Author: Charles Wilhelm

For over 30 years now I have specialized in working with problem horses and starting colts. I do have horses here at the barn that are shown in Western Pleasure, jumping and reining cow horse events but the thrust of the organization is colt starting and dealing with problem horses.

In communication with your horse, one of the first things to understand is that the horse thinks differently and speaks a different language than you do. It is common to humanize a horse’s behavior but you should not. For example, if you give your horse a treat every time you come into the barn and he whinnies when you come in, he is not welcoming you. He is asking for, and sometimes even, demanding his treat. Though people see this as cute and the horse being glad to see them, it is not good behavior and can lead to...

I believe that the forward cue is the most misunderstood and misused of the riding cues. It is often ignored or simply unrecognized by riders as being a vital component of communication with a horse.

We often hear the words “balance” and “collection” along with a variety of methods of achieving these goals for our horses. There are many different opinions on this broad subject and the short version of my mine is based on many years of experience working with many different horses in a variety of breeds. I have found that some really great trainers who I have worked with over the years share this view. We all agree that a balanced horse is a horse that carries himself. If you were to balance a horse on a scale, you would find...