Posts Tagged ‘Horse Training’

Understanding the saddle?

The structure that you put on an animal’s back to support the rider or other types of load is called a saddle. When one speaks of saddles, it is commonly associated with horses. But any kind of animal that could be ridden on its back has its own corresponding type of saddle. Horse saddles are a crucial piece of equipment for anyone serious about horse training.

There are two main types of saddles – the English saddle and Western saddle. These are the two types of saddle primarily used in the equestrian world, although there are many types of horse saddles used worldwide. In other nations, saddles of different designs exist. Saddles differ greatly among various ethnic groups and nationalities. It can be fun to learn about how each one is utilized.

Ordinarily, choosing what saddle to use should depend on the kind of riding you intend to do with your horse. Even narrowing it down to English or Western riding, saddles can still be broken up in many categories such as for dressage and show, endurance, pleasure or general purpose. Some common horse saddle terms you should familiarize yourself with are pommel, cantle, horn and cinch.

The English Horse Saddle

In Olympic equestrian events, the English saddle is the main type of saddle used. As the name suggests, this is the favored type among the majority of English riders. However, the English saddle can still be categorized into several more specific styles depending on the kind of event that is involved. Whether it is for show jumping, hunter jumper, eventing, dressage, horse racing, saddle seat, or polo, an appropriate type of saddle is consequently used.

The Western Horse Saddle

The Stock saddle or Western saddle is the most commonly used variety in the United States. This is the type of saddle you will see used by cowboys on cattle ranches. Today, it is used in a variety of western riding activities. Distinctively, western saddles don’t have as much padding underneath and must be used with saddle blankets or pads so that they can be comfortable for the horse. They do provide much more support for the rider.

Western saddles have stirrups that are sturdier and can utilize numerous cinches depending on what they are being used for. The horn present on the front is one major factor that distinguishes this type of saddle from its English counterpart. The horn is originally used to tie a lariat when roping cattle.

Finding the Right Size

The tree of the saddle, is the frame on which the saddle is constructed. It is usually made of wood or sometimes fiberglass and then covered with leather. The frame is made to fit both the rider and the horse.

Finding the saddle that fits may require more work than you may think. An ill-fitting saddle can cause injuries to both the horse and rider. Bruising and sores may result on your horse’s back muscles if you do not choose a saddle that fits properly. It is important to have a trial period before actually buying your saddle. Think of it as a piece of sports equipment for a human, it varies greatly from each individual horse. Be sure to always keep your tack clean and well oiled to prevent breakage or unnecessary discomfort to your horse.

Tips for an English Saddle

-Without a pad, put the saddle on the horse and tighten the girth
-Have a person sit in the saddle. Their feet should be in the stirrups
-Slide your fingers underneath the pommel. Make sure that you can comfortably get three fingers in between the arch below the pommel and the horse’s withers.
-The saddle should not get in the way of the horse’s shoulder movement by having someone lift the horse’s foreleg and pull it to the front. While doing this, your fingers should be between the top of the horse’s shoulder blade and the pommel. This must be done on both sides.
-Standing behind the horse and looking under the saddle, some light should be seen when the horse’s head is down.
-Make sure the saddle isn’t too long. It shouldn’t reach back onto the horse’s loins

Tips for a Western Saddle

-At least an inch thick of pad should be underneath the saddle
-The stock saddle should be placed on the horse’s back and the cinch tightened so a set of fingers can be placed comfortably between the girth and the animal.
-With someone on the saddle, make sure you can fit three fingers between the arch of the pommel and the horse’s withers
-Make sure that the width of the saddle tree is fitting for the horse. Put three fingers with a flat hand sideways between the saddle and the top of the horse’s withers. If the fit is loose, the tree is too narrow, if it is too tight and you have to squeeze in your fingers, then the tree is too wide

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Author: Annabelle Cabella
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Right now I get a 10% commission when a horse sells. I train the horses prior to them being shown for sale but there are way too many horses to keep up with and nothing is selling. I am going to start charging per ride but I don’t know how much. I’m young (18) and just starting out but I can ride better than most. The horses are mostly young green thoroughbreds.

How much training would a young horse, let’s say 5-6 year old need to start in hunters? Can an intermediate adult rider handle such training?

Horse training aids provide you with a useful trade to help you have success when training your horse. When it comes to training a horse, you don’t want to pass over your investment in training aids. Horse training is a serious issue and training aids can make sure a trainer stays safe. It is best to make sure you have the following necessary horse training aids before you start training your horse.

Every trainer is going to need a halter and lead rope combination. The rope halter allows you to tie and lead which is often better than a flat halter, which is uncomfortable for the horse and prevents leaning. When you are working with a horse, it is important to have a rope halter as a part of your equipment.

Next, you need a lead rope to attach to your halter. This lead rope is used to steer and direct your horse. This is a very important training aid since it acts like a leash and allows you to tell your horse what you want them to do.

Another valuable horse training aid is the longe line. Longeing is a term for a set of training skills that teach a horse direction, posture and yielding or moving because of pressure. The longe line will allow you to accomplish these goals.

