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If you have a lot of knowledge and a little bit of time, share your expertise. Comment on what is already written or Suggest a Category & Educate us about it. Grow Horse-Pros.com©
If you have a lot of knowledge and a little bit of time, share your expertise. Comment on what is already written or Suggest a Category & Educate us about it. Grow Horse-Pros.com©
Horses are naturally wary of new objects in their environment. Their natural suspicion can be manifested in different ways – some of which can be explosive and dangerous if they are pushed too close or too fast. Entering and exiting natural states of arousal is critical to building a horse’s ability to understand and tolerate… Read More Training Exercises: Introducing Obstacles
Whoa under saddle is very easy once you have accomplished a sound and instant Whoa on the Ground. A horse who stops on a dime is a fine horse indeed. Gary Acuncius raises and trains World Champion Reining Horses. This picture of his horse, Charlie Acres, is a beautiful example of a successful stop. (Charlie… Read More Training Exercises: Rating Back
There are a lot of ways to break a horse for riding. After they have good ground training and have been thoroughly de-sensitized, many don’t put up a fuss at all. It is always best to work hard on the ground so that bucking or other crazy behavior is never encountered. We train some pony-sized… Read More Training Exercises: Fancy Britches Surrogate Rider
If you are starting here, you have missed her first 4 months of training. See The Trouble With Ariel to start at the beginning. ARIEL HAS GRADUATED from her small enclosure and joined her friends in the big paddock again! She has progressed from a crazy, wild little horse to a compliant, manageable horse during… Read More No Trouble with Ariel – A Kristull Chronicle
Ariel is a 7 year old Caspian Horse Mare. She was foaled in pasture and never handled until she ended up at our ranch to find a forever home. Her journey to us is as dramatic as it is remarkable. She lived in Canada until her owner died unexpectedly. It is not clear to me… Read More The Trouble with Ariel – A Kristull Chronicle
This is Part 1 of a two-part Lesson. Part 2 is Joining UP The object of this lesson is to teach your horse that you are his leader and require his respect as well as friendship. You tell him what to do and when to do it. He learns to pay attention to you. He… Read More Training Exercises: Round Penning
Spring and Summer are coming. It’s time for irritating, nasty flies. You’re all tacked up and ready for the trail, but the flies are literally bugging your horse. She’s switching and throwing her head moving around: generally not paying a bit of attention to you or your upcoming ride. Fly Spray. You need to stop… Read More Horse Problems: Gets Crazy with Fly Spray
As I wrote the Training Exercises to start DE-sensitizing your horse, I realized that I have not really defined the term or the theory behind the exercises. Wild horses live life super-sensitive to threats of any kind. They are super-sensitive out of necessity. No one wants to be eaten. However, once our horses are in… Read More Training Theory: De-Sensitization
The “RELAX” portion of an exercise serves a very important purpose. A huge amount of training involves overcoming anxiety. Entering and exiting natural states of arousal is critical to building a horse’s ability to understand and tolerate unexpected events. Horses have a threshold (tolerance to stress) for anxiety-inducing events. They can sometimes build up anxiety… Read More Training Theory: Relax
A horse’s nutrition requirements change throughout the year depending on his exercise and the ambient temperature of his environment. As the weather gets colder outside, he needs to produce more heat to maintain his body temperature. Rain and wind will also affect his ability to stay warm. Horses are foraging animals. They digest and eat… Read More Horse Health: Winter Feed Requirements