| If you have ever had the pleasure of riding a | | | | expect too much of their horses. The horse may to |
| well-trained horse, you know that joy. | | | | able to do what you teach him that day, but the lesson |
| A horse though, is not trained in a day. It takes time, | | | | taught will not be long-term. Allow the horse as much |
| patience and consistency. | | | | time as he needs to really "get it". Take your time and |
| When you are attempting to train a horse, allow your | | | | don't get discouraged by a lengthy lesson that |
| patience to overcome the horse's persistence. If you | | | | accomplishes a small goal. Patience is a virtue, they |
| are patient, you will win the battle every time. If you | | | | say...Just wait, it'll happen. If you feel yourself becoming |
| lose your patience, you have lost and will get nowhere. | | | | angry or frustrated, find a way to end the session with |
| Getting angry or frustrated will only compound your | | | | your horse on a good note and take a break. |
| problems. Anger has no place in horse training or | | | | Consistency, too, is most important. Your horse cannot |
| handling. Yelling, hitting, or kicking will only teach your | | | | be consistent with his performance, if you are not |
| horse to fear you. | | | | consistent with your signals. I will talk more about that in |
| There's no replacement or substitution for patience. | | | | a future article. |
| Sorry, there's just no way around it. If you're looking for | | | | Just remember, horse training is not hard, though it |
| a shortcut, well you're just setting yourself up for failure | | | | does take time. The only challenge in training a horse is |
| down the road. A horse, just like a human needs some | | | | having the patience to do it. Most people, who believe |
| repetition to learn. And, as all people, some horses | | | | horse training is hard, only think that because they try |
| need more repetition than others. | | | | (and fail) all the shortcuts that only temporarily "fix" a |
| You might come across "10 Easy steps to teach a | | | | problem (such as the use of harsh bits, spurs, whips, |
| wild horse to be ridden in an hour". Coupled with a | | | | etc.). The easier and more permanent way is to throw |
| natural tendency to want to get things done fast, it | | | | away all those material things and gadgets and |
| causes many horse owners to train too fast and | | | | replace them with a patient mind and gentle hands. |