You make riding and understanding a horse seem so easy! Of course, you've got a lot of years under your belt. Keep those videos coming. I'm glad I found your site.
Hi, I wanted to thank you for putting these training videos on here. I have a mare who I haven't rode in a while due to her flighty issues caused by a situation we encountered a few years ago. Your videos are giving me encouragement on things to try with her. The situation I am referring to is that I was riding her on a road to town to get her cogins tested because we don't have a trailer and that seemed to be the best way to do so. I had ridden her on the road several times and felt pretty confident she would be fine. It was a dreary wet day and we came apon a camel that was fenced in and making some strange noises. I could tell my horse was getting really nervous so i flexed her trying to keep her focus but instead it made her flex and go in circles beside the road and there was a ditch and i could see her fall into it with me under her so I "gracefully" dismounted and she bolted. Luckily she stopped in about 100 feet and stared and snorted while a by-standard grabbed her rains. I ended up lounging her passed the camel until she was wore out and then I got back on her and rode her to the place that was doing coggins testing. I really did't want to go through that again so I took a different route home but on that way home we came across "BUFFALO!" She caught wind of them and started getting nervous again. This time I let her truant by them while looking at them. We made it passed them and made it home safely! The only injury I had is she stepped on my pinky toe when I was lounging her passed the camel. Since this encounter I have ridden her a handful of times but she is flighty over other animals and so I've bought some animals and that seems to help some and I've tried de-sanitizing but shes fine with everything I've tried(plastic bag on stick, bags of soda cans tied up in tree,a houla hoop that rattles,etc.) its the live animals and things that move. I wish she would have gotten spooked at something i could have worked with her on but i don't know anything about camels and I didn't want to make it worse for her so we just had to leave that situation. I have been trying to figure out how to reach my horse and gain back that respect and safety for both her and me. You have given me a lot to try and work on THANK you! Angela
I would prepare the horse FIRST with ground work to get him listening and focused on me...the leader. If you're already on a ride and the horse gets so nervous that it makes you feel unsafe to be on him, stop (one rein), get off and do ground work until he's prepared (focused on you and no longer worried about his surroundings because he's listening to you.) If the horse has nervous energy he needs a job to do to release some of this energy. He needs his feet to be put to work with a job which he's familiar already because you've taught these ground work skills weeks or months beforehand. If you stop and wait for the horse to relax on his own time...it's like sitting on a keg of dynamite..not knowing when it will explode! If a horse hasn't learned how to come "down" from being out of his comfort zone (which, in training you want to go there to create some anxiety, but not so much as to cause "panic")in order to be able to show him there's light ahead of this scary tunnel where he's safe again. If you never bring up the horses emotions, he will never learn how to come back down into "calm". I think this needs to be addressed and you need to go back to visit this part of training to create a more secure, trusting horse. All horses will get nervous at some time, so your job is to teach them how to deal with it so they can become "un nervous"! John Lyon's technique is to teach the "head down" cue! Different strokes for different folks. You need to find the technique that not only works for YOU, but keeps you SAFE! Judy Weinmann
My crazy mare always is looking for something to spook at. I used the one rein when she was bolting . What I was doing was completely ineffective till I realized I was asking her to turn away from the barn. So I switched rein and the technique worked perfect . When I was hanging on for dear life asking for the rein away from the barn I was way our of the saddle, my voice command failed. It was a disaster in the making
Excellent video. I grew up with horses, but it's been a couple decades since I've had the opportunity to ride. Nor did I ever have much formal training, but I tend to "get" critters. Now with the hope of horses once again on the horizon, I'm working on upping my mental game so that i can be ready when it happens. Found myself watching your video and saying, "This is what I'd do..." and sure enough it was what you suggested. Yay me - One of the nifty things is you make me feel comfortable with my own instincts. I'd like to be a much better rider. I think your vids will be a great help with that. If you haven't already, I'd love to see you do some videos on having a good seat, being soft on the mouth, holding the reins so that it's comfy for the horse etc. (Or please point me in the direction of videos you've already done.) I'm western trained, so I think there's a lot that we miss there - it was just "get on the horse and start riding."
