Training + 1

This is Lika Lady Liz. She Is a 6 year old
mare that has never had a
saddle on her back or
anything else for that matter.
The first thing you need to
establish is trust and respect.
Once you have that, you can teach a green
horse to move to a gate or fence and
parallel park them there, where you can
start introducing your weight to their back.
Again use caution and care
when you do this. Work slow
and give your horse time to
absorb the new sensation of
the weight.
There are several things that could possibly
go wrong when you try this with a green
horse so work slowly. Give your horse time
to adsorb all the new information they are
learning.
1. Teach you horse good
round pen skills. Build a
foundation.
2. Work on your ground
school exercises. Learn to separate your
horse's 5 body parts.
3. Teach your horse to give to pressure.
This will come in handy when you need to
move their hind quarters to
the gate for parallel parking.
4. Teaching your horse to
back up also comes in handy
with this task.
Note when you climb up on the gate or
fence it appears to the horse that you have
grown 3 or 4 feet. Let them get use to your
new height. Again work slowly. After you
accomplish all that, lean your
weight slowly over the horse's
back while holding on the
gate or fence. If they get
nervous you can always
retreat back to the gate. When the horse is
calm you will be able to put all your weight
on their back. At this point just sit there and
let the idea sink in. Do this several times
and before you know it, you'll be riding
around the arena. Be sure to use only a
halter, lead rope and saddle at this stage.

Horses are sometimes reluctant
to face up to different footing
surfaces. Here is an example of
the horse walking over a wood
surface, which is scary and
hollow sounding to the horse.
Another good one is a plastic
tarp. Ease into these type of
tasks. Forcing them will just
reinforce their fears.

This is a great exercise to
practice with your horse. This
task builds character and gives
your horse confidence. The
curtain also gives your horse
exposure to that crinkling noise
the tarp makes and reduces
their fear of rain coats and other
foreign objects you may
encounter from time to time.

Teaching your horse leg yielding
will improve foot placement,
balance, and control. When your
horse learns to yield their legs,
they are also learning to give to
pressure. Horses by default fight
pressure with pressure. All these
tasks are great for all disciplines
of training.

I wouldn't even think of getting
on a horse's back if I couldn't
get lateral flexion to the right
and to the left. You will only
achieve lateral flexion through
trust, feel and softness. Your
horse must be willing to flex with-
out pulling and jerking. This
exercise should be done as
often as possible.

Introducing the big red ball to your horse can be a very risky
deal. Once your horse gets their confidence up to-speed it
becomes a very fun and enjoyable task for them. The idea
behind this exercise has very little to do with the big red ball,
more over, it gives the horse confidence to face scary objects.
They will learn to look to you for guidance and direction
instead of bolting off full of fear. Horses flee when frightened.
In time your horse will become much safer and more fun to be
around. There are many tools right in your own back yard you
can use to give your horse more confidence when used with
caution and clarity.

The Bridge

The Shredded Tarp

Leg Yielding

Lateral Flexion

Pushing the Ball

Bouncing the Ball

Welcome to the first addition to our
training pages. You are welcome to
use the information found here in the
training pages in your own training
programs. However we here at High
Trail Arabians take no responsibility in
the outcome of your training program
however we do encourage you to work
slowly and methodically.
Here are four facts all horses have in
common. Learn to use these things to
your advantage while training your
horse and life will get better for you
and your equine friend.

1. Horses flee when frightened.
2. Horses are Claustrophobic.
3. Horses fight pressure with pressure.
4. Horses learn from the release of
pressure.

Training tips found on these pages are for example purposes only.
We recommend persons interested in training their horses seek professional assistance.

High Trail Arabians