Listening instead of talking to your horse
Posted by Irina Yastrebova on Monday, November 12, 2007 10:10 PM
When you ride a horse that you do not know and the horse is not a youngster always keep in mind the horse was treated and taught in a certain
way. Very often the horse was mistreated or wasn't taught enough and has a baggage of memories and habits that can be annoying, or even dangerous.
I'm not talking about horses that charge, bite or do not let human near them. I'm talking about ordinary horse about 10-12 years old that can be
caught, saddled and ridden. The big question is how.
It takes time to get to know the horse and the tricks and habits he has learned throughout his life. Do not jump to conclusions very quickly.
Let the horse tell you his story. Why is he shy around the head, why any time you touch the reins he shakes his head or pulls, why is he nervous when
you ask him to go forward?
One example, the horse was very upset to halt. Couldn't stay, shook his head up and down violently? Very often people would start yelling
and jerking reins to chastise the horse for not behaving. When I taught him to stop from my seat instead of reins I have realized that his
problem was fear of reins and contact. Using reins to stop him bothered him so much that he couldn't deal with the situation.
Happy riding...
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