I ride a OVERLY nervous Arabian mare. I have had her for about f=six months and have done some heavy work with her on the ground. But she never really seems to calm under the saddle, unless ran in lunge circles for a hour. Which i hate doing because i love RIDING. I keep it calm ad slow, but she busts out into runs, and i have to constantly remind her to slow. She works herself up into nervous sweats and prances. I have to worker her on the ground DAYS before riding. I believe her old owner never rode her after she was fully trained, she also didnt have a lot of confidence when riding. She got away with a lot of bad habits. I Am going to take your advice from this video and the -How to calm down a hot horse- video, and work with her this way more. Thanks!
Thanks for posting this! I started taking riding lessons last month for the first time in seven years and I am as green as grass. I've only ridden actual lesson horses in the past and the fastest gait I have learned to ride is the trot. Now, the lessons that I'm taking are with a group of other student riders; all of them have many more years of experience in the saddle than I do. The horse that I am borrowing for the lesson isn't exactly a lesson horse. (None of the horses there are.) He's used to being ridden by a skilled rider. Because of this, I get the impression that he can feel that I'm not very confident and knowledgable and, as a result, he is taking advantage of me. When I try to get him to stop, he will only stop for a second before spinning backwards very quickly and thrashing his head up and down. And when that happens, I lose my balance and have an internal panic attack. How do I go about correcting the situation and, perhaps more importantly, remain calm and balanced in such a situation?
thank you for this video. If a horse is extremely high strung, how much ground work would you expect to do before riding the horse? And what would you do on the ground to work on slowing down and stopping easily? thanks for your help, Gigi
That occurs most often when a rider tries to use rein to hold back a forward horse. One of my friends complained because his horse is always jiggy. He rides on a tight rein constantly. I took her out on a loose rein. She was too forward for a little while so I just let her move. Soon she was riding at a calm forward walk on a loose rein. Her owner is just nervous of riding at higher speed which in turn got his mare nervous as he held her back.
Very helpful video! I know you posted this several years ago, but horses don't change with the passage of time. I have a hot OTTB who has a ton of talent and a busy mind to match. He also happens to be very tall. :) (Not the one in my picture, BTW...this was my awesome Trakehner who passed last year.) Thanks from California, USA.
Thank you very much for this! Just came across this while looking for solutions for my horse who is very nervous and fidgety outside the arena. Stopping isn't the issue but her being over responsive is but hoping these will help!
To: +Liz Maldonado: I believe a lot of people's problems stem from handlers and or riders not being effective in getting the horse's attention. When you allow a horse to "dink around" or "look over hill and dale" You've just lost your CONTROL. Control is what gives you confidence, isn't it???? I'm not saying a horse shouldn't be able to look at new things...that would not be fair! But I am saying the horse shouldn't become fixed or focused on everything that moves or makes a noise when you're riding or handling him... (do your desensitizing at home so he's not antsy at every little thing that moves and makes a noise). After he's glanced/seen it, keep moving him forward with his attention back on you. You can get his attention/mind back on you by doing things as subtle as taking up a rein just enough to get a slight bend, then release (if the horse isn't pulling), or use leg aids to move him slightly sideways, or shoulders in or out, or haunches in or out, or do a half halt, etc. It really shouldn't take much to get the horse's mind back on you! Judy Weinmann
Lovely clear videos, thank you!. This horse looks like it behaves similarly to mine who was allegedly brave when i got him, but is actually a bit of a nervous ninny. I've had him a year and a half but he can be variably nervous - he's got a lovely short back and jumps sideways in a nanosecond and trots with huge extravagance only to stop dead if he sees something. We've been doing some join up to improve my leadership to start with - hope that is the right move buts seems sensible so i can at least push him on with some conviction!. Do you have a link to the groundwork you'd use here? The particular point i noticed here that i would love your thoughts on is that this horse looks around, seems to play with the bit and resist a bit which is what happens to me. Should i be correcting the looking around asking for his attention or will i become a nag that just escalates the tension? what i mean is when is looking around and being interested ok as long as i keep his feet moving? If he fixes on something circle? The other contentious point - on a hack sometimes he is pulling his head down on the bit almost like he's asking to relax and go long - from what i've read in the last few days about relaxing a nervous horse i should let him stretch and chill? That may be a critical mistake of mine, but won't that mean that when i do take up the reins for him to work he'll object - or should i just combine the two and eventually he'll be able to cope with being 'on the bit - if that is what i am?' for longer? I just feel as though letting him pull the reins down and effectively being rewarded by relaxing might give the wrong message! Sorry - long response - meant to keep it short! Vowing to watch one of your videos every day till i get him right! :-) Thanks.
