How to Train A Horse, Step-by-Step
Discover how to properly tame and train any horse easily regardless of how wild or unbroken of a horse he or she is!
Reasons Why You Should Train Your Horse Now
| The longer you wait the harder it is to train your horse. Experts agree, that training is easiest when the bonding and trust between owner and horse begins sooner. |
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Trained horses are more relaxed and confident. Trained horses rarely run into situations where they are frightened and rear. |
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Trained horses want to be ridden and do work. If your horse is trained properly, not only will they allow you to ride them, they will enjoy being ridden as well. |
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Horse Training Basics
Horses are fairly intelligent and are ranked the seventh smartest animal in the world (dogs are ranked number four). Even though horses are smart, they can be difficult to train because they are prey animals, which means in nature they are preyed upon by other animals. Because horses are prey animals, they have a very strong fight or flight instinct which can make it easy for them to get spooked and lose their train of thought or for them to become disobedient against your commands.
Horses learn best from the following types of training:
- Common Routines - This is where your horse perfects skills and activities by frequent repetitions from the trainer until it eventually becomes a habit for the horse. An example would be putting a saddle on your horse; initially your horse would be scared but once it becomes a habit the horse will expect the saddle.
- Desensitizing Your Horse - This is where you gradually introduce your horse to its fears so he/she can overcome them. Some examples of common horse fears would be flapping objects, barking dogs, large vehicles, etc.
- Positive & Negative Reinforcement - This is where you reward your horse for obeying you and make your horse aware of any actions he/she did incorrectly.
What Causes Your Horse Not to Behave
It's not uncommon for people to think that their horses are deliberately disobeying them. Some people will swear that their horse knows what the owner wants them to do, but still refuse.
Understanding How Horses Think Will Make A Huge Difference in Training
Many people think that horses reason and think the same way as people. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Remember, horses are prey animals and their minds are set up completely differently from people's minds. Because of this, its the trainers responsibility to use methods the horse will understand so the horse will make progress.
If you don't understand that horses think differently, you will have a long battle gaining your horse's trust. Even something as simple as yelling at your horse can be detrimental in the training process. For example, if your horse started trotting away and you started yelling at your horse to get back here, you would be thinking "now that the horse knows I'm being serious by yelling, he will run back to me". Unfortunately, the horse will be thinking "That creature is growling at me loudly, there is no way I'm going anywhere near him today".
Losing the Horse's Trust
Again, a big part of having a trained horse is having the horse trust you 100%. If your horse doubts you or your judgement, you will have an uncontrollable horse. One way
Not Desensitizing Your Horses Fears
Since horses are prey animals, they can get scared very easily (as is their nature). Because of this, you will have to desensitize your horse to many of its fears. Below are a list of things that many horses are scared of that they need to be desensitize:
- Flapping objects such as fabrics flapping in the wind
- Dogs barking at them
- People and children surrounding them
- Cars, trucks, and other machinery
- Loud noises
- Sounds of electrical machines (such as hair trimmers, winches, and compressors)
How to Train A Horse the Best Way Possible
There are many ways you can train a horse, but each horse and trainer are different so you may need to use a variety of techniques in your situation to get the best results. Below is a list of horse training tips that will work for all horses:
| Start training your horse as soon as possible - It's important for your horse to trust you and by building a positive relationship immediately after you meet the horse this will become possible. |
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| Teach the horse to see you as the leader - Horses are social animals and will look for a leader to follow. By making sure you are their leader, you will have an easier time getting them to obey you and trust you. |
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| The first thing you should teach your horse is to not fear humans - Horses are much larger and stronger than humans and can seriously injure someone. Because of this you need to make sure the first thing you teach your horse to to not fear people. |
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This is just a brief introduction to training horses. For more information on training a horse, we have included everything you need to know into an easy to follow downloadable guide. You can get the guide through the download button at the bottom of the page.
Download the Complete Guide to Horse Training
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We have combined everything you need to know in order to properly train any horse regardless of age into an easy to follow step-by-step guide.
- Get the same techniques horse training experts use
- Learn effective horse training tips, tricks, methods, and techniques.
- Be able to train any horse even if this is your first horse
- Guaranteed to work for your horse regardless of your horses age or history
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