Occasionally, people ask me to do a little training on their horses. My specialty is trail training; I turn good horses into excellent trail horses. My training is a little out of the mainstream, because most of what I do is to give the horse some very solid experience on some pretty tough trails. My thought is that when a rider asks one of my horses to handle an obstacle or tough trail, the horse should be thinking, “I’ve handled worse. This is a piece of cake!” Most riders will never ask of their horses the things I ask of mine on the trail. I expect my horses to handle any obstacle asked of them carefully and without undue hesitation. I expect them to carry their rider to their destination and back, safely, whatever that may entail.

As I have worked with horses over the years, I have learned a few things about horse training and some of the mistakes horse trainers, particularly novices, make (believe, me. I’ve made them all). I thought I’d just outline a few of these things, in hopes they may make sense enough to help the average horse owner as they learn and train their own horses.

I’ll start with a serious training mistake I see made most often by novice trainers, who, with good intentions, teach bad habits to their horses.

I’ll explain.  When a cue is given – say the touch of a heel or spur to ask the horse to move its front quarters – the horse feels the pressure of the cue. While the horse is learning what we want from the cue, he may move against the cue or get confused and reactive. He may not initially understand that we want him to move his front quarters away from the pressure of the cue. The normal reaction of the inexperienced trainer, then, would be to immediately stop giving the cue and try again. In his/her mind, the trainer is thinking, “This isn’t going the way I want it to. I will stop and try again, because I want the horse to stop doing it wrong and learn to do it right.” Sometimes the reaction of the horse to a cue is such that the rider’s thought is more like, “I had better stop this now, because this is not going to end well for me!” This is precisely the reason that most riders who claim to have been “bucked-off” of a horse, actually are guilty of jumping off after the third hop.

Now let’s examine why this training error generally results in the opposite of the desired reaction from the horse. When we give a cue to the horse, while we are thinking as described above, which is natural for a human, the horse is actually thinking along these lines: “How do I get this idiot to stop doing that!” A touch with the spur in the ribs may result in the horse moving away from the cue, which is what we want to happen. If the rider, then, instantaneously stops the cue or removes the pressure on the ribs, the horse learns that if he moves away from the pressure, it goes away! The horse’s thought? “Hey, when I moved this way, my rider stopped poking me in the rib! I’ll remember that!”

The keys to training a horse to cues are to teach the horse in stages and to be consistent in the cue.  During training, when a cue is given, the horse will normally begin to move in an effort to escape the pressure, but may not move as desired at first. The cue should be given and held.  If the horse does not react, increase the pressure until the horse does something.  As soon as the horse makes any move or effort, to any degree, approximating what we want it to do (in this case, to move its front quarters away from the cue) the pressure is released and the horse is praised.  With repetition, the horse will begin to recognize what action on its part causes the cue to go away. With each training session, more should be required of the horse before the cue is released. In time and with patience, the horse will learn to perform the move with the amount of precision that is consistent with the rider’s requirements. In other words, if you are teaching the horse to move its front quarters, it will first learn to move one step, then two. Eventually, the horse will learn to move its front quarters as long as the cue is given, even a complete circle around its hind quarters.

In the same way, if a horse reacts with excitement, or balks, or tosses its head and the rider stops giving the cue, the horse learns instantly that he can make the cue go away with that reaction. The rider has trained his/her horse to do exactly that, although unintentionally.

Now, there are times when a horse under training becomes frustrated or belligerent and refuses to respond to a cue. Sometimes the reaction is to balk, rear, or back, possibly even buck. The normal, although wrong, reaction of the rider/trainer is to release the cue and try to settle the horse. The correct response, one that will not teach the horse to continue that reaction, is to immediately switch to a different cue, one the horse understands, but which may be issued with a punitive value.

For instance, I recently gave a cue to a horse to move its front quarters, by giving a touch with the spur in front of the cinch area behind the horse’s elbow. The horse did not respond, so I increased the pressure. The horse then tensed up its muscles and pushed against the bit as if it was about to do something neither of us was going to enjoy. I immediately switched to a stern cue to tell the horse to move its hind quarters, by giving it a quick jab with the spur in its ribs behind the cinch on the opposite side, while turning its head with the reins. This is often called, “disengaging the hind quarters” by some trainers. This taught the horse that when it does not respond to the first cue given, tensing up and preparing to rear or some other explosive reaction is not acceptable (does not give him a release) and that he will get a stern cue in another direction as a result. That second cue is held until the horse is responding in a submissive way. The horse will begin to recognize that if it wants to make the first cue go away, and not get a more forceful cue in exchange, it is much easier and more agreeable to be compliant.

This leads to one of the little one-liner rules of thumb I once heard from the Parellis: Horses learn from the release of pressure, not from the pressure itself.

I have often read responses to questions on various forums in which I participate online, that decry what is commonly called “pain-compliance” training methods. I had one person respond to one of my posts: “You should NEVER hit a horse!”  Another posted, “A well-trained horse does not need spurs!”  In riding with people who hold similar views with regard to training horses, I have found these are often the same people who have the most trouble with problematic horses. I have seen horses that are pushy with their owners, that nip or bite, that kick, horses that are unruly under saddle when their rider attempts to ride away from a group, among many other things. While I respect differing views on how to train horses, and believe no training method can claim to be the only way things should be done, my experience tells me that the most important aspects of training are, first, firmness (firm, but gentle), and second, consistency. Any horse will learn to respond to any cue, if it is given firmly, gently, and consistently. Having said that, a trainer who subscribes to this as a primary tenet of his/her training methodology, will occasionally find the need to discipline a horse in training with more forceful cues or even punishment. These punitive measures will have the desired effect, coming from one who is consistently firm, but gentle. This leads me to another rule of thumb I subscribe to.