My horse was hit on the head and is very headshy. I get super nervous tacking her up and my trainer has to bridle and gurth her because she gets scary. What should I do?
it would be a great benefit to not use a D ring bit, which encourages a horse to lean. Your horse is resisting the bit continuously. There is a reason why D rings are used with race horses, it gives them a hard leverage to lean on.
Thanks for this video, my mare is usually calm and relaxed but this morning few friends came to my pasture and we rode trails, so my mare was excited, walking fast and didn't want be too far behind the others, We was at lead some but she acted same like in a hurry . When we would stop for moment she wouldn't be very still and I would just turn her in circles. I think she was just excited about the other horses with us, but I would have enjoyed ride more if she was more relaxed...
My horse gets really nervous and bucks and rears when another horse gets too close in the ring, especially when the other horse trots or canters by. Is there a way to desensitize him to it?
What should I do when I'M the nervous one ... I love horses but some times when I go to horse camp a get nervous and it's at camp so I can't get off my horse to fix it or I'd be holding up everyone else. It doesn't happen very often but camp is the only time I get to ride and I just want to enjoy it not be a nervous Nellie
So, now that you teach the pulley stop and say it's safer than the one rein stop, would you switch to the pulley stop with a nervous horse, or still use the one rein as you do in this video?
This is a great video, and it kind of works on a horse that I'm riding, Smoke. He has anxiety pretty bad, and scares people, and even his owner is scared to ride him. I'm not scared to ride him, so his owner, Melissa, asked me if I could "fix" him for her, and I would, if only I knew how? Is there an easier way to get him to relax? He is involved in dressage and western, but he doesn't do dressage anymore. I recently got him to do some dressage, somehow, he calms down sometimes. (Still has anxiety). He was abused before, by a previous owner, which is why they got him in the first place. If you're going to make a video on this question, riding an anxious horse, and how to calm him down, let me know. Thanks.
yeah but what if you are in a riding lesson and the horse doesn't calm down. you cant just start doing random circles in the middle of the arena. what would you do if the horse you ride in the lesson wont relax?
Hi I was just wondering whether you had any tips for handling head shy horses. My horse is a little head shy around her ears and was like that when I bought her. When she is relaxed I am able to touch around her ears however she can get quite nervous sometimes. How can I prevent this?
My horse will only stop with her bridle. I lightly touch the reins and she throws her head up and will either buck or start cantering. Once I get her relaxed, she’s ok. This usually takes her 15 minutes of walking. At shows, however I don’t have that time. Any tips on helping her relax from the ground??
Hi Callie, thank you for the informative videos! They always help. I have a problem with my nervous horse while leading. He spooks easily and charges and/or rears unexpectedly. I realize this is a natural reaction for a horse dealing with fear, but also realize that it is dangerous for me as well. He usually gives me a heads-up to something that is worrying him by snapping out at me sometimes biting if I don't get the meassage. I am addressing this by tapping him in the shin with my boot to divert his attention but I have noticed that he this is not fazing him as much as when I started. So, my question is: how to stop a rearing, bolting horse while leading?
