Frank Bell's Gentle Solution Revolution!

Horse training methods are as varied as the horses and handlers that train them. They range from strong arm - even brutal tactics - to the opposite end of the scale, gentle, humane and respectful. Clearly, the differences in horse training methods are vast and notable.

Tradition is the enemy of progressive horse training methods. " Grandpa treated his horses this way and we do it the same," is the lame excuse that pervades the old school of rough horse treatment. Pain and intimidation have been the backbone of horse training methods for centuries, especially in the American west where horses are highly effective on the vast ranches of the west. Techniques such as snubbing a horse to a post and " sacking them out," to running horses in mindless circles until exhausted are sadly still alive and well in parts of the US.

Frank Bell's " Gentle Solution" Revolution
The bright star in the equation emerged in the later part of the last century. His name was Tom Dorrance and he introduced the entire world to a kinder, gentler approach to communicating with horses. Tom's message evolved to become the term "natural horsemanship" and is now quite literally sweeping the global equine community by storm.

I had the great fortune of meeting Tom Dorrance and attending several of his clinics. Today, dozens of trainers spread their version of Tom Dorrance's teachings. I am proud to call myself the gentlest of the gentle trainers and have taken this timely approach several steps beyond even what Tom Dorrance considered the gentle approach to horse training methods. My 7-Step Safety System begins with making a lasting first impression by simply giving to the animal. I call it bonding. Taking the time to love on the horse pays big rewards only minutes later as the horse eagerly chooses to give back and enjoy performing and engaging with the human. It is truly magical.

Join me in enlightening the world to a kinder, gentler way of relating to horses and all living creatures.

Join Frank Bell's Gentle Solution Revolution!

By Frank Bell
www.horsewhisperer.com

5 Easy Steps To Healthier Hooves

1. Exercise your horse daily. This may seem obvious, but it is often overlooked. If you are not riding him for some reason, make sure he is turned out at least part of the day where he can move around freely. This is of utmost importance. Exercise causes better circulation of blood in the hoof, which is a major key to healthy hooves. If you are not able to give your horse turn out time, you can work him on a lunge line or in a round pen. Remember the horse was designed to be almost constantly on the move, covering all different types of terrain. Our practice of keeping them in a stall or small paddock is unnatural, though sometimes necessary, and could be a factor in a number of hoof related problems.

2. Keep your horse's stall or paddock clean. This is especially important if your horse is kept in a small area. Not only does having dirty living quarters make your horse uncomfortable and increase the risk of parasites, it also increases the risk of hoof disease. Areas where manure is left to pile up and compost are breeding grounds for all sorts of bacteria and fungi that can wreak havoc with your horse's feet. Also, be sure your horse has access to high ground where his hooves will have opportunity to dry out. Never keep a horse in a place where he must stand in water or mud for extended periods of time. Again, this may seem basic, but many horse owners do not realize how many hoof and health problems they could avoid by taking a little time to ensure that their horse's living area is properly cared for. Horses appreciate a clean home too!

3.Know your horse's feet. Take time to pick out and handle your horse's feet often. Hooves differ from each other just as horses do. Be aware of what is normal for your horse's feet so you can detect problems early. Some people think it is the farrier's job to clean horse's feet, but it should be done often to avoid thrush and other hoof problems, and to keep your horse comfortable with having his feet handled. Picking out the feet will also remove small stones or other debris that may get caught in the hoof and cause discomfort. It is a good idea to do this before and after riding, or on a daily basis if you are not riding.

4.Trim, trim, trim. Make regular appointments with your farrier, or learn to do your own, (under the guidance of a professional, of course) but keep your horse's hooves trimmed and balanced. This will help you to avoid lameness issues associated with an imbalanced gate. If your horse is shod this may need to be done more frequently, as the hooves are not wearing down on their own at all. Every 6 weeks is standard for shod horses. Barefoot horses vary depending on how hard the hoof is, how much exercise the horse gets, and the type of terrain the hooves are exposed to. Ask your farrier what is appropriate for your horse and situation. We strongly recommend a natural (wild horse) trim, especially for horses with ongoing lameness issues. For more information visit: http://www.barefoothorse.com

5. Be sure your horse has a balanced diet, which includes essential minerals as well as protein, fiber, etc. Many good quality grains include these, but as horse's nutritional needs are not all exactly the same, your horse may need a little extra of a particular nutrient. Silica, calcium, magnesium, and biotin are particularly important for hoof health. Most horses get sufficient amounts of silica and calcium in their regular diets, but sometimes there are deficiencies of magnesium or biotin. Ask your vet for a recommendation if you think your horse may need a supplement.