A popular training tool among many trainers is a progress string. This thin, braided rope has an eye splice at one end and a leather popper on the other. You can use it in a variety of ways. They can be a visual aid for horses to know when they are in your space. It can also be a physical tool for you to have contact while in the saddle. The progress strain isn’t heavy to cause pain, but the popper end has a distinct noise and can be used in place of a crop.

For a less traditional horse training method, you should consider getting a large rubber ball. This type of rubber ball can be bought at a toy store and can be used to successfully condition horse’s nerves. Simply roll the ball around them and gently bump it into their legs so they won’t become startled.

The horse can also be directed from the saddle in order to have them gently move the ball with their legs. This way your horse can become desensitized to unexpected movements or objects. Thereby, reducing a horse from becoming spooked.

The last less traditional horse training aid you can use is a simple plastic tarp. The tarp can be used to develop a horse’s courage while providing you with a cheap training aid. All you have to do is place the tarp in the training area and lead your horse over it so they walk across it by themselves.

As the horse walks across the tarp, it will make a noise and provide them with a strange footing environment. This will develop the trust between a trainer and horse while providing them with desensitizing to noisy situations for when you take them out on a trail ride.

This is by no means a complete list of all the horse training aids available on the market, but it can provide you with something to work with. This list provides you with the basic and necessary training aids for your horse so you can get started with your training program. Once you progress in your horse training you can start using advanced horse training aids and tactics so that you have continued progress.

Sheryll Walker is a horse training enthusiast, helping numbers of people to learn secrets of training horses.

To discover more helpful horse training aids and learn about natural horse training, visit HorseTrainingHelp.com.

Out Now! Get your hand on the “Natural Horsemanship” Videos!

Author: Sheryll Walker
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Horses that spook easily are dangerous to ride, they are a danger not only to themselves, but to others as well. Horses, being prey animals, have a strong fight or flight response, and when faced with a threatening situation, they deal with it by shying or even worse, bolting. When this happens the horse is usually classified as a problem horse and is considered dangerous. A seemingly harmless object such as a plastic bag or chicken coop can send the biggest of horses into a bolting frenzy.

There are some things you can do to desensitize your horse. This problem horse training is ideally started when the horse is young and in training as it will ensure a spook proof horse. Begin by lunging the horse for a few minutes to allow him to work off any excessive energy. Leave a halter and lead rope on the horse and approach him slowly with an old saddle pad or blanket allowing him to sniff it. Work at the horse’s pace and if he spooks or takes a step back, introduce the blanket again slowly until he is comfortable having it close to him.

Once he’s more at ease around the blanket, you can start moving it around and swinging it slowly. This will help desensitize the horse against flapping objects. The horse will most probably feel uncomfortable and may even shy, so be patient and work with him until he is accustomed to having the blanket swung around him.

The next step is to touch the horse with the swinging blanket, gently swing it onto his back and all over his body. Once the horse accepts the blanket on his head you’re halfway there! Place the blanket by his feet to help desensitize him to objects under his feet, this is an essential part of the desensitization exercise. That’s it; reward him profusely for a job well done!

The next desensitizing exercise you should try is to use a soft rope and work with it in much the same way as you did with the saddle pad or blanket. This teaches the horse to tolerate having a rope moving around his legs and body. Teaching your horse to tolerate this type of sensation can prove to be lifesaving if tack fails and the horse finds himself with bits of tack flying around him. This makes the horse much safer in dangerous situations when tack breaks. Throw the rope on the ground and in-between the horses’ legs and belly until he is no longer afraid of it. If the horse allows you to move the rope around his face and head, you’ve successfully completed this exercise.

Last but certainly not least is the plastic bag. Many, many horses are afraid of plastic bags and this exercise will help eliminate that fear of plastic bags in your horse. Show the bag to your horse and allow him to smell it, then tie it to a long lunge whip and wave it around while holding your horse on long lead rope. The horse will inevitably shy and try to get away from the terrifying object. Shake the bag around the horse until he becomes comfortable to having it around him, once this happens, touch him with bag all over his body. Move it around his body and under his belly, when he allows you to touch his head with it, you’re done.

Work at your horse’s pace and always end your training session on a positive note and with a lot of pace. Never force your horse into an uncomfortable situation or you may end up scarring him for life. Make sure you do these exercises regularly even after the horse has become desensitized to ensure the horse doesn’t fall back into his old familiar patterns.

Stal Amani is a top equestrian centre based in Belgium within 2 hours drive of most of the top jumping and dressage competitions in Europe. We regularly host national and international competitions. For more information please visit http://www.stalamani.com

Author: Josie Amani
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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I ain’t a very experienced rider.
So i ain’t looking for a young green broke horse. All of the ones i’ve looked at and asked others about say that i should get an older horse that is already completely broke.

So now it all comes down the the question of how old is too old to start a horse training for roping.
i found a 8 year old, im just wondering if that’s too old.

