A well trained horse is not a fixed asset. Your investment in training will only be secured if you can maintain or improve that level of training with a firm understanding of what your horse knows, how to ask for it, and how to effectively thwart off unwanted behaviors.

At Next Level Horsemanship^TM we encourage people to become involved in their horse’s training by inviting them to watch, participate at a level that is comfortable for them, and providing them with training materials such as our Foundations: From the Ground Up DVDs to ensure that they can continue the Program well beyond when they take their horses home.

Ultimately it is up to the owner to ensure the success of training beyond the trainer’s barn so here are a few NLH^TM Cue Tips to help you out:

Watch your horse in training and at some point take lessons on your horse so that you know how to ask him to perform the maneuvers he’s been taught.

When your horse comes home from training, make sure that you are ready to take the lead to keep improving on his training at home.

This will ensure that you know the details of the training your horse has just received.

This will be especially useful to keep working on little quirks that may not have been ironed out during the length of time your horse was at the training facility.

If you build a relationship with your trainer, you can expect to get more help beyond the initial training period.

Consistency and repetition are key to the long term success of your horse’s training.

Build awareness to how your horse behaves and pay attention to the details. Only then will you be able to correct unwanted behaviors or reward good ones to keep your horse improving.

Often we become complacent and let things slide because we either don’t know how to fix them or we just don’t want to be confrontational. Your horse will only improve if you have the ability to train on him and seize opportunities to do so.

There are many ways to ensure the training you put on your horse becomes solid and lasts a lifetime. Ultimately you are responsible for that. Become educated about your horse’s training and have fun keeping him tuned up or even teaching him something new. Build the Partnership, then Performance and Possibilities will be realized!

Horses are unpredictable at times and sometimes when you’re riding things don’t always go as planned.  Good training and mileage will minimize the likelihood of mishaps and that should be your first line of defense against cantankerous behavior or spooking episodes on the trail.  The more you ride and the better you train, the more likely you are to have a horse that is predictable and closer to the ideal of “bombproof”.

If something does go wrong you need a plan to recover-an effective technique that quickly puts you and your horse back on track, without injury.  The best approach is the “one rein half-halt”.  It’s really a cousin to the one-rein stop and the half-halt.

Like the one rein stop, the one rein half-halt uses one rein to divert the horse’s motion from forward to forward and around, a direction that puts you in the driver’s seat without getting the horse off balance.  Like the half halt, this technique slows the progression of forward motion and compresses the horse’s frame just enough for you to regain control.

By pulling the horse around in a circle in one direction or the other you channel the forward motion energy of unwanted behavior into constructive energy for another, more appropriate maneuver.  Unlike the one rein stop, you don’t shut your horse down entirely but rather, immediately channel unwanted behavior into something desirable. And, you keep yourself safe because the effective “extreme” half-halt that is given in combination with the forward and around effect of the direct rein puts you back in control!

I’ve come to realize that too many people view horses as “pull-toys”.  And too many people have problems because of it.  They erroneously learn to rely on their hands instead of their seat and legs to ride and as a result instill many problems into their horses.  One of my biggest mentors, Ron Johnson, always told me, horses are not pull-toys, they’re “push-toys”.  What he means by that is that you don’t pull horses where you want them to go, you must always push them there.  Drive them there with your seat and legs, using your hands only as a guide.  This is tried and true horsemanship theory and has truly been one of the best pieces of advice ever given to me in training.  This simple concept has pervaded every aspect of our training program and has perfected the techniques we use to teach beginning to advanced maneuvers.  And, I’m always amazed at how easy it has made it for the horses to understand what we’re trying to teach them.

It’s a language horses understand, it is familiar to them because it’s how they communicate with each other.  Horses don’t pull each other around, they push each other around.  They “get” that.  If we use more of that language in our training program and less of the pull-toy concept we will be much more highly effective as riders and in solving training issues.

Don’t get into the mindless habit of relying on your hands to make your horse do something.  Instead, lightly set your hands as a guide through the reins and push your horse up into that contact.  If he fights you, stay soft with your hands and drive harder.  You’ll begin to feel him accept the contact and guide from your hands as he moves forward with cadence and confidence.

We can fix so many “problems” with horses in just a short time by implementing the push-toy philosophy. Contact, collection, slowing down, stops, turns, you name it the push-toy concept applies to all maneuvers in any discipline and it starts in the very first ride.  It’s how people can ride their horses bridleless; how eventers master their course and reiners score a plus 1.5 in their spins.  It’s how dressage riders transition from the canter or trot to the piaffe – they don’t pull their horses there, they push them forward into a hold defined by feel.

