I’ve done a couple of articles on this topic but I always think this subject is worth revisiting. So what is foundation? It is the basic training that makes up the building blocks of performance. It is the point where you start with a horse and revisit to reinforce behaviors or correct them when the horse goes off track. Or, in other words, it is the skill set that makes up the foundation of all training.

Is it better for a horse to be kept in a stall, a paddock or a pasture? Sometimes we don’t have a choice but when we do, it is best to consider what is right for your horse.

I have had a lot of horses come into the barn and have received many telephone calls related to horses that buck. There are many reasons that a horse will buck. It may not be a broke horse, or the freshness may not have been taken off of it before it was ridden. There may also be medical or saddle issues. Medical and saddle issues can be one and the same.

I remember growing up and hearing that we must always ride with light hands and not pull on our horses. But what if the horse does not respond to a light rein and he pulls the reins through our hands? I believe this means we are not communicating with the horse. So, through lack of education and knowledge we end up making our horses heavier by pulling harder on the reins.

Spurs are a training aid to assist us to get a horse to go in the direction we would like it to go. We are looking for a well trained horse, whether we want the horse to be an eventer, a dressage horse, a reiner or just a good trail horse. You can look at spurs as the training wheels on a bicycle. At first the wheels are on the ground but as the rider becomes more proficient, the wheels are raised and eventually removed.