Jubilee's Slide Show

Make video montages at onetruemedia.com

Training Horses with Snaffle Bits, Transition Bits and Curb Bits

Dear Friend and Horseman,

Welcome to another Horse Training Tips Newsletter.

You know, one of the most frequent questions I get from my Horse Training Tips subscribers is about bits and bitting. It seems there is a lot of confusion about when to use a certain type of bit and when not to.

In this newsletter, I want to try to clarify some of the misconceptions about bits and how to use different types of snaffle bits and curb bits to their best advantage.

Let's start with snaffle bits.

Most colts should be started in a snaffle bit. And, many older horses that need fixing should also be schooled in a snaffle bit.

To my way of thinking, a horse should be ridden in the mildest bit that he will respond to for the job that he is intended to do.

Here is the reason why:

Most horses will lose some of their sensitivity as they get older.

A two year old colt will have a much more sensitive mouth than a ten year old horse. The more pressure or abrasiveness the horse’s mouth is subjected to, the quicker it will toughen and lose its sensitivity.

That is why I want to use as mild a bit on the horse as I can get away with. I want to preserve the sensitivity of the horse’s mouth as much as I can.

Now, don’t confuse a mouth that is merely “sensitive” with a mouth that is “educated”.

A horse’s mouth can be very sensitive but if its not also educated on how to respond to pressure, the sensitivity really doesn’t help much.

Ideally, you want both… an educated mouth that responds and is sensitive to light pressure.

With that idea in mind, a green colt will usually be ridden with an o-ring snaffle that has a smooth 7/16” mouthpiece. And you stay with that mild bit until the colt doesn’t respond to it well enough anymore.

Here is where a lot of folks get confused.

They don’t know what bit to go to next. Should they go to a snaffle bit with more “bite” to it or should they go to a curb bit?

Generally, the horse should stay in some form of o-ring snaffle bit until he is well along in his training. Ideally, the horse should be taught to do everything that you want him to while being ridden in the snaffle bit.

So, if you want your horse to be a reining horse, you should teach him to stop, spin, change leads etc. in the snaffle bit.

Once he knows how to work, then you can step him up to a curb bit. Curb bits are for “refining” the training that you have accomplished with the snaffle.

Same goes for a cutting horse. He should be in a snaffle bit while he learns to stop, turn and rate the cow.

I believe the snaffle bit is the best tool for teaching a horse how to position himself and use his body correctly.

Any performance horse needs to learn to give his head to the direct rein, move his shoulders off the indirect rein and position his ribcage and hindquarters from leg pressure.

Here is the sequence of the various types of snaffle bits that I use:

I try to do most of the foundation training with an o-ring snaffle with a 7/16” diameter mouthpiece. I stay with this until the horse is too heavy in it and I can’t get him to respond as lightly as he should.

To get the horse to lighten up and respond, I’ll try schooling him with a snaffle that has a mouthpiece that is smaller in diameter… usually a 3/8” mouthpiece.

With some really sensitive horses this is all the snaffle I’ll need. But for the majority of horses it won’t be quite enough.

Most horses are going to need a snaffle with a thinner mouthpiece so I’ll go to my absolute favorite snaffle…

My favorite training snaffle has a thin, smooth mouthpiece that is 3/16” in diameter. I call it a “thin, smooth-wire snaffle”.

I love this bit because it gets the desired results but isn’t harsh or abrasive to the horse’s mouth.

I’ll use this bit to lighten a colt up for a few days and then I’ll switch back to the regular snaffle. After a while though, this is the bit I’ll be using to do MOST of the training.

