and build the foundation properly, the horse will have something to fall back on when faced with difficulty or uncertainty.”

“Building a good foundation on a horse is like building a foundation on a house: if you skip blocks or leave holes, your foundation will crumble,” she says. “But if you take your time and build the foundation properly, the horse will have something to fall back on when faced with difficulty or uncertainty.”

This is excellent advice for any horse owner. While it’s tempting to skip over groundwork and head straight for the saddle, taking your time to build a strong foundation means you won’t have to go back and fix gaps later.

“Eventually, everything on the ground translates to the saddle,” says MacDermaid.

Slow is Fast

The two best things you can bring to a training session with any horse are patience and understanding. “Become a student of the horse,” says MacDermaid. “Every horse is going to react to you and to your training differently because each one is a unique individual. Just as with humans, horses have different personalities and learning styles, so it may take some time for you to determine how your horse learns best.”

Before starting any type of training program, it’s good to establish realistic goals. While MacDermaid sets goals for each horse, she doesn’t set a specific timeline for reaching them. This allows her to let the horse set the pace of learning.

MacDermaid’s basic goals for her TIP horses are as follows:

• Catching and haltering
• Leading and tying
• Grooming and hoof handling
• Trailer loading and unloading

If you do plan to train a Mustang at home, you should be able to devote a minimum of one hour a day, five days a week.

“There is no substitute for time invested,” MacDermaid tells her clients. “You will get back what you put in.”

She also emphasizes that training Mustangs, in particular, is a huge undertaking and there is no shame in asking for help from professionals if you get stuck.

Establish and Maintain Boundaries

Horses are herd animals and are always looking for a leader. If you are not the leader they will take on that role, which can lead to the development of unwanted or even dangerous behaviors.

With any horse, it is essential to establish yourself as the leader in the relationship. With wild horses, this is even more critical.

“Wild horses need to be taught how to interact with humans,” says MacDermaid. “In the wild, they may bite or kick each other, but that’s not safe with humans. We don’t want them treating us like another horse.”

This doesn’t mean that you become a harsh dictator and dominate your horse into submission. “Keep in mind that your desired relationship with the horse is a partnership, so be clear, kind, firm, and fair.”

MacDermaid recommends starting by creating a consistent physical boundary with your horse. The primary reason for this is safety. If a horse is in close proximity to you and is startled or pushed by another horse, you could get caught up in the shuffle and get hurt. The extra space also allows you the room to redirect his feet if you need to.

The boundary you set should stay the same whether you are training or interacting with the horse outside of the training session.

“If you bring a horse into your personal space for treats and petting, but correct him for being that close when you are training, then he can get confused,” says MacDermaid. She likes to keep a full arm’s length away because she is mostly dealing with wild horses, but the boundary for a domestic horse might be less and will depend on personal preference.

Round Pen with a Purpose

A round pen is an ideal environment for training horses, especially those that have never been handled. You may not be able to actually halter a wild or untrained horse right away, but with a round pen, you have a safe, secure environment where you can start training immediately.

If you don’t have access to a round pen, and your horse is already halter trained, some of these steps can also be done on a longeline.

The purpose of working with a horse in the round pen is not to tire him out, but rather to establish communication, build a solid relationship, and help the horse learn to trust you and accept you as a leader.

For MacDermaid, the purpose of working with a horse in the round pen is not to tire him out, but rather to establish communication, build a solid relationship, and help the horse learn to trust you and accept you as a leader.

Getting a horse’s feet moving gets him thinking and focused on you. It doesn’t matter how fast he moves as long as he is moving his feet.

“I love doing slow work,” says MacDermaid. “It’s easier to bring the energy up on a wild horse, so I focus on getting him to relax in the pen.”

Signs of Relaxation

Learn how to identify the signs of a relaxed horse:

• Head drop
• Licking and chewing
• Blinking
• Ear in
• Glance
• Relaxed frame
• Sigh

When entering the round pen with a horse, MacDermaid says you should pay attention to the horse’s energy level. If you think of energy in terms of a scale of 1 to 10, and the horse’s energy is at a 7, you need to keep yours at a 3.

