Train Any Horse Effectively
You can teach all types of horse, even problem horses!
Learn to train any horse, including problem horses, yourself! By enhancing the horse/human relationship, you can train your horse to be responsive and receptive.
The Horse/Human Relationship
First and foremost, when beginning to evaluate what you need to do with your horse—whatever type of personality he may have—it’s important to assess your relationship with him.
When you train and ride your horse, do you feel at ease? Do you feel comfortable asking him to do something for you? If not, or if you feel nervous before or during a ride, this is a good indication that your horse/human relationship needs some work. It’s well worth it—it makes the time spent with your horse more fun and efficient.
Most riders/trainers have probably dealt with a “problem” horse of one type or another. Often horses can be willful, proud animals (which is most likely one of the most alluring things about a horse). But it can be frustrating when trying to train horses with this prominent nature—but don’t give up. Despite how it may sometimes seem, any type of horse can be effectively trained, and you can be the one to do it.
Ground Work and Lunging
First, try starting with some ground work. Lunging is extremely beneficial for any type of horse, regardless of the level of experience. (For an in-depth discussion of lunging, including a thorough how-to, please click here for a previous article on the subject.)
Lunging is the process of using a long “lunge” line, which is basically like a long halter rope, only it’s typically flat in shape. If you don’t have a lunge line, it is OK to use a long halter rope—although inexpensive nylon ones usually only cost a few dollars. Typically it’s worth buying one since it can be hard to find halter ropes that are long enough, and they can be somewhat bulky and uncomfortable for your hands. But use whatever works for you and your horse.
When lunging, stand in the middle of a large, open area, with your lunge line attached to your horse’s halter. The essence of lunging is this: While you stand in the middle of this open area, your horse moves around you in a circle while on the lunge line. You can ask him to move at any speed, and to turn around and go in the opposite direction.
The concept of it, and the reason lunging can be so useful, is that it stimulates solid communication between you and your horse. Your horse is required to listen to your voice, your physical cues, and—as stated in the article referenced above—you are in theory the center of his world at that point. Lunging takes away all of the excess complications involved with training and requires both of you to focus on the simplest aspects of horse/human communication. With any horse—of any age, of any type—lunging is a good foundation upon which to build everything else.
Remember to be patient as you lunge your horse, and as you begin to work with him from the ground in other ways. A lot of horses get frustrated at this point, especially if they are used to being ridden, not worked from the ground. Their attitude sometimes can be rebellious, as if they don’t think you can teach them anything in this area. But stick with it, and be firm but gentle and patient. He will understand sooner or later, and your communication and understanding of each other will be clearly strengthened by it.
Aside from lunging, saddle him up and lead him around with a halter rope. The idea here is to go “back to basics”—again, no matter how experienced your horse is at this point, this is a great way to put him through a refresher course.
As you lead him around, the idea is to cause him to follow your lead, to listen to you. Talk to him. Get him to listen to your voice and what your different inflections mean (for example, some trainers use a voice command with a horse, and their voice changes—it becomes deeper, more authoritative). When you stop, use your voice commands—say, “Whoa.” When you ask him to back up, say, “Back.” Horses aren’t oblivious to these cues, and in fact, they respond very positively to them. Again, by doing this, you’re reminding your horse—or teaching him, depending on his experience—that he should be listening to you, watching you, and waiting for your cues.
