Horse Training

To ensure your safety while riding a horse, it's important to have correct posture and seat. This helps the horse make the appropriate moves and will also help it move it's feet freely. You must make sure your stirrups are your length, otherwise you will fall and get hurt. To make sure they are the correct length you would stand up in the stirrups and check the gap between your seat and the saddle. You should be able to slide your hand vertically in between you and your saddle. You want to the the stirrups to be your length  every time you ride.


If you ride bareback you can feel every muscle and movement of the horse. Never practice riding bareback on a young or inexperienced horse. It's best to learn bareback by riding a broke horse. As you are riding, focus on developing what is called an independent seat. An independent seat means that your hind end is separate and independent from your legs and your back; your seat is what moves with the horse. The best way to develop an independent seat is to spen a lot of time riding bareback on a nice horse.

Horse Training

When you are ready to mount the horse, it's important to practice both sides. This helps the horse be equally developed and have less of a risk of scaring your horse. Start by putting both reins in your left hand and turning your stirrup so you can put your foot in it. If your horse is to tall, you may hold onto the horn to help pull yourself up. As you pull yourself up don't kick or pull on the reins.Once on the horse, sit and pet the horse.

When dismounting you don't want your horse to start walking because you could get hurt. The first step is to stop the horse and stand. Once the horse is relaxed place both reins in your left hand, with the left rein shorter than the right. Lean froward and swing your right leg over the back of the horse until you are back in the standing position.

 

Horse Training

To avoid getting bucked off a horse, take a lot of time reading the horse. The reason why people get bucked off their horse is they ignore what the horse is trying to say. If you get bucked off you missed the signs telling you that the buck was coming. Bucking, rearing, and running off are signs of a horse being emotionally immature and being pushed too far.


Once you have your horse safely saddled and feel confident in the horse's ability to carry the saddle and individual. Before getting on your horse you want to exercise the horse by doing circles. You make the horse walk, trot, and lope to help the horse breathe with a saddle on.  If the horse does great one day riding, the next day might not be so great. Horses and people are the same because we all have our bad days and good days. The next day might not go so well but as long as you exercise the horse you will be fine. Once you have exercised the horse you may get on and ride.

Horse Training

The most important thing in saddling your horse is to make sure it's emotionally and mentally prepared. Having the horse prepared prevents any pulling back and flipping. You want to use your understanding of the nature of horses to make saddling easier. If you do a good job preparing the horse, then you will have no major problems.

When approaching your horse with the saddle pad, keep the pad down low to introduce it to the horse. The proper position is about one foot in front of the shoulder, with a small amount of slack in the rope. The saddle pad relaxes the horse. Once relaxed your ready to put the saddle on. Approach horse with saddle while watching the horse. If the horse is still relaxed then you may get closer. Pet the horse and let it know you are there. Grasp your saddle with your left hand on the pommel and the cantle with your right. Then swing the saddle around to place on the horse. Then you put all the straps together and ride.

Horse Training

What if your horse doesn't tie well? You would start by taking it out with just a halter and lead rope. Find a place your horse doesn't like to stand. Your horse has to agitated so that you can teach it something. The spot you chose must be safe so the horse doesn't get cut up. Once in a safe place, stop your horse and step about 5 feet in front of it. Most horses will stand for a minute or so then attempt to eat. Don't let the horse eat, because it isn't allowed to eat when tied up.

If your horse steps forward, back it up. If it steps sideways, put it back where it came from. Don't support the horse. It will be your most natural instinct to want tobe next to the horse. Make sure your horse learns something or else the horse won't understand. Continue putting the horse right back where it started, but don't move your feet. This exercise ties into ground tying.

Horse Training

When you first begin to led your horse you don't want to get runover. So here is an exercise to help with personal space. If your horse is crowding your space, stop walking, and let the horse run into you. Then back into your horse while flapping your hands and stomping your feet, which causes the horse to back out of your space. To help train your horse to stay out of your space is to let him bump you, understanding the horse was in your space. Once your horse is out of your space, led it forward. Walk a short distance, and repeat the process if your horse begins to crowd you again.

Ninety percent of horses don't lead correctly in that they lead with the human trailing along at their shoulders. These horses feel pushy and nervous because they have no leader present and need to fend for themselves. You want to be in charge of the horse, but be kind. If your aggresive and demand the horse to do a task at the exact moment then you have a problem. When the horse knows your angry then the horse is scared to do the task and refuses. If your calm then the horse will be.

Horse Training

Halters have many benefits for different uses. Some ranchers only use rope halters, because those halters make horses more responsive. The rope halter doesn't hurt the horse. As the owner you want to try many different halters to see what works best for you and the horse. The rope halter is effective when it fits behind the horse's jaw. When you pull the horse forward, you are putting pressure on the horses jaw instead of the poll. When you apply pressure the response from your horse is better. Once your horse is safely halter, it's time to make sure it leads respectfully. You want the horse to see you as its leader and follow you.

The opposie of having your horse pushing and running you over is what this horse is doing, called balking. The horse will move forward a few steps, stop and refuse to lead. You fix this issue by stepping off to the side of the horse. Horses are strong straight, but not very strong when you pull from the side. When the horse takes a step forward release the pressure. If you release at the rigt time the horse comes forward with a trot.