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Tag: north carolina horse clinics

To Scold or Not to Scold— That is the Question

April 1, 2019
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| Categories: TRAINING TIPS

When working with horses we often hear, “You just need to show him who’s boss,” or “I hope you didn’t let him get away with that.”  Do these phrases sound familiar?  As I continue on my own horsemanship journey, I find myself wondering what I was thinking in the past when I would sometimes scold a horse.  Did the punishment meet the crime? Was it really a crime?  Was it a behavior I or someone had taught the horse?  Was he just escaping a fear? All these are valid points in decisions we must make, split-second, to continue the positive

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Softness in the Face: It Just Isn’t Enough!

March 5, 2019
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| Categories: TRAINING TIPS

For years, I worked and rode my horses feeling very proud of the fact that my horses had the softest feel in the pole and face.  Yet, I never understood that true softness travels through the face, pole, neck, withers, shoulders, fore legs, barrel, flank, hips and all the way down to the hind feet and tail.  Where did this idea of softness start?  Ask many folks and I’m sure we will get a multitude of answers, but I really think it starts in the brain. And with that, we strive for willingness from the horse. Alternatively, I think we

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Recognizing Try

January 8, 2019
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| Categories: TRAINING TIPS

As I gather my thoughts for this article, I wonder in my life how often I’ve neglected to do so before communicating with another human or animal.  I mean, why did I need to? There was nothing wrong with me or what I had to say— I was perfect in an imperfect world!  So why did I need to change?  I felt I just needed to push others harder with more energy and less time to dwell.  In my shallow brain, I felt things were working out fairly well.  I was having success in my career as a Soldier, a

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Whoa! Stopping in Five, Four, Three, Two and One

October 9, 2015
| 1 Comment
| Categories: TRAINING TIPS

Unless you have a lazy horse, you probably had to put a good deal of effort into developing a good stop on your equine. If he stops, that is…! What I often see in clinics and lessons are riders that allow their horses to take their time stopping…it might take them a quarter of the arena before they get their horses stopped. Dribbling is for basketball—not riding! With that being said lets take a look at what happens with the horse when we ask for the stop. From the horse's perspective, we too often pick up aggressively when we ask for

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