The first thing I would do is keep more distance from him as you lead. Try this exercise: walk forward and stop, if he doesn't stop immediatly keeping the distance between you turn around and spin your lead rope, setting a boundary for your personal space. Repeat until he learns to pay closer attention to your movements. This will prevent him from biting you as well because you are simply out of reach. If he starts getting jumpy back there turn around, spin the rope and have him back up a few steps. Essentially you are asking for his attention back, but at a safe distance. Here is a video that shows this exercise: Setting Boundaries and Dealing with Bad Behavior
First of all, thank you for all The great Videos you Upload! I have one question - I read in a Horse Magazine that (instead of pretending The scary Corner isn't there) it May also help to Look in The same direction as your horse to asure him/her that you are aware of your Surroundings, but still there is nothing to be scared of.... what is your opinion on that? thank you in advance! :)
Hi! That was useful, thank you, however I am currently bringing on an 18hh ex racer who has ‘fussy feet’ and hates to stand still but I have no access to an arena - I only have bridlepaths!!! He goes side to side and backwards and I get nervous he is going to rear / buck. Any suggestions?!
I have a problem i am gonna be riding a very Hyper horse and i am going to show her in dressage i do not have anytimr to Ride her or do groundworl with her before the show what do i do ?
I have an issue with a horse that is very nervous. The issue is, she's perfect on the ground. I have no issues on the ground. As soon as I get on her, she tenses up and goes forward. I make sure I don't have my legs in her, I sit very relaxed, and I've had to restart her 4-5 times on the ground. I have no idea how to fix this. It's getting frustrating but I don't want to give up. It's just that nothing works.
You can turn her in a circle till she stops, breath deeply and get off again. as you have been doing....getting off again, getting back on-etc etc-till she relaxes and then GO PUT HER AWAY...or take her for a nice walk from the ground...do the same the next day-till she remains relaxed the first time you mount. Then ask for one step or two forward...etc etc etc...going slow is going fast! This can take months of at least three or four times a week. At some time-she was taught that after a person got on her back-something scary, painful or something she was not prepared for happened. OR-she was never taught to stand still and calm while mounting-till you are set to go. You have now-the task of undoing that mind set. Make sure your saddle fits and that she has no need for chiropractic.
In the comments above you mention how a nervous horse is not in a good mind frame and how working on the ground is safer for both I agree with that, my Qh gelding is a high energy and nervous, he is doing great under saddle but I'm having trouble with the trailer part, from what I can see and how well I know him his refusal to load sometimes is not because he's being obnoxious or stubborn but because he is TERRIFIED, I've tried many things such as not rushing, food bribery loading him last and even loading him and letting him ride backwards.... any helpful suggestions would be appreciated...fyi the trailer we use is a six horse stock trailer with a hard top......
To: +firebuffE103 I like Clinton Anderson's and Pat Parelli's techniques....there are demos on this site (You Tube) that you may find very helpful...they usually address scared/terrified/ and horses who have had bad experiences. Treat them all the same. Judy Weinmann
k i have a question i have a horse that will do anything u ask of him in the saddle but if u get off of him off the protpy he becomes really nervous will come in to your space press up to your body and just stiffen at the neck and starts sweating and hole body shaking and sorry to post like this i have autism been ridding for years
could you make a video on how to get the horse to stop on the lunge line? I'm having trouble with it.. I say whoa and it's like he is deaf.. he just keeps on going. I assure you he is not deaf
+Megan M try stepping forward towards his shoulder, facing him and saying a firm whoa. if you stand towards him that should give him signals to slow down at least, just as standing to their hindquarters tells them to go forward
You are great! Really great video! I have a question… I have a 6 year old, Quarter Horse Paint Mare who I got about 2 years ago. She was very green, unbroke, and highstrung, and I have worked with her ever since. Now she is fairly calm and broke. I ride in an Equestrian Drill team. We've been through 1 year of it together and everything went pretty smoothly, but I want to know how to canter slowly because in drill, our horses are required to canter in tight spaces, at the speed of a trot. My horse always seems to be a little highstrung in public and I am having trouble keeping her calm and slow. Could you help me with this? Thanks so much!
Hi Amy, first I would work a lot on your horse's balance, so that a short collected canter is as easy as it can be for her physically. From there, it will probably take getting her out in public as often as possible so she can get used to it, and also doing some trial and error with your warm up routine. She may do best with almost no schooling, just hanging out then performing, or she may need working to focus and "settle in." Hope this helps!
What if after 30 days they are bolting at my cat running thru the yard? No buck, just bolting. They will stop with your technique, but what ground work will minimize this?
