Horsemanship can be easy if you know some guidelines. In this article, you will find helpful guidelines that you can use in horse training.
Some horses are easily trained while others are extremely difficult to handle. There should be eagerness on the part of the horse and it will depend on the situation. For instance, if you got the horse during its infancy, it will be easier to train as compared to wild and older horse. Therefore, you need to look for training techniques that is suitable to the horse that you’re handling.
Horses have various uses. You can use the horse for transportation, for therapeutic ventures, sporting activities, and for farm operations. If you’re raising a small horse, make sure that you provide all the skills required like desensitization, longing, driving, and biting. Your horse needs to learn these things before you introduce riding lessons.
During the training process, familiarization is vital. Let your horse see the riding gear for familiarization. Start with the basic commands like turn around, stop, and go. When teaching commands, you can start with the ‘shhh’ sound. The sound is an effective way to reprimand the horse. Repetition is needed if your horse does not learn easily.
The diet is very important and you must pay attention to what your horses eat. If your horse is hot blooded, you need to give it food with less protein. Overfeeding can make your horse ‘high’. Get a bucket for your horse and use it when feeding because it’s not a good idea to feed it with your hand.
After you’ve established trust, you can now ride your horse. All your mind’s wishes will be transmitted to your horse’s mind when you’re together. There are even times when you hardly use the rein to steer or stop the horse. Never kick your horse because a simple body language can tell your horse to go.
If you’re handling spooky horses, you should be extra careful because they lack experience and confidence. You need to be very confident if you want to train a spooky horse. You can turn your horse’s fear into an asset if you employ the proper training techniques. If you have another horse, preferably a calm one, you can use it to settle the spooked horse. If the horse is dealing with a certain problem, try to distract it because the horse is like a child having a tantrum.
Horse trainers encounter different problems during the course of the training. Oftentimes, the problem is a result of ignorance or fear. You must have empathy and patience. Determine the fear of your horse and help him lovingly. If you’re dealing with a willful defiant horse, you should appropriately reprimand him so that he will feel uncomfortable. If the horse runs away from you, don’t scare it by acting as a predator; instead, approach him softly with non-threatening eyes.
If you want to trim or shoe your horse, massaging the foot is a good idea. You can also show your care by warming him up a little first on a cold weather.
These horse training guidelines will be able to help you somehow. Here’s the question to answer before you start horse training – do you have a new horse or one from infancy? After answering this question, you can now use the appropriate training techniques.
It is a known fact that some horse trainers are cruel. In horse training, kindness is an important principle that should be followed at all times. However, too much kindness is also not good. You should still include appropriate punishment if your horse does not follow your commands.
Whenever people hear the word ‘punishment’, they often think of hitting and whipping. If you’re going to punish your horse, don’t hit them. Instead, you can simply use a change in your voice’s tone. The horse can easily detect any change in your voice and it can have a certain effect on him.
If your horse follows your commands, you must also reward it with kindness like giving it a caress on the forehead or shoulder. Make sure that even if you punish your horse, the confidence remains. Your horse should still think that you’re his best buddy despite the punishment. When your horse is excited, never whip him because it is an act of cruelty and foolishness. You will only make the situation more dangerous. It will also increase the balkiness of your horse.
Here’s a very good example. Horses can be compared to kids. When a kid commits a mistake, your instinct is to scold him at once. If you do, he will think that he’s in trouble. This will make him nervous and uneasy. Make sure that you calm him by telling him that you’re mad at what he’s done. Let him see that you’re not angry anymore. At this point, your kid knows that he committed a mistake but he can still feel your love. Horses should also be treated the same way. It is important for horses to feel approved and loved. If after a punishment your horse still feels uneasy and afraid, you can’t train him effectively.
Perfect timing of kindness is just as important. You see, if you exhibit kindness at the wrong timing, it might reinforce wrong behavior. Take this example – your horse runs from you and you had to chase him. When you finally catch him, you say ‘that’s a god boy’. By doing so, you’re teaching your horse to run away from you. Your horse will think that if he runs away, you will pet him afterwards.
Your horse should see you as a friend, not a predator. Don’t treat your horse like a slave. Wrong acts of horses are triggered by excitement, fear, and mismanagement. Even a single harsh word can cause nervousness. As a horse trainer, you should be aware that abusing a horse can lead to balking, biting, and kicking; if you whip your horse, it’s like whipping a child. If you treat them with common sense and kindness from birth, they will grow up to be obedient and useful horses.
Don’t be stubborn in dealing with problem horses. You should be gentle in order to win obedience. Make sure that you give them treats occasionally especially if they obey you. Caress and kind words can calm an excited and afraid horse.
Kindness in horse training is very important. If you want to be a successful and effective horse trainer, you should show kindness to all animals. Developing your confidence and positive traits is also vital. Avoid harsh punishments like whipping. When you’re punishing your horse, you need to be consistent. If you do these things, your horse will become a well-trained one.
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