I’ll stay with the smooth-wire snaffle just as long as I can. The horse will be taught the majority of what he needs to know wearing this bit.

However, sometime during the training process, a horse will need to be lightened up even more. Especially the older horses that are being tuned up or re-trained.

So to get the job done, I’ll go to a twisted-wire snaffle. Either the regular or the thin twisted-wire.

These twisted-wire bits have some “bite” to them and will convince even an older, hard mouthed horse to respond and lighten up.

Even though it works well, be aware that a “twisted” mouthpiece is abrasive and can sore a horse’s mouth if it’s used too many days in a row or too harshly.

I recommend riding the horse with it for one or two days to lighten him up and then switch back to the smooth-wire snaffle.

Side note:
One of the questions I constantly get asked is why I don’t use a “running martingale” with my snaffle bit to help position the horse’s head.

The answer is simple...

In my opinion, the running martingale DOES NOT work well.

If you adjust it short enough to encourage the horse to flex at the poll for vertical flexion, it is too short and interferes with lateral flexion.

If you adjust it long enough not to inhibit lateral flexion, it is too long to help with vertical flexion.

For 10 years, I trained with a running martingale purely out of habit. I finally asked myself... why am I wasting time and money on a piece of equipment that doesn’t work? That was 15 years ago and I haven’t ridden with one since.

If you want to try a piece of equipment that DOES HELP a horse learn to give to your hands, supple-up and flex at the poll… use a German martingale.

It’s the best horse training aid there is.

Okay, now let’s get back to the bitting process.

Another bit that I sometimes use to lighten a horse up is a “draw” or “gag” bit. On some horses this bit works great. The reason is because it works on different pressure points than a regular snaffle bit.

A regular snaffle bit works by placing pressure on a combination of points. Mainly the horse’s tongue, lips and bars of the mouth.

The gag bit works by placing pressure mainly in the “corners” of the mouth and the horse’s poll. Many horses work well with this bit and it gives you a lot of control without putting a lot of pressure on the horse’s bars.

Again, as soon as the horse lightens up and is responding well, I’ll switch back to a milder bit.

The practice of using a stronger bit to lighten a horse up and then switching back to a milder bit for every day riding, works really well to preserve the horse’s mouth while keeping him working right.

Read the above paragraph again... its key.

Be aware, there are always exceptions to the rule.

Some horses just won’t lighten up the way they should in a snaffle bit. For those horses, you are going to have to go to the “next stage” of the bitting process sooner than you would the average horse.

After the horse has a good idea of what is expected of him and is pretty far along, I’ll start riding the horse in a “transition bit”.

Transition bits are middle-of-the-road bits used to transition the horse from the snaffle to a regular curb bit. Transition bits are the stepping stones between the green horse and the finished horse.

When I feel the horse is ready to leave the o-ring snaffle, the first transition bit I try will usually be a short-shanked curb bit with a snaffle mouthpiece. This is basically a snaffle bit with 5” to 8” shanks (cheeks).

The horse is already familiar with the snaffle mouthpiece so the only thing he needs to adjust to is the curb action of the shanks. For most horses this is a very easy transition. Others are really bothered by it.

I’ll ride the horse in this bit until he is totally adapted and working well in it. Then, I’ll move on to the next bit in the transition process.

The next bit in the sequence is my favorite transition bit.

It’s a loose shank bit with what is called a “Billy Allen” mouthpiece. (Billy Allen was a top trainer who invented this mouthpiece many years ago. The design has stood the test of time as one of the best bits ever invented).

What I like about this bit is that it gives the horse the “feel” of being ridden with a curb without scaring the horse.

The reason why is because the Billy Allen mouthpiece moves and is flexible similar to a snaffle.

The difference is, the Billy Allen mouthpiece has a "roller" that is molded over the middle joint. This roller "limits" the movement of the mouthpiece.

The horse gets the feel of a mouthpiece that is almost "solid" like a regular curb bit yet still has some "flex" to it.

This semi-solid mouthpiece gives you a lot of control without scaring or worrying the horse. Most horses love this bit and you can usually leave a horse in it for most of his training.