I’m always excited to see the change in people that come to our clinics when they begin to implement the push-toy concept on their horses.  They can’t believe the difference it makes in the way their horses respond and how it fixes specific problems they’ve been having.  And, the best part about it – it’s never too late to introduce it to your horse.  Give it a try – believe me he’ll be grateful you did because he’ll finally “get” what you’re asking him to do.

Do you feel like you have the versatility and flexibility that you’re looking for with the horse you have now?  You can by making a few changes in your training program.  At Next Level Horsemanship^TM we build the Foundation, from the Ground Up.  It’s important that horses have a strong Foundation in training before being asked to perform beyond their capabilities. Then they will be prepared to succeed in any discipline.

Think of training horses as an inverted pyramid.  For a horse to be well trained and versatile the bulk of the area of the pyramid should be filled with solid principles of training based on good horsemanship theory, no matter what discipline you want to pursue.  At the bottom are the basic elements of training that have to be there for any horse understand the Partnership that’s about to unfold with people.  As you move up the inverted pyramid it becomes filled with the basic and more intermediate and advanced elements of training that all horses need to Perform in any discipline.  Finally, at the very top and widest portion of the inverted pyramid we can fine tune or finesse the maneuvers for specific disciplines.  This is where all of the Possibilities unfold!

If you have the pyramid filled in with solid training principles, it’s easy to cross from one side to the other and span many disciplines in between.  If not, trying to be versatile is nearly impossible; it’s like asking your horse to swim across a raging river!

If you want a versatile horse, you need to add versatility to your training program from the ground up.  Many people refer to this as ‘cross-training’ but at NLH^TM versatility is something that we have built into our Program at each level of the pyramid.  We expose our horses to many things early in their training including long lining and harness work, obstacles, trail riding, and even trick training. Teaching your horse something new will help him become better both mentally and physically to excel at maneuvers in general.  As they progress in their training, we like to ask them to perform maneuvers in different ways.  For example, we may ask our horses to turn in a 360 degree spin and then ask for a turn on the haunches in the classic dressage style.  By ‘cross training’ your horse you add to your horse’s overall training and make him better at what you really want to do.  And if you teach the various maneuvers correctly, you will enhance their training and not dilute it.

Many people drill their horses on the same thing day in and day out without any variation in the regimen.  For sure that will teach your horse how to ride a particular way but it will also lock him in to a particular way of thinking and doing.  Horses can excel in multiple disciplines which means they are very capable of learning many things as well as different ways of doing various maneuvers.

So ‘Kick it Up’ with your horse!  Build the basics of the training pyramid and along the way spice things up with your horse by adding something new to his training routine or a different way of doing the same ‘old’ thing.

Dory

Dory is a 6 year old warm blood mare that came to NLH^TM in November of 2010 for training after her frustrated owner spent more than a year with other trainers, and with lessons trying to improve her training to no avail. “My horse wasn’t moving off my leg, she wasn’t engaged with the bit, she was stiff and temperamental. Although I was jumping her, it felt more like luck than ability. There was something missing and I needed help,” explained Dory’s owner.

After the first 7 weeks of training at NLH^TM, Dory’s owner was amazed with the results of her training. Dory was then forward, balanced, flexible, obedient and much more pleasant to be around. During this training, we not only taught Dory the Foundations series for success in her advanced training, but we also taught Dory to lay down and hobble, techniques that highly contributed to her very noticeable change in personality and more willing Partnership with her owner. Other aspects of her training included trail riding, something she had not been privy to before.

After seeing the change in Dory initially, her owner decided to keep Dory in training for more advanced maneuvers and was excited about the Possibilities she was beginning to see in their future together. She decided to enter Dory in her very first dressage competition in which Suzanne would show her to test her new found skills.

Dory was entered into a First Level-Test 3 in her first showing in dressage and proudly captured a second place ribbon following the test! Dory continues her training at NLH^TM and is being coached to new heights daily. Her owner continues to enjoy their new relationship together, and is learning through lessons at NLH^TM how to maximize the Performance and Possibilities with her special dream horse-Dory.

We have really enjoyed working with Dory at NLH^TM. She is an extremely athletic and talented mare with the potential to do great things. And we look forward to being a part of those things in the future.

Teach Your Horse To Hobble:

At Next Level Horsemanship^TM we teach our horses to hobble because it is an extremely valuable technique for teaching patience, to give to pressure around their feet which could save them from injury, and to stand and ground tie quietly. But more importantly, hobbling horses can increase the efficiency of your training program, and effectively save your horse’s life and you from the potential for serious injury.

