If your horse respects you, he will be relaxed around you and still be tuned in to you.
He will know that you are the leader.
If he steps out of line and you must get tough, he will understand and will not hold it against you.
If he encounters a potential threat, he will trust you and draw strength from you.
You, in turn, will trust him to follow your instruction.
You will respect him.
This is called bonding.
The very first step in training your horse is to bond with him.
A few things to remember about horses in general: Once you have bonded and your horse trusts you, he will rarely test the boundary blatantly.
He may, however, test little by little just to see how far he can go.
Do not let him get away with little things.
You need to make sure the horse knows that you are the leader immediately - and without feeling guilty.
Your horse will understand and will not hold it against you.
You do not have to use force.
Most of the time a sharp "NO!", a tap, or a shift in your body will suffice.
Learn your horses body language.
If you understand your horse and he understands you, you can have a conversation.
You'll find more info on our website.
Learn to give back with your own body language.
You can teach your horse to read your body language.
Develop your own body language to make it easy for him to "listen" to you.
If you are consistent, your horse will learn it fast.
Try to find three or four things you can do to communicate to your horse.
Repeat these over and over for the first week or so.
Then add more as you need them.
I'll share four of my "body language" examples.
You can use them or create your own.
Whatever you do, be consistent.
Bend one knee and slump shoulders - communicates relaxation and pleasure Throw shoulders back and stiffen body - communicates alertness.
Be prepared.
Tap right hand to left shoulder - communicates "I have a treat and it's for you".
(this is usually done when the horse is on the other side of the pasture) "Anch".
(It's really hard to type this sound.
) Basically it is like a game show buzzer when they get the wrong answer.
The sound is easy to make.
Quick and to the point.
- communicates "wrong answer".
I use it when he is doing something I don't like.
If he tries to grab a mouthful of hay as we walk past the bales, I'll simply give him the sound and he straightens right up.
In the beginning, the sound was quickly followed by a sharp tap or a yank on the lead rope, But now all I need is the sound.
It's used as a warning to keep him in line.
After you and your horse have mastered these body language cues, start adding any more that you can think of.
The more your horse understands you, the easier he will be to train.
Just remember to show him "relaxation" and "I have a treat for you" cues as often as possible so he always looks for your cues.
Horse training notes