Most horses, I’ll ride with the 8” shanks. The super sensitive ones, I’ll ride with the 7” shanks.

This is also the primary bit I use to teach a horse to neck rein.

The loose shanks and flexibility of the mouthpiece allows me to use a direct rein to position the horse’s head before I apply the neck rein. It’s very easy and very effective. (You can see how I do this in my “Teach Your Horse to Neck Rein” video).

You can teach a horse a lot in the Billy Allen. And some horses work so well in it that you can keep them in it for years. However, most horses will eventually need to be moved up into a regular, solid-mouthpiece, curb bit.

For those horses, the next bit I’ll use will be a low-port mouthpiece with 8” loose shanks (cheeks).

I like using the low port as the horse’s first solid mouthpiece because is relatively mild. The bit pressure is more evenly distributed over the tongue and bars of the horse’s mouth.

Important note:
Even though I’m advancing the horse in the bitting process, I still want the curb bit to have “loose” shanks. The loose shanks make it much easier to take a horse’s head to the side and get lateral flexion.

After the horse gets farther along in his training, then “solid” shanks can be used with good results.

I’ll ride a horse for a while with this low-port curb bit and see how he responds with it.

From this point on, it’s just a matter of experimenting with different bits to see what the horse responds to best.

Some horse’s can stay in the low port for years and years. Others will need to be moved up to a medium or high port bit. With the higher port, there is less tongue pressure and more bar pressure. The majority of horses will respond well to this.

Keep in mind, all through the training and bitting process, if I run into a problem, I’ll sometimes go back to an o-ring snaffle to iron out the trouble and regain the horse’s confidence.

Usually, a few rides in the snaffle fixes the horse up and I can go back to the curb bit.

Also, be aware that some horses just can’t stand prosperity. Ride these horses with a mild bit and they just take advantage of you.

I have a horse like this in training right now. Every time I go back to a milder bit to reward the horse for good performance, he cheats me and won’t work right. So I’m forced to ride him in a stronger bit most of the time.

Now, this particular horse behaving this way disappoints me but I don’t hold it against the horse. I don’t get angry with him for it. It’s just part of horse nature to take the easy way out and slack off.

In reality, most horses will slack off from time to time and not work up to their potential. They will test you by being heavy. Either they refuse to lighten up at all or they will get light for a while and then revert back to being heavy.

And you sure as heck don’t want them to slack off just when you are about to take them to a SHOW.

A day BEFORE the show or maybe even DURING the show, you want to ride the horse with your TUNING BIT.

A tuning bit is any bit the horse will respect and REALLY listen to.

It’s usually a stronger bit than the horse really needs on a day to day basis. But NOT so strong that it scares the horse.

Yes, I want the horse to have a lot of respect for that tuning bit but I don’t want him so afraid of it that it worries him.

Remember, a horse that is scared or worried will not work to his full potential. He’ll be tentative and prone to make mistakes due to his nervousness. You want him attentive and responding well but not afraid.

There are two primary “tuning bits” that I use.

One is for horses that are still in the o-ring snaffle. The other, I use on horses that are in a transition bit or a regular curb bit.

For the horses that are normally being ridden in an o-ring snaffle, I’ll use a curb bit that has a “correction” mouthpiece and very short, curved-back, “Argentine” shanks (loose shanks).

The correction mouthpiece will really get the horse responding well… especially for the stop.

This type of curb bit can easily be used on a snaffle bit horse because the shanks are so short and curved back that there is almost no curb action. The lack of leverage allows you to take the horse’s head laterally without scaring him.

On my horse’s that are normally ridden in a transition bit or curb bit, I’ll use a tuning bit that has a “correction” mouthpiece and seven (7") inch, loose shanks.

This bit has some leverage to it but it’s still easy to get lateral flexion because the shanks are loose.

I should also mention, on some of the heavier horses, I’ll use a curb chain with this bit that has more bite to it than the usual one that I use. Usually, a dog-chain curb works well.

I’ll normally ride the horse with a tuning bit for a ride or two (or show in it) and then go back to whatever bit I normally ride him in.