The most essential thing to learn when working with a horse in the round pen is when to release pressure.

“You need to know what you are asking for in order to release properly,” says MacDermaid. “Release your pressure when you get the desired result from what you asked the horse to do. Too soon or too late and the lesson can be ineffective.”

Her main goal in the round pen is to gain control of the horse’s body. She starts by establishing the direction she wants the horse to go by focusing her body and energy on the horse’s hindquarters and then pointing to where she wants him to go. Pointing is key because it translates later to working with the horse in a halter. She uses the pointing gesture to send them forward over an obstacle, through a gate or into the trailer.

To ask the horse to stop, she puts her body at a 45-degree angle to the horse’s shoulders, steps in front of his driveline, and says “whoa.” When he stops and turns in to her, she releases the pressure by taking a few steps away from the horse. This allows him to relax and let the lesson sink in before moving on. She repeats this process in each direction.

“It’s important that you don’t move on to the second step until the horse has learned the first step, just like you don’t teach a child to walk until they can crawl.”

Haltering and Leading

After MacDermaid has good control over the horse’s body, she moves on to working with him in a halter.

“Still in the round pen, I start by desensitizing him to being touched using a stick with a string on the end,” she explains. “I let the string lie across his back, shoulders and around his legs so he gets used to being touched by it.”

Once he no longer reacts to the stick and string, she approaches him for haltering. Because a strong foundation has been established through round pen work, the horse usually accepts the halter without much resistance.

The next step is to teach the horse to lead at the end of a rope. MacDermaid’s approach is to teach him to “send” (move forward without pressure while holding the rope and encouraging him to step forward) rather than by dragging the horse forward on a lead rope.

“It’s key to understand that horses don’t learn from pressure but from the release of pressure,” she says. “When teaching a horse to send or lead, reward even the slightest try.”

Once a horse has learned to send, it’s easy to transition him to willingly walking next to you on the lead rope.

Another concept MacDermaid teaches horses before she leaves the round pen is to stand tied for long periods of time. She will leave a horse safely tied and monitored for one to two hours. Tying teaches a horse good life skills such as patience, confidence and independence. There are many scenarios in a horse’s life (competitions, trailering long distances, camping trips) where he will need to stand tied for hours at a time.

Building Confidence

Once MacDermaid is comfortable with handling a horse in the round pen, she takes him out into the world and begins to build his confidence through desensitization. She likes to teach horses to walk on different surfaces by going over obstacles like a wooden bridge, a tarp and water. She uses the “send” skill she taught the horse in the round pen to ask him to go over the obstacle while keeping herself where she can control his body.

“Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Sometimes you have to step back and try something else.”

She also introduces horses to unusual objects like pool noodles, umbrellas and giant stuffed animals.

“I’m not trying to desensitize a horse to a specific object. You may never come across a pool noodle on the trail, but you’re teaching him to learn how to handle himself in novel and stressful situations,” says MacDermaid.

If there’s one thing she has learned over her years of training Mustangs, it’s that there is always more to learn.

“Don’t be afraid to make mistakes,” she says. “Sometimes you have to step back and try something else.” She regularly attends clinics, reads books and seeks help from others if she gets stuck.

While training a Mustang might not be for everyone, taking the time to lay a strong foundation on the ground with any horse will ensure you create a safe and willing partner in the saddle.

Trainer’s Toolkit

Round Pen

Mustang trainer Annie MacDermaid prefers a 40-foot wide round pen. Anything larger creates more work; a smaller one doesn’t allow a safe distance from the horse.

Rope Halter

Rope halters send clearer communication to the horse because they create more direct pressure than a flat halter.

14-Foot Cotton line

If you have to send the horse, you can maintain control with a 14-foot lead rope. It’s also easier to regain control and maintain a safe distance.

Stick and String

To be used as an extension of your arm and for desensitizing, not for force or punishment. Sometimes the first touch is with the stick and string, not with the hand.

This article originally appeared in the March 2019 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Out of the Wild Part 2: Think Like a Mustang Trainer appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.