Horses rise or fall to your level of expectation, no matter how high or low. If you think he’s going to spook at something, he generally will. If you think he is going to throw a fit about getting in the trailer, he will oblige (especially if his emotional outbursts have gotten him what he wanted in the past). On the other hand, when your expectations are high, and you have clear parameters of obedient and compliant behavior, he steps up.
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Each horse is different and the amount of time to spend on training depends on the age of the horse, the physical condition, where the horse is at in his training and his personality. By personality I mean his emotional level. Is the horse flighty or calm, willful or compliant? These factors determine how quickly the horse can learn.
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To review, we have discussed important steps to prepare for training on the trail, including reading the horse to recognize his inner energy level and working with him to release it, preparing the rider through warm up and stretching exercises, and building safety and confidence on the trail. I’ve also covered training tips for dealing with the horse who wants to always be in the lead.
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It’s feeding time and the horses know it. Feed buckets are rattling; there are nickers and the banging of hooves against gates.
In most stables the concentrate or “grain” is given first – to satisfy the immediate need and calm the stable. Even if hay is given simultaneously the concentrate will be eaten first. But is that wise?
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Nelson Mandela suggested our primary fear was not that we would fail at something. What we fear most, he said, is our great capacity to achieve—it demands we leave our comfort zone and take action.
Linus of the comic strip Charlie Brown said the heaviest burden a person carries is “great potential.”
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