Author: Charles Wilhelm

It is good to set goals for our horses and if one of your goals is to take your horse to a show, this article will help you develop a plan. There are a lot of steps between setting the goal and accomplishing it. What I like to do in training a horse is to have a training program planned before I start. It is good to have a weekly, three-month, 6-month and yearly road map. I allow as much time as is needed for each step working with that particular horse. For example, if I start a horse under saddle, normally in about three months, the horse will be 75% to 80% finished. After three months,

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.

Safety on the trail is always our first concern. A horse that bucks, bolts or even rears when out on the trail is unsafe for the rider and for anyone who is near. This behavior is not acceptable and training is needed however, it is important to understand why a horse would behave this way. It appears that this happens frequently and there are multiple reasons why horses do this. Let’s discuss some of the reasons.