I hope this information helps you with your horse training. If you would like to see what the different types of bits look like, click on the links below.

Check out the snaffle bits.

Check out the transition bits and curb bits.


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Well, this wraps it up for this newsletter. I hope you liked it.

Until next time, have fun training your horse.


Larry Trocha
http://www.HorseTrainingVideos.com

PMU Foal Adoption: My Experience

All my life I dreamed of having horses. Finally, when I was in my early thirties my dream became a reality. My oldest daughter, age 12 at the time, was given a retired race- horse. So our equine journey began. After adopting two other horses from rescues, and caring for several others, I started thinking about a foal. I knew it would be a totally different experience, since all of our horses were older and had been trained before we got them. I wondered if I was up to the challenge of raising a foal with no previous experience, but in July of 2003 my daughter gave me the news that my birthday present that year was a PMU foal.

For those who are not familiar with the term PMU, it stands for pregnant mare urine, which is sold to drug companies for use in hormone therapy drugs. Thousands of foals are born each year as a by-product of the PMU industry. Many of these foals are sold to meat dealers to be fattened up and slaughtered. Rescue organizations and animal rights activists are working to reverse this trend and encourage the use of plant-based drugs as an alternative to those made from pregnant mare urine. While the industry continues to produce these unwanted foals, the prospects for them are grim unless they are adopted by loving families. This is the primary reason we chose a PMU.

I began to study any information I could find about raising foals. I read up on the PMU industry, and what to expect when adopting a PMU foal, but nothing could really prepare me for what it would be like.

Before being approved as an adopter, I had to build a special pen with a five-foot high board fence, and a secure stall. Once the pen was built, and the application was approved, it was a matter of waiting. The babies would arrive at the rescue the first weekend in September. By that time they would be 3-4 months old. We had requested a tri-colored paint filly, which we decided to call Jubilee. The foals were coming by tractor-trailer from Manitoba, Canada, so there was no chance to see them before they arrived at the rescue in Brandon, Vermont.

The day before I was scheduled to pick up my foal, I was notified that the truck had arrived at the rescue. I just couldn’t wait, so my son and I made the 80-mile trip to get our first look at Jubilee. Most of the foals were in one large pen. They were all numbered, and those that had already been assigned to homes had a red grease mark on them. Only those being picked up the following day were in the barn for vet checks. None of the foals in the barn matched the color/markings we had requested, and the workers in the barn were all busy, so we went to look at the foals in the corral. One little filly caught my eye. She was a pinto with unusual bay roan coloring, and a black and white mane. Her attitude was bold and curious, but not aggressive. She did not have a grease mark, so it appeared that she had not yet been spoken for. I was not the only one who was taken with her. A mother and daughter, who had come to choose a colt, were so impressed with her that they seriously considered taking her instead of a colt.

When I was finally able to speak with someone at the barn, I was given the number of the foal that had been assigned to me. The number did not match any of the foals in the barn.
I was told to check in the pen since they had apparently overlooked her when they separated them.

Back at the corral I scanned the herd for a grease-marked foal wearing number 74. My efforts were unsuccessful, but my eyes were drawn back to the roan filly. To my surprise, though she did not have a grease mark, she had number 74 clearly written on her hip. I couldn’t believe it! The beautiful filly I had admired was the one that had been chosen for me. I went home that afternoon as excited as a child on Christmas Eve.

My father volunteered to pull the stock trailer to the rescue the next day. When we arrived we watched a foal being loaded. What an ordeal! I wondered if they would ever get that colt in, and whether we would have the same trouble with Jubilee. As the trailer carrying the colt finally pulled away, we backed our trailer up to the gate, expecting a struggle. To our surprise and delight, Jubilee hopped right into the trailer as though she had been trained to do it.