This one I learned from Clinton Anderson, from whose methodology I have learned much. It goes like this: “Ask, Tell, Insist, Enforce.” I think that is self-explanatory.  A horse will learn to respond to the heaviest cue it is trained to. It will also learn to respond to nearly imperceptible cues, if trained to them. Therefore, as a horse learns to respond appropriately to a particular cue, the trainer should ask with a progressively lighter cue, but require compliance all the same, using the above rule. Again, with patience and consistency, the horse will learn to respond as precisely as the rider/trainer requires.

Personally, I like a trail horse to respond to a solid, perceptible cue, rather than a light touch. Let me give an example. On the trail, I am often handling things such as a camera, food, canteen, gloves, etc with my hands. Because of this, I like split reins with a knot to join them (I never cared for roping reins, though). I was once riding along on a mountain trail, handling something with my hands and my horse kept trying to turn off the trail to the right, while I tried to keep him on the trail by steering with leg pressure. When it got to the point that I had to pay attention, it took me a few seconds to see what the problem was: Since I was using both hands, I had let the reins rest on the horse’s neck. The weight of the knot had pulled the reins off to the right side, which effectively gave my faithful steed the neck-reining cue to turn right! My mistake! The lesson here is that a horse may be trained to be as sensitive to the cues as its intended purpose requires.  In the arena, before show judges, one wants the horse to respond to cues that are as light and imperceptible as possible. That level of precision, however, can prove troublesome on the trail.

I have heard trainers state emphatically, that a horse should never enter one’s personal space unless invited. Personally, I don’t subscribe to this. These trainers espouse what I call a “closed-door” policy. The horse is allowed in only when the door is opened by the trainer/rider.  Their reasoning stems from concern for safety. Keeping the horse at a safe distance precludes the trainer being pawed, bitten, or pounced upon unexpectedly by the horse. My personal practice is to have an “open-door” policy in which my horse is free to enter my space unless I close the door.

I enjoy a close physical relationship with my horses, but I do not tolerate misbehavior.  My horses learn, because I am consistent in my treatment of them, what they are allowed to do and what they are not when in my proximity. They also learn how to tell when they have overstepped their bounds. They understand when they have been “spanked.”

Which leads me to another of my personal guides for training. I believe in firm discipline of a horse when it misbehaves, but there are proper methods and improper methods. I will state emphatically, that a horse should never be disciplined by use of the bit! Hands on the bit should be steady and firm. This doesn’t mean constant contact on the bit, but when a cue is given, it should be discernible to the horse. The term “soft hands” is often misunderstood to mean “no contact” on the bit.  However, when there is contact on the bit, it should be done such that if there is firm contact, it is the horse that does it. The hands on the reins should give the cue and hold the cue. If the horse pushes against the cue, the trainer should not respond by pulling back harder, but hold the cue firm. The horse should learn that it is causing the pressure, rather than the trainer’s hands. In fact, the methods described above may be used effectively to teach a horse to be supple and submissive to the bit by putting light pressure on the bit and then releasing immediately when the horse lowers its head and tucks its chin to relieve the pressure. With patience and consistency, the horse will learn to be flexible at the poll and supple to the bit.

I discipline my horses generally by a quick jab with the spurs or my heels. I don’t always ride with spurs, but I normally wear them while training and when I ride backcountry trails. My spurs have a large blunt rowel.  With regard to spurs, the smaller the rowel, the more aggressive the spur. I have seen some spurs with a small blunt ball end that some believe to be a gentle spur, when actually it is a very aggressive design. A large blunt rowel is what I prefer. Mine is shaped sort of like a four-leaf clover.

I regard spurs as a training tool.  One benefit of the spur, particularly in training, is that a finer, more precise cue may be given with the spur than with the heel of the riding boot. While spurs may be used aggressively when necessary, a light touch with a spur may give a much more precise cue than a broad heel. However, when necessary, the spur may be used aggressively, both punitively or to avert disaster on the trail. I find horses learn quicker and respond more precisely when spurs are involved.

The proper bit is also an effective training device. While it is quite the fashion nowadays to go “bitless,” there is nothing inherently cruel or evil about a bit. An understanding of how bits function is an important element for any horse trainer. I wrote a blog post about the subject a couple years ago that may have useful information for the reader.

As I said earlier, there is no perfect methodology for training a horse. Just as people, some horses respond to one training method better than another. I have learned effective elements of horse training from many horse trainers who espouse widely varied methodologies. My experience in training horses has also improved my understanding of the human psyche. Quite frankly, had I become a horse trainer earlier in life, I might have done some things differently in the raising of my own children!

The final commentary on horse training for this post, and I would not have you believe this post is all-inclusive, is this: Every rider is a trainer and both training and learning are taking place whenever a human comes in contact with a horse. A rider who gently, firmly, and consistently handles a horse, providing consistent cues, will train that horse to respond well and willingly to any desired behavior. A similar thing may also be said of those who handle a horse inconsistently, who are impatient, or who manage discipline with anger. One who handles a horse in this way may find the horse responds inconsistently and makes both itself and its owner unhappy. No amount of excellent training will overcome poor handling by the horse’s owner/rider, but a well-trained horse that is handled properly is a happy horse and a pleasure to be around.

For an excellent relationship between yourself and your horse, learn to be a trainer and not just a rider.

TH