Aside from the obvious fact that hobbling will teach a horse to submit to pressure and restraint about his legs, hobbling is also an effective way to teach them to think before they react. Restraint is not a bad thing for horses; much like we teach dogs to submit to pressure around their neck by way of collar and leash training, so to we can teach horses to accept restraint about their legs. In doing so, we teach them patience and submissiveness, attributes which ultimately translate into confidence and maturity in their training and overall persona. But for horses that are highly reactive and perhaps carry emotional baggage, hobbling can be a lifesaver for both the horse and rider.

When we gentle wild mustangs, train pushy or over anxious horses, or work with ‘problem’ horses we include hobbling routinely because it is a means by which we can teach them to think before they react. Once hobbled, horses can effectively ‘face’ their fears head on and begin to sort out real danger from perceived danger and subsequently make better decisions on how they will behave to things in their environment. For example, a highly reactive horse can be hobbled and desensitized to new objects in a logical and systematic fashion and will come to realize that he doesn’t have to react to every little thing.

Sometimes we will hobble a horse prior to his first ride so that we can desensitize him to our presence above him by petting him while mounted on another horse next to him, and to our weight in the saddle by mounting him while hobbled.

Hobble training is a systematic process and always comes after the horse has had his Foundation training first. Hobbling is a great way to enhance your horse’s training thereafter. We have routinely helped horses and continue to change peoples lives by affecting their relationship with their horses by using hobbling to help solve behavioral issues and other problems that many horses have. And it’s a great way to build your horse’s confidence and trust in you as their handler.

Someone asked me once, “What makes a well trained horse?” The question is definitely an interesting one. People aspire to do many different things with their horses and so the answer to the question may be different depending on who you ask. But for me, the answer is clear. Every well trained horse exemplifies a number of characteristics that parlay them to the top of the class to be role modes for all others. At Next Level Horsemanship^TM, there are the core characteristics that we use in the NLH^TM Training Program regardless of discipline to ultimately produce the BEST results for a lifetime of Partnership, Performance and Possibilities for you and your horse.

Read more online on page 14…

If you’re looking for a better Partnership AND greater Performance from your horse, then you should concentrate on fine tuning and finessing the groundwork in his training program.  The Foundation in groundwork cannot be overlooked if you want more out of your relationship with your horse.  And, if you’re looking to excel in any discipline, you will need to concentrate on making sure your horse has no holes in his Foundation training.  This may sound like an obvious statement, but in fact, too many people overlook the basics when it comes to training their horse.

Build the Foundation of groundwork in your training program and you will marvel at how easy it becomes to accelerate your horse’s training for specific disciplines which require higher level maneuvers.  Without the Foundations, your horse is not prepared to succeed in other areas of riding.  When training for specific maneuvers we often say that we want to ‘set our horses up for success’ by making the teaching of that maneuver easy for him to understand.  But, why not do that for him throughout the entire training program?  When you build a Foundation of ground work, you are developing a pattern of learning for your horse that will carry over to advanced maneuvers under saddle.  You are preparing your horse to succeed in learning much like we do for our children by first sending them to elementary and high school before they head off to get advanced degrees in college.

So remember, to live the Possibilities you’ve been dreaming about with your horse, it all starts with getting them good on the ground. Start there and you will quickly master the more advanced techniques because you have set your horse up for success in learning new things.

At Next Level Horsemanship^TM, we do much of our training on the trail.  Many of our training sessions combine ring work with trail work which adds value to the training because the horse is getting a real life education in addition to his academic training. And by training on the trail, the lessons that the horse learns are not soon forgotten.   Most of all, getting your horse out on the trail for training gives him a reason to do what he has been taught to do inside.  This makes him a more willing partner in the long run because what he’s been taught elsewhere starts to make sense to him when he gets to practice it on the trail.  Give it a try – grow wings and take your training sessions on the trail!

I was watching the morning news the other day and I heard the anchor person declare that ‘today’ was the ‘saddest day of the year’.  Evidently June 17th is the happiest day of the year.  Really?  I want to know who gets paid to make such assessments and better yet, why?  I’ll be my own judge of when and where my emotions flare thank you very much!  With that said, I will admit that this time of year can be a bit frustrating with the lack of abundant sunshine, more than our share of snow, ice and bitter winds and the need to muster up more than the usual amount of energy just to get outside and be productive.  Sometimes the winter doldrums do creep in, and combined with the let down from the rush of the holiday season, can leave us with a feeling of stagnation and perhaps a few extra pounds around the waist.

The BEST way to fix that is to get back in the groove and start Equi-cising with your horse….

read the full article on Midwest Equine Online at

http://issuu.com/midwestequineonline/docs/february_2011