Often people are under the misinterpretation that you simply need to control the head in order to control the horse. This is why you need to use a lead rope or bridle in order to teach a horse how to stop and start. However, do you know how you can control a horse if you don’t have a lead rope or bridle? If you have ever spent time chasing a horse around a pasture you have likely wondered this.

You can learn to control you horses mind through a process known as natural horse training. If you control a horses mind there will be no worry about losing control no matter what situation you are in with the horse. Natural training is a specific discipline that has to be done properly in order to achieve success.

When you use the term discipline for natural horse training it is important to realize this doesn’t mean obedience or punishment, but rather means you are focusing on calm compliance from the horse. In order to have a horse that is a good follower you need a trainer that has good discipline and self-control. This way the horse will be able to willingly follow you lead.

To have this done successfully natural horse training requires trainers to focus on developing a pattern and providing the horse with a safe and comfortable environment. This description makes natural training seem easy, but it is actually difficult to become successful with this horse training method.

The first step in this horse training method is to get your horse to pay attention to you. To do this you also need to pay complete attention to your horse and what they do without allowing distractions to get in the way.

Make sure you place yourself in a place where you are able to focus and concentrate. If it isn’t possible to do this for long periods then you should start in small durations of at least ten minutes and then increase the length of time.

It is important to focus on your horse and the feedback they provide. What signals are the ears and eyes sending you? What does their breathing tell you? How is the horse reacting and how does this compare to other times? This will help you to determine what triggers your horse to pay attention to you so you can get them to focus on you and do what you want willingly.

Relaxation and rhythm are the two keys to natural horse training. The moment you go near the horse you need to make sure, you are making rhythmic movements. Even as you approach the stall, you should have relaxed movements. You should also pay careful attention to your breathing. Your horse is going to be carefully watching your actions and if you are tense, they can sense it. This is why relaxation and rhythm are vital should something unusual or unplanned happen later.

When you use these two simple steps, you can start having success with natural horse training. Although you shouldn’t become discouraged if things don’t go well on the first day or week of training. It can sometimes take several months before horses can learn to use a non-predatory system of learning. While the name is natural horse training this doesn’t mean it happens naturally for all trainers and horses.

Sheryll Walker is a horse training enthusiast, helping numbers of people to learn Secrets of Training Horses.

Don’t Wait! Get your hands on the “Natural Horse Training” Videos!

To discover more on Training Horse to do what You want, and learn about natural horse training, visit HorseTrainingHelp.com.

Author: Sheryll Walker
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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If there is one thing that horse owners fear on the ground-it’s getting kicked. And with good reason. If you get kicked by a horse you risk getting seriously injured and even killed.

So why do horses kick? Like a lot of issues involving bad horse behavior, the answer comes down to one of two things. Either the horse kicks out of fear-or he kicks out of dominance.

The good news is that horse kicking can be controlled or even eliminated without smacking the horse or even focusing on kicking at all. Instead, you can deal with the problem by building leadership, trust, and respect. How do you do this? Simple-with proper ground training.

Good ground training will eliminate horse kicking because a horse that knows he can trust you is a horse that won’t fear you. When the horse isn’t afraid generally, he isn’t going to fear having his feet handled or fear having you behind him. Conversely, a horse that sees you as his respected leader is not going to try and dominate you. So let’s explore a few ways that we can build leadership, trust and respect with ground horse training, with the goal of eliminating horse kicking in the back of our minds.

Often, eliminating fear and dominance go hand in hand. So you don’t have to focus on what “type” of horse you have too much when applying general principles of horsemanship. First off, what do dominant horses do with the other members of the herd? Well, they herd them around! This simple fact-and keep in mind this is something a horse intuitively understands-is something we can use to our advantage to train our horses gently without using any kind of force. All we have to do is move our horses around. When you do that, your horse will instinctively see you as a leader. Horse kicking will be unlikely in that case because a horse doesn’t kick his leader.

We can make a horse move forward, backward, to the side, or in a circle. OK here are a few basic things we can do:

• Ask your horse to go backwards.
• As your horse to move his forehand.
• Ask your horse to move his hindquarters.
• Circle or lunge your horse.
• Circle or lunge at liberty in the round pen.

By doing these groundwork exercises we teach the horse to view us as a respected leader. This is because we are tapping into his built-in instinct to see those who make him move as his leader. In fact, working your horse at liberty at the round pen may be one of the most important exercises you can use to do this. That’s because you control three things:

• When the horse moves and when he can come to rest.
• How fast he goes.
• What direction he goes.

Round pen work is also safe. By doing these three things, you establish yourself as a leader because your horse will know automatically you’re his leader because you’re controlling his movement. That’s what the trick really is-control the movement of the horse at all times. Then he will see you as his respected leader.

Next time your horse kicks-instead of giving into your impulse to smack him-try asking him (firmly) for a backup instead. By asking him to move off, you build leadership and respect-so reduce the chance of a horse kicking in the future.

David McMahon is a free lance author who owns 3 horses and writes about horse training issues. For more information please visit Mastering Basic Groundwork (Horse Training) [http://nmhorse.com/Basic_Groundwork.html].

Author: David McMahon
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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