Thirty days is not that much. Perhaps he's never seen the cat bolt through the yard-so for him-it is new! ;) See my comment to Ever Simons and Reagan Little above. Good luck!
One time after winter I was riding at Stewart Stables and the horse I was on had not been riden in 4 mouths and I want to know how to get a horse back into the swing of things after a hash winter or something to where the horse has not been riden in a while.But the thing is I use a western saddle.what would you suggest me to do with a horse like that?
To: +Heather Thompson Teach your horse various ground work skills (I recommend Clinton Anderson's You Tube videos beginning with round penning) then teach backing out of your space, yielding hind quarters & forequarters, and "sending exercise" are all very helpful in gaining respect from your horse. Ground work prepares the horse for riding because it teaches the horse the same skills that you will be using when you ride. Basically you must gain CONTROL of his 5 body parts! If you can easily move your horse's feet forward, backward, left and right you are on your way to a respectful, safe, confident, trusting horse/partner! Judy Weinmann
what if your horse hates being worked/ridden by themselves? and they get all worked up and you don't feel safe doing anything with them when they are without another horse or pony.
To:+country18lover ; I like Clinton Anderson's solution. In short: hustle their feet around their buddy/ie. make them WORK where they want to be...AND let them rest ( and rub/praise them) when you take them away (not too far to begin with but increasing this distance away from buddies each time you repeat) So it's work by their buddies (or barn if they're barn sour) AND REST away from their buddies/barn. Won't happen overnight, but with repetition for a few days in a row will give you the result you are wanting. Check out his videos on You Tube to see if he addresses this specific issue...or get and read his book.
When my horse spooks well most horses tense up before they spook my horse doesn't well that makes it harder to stay on when I can't tell when he is scared or is spooking
Hi Linda, That's tough - most horses have that quick "freeze" response before the spook. Does your horse spook mostly on days he is nervous? In other words, do you have at least some warning that "today is a spooky day"
Hello, really nice video and helpful information, i was wondering if you can do a video on How to keep a horse going while collecting him, specially that my horse needs alot of legs, so what gets me confused is when i get my leg strong on to him, and collect with my rain he stops :D so how do i keep him going meaning in canter. thanks
Hi, The key to collection is that first your horse can go forward with implusion by himself, then you can ask for the collection with your seat and body first and then hand. I would work first on having your horse go forward without needing a lot of leg, then go back to the collection work :) Good video suggestion though, thanks!
Callie Rae King Ah i see, but what might happen is if i don't collect him with my hand, he might knock me off xD because he like to play around too much, but he is getting better at, but still can happen, like i can't just sit there give him rain like other horses because i expect any thing from my horse :D
To: +Whizzer X The horse is telling you you're holding him back...using too much rein. Read and learn more from many different people (most you will find to have similar techniques/cues for teaching this). Never try to pull the horse's face back into vertical position...instead you want to "drive" him forward into the bridle. You probably shouldn't be trying to get collection at canter until he's good at walk and trot. Judy Weinmann
+Judy Weinmann Well thank you so much for the information, i kind of quit riding :) had to travel away from my horse to study :( so now i am can't ride, it's kind of sad but i can't do anything here the Equestrian is really expensive. but good information thank you.
HELP! my horse Sugar has a very strong self-preservation. She is a nut sometimes. Just the other day she was scared for her life because of a goat! could you please help?
Hi-you might have "fixed" this by now-but I had the opportunity to pony my wee un-confident mare for a year or so and then off and on after that as a pack horse off of a steady older gelding. You can mimic this with a lot of walks with ground work skill building (See Steve Halfpenny). Also worked on her ground manners and getting her to as many different situations as possible...hauled her to the sale barn, parades, rodeo grounds, shows, by the train, in the Mountains, and around several other horses and livestock. I've put every possible thing I can on her-irrigation tarps, tools, bubble wrap, hides, fluttery and heavy... I am her "momma" and she believes in my ability to keep her safe-but she also is super fast and reactive-I just try to stay in "nuetral", pick myself up off the floor when that happens, and do a bit of calming things-go up to the "scary whatever"-which I usually haven't seen-so haven't been able to read her body language before hand. If I do assess a potential "problem" or she signals me in her little arab way-my approach is different and consists of calmly keeping her feet moving in a direction I want her to-while allowing her to stay in her comfort zone area-so that might mean back and forth-or circular around it or??? because moving the feet allows her to feel she is "escaping"-even though I am choosing the route! :). Eventually she gets curious and the zone shrinks until she checks it out. Once she sees it is ok-she's good to go and doesn't forget.
