Horse Training Basics – 5 Tips that Every Beginner Must Know
If you are a new horse owner or want to train your pet horses, this article is for you. Here are some of the very basics of horse training and care.
Love horses? If you own horses and wish to become a horse trainer, here are some helpful tips for you. These are some of the very basics of horse training that every horse owner must learn. Try to learn, practice and master these tips, and they will give you a good foundation in horse training. Once you’ve learned these, you can start learning some of the other more advanced methods later on. So, make sure to check back and follow up on our future horse training blogs for more.
5 Basic Tips for Horse Training
Horse training can be a rewarding experience if you are into horses. Professional horse trainers usually go through a lot of training, workshops and practice before they become really good at horse training. Below we have 5 basics of horse training so that you can build a solid foundation.
1. Understand Your Horse:
Your horse has some instinctive behaviors. They graze freely in nature and they are prey animals. They instinctively run and hide from danger when they feel threatened by predators. Unless your horse is protected and grazing in a herd, it’s likely to flee from anything that startles it. Therefore, it’s important that you keep the surrounding environment calm and quiet.
Once you have made a connection with your horse, he will begin to trust you and will understand that he has nothing to worry about when you’re around. He will not understand your motives unless he gets familiar with what is being asked of him.
2. Always Think Safety First:
To become a horse trainer, you must always think of safety first. Your safety begins with proper protective clothing. You must always wear hard toed boots, a helmet and leather gloves. Untrained horses can step on you or kick you when they are startled, so always be careful of his movements. It’s also important that you stay away from his blind spot. Horses cannot see directly in front or behind. Therefore, it’s safe to always stand next to his shoulders on his side, so he can see where you are at all times. Keep a hand on him as you move around.
3. Leading Your Horse:
Horses and most other herding animals are born with “follow the leader” type of instinct. This means that one of the herd members becomes the leader and the rest of the herd animals follow the leader, almost blindly! It does not matter where you go, once the animal recognizes you as a leader, it will be easier for you to lead him. To be a good leader, you must gain the trust and confidence of the animal.
Beginner Horse Training Basics
Video Source: Annabelle Cabella
4. Easy with a halter:
In order for the horse to accept the halter, put it on and take it off several times a day so that it becomes a routine. Put on his halter and leave it on for several minutes and gradually increase to several hours, so that he gets used to it. Keep him in a safe and quiet place, and once he accepts the halter, put on the lead rope.
5. Reward and reinforce right behaviors:
A good horse trainer encourages the animal to behave the way he wants by rewarding the right behaviors. When you are leading your animal, pull him forward with a lead rope. If he starts moving, release the pressure so that he knows he is doing the right thing. When he is tied, he learns that by taking a step forward, he no longer feels the pressure on rope. Your horse learns to move forward every time he feels pressure on the rope and stops when there is no pressure. He will understand that you want him to move forward by pulling the lead rope.
Food is a great motivator, so reward him with food once you achieve the desired behaviors.
Conclusion:
To be a horse trainer, it’s necessary that you learn the basic behaviors of horses. Horses are prey animals and will flee if they are startled or if they feel threatened. The more an animal trusts you the easier it will become for you to train him and get him to do what you want.
We’ll be back with more tips on horse training, once you learn these basics. In the meantime, try our equine immune system support supplement, called BioPro Armour. It supports the horse’s immune system without overstimulating the horse. Click here to find out how it Works.