I Like To Use This Horse Training Technique . This Works Very Well On Young Colts And Also As A Refresher

A Little Secret Of Horse Training

Does your horse make the right choice?

In other words, when you want to halter him...does he turn away from you or does he stay with you?

Does he make the choice of ignoring you? Or do you have his attention?

These are pretty good questions to ask yourself as you work with your horse.

As you set out for the day's lesson with your horse, begin with the goal in mind and give your horse a choice.

He can choose to do what you ask or he can choose not to - obviously.

What we wanna do is set him up to choose what we "want" him to choose. If we make it his idea, it solidifies the intent.

There's a nifty little secret to en- courage him to choose what you want!

I'm guessing if you don't already know what it is, you instinctively know it but just haven't realized its impact.

This is a horse training secret so effective that when used right, us trainers are out of a job.

That being so, let me set up the scenario so you see the big picture.

Let's take yourself as an example.

When you're at work during your job or at home, do you choose ("choose" is the key word here)...

...do you choose to do the work the hard way?

Dumb question right?

The thing is, there may be an easier way to do something and you just don't know it yet.

For instance, a few days ago I was helping my daughter add up numbers in her head.

She was trying to visualize them and add them.

I told her instead, "do it by tens."

"Huh?", she said.

So I told her, "Okay...you're adding 13 plus 31. Just make tens out of the numbers, add them up and then add the remaining numbers."

In other words, 13 is the same as 10 plus 3 (3 is the remaining number).

And 31 is the same as 10+10+10+1.

So we have 4 tens...which of course is 40. Add the remaining numbers to it and you get 40+4=44.

Now I'd bet the farm you already knew this and I didn't have to tell you. But I used it for illustration purposes because although she was headed the right way, I showed him an easier way.

And it is "that" philosophy that any intelligent, thinking being understands and will use when made aware of it - in other words us humans, dogs, and of course...horses...will do something in an easier way if we know and understand it exists.

And that, my friend, is the horse training prinicple.

You've likely heard it said, "Make the wrong thing difficult and the right thing easy."

That's the prinicple.

How can you use it?

Say your horse won't let you halter him.

So you get him in the round pen and approach. If he takes off, then smile big and say, "ALL RIGHT! Time to practice."

Now it's time to make the wrong thing difficult.

If he won't let you catch and halter him...time to run.

Have him go around a time or two, then make him turn and go the other way.

The trick to this is that you have to find the right time to stop him and make him face you.

If he doesn't face you then send him on at a canter untill you believe he has decided to give in. This can be different with each horse.

When you get where he faces you and comes to you your almost done.

This is where the rubber meets the road.

Big Secret Walk away from him. Watch what happens. If he follows you have done well if not get ready to work him some more.

By the time you are through your horse should follow you like a puppy. When you stop he stops and so on. Time to put the halter on.

Make it as plain as you can that to be haltered and petted is far easier (and safe) than running around gettin' tired. The trick is create an obvious contrast of easy vs. diff- icult.

In a nutshell, that's one way to use the principle. It can be used very succesfully in most of your training if your horse begins to argue.

Ahhh..you probably already knew it anyway.