Training

If you just ride casually for pleasure you may not know what the side pass (a.k.a.: full pass) is, and/or you may believe that it’s something you don’t need to know about; however, this is not true. Side passing, in which your horse moves directly to one side or the other in response to your … Read more

If you’re serious about advancing in any one of the major horseback riding disciplines such as working cattle, barrel racing, reining, jumping, hunting and dressage, you and your horse must be fully comfortable and masterful at flying lead changes. What is the flying lead change, and how can you and your horse go about learning … Read more

Trail riding: it’s not just for endurance or western pleasure riders. Trail riding is a great compliment to horses and riders of all disciplines for a few reasons. Firstly, it allows a horse to become more familiar with unfamiliar situations. If a horse goes to new places on trail rides, he won’t be so bound … Read more

Training a young horse is such a rewarding experience, especially the first time around. But the question of when to start training a young horse typically centers around the moment that the rider first hops on the horse’s newly saddled back. Inspirational horse movies and the long-standing tradition of “breaking” horses seem to indicate that … Read more

Barrel racing is an exciting and enjoyable form of competition for horses and riders. Like all forms of equine discipline, it takes quite a bit of practice and preparation to be successful. You can’t just start out barrel racing and expect your horse or yourself to do well. Instead you must lay a foundation to … Read more

If you love horses and have had some luck working with your own horses, you may be wondering how you might become a horse trainer. Is certification necessary? Are there training programs you can attend? Where should you begin? In this article, we answer these questions and more. Read on to learn more on how … Read more

Bucking and rearing are dangerous horse habits that need to be stopped immediately. It’s important to note right at the outset that one of the main causes of bucking and rearing his lack of patience on the part of the rider. If you do lots of ground work with your horse, get to know your … Read more

If you take your horse on trail rides, chances are sooner or later you will have to cross water. Whether it’s a puddle or a swift river, it stands to reason that your horse will need to have had some experience with water before you attempt to cross water on a ride for the first … Read more

These days, many people seem to think of horses as vehicles rather than as living beings. The fact is, the difference between a great horse man or woman and a poor one is the ability to communicate with your horse and to understand what your horses saying to you. Horses communicate through a complex combination … Read more

You may have heard that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has recently changed its guidelines to offer an incentive to people wishing to adopt a wild horse. The BLM is now offering $1000 to help adopters with housing, care and training of adopted horses. There is a limit on the number of horses or … Read more