Training
Do horses get dizzy when they are learning to spin?
Teaching a horse to spin reminds me of a person learning to dance. There are many steps and stages that the horse moves through. The spin begins by improving steering in general and then gets gradually more refined. During the learning process the horse will make ‘mistakes’ which are really just the process of learning.…
Read MoreHow do I correct a head shy and mouthy stallion?
“Hi Stacy, I’m getting a 2 year old stallion who is head shy and nips (a lot, as in every 5 seconds or so…) I’ve worked with head shy horses before but was wondering if you had any tips since he is a stallion. I’ve been watching your video diaries of jac and you really…
Read MoreHow to handle bad days and failed plans when training a young horse.
“Stacy, I have a question that you might have answered in a blogpost already (and if not, it might be a possible future contribution of yours) : my young horse has goods days, and less good ones. I always have a plan in mind for our sessions, but some days I end up doing nothing…
Read MoreWhat is the horse saying with his ears?
After posting yesterday’s blog, I noticed several people comment negatively about the horses ears during the performance. The common thread seemed to be that the viewers of the video seemed to think that the horse was saying, with its ears, that it was irritated or annoyed. On the surface I can see how some people…
Read MoreAre horses usually easy or hard to get started in mounted shooting?
I took up mounted shooting as my hobby and like most hobbies, I wish I had more time to dedicate to it. The sport is a combination of speed, control and finesse which are also traits that I look for in my reining horses. In the past two blog posts I have shown videos of…
Read More4 Steps for Training a Horse for Mounted Shooting
This video shows the second time that Newt was around mounted shooting. The first time was shown in the video “3 Steps for Introducing a Horse to Mounted Shooting.” If I had one tip for someone who wanted to get started in the sport it would be to find a local club or a local professional…
Read More3 Steps for Introducing a Horse to Mounted Shooting
This is a short video of Newt being introduced to mounted shooting. I have found that by hauling the horses to a shooting practice or show and simply having the horses near the sport it is possible to tell a lot about how they are going to react. This is a Friday night fun shoot before…
Read MoreWhen you ride your horse do you have a specific plan?
When I coach riders I often put some kind of marker or markers in the arena. A cone is the most common marker I use but I have been known to use anything available including buckets, rocks or random manure piles. These reference points help me, as a coach, to communicate more clearly to the…
Read MoreWhen your horse refuses to lead do you switch to driving him forward?
You can’t out pull a horse. This seems like an obvious statement but there is a good chance, if you stop and think about it, you have probably tried to at some point during your interaction with horses. Ponies are practically famous for having moments when they say ‘no’ and refuse to go forward. Is…
Read MoreMeasuring educational maturity in horses.
When training horses I am always observing their level of maturity. Sometimes this is measured by the number of correct responses that they have to training situations but other times it is measured by their general demeanor. Horses, like people, mentally mature at different rates. It is tempting to measure a horses maturity by ‘testing’…
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