When I was studying under legendary Australian reining and cow horse trainer, Ian Francis, he used to remind me that there are a lot of heroes in the graveyard. What he meant by that was that too many people get on horses that aren't ready to be ridden…

Every horse has a thinking side to his brain, but until you show him how to use it, he doesn't even know it exists. The thinking side is shoved way back in the corner of the horse's brain. It's like a tiny crystal ball sitting on a table covered up with an old…

Teaching your horse to tie safely or…

The One Rein Stop is the first thing I teach every single rider in my clinics as soon as they get on the horse’s back. Why? Because once they realize that they can stop their horses anytime, anywhere, whenever they want, you wouldn’t believe the amount of…

All horses have magnets –the gate to the arena, the barn, other horses, his buddies back at the barn, the trailer, etc. They all involve the horse wanting to be somewhere other than where he is, doing something other than what he is doing. The simplest solution is to make the wrong thing difficult and the right thing easy. Meaning you make being…

Horses have a natural instinct to pull and push against pressure – not give and soften to it. So every opportunity you get, teach your horse to soften to pressure. You always want your horse thinking of how he can give and soften to pressure, rather than thinking of how he can…

To clarify a bit on last week's post because we received some questions: The only way the horse is allowed into your personal hula hoop space is if you invite him in. And you’ll only invite him into that four foot circle if you know you can get him out of it. Think of how you want your neighbors to treat you. You might like your neighbors, but you never want them to just barge into your house. You always want them to walk up to the door, knock and ask to come…