After an uneventful ride home, we left Jubilee in her new stall for a while to settle in. I had learned that it is best not to try to touch one of these foals right away, since their only experience with humans up to that point was being herded into trailers, and vet checked. Not an especially nice introduction. After a couple of hours I went out and quietly stood in a far corner of the stall. When Jubilee got used to me being there she became curious and started sniffing me. I stood very still and let her check me out, then, being careful not to startle her, I slowly put my hand out and touched her neck. This didn’t bother her at all, so I started scratching and rubbing her. From that time on we were the best of friends. The whole process took only about an hour with her, but sometimes it takes much longer depending on the temperament of the foal. This little filly was naturally curious, so as soon as she knew I meant no harm she was completely at ease with me.

I handled Jubilee every day and spent time teaching her to lead, pick up her feet, and let me touch her all over. I also spent a lot of time just being with her and getting to know her. We developed great communication during those times. Her first vet visit was a great success; even getting shots was taken in stride. The vet was very impressed by her composure, and said she was one of the nicest foals he had taken care of. The first experience with the farrier went just as well, and I couldn’t have been happier.


By the time Jubilee was a year old, she would let me come and sit on her when she was lying in the pasture. I also frequently put things on her back to prepare her for a saddle. Since I had seven children living at home, there was always plenty of noise and commotion, especially with two boys constantly riding around on some sort of motorized vehicles. This was helpful in desensitizing Jubilee to traffic and other loud sounds, and large crowds.

The only problem I encountered in raising Jubilee was her fascination with jumping fences. A strand of electric tape had to be added to the top of the five-foot board fence (I finally understood the need for a fence that high). She would also jump stall doors from a standstill. I became so frustrated trying to keep her in that I almost sold her to someone who shows hunter/jumper, but I’m glad I waited. It seems it was just a stage like children go through, and though she still enjoys jumping, she has learned that inside the fence is where she belongs unless she is being worked.

Jubilee is now almost 4 years old. She goes English or Western, walks, trots, and canters using only voice commands, and has been started over small jumps. She is happy going by herself, or in a group, and is always polite to people and other horses on group rides.
This summer my daughter plans to use Jubilee for competitive trail rides. Raising and training this filly has been one of most rewarding experiences of my life. I am considering doing it again sometime in the future. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to save a beautiful foal from a terrible fate, and get an awesome horse, and a lifetime friend at the same time. Anyone thinking about raising a foal should consider adopting a PMU.

If you would like to see pictures of Jubilee, click on "Farm Photos" or "Jubilee's Slide Show" in my links list.

The Secret That Keeps Horses Trainable!

The Secret That Keeps Horses Trainable!
By Andy Curry

As you likely know already, horses have at least 10 times our strength. If they also had our intelligence, they would probably be riding us humans. Fortunately, horses cannot reason like human beings and therefore will never have superior intelligence.

Since they don't have reasoning abilities, horse training becomes a challenge because you now have to understand how their intelligence works. You have to know what works and why to really be effective.

The biggest secret that makes it so we can train a horse is the fear of pain and/or punishment that our creator instilled in their mind. We can use that built-in fear to our advantage and teach the horse what we want him to do.

The trick is to not push the horse too far with his built-in fear. We must never abuse this knowledge because it will backfire. Once it backfires then we will have problems with the horse we're training.

How does it backfire? Let's take a novice horse owner who fulfills his dream to have horses and train them. Unless he's studied a horse's nature he will probably get into big trouble with his horse because of the delicate balance of the horse's built-in fear.

For instance, the very first lesson you must teach your horse is to have confidence in you. If your horse doesn't have confidence in you, he will neither trust you. Both are enormously important to horse training.

Think of confidence in this way. If you're a child who's just seen a scary movie on TV you probably want to sleep with Mom and Dad for the night. They'll protect you. You'll be safe with them. Hopefully, you know these things to be true because you have experienced it with your own parents.

But if you didn't feel like they'd keep you safe you wouldn't have confidence in them, would you?

A horse's thinking is similar to that. He must have confidence in you when you're working with him.

A horse can be taught confidence in different ways. I prefer to the Jesse Beery confidence lesson.

Jesse Beery, a famous horse trainer from the 1800's, uses his confidence lesson as the beginning place of training his horses. He said, "This is the most important lesson of all." To learn more about Jesse Beery go to:

http://www.horsetrainingandtips.com/Jesse_Beery_etips.htm

Interestingly, it's also the easiest.

