Are You Encouraging Your Horse to misbehave?

When your horse misbehaves how do you handle it?

You probably scold her, correct her and continue riding.  That's what I thought I was doing too.

My little mare was almost uncontrollable when I got her.  She would let me sit on her back, but wouldn't listen to anything I asked her to do.  She would walk when she wanted and turned wherever she wanted to go. 

Since then we have made so much progress! She listens 90% of the time. 

But just a few weeks ago she decided to buck every time I asked her to trot.  I would ask for a trot, she would begin the trot, then buck and stop.  I would yell at her, then we would start walking again.  Her bucks got bigger and I gave her a slap and yelled at her.  This went on for 3 days.  Then I figured it out!

Every time she would buck she would get out of trotting.  She would get to stop for a minute and go back to walking.  

So, to fix the problem, every time she bucked I would push her faster.  I wouldn't let her stop.  Then when I got a good 10 seconds of trotting without a buck I would reward her by stopping and giving her a scratch.  I continued this, trying to get a few more seconds without a buck every time, and now just 2 days later she doesn't even attempt a buck. 

So pay attention to just how you handle your horse misbehaving.  Are you accidentally rewarding them for bad behavior? Are you letting them get away with being bad?  

Try to listen to what your horse is telling you!

There's me and my little sassy mare!

Don't forget to subscribe to our mailing list!

Have a horse you're trying to train? 

Download this Ebook Horse Training Secrets Revealed to learn the techniques and skills of old time horse trainers.  Learn to have a deep understanding of the horse and his natural instincts.  

Thanks for reading!!