top of page
Search
Writer's pictureLouise Stobbs

Setting your horse up to succeed in training

There are some really simple things to consider that could make a huge difference to your horse’s ability to learn and perform in a training session. Sometimes we are inadvertently setting our horses up to fail by trying to train under inappropriate circumstances.


Preferably we want our horses to be feeling relaxed and comfortable before we start, while this is not always possible here are some things to think about that could help you.


Firstly we do not need to take the horse to an arena or specific training space to start training. If your horse is anxious about going into the arena, we can absolutely start training in their field, their stable or even just on the yard, wherever they feel more comfortable. You will have much more success training some quiet foundations where the horse is already feeling safe, than adding the anxiety of an environment they’re unsure about and trying to begin training there.


We can also tweak our management to help our horses. For example, if your horse goes out with his friends at the same time every morning, and one morning you decide to keep him in to train while all of his friends leave, its probably not going to go well. In this scenario I would probably still turn the horse out even if its for 30 minutes, then catch him again, so he’s not being completely taken out of their routine and left behind by his friends.


Another common thing I see is horses being pulled straight in off the grass and tacked up. I would always leave a good half an hour to decompress and eat some hay, especially if your horse is only out on short grass or on a restricted diet. They can come in feeling hungry and, as we all know, feeling hungry is not great for focus and can leave you feeling irritable.


We can also consider environmental factors. If its extremely windy its probably not the best day to try new, challenging things. Equally if it has suddenly turned really hot, your horse probably isn’t going to feel like going for a jumping lesson in the middle of the afternoon. If there is a new horse being introduced to the herd, consider how this is affecting your horse emotionally, sometimes herd changes can create anxiety. There are things in your horse’s personal life that may seem like nothing to you but are a big deal to him.


I am not saying we should never expect our horse to cope with more challenging circumstances, but we should consider where that particular horse is at in their training progress and adapt accordingly to give them the best chance to succeed. We don’t want to add more of a challenge when we don’t even have the basics down yet in a calm environment. When we do want to help them cope with more, we should do it with a plan in mind and not just throw them into it and expect them to deal. 🐴



3 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page