Training horses is both rewarding and fulfilling – yet can also be daunting and daunting for beginners.
For horses to learn, they need to be regularly rewarded for engaging in desirable behavior; otherwise they won’t respond to cues.
There are various training methods, ranging from traditional to natural horsemanship. But how can you choose one?
Basics
Beginners typically must begin with groundwork or in-hand training, teaching their horse how to be haltered and led, yield to pressure, flex, and soften – these basic lessons will build trust and set them up for future riding success.
As well as learning horse behavior and communication techniques, it is also necessary to understand their brain structure and response to new stimuli – this knowledge will allow you to become a more efficient trainer.
If you want to teach your horse how to back up at normal speed, every time ask them without shaking their head or fussing with their mouth and grabbing their bit. This is how horses learn, so break your training down into smaller steps that are easy for both of you to understand – many tricks such as “touch” are composed of several individual acts put together into one.
Safety
Horse training involves changing a horse’s natural tendency to flee perceived threats in favour of listening to its handler, something which takes time. To begin with, ground manners training exercises should help get them acquainted with each other before beginning formal lessons.
Understanding equine brain function and adhering to barn safety rules are vital when training your horse. Remember, horses are 10x bigger than you and may cause serious injury or even kill without ever intending to.
Learning different training techniques and approaches will also keep you safe. Traditional horse training utilizes lunging and long lining to retrain their flight instinct to accept instructions from their handler, while natural horsemanship involves teaching through pressure and release techniques. Whatever approach is taken, being consistent is key – once is luck, twice is coincidence and three is habit.
Equipment
As a beginner, it’s wise to start training your horse on the ground. Horses are herd animals that follow leaders, making this approach the safest method of learning.
If you want to teach your horse how to flex its neck, stand at their side and apply pressure until they drop their head left or right. Once this happens, release pressure on their reins as this will act as a reward and reinforce that they have completed an acceptable behavior.
Once your horse has learned how to flex, move on to walking them with you. When they walk alongside you at roughly your elbow and match your pace, that indicates they’ve completed step one of training. Patience is key when training horses; new skills may take weeks or months before becoming habits; it can be frustrating at first but remember horses are not people so a consistent approach must be maintained for successful learning.
Communication
Beginners often experience difficulties communicating with their horses. Horses are highly sensitive to human body language and will pick up on any signs of frustration, fear or anxiety in humans. By using clear voice instructions with horses they should understand exactly what you require of them.
Beginners need a consistent training routine in place. Horses learn best when their training sessions occur on an ongoing basis; this helps retain information better and reinforce learning processes.
For example, if you want your horse to move away from you, make it clear that each request means leaving their personal space. This will establish your leadership and help establish their respect as a trainer; making training much simpler! Furthermore, beginners would benefit greatly from developing an understanding of horse psychology; this can include traditional horse training techniques like lunging and long lining as well as more modern approaches like natural horsemanship.