Where i go to ride we only stop the horses with the reins so their mouth is really hard and unsensitive. I think its very painful for both rider and horse i dont really understand why our trainer teach us this way i think the way you stopped your horse is much easier and more humane. Sorry for bad English.
Hi Don, do you mean orphaned, or a horse kept totally alone after weaning? Actually, I don't believe I have worked with either. At least from what I know of their background, the horses I work with have all had interaction with other horses. Do you have a horse that was raised like this? What are the challenges, I'm curious. Thanks!
He was alone after weaning. So he was the whole herd had to worry about danger food water sleep too much for him . He has a special bond with me i had a lot of bad advice at first so i broke him the way i wanted and now 60+ miles latter he is about broke now i am training him small tricks . I live and work 20 feet from his barn so i have contact 24/7 . He knows i will protect and take care of his needs . I have learned many secrets to horse training from working with him.
Don Allman I am sure that would be stressful for a horse, especially as a youngster! It's great you live and work so close, I am sure your bond with him will continue to develop!
Go to a training barn and start with the basics on a very steady older school horse. Being scared is NORMAL! :) Don't let anyone push you into doing what you are neither prepared or comfortable with. If walking in an arena is all you ever do-fine. If taking care of an older or crippled horse is all you ever do-fine. I as you gain skill and therefore confidence-who knows where your riding will end up-but don't expect to become olympian-it isn't realistic for 99% of us! :)
There are no particular tips and tricks. Just relax, even if you're riding a horse you don't know. If you're tense and always nervous, the horse or pony can feel that tension underneath you. That can sometimes make the horse tense and worried about you as well, and therefore might go faster or not go at all. Practice on horseback, just relaxing, in walk, trot, canter, etc. Even when your standing still. If it still doesn't work, ask your instructor.
Stef Maxwell for me it was definitely just being on a horse more the more I rode the more comfortable I got and also when I taught myself about horses see what makes the lesson more enjoyable and understand horses more so that if something does happen i'm less worried and nervous because I know what to do and also falling off helped I was always afraid of falling off but as soon as i did I realised its not as bad as i thought and i'm more confident rider now
To:+Stef Maxwell: See the suggestions I wrote for Heather Thompson...above. When you have CONTROL, you gain confidence! Learn from the ground (by doing ground work exercises) up. Judy Weinmann
The horse I always ride is hot although I have gotten him pretty calm and responsive nearly all the time. I still have a bit of trouble if another stallion challenges him.
That’s not good. Because then when you get off the horse will think that whenever they are antsy you get off and work them ( let them run or canter or trot)
If your going to address a hot horse you should demonstrate with a hot horse this is no help. Explaining is easy but actually doing it is different cause all kinds of things happen.
+Gerry Cox Yeah and it would have been good if she could at least sit up straight and put the horse on the bit as well. If the horse is round and truly working from back to front, he won't have time to spook at things and be nervous.
"Schwartz Dressage" - yes but this video is intended for audience that may not know how to get horse to "tryly work from back to front". So called backyard riders need this information too. And Gerry Cox, surely it would be cool, but you can't "order" a horse to be super nervous for a video, and her tips are still valid. You don't really need to see those tips in action to understand them.
Gerry Cox . Totally agree. I have an Arabian who can be very nervous. I find getting her to supple and flex works wonders. She almost immediately will relax and is fun to ride.
My first step would be to get rid of the humiliating, trivializing name. Whoopie Pie! It says the animal is second class even before you get on it. And then it's not confident. I can see why.
Hi I was just wondering whether you had any tips for handling head shy horses. My horse is a little head shy around her ears and was like that when I bought her. When she is relaxed I am able to touch around her ears however she can get quite nervous sometimes. How can I prevent this?
