Training Tenets

These are the things I keep in mind while training:

• Every time you interact with a horse, you are training it. Be conscious of this.
• Horses are incredibly good at reading body language. The horse is sizing you up from the moment you enter the pen or stall, trying to decide whether or not they have to respect and listen to you.
• Frightened horses don’t think, they react. You can’t train on a scared horse.
• A broke horse is a broke horse, no matter what the disciple. They should all be soft in the face and sides, balanced at all gaits, and exhibit a calm, willing attitude.
• The first 30 days of riding forms the foundation of the horse’s education for the rest of their life. Done correctly, it makes everything you teach them later in life easier. Screw it up, and you’ll spend the next several months or years trying to fix the bad habits they’ve learned.