How nice it is that the most important lesson is the easiest to do.

Essentially, the confidence lesson takes advantage of (but never abused) the horse's built-in fear. In a way, the fear is harnessed and carefully used to get the horse's confidence in you. It's akin to getting a child to watch a scary movie and being there to protect him or her when they get scared.

When the horse experiences the fear, you're there to save the day. You make it so he depends on you to be his superhero.

When the horse gets fearful, you have to be there to tell him everything is okay. You do that through petting him. Talking to him in a soothing manner. Using a pleasant tone of voice.

I have a friend, Gene, who loves his horses but when they don't do certain things he think they should do, he punishes them. (By punishing, I don't mean he hits or whips. A horse can feel punished just by a threatening tone of voice for example)

Anyway, I rode with a group of people one day and Gene was in our group. We came upon running water. You could call it a small river or a big creek. It was about 30 feet wide and varied in depth from a foot to three feet.

Every horse crossed the water but Gene's. Gene got so upset that his horse wouldn't cross that he began booting his horse in the ribs. That poor horse wanted to comply with Gene's request but the running water scared him. The horse was spooking.

The horse paced back and forth, occasionally sniffing the water but never crossed it. The whole time Gene's legs were wildly kicking the horse trying to get him to cross - yet the horse remained spooky.

What Gene didn't realize is the horse was fearful and needed his help. Anytime a horse is fearful of a place or a thing he should be reassured with pleasant, soothing voice sounds and/or petting him.

If you do what Gene did, you just gave your horse another thing to fear. Not only does that horse fear crossing running water, now he fears he's going to be punished for it. And it's likely that anytime the horse comes upon running water both fears will crop up and Gene will have a horse that would like to comply but his instincts are so powerful that he probably won't (unless Gene figures out what to do)

Think of it from the horse's point of view.

You're a horse that cannot reason and you're instincts are self-preservation. What keeps your self-preservation in check is the built-in fear. Fear makes you run from danger. Fear is what keeps you alive. If you don't understand something you fear it even more.

Now knowing all that, imagine you're the horse and you're standing at the edge of the river. You won't cross it because you think there's danger in it somehow. On top of that, someone is on your back, pissed off and kicking you in the ribs because you won't go forward.

Not only are you scared of the water, but now you're getting kicked in the ribs and feeling punished. You want to be obedient and go forward but your instinct is too powerful and tells you not to.

It would be like telling a scared child who just saw a scary movie that he had to sleep in his own damn room.

But what if Gene had understood his horse was scared? What if he helped his horse deal with his fear.

How would he do this?

When Gene and his horse approached the water he could have spoke to his horse in a pleasant, soothing manner. When the horse was getting scared Gene should have recognized it as fear and not as disobedience.

He could have petted his horse to reassure him all is okay. He could have talked to his horse in a pleasant manner. He could have let his horse sniff the water and check it out on his own.

Instead, the horse was now confused, scared, feeling punished, less trusting of his rider, and who knows what else.

But if Gene would've recognized the fear in his horse then he could have helped his horse overcome it. Gene lost the awesome opportunity to gain a significant amount of the horse's confidence and friendship in that river scene. Too bad too. That's a beautiful paint horse.

About The Author

Andy Curry is a nationally known horse trainer and author of several best selling horse training and horse care books. For information visit his website at www.horsetrainingandtips.com. He is also the leading expert on Jesse Beery's horse training methods which can be seen at www.horsetrainingandtips.com/Jesse_Beerya.htm.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Secret-That-Keeps-Horses-Trainable!&id=32355

Welcome

Welcome to Pond Farm! We are located in a beautiful rural Vermont town. Our main farm interest is horses. We currently have three on the farm, but the number has been known to change frequently. Most of the horses we have had have been adopted from rescues. Our experience with rescued horses has been very rewarding. On this blog we will be sharing horse care and training tips, as well as personal equine experiences. We hope you will enjoy our posts and visit often! If you have a horse related link you would like to share with us, please send it along! We also welcome your comments and suggestions.