Basic Horse Training Tips
Training horses requires the use of the three p’s – patience, persistence, and positive reinforcement. Before undertaking the rewarding task of teaching your horse to do what is desired, you must understand these basics. Following these basic tips will provide the foundations of a great relationship between horse and rider.
If you want to train a horse you must first have plenty of patience. you will need to have patience each time you begin to teach your horse somrthing which is new to him. Horses know well their natural state is that of a prey animal. As the sun sets, watch horses in their pens or pasture. You will notice that a herd of horses will gather into their group for safety. They can be observed standing side by side and head to tail. They employ teamwork in this manner, being able to see in all directions simultaneously to detect possible danger. Watch a horse unfamiliar with water and you’ll notice anything from simple hesitance to dangerous raring up, which can get a rider thrown. At worst, fatal injuries could occur to both horse and rider. It is imperative that your horse learns through patient training to trust that you will not lead him into a dangerous situation.
Horse and rider can develop a mutual trust and a confident partnership when due patience has been employed in training. It can come as a surprise to some that it is possible to reduce a horse’s fear when presented with alien objects or situations. A horse can be scared of percieved threats, no matter how silly they may sound, such as the flapping of a shirt on a washing line. If, through patient training, you can teach your horse to trust you, he will soon be able to ignore what may have seemed so sinister to him, and walk on by with no fuss.
Great rewards may be reaped in horse training by displaying persistence. Repetition when practicing your exercises helps to build trust and confidence between horse and trainer. The ground work that professional trainers use when they begin training for horses and their riders may seem tedious at first look. Doing the ground work, after all, does not mean getting up and riding off. But trainers understand that horses are no different than children learning to walk. A horse is a bit like a baby learning first to sit up, then crawl and then walk; he must first learn polite and acceptable behaviour befor he can be tacked up and ridden.
For your horse to understand what is expected of him, you will need to be persistent and practice tasks together many times. Make your expectations known to your horse. When you bring out the tack, for example, he needs to know that he must always stand still for you. This is unnatural for your horse. This needs teaching, which in turn needs persistence. You need to be the more persistent one. be persistent when approaching your horse and do not give in if he resists or avoids you – this will only make him try the same tactic again. Persistence and consistence are essentially the same thing when training horses.
Positive reinforcement is perhaps the most valuable tool you possess as a trainer. If a horse sees you as the herd leader, he will generally just want to please you. Lifelong friendships can be developed between horse and rider where each understands their role in the relationship.
Positive reinforcement can be very simple gestures or words of approval, of making your horse feel appreciated. Horses are very perceptive animals and will be able to sense your emotions. Let the horse know when you are happy with the way a training exercise is going.
A word of caution here – it is not a good idea to enter the training area with your horse if for any reason you are stressed, angry or in a particularly bad mood. The horse will pick up on your mood and could be uncooperative. This has more to do with the horse’s fear than with any rebellious streak. The horse may not know you well enough yet to predict your behaviour when upset and could be wary of you because of this.
A lasting bond of trust between horse and rider, regardless of the event or type of riding, is the ultimate goal of horse training. Be your riding style English or Western and your goal be competition riding or simply riding for pleasure, the basics of horse training are the same. The 3 p’s principles – patience, persistence, and positive reinforcement – can be applied to any breed of horse for a successful training experience.
Comments
Leave a Reply
