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How to Control the Horse’s Shoulder Video

This video, made possible by extension specialists at the Louisiana State University Ag Center, discusses how to control the horse’s shoulder while riding.

Teaching the Rollback Video

In this video, made possible by extension specialists at the Louisiana State University Ag Center, specialists discuss how to teach your horse to perform a rollback, a common maneuver in reining classes.

Teach your horse the Rollback:

The Rollback is actually 3 seperate moves – Stop, Turn, and a Lead Departure

Start by walking your horse.
– Ask for the Stop, drop your hands, give the release
– Ask for the Turn, drop your hands, give the release
– Ask for the Go with a Lead Departure

When you get to a lope, it might look like one move, but it is actually these 3 put together with a little speed.

One of the best ways to teach this is to:

Teach the stop. Stop straight and have your horse relaxed

Turn around 2 or 3 times, find your rythem, then ask for the go with a lead departure. This will get your horse out of the idea of jumping out of the rollback too early.

Again, Stop, Turn, ask for the Lead Departure.

Then, as your gain confidence, simply put it all together with a little speed.

If you do it smoothly with your hands and smoothly with your feet, it will become an easy and automatic manuever for your horse.

Tips on using Clicker Training Effectively

Training animals with a clicker has been proven to be very effective. A great positive reinforcement, it was derived from the study of operant conditioning. It is extensively used on any kinds of animals and used during the acquisition phase of training a new behavior. However, once the animal responds from other cues — such as, verbal and physical cues & the clicker is no longer needed.

Clickers are great for horse training. They respond exceptionally well with it. Many equine trainers use it and succeed almost effortlessly. Trainers usually pair it with other rewards such as food treats, verbal, and physical praises. The horse is encouraged to repeat the favorable behavior. It creates a happy, and eager to learn and please disposition for your horse.

The intelligence of horses is superb. They adapt well to positive reinforcement training. In fact, there is no other way more effective than positive reinforcement and that can be said to all animals. The clicker is one of the most useful devices to implement positive reinforcement and it is just a small plastic. Big things do come from small packages!

However, clickers should be used sparingly and on the right moment. It is pretty useless and may even jeopardize your training objectives if you just click, click, and click for no apparent reason.

Tips on how to use clicker training effectively:

1. Horses are animals with tremendous appetites. That is why food is a great motivator in the equine world and when used in conjunction with clicker, the results are just amazing. The food that horses typically like is apples, carrots, and other fruits. Horse crunchies work well too and you can use grains as well but it can be awkward though. However, bear in mind that horses can get colicky and develop other digestive problems if you overfeed them. Just be wary.

Feeding, as reward, should be done a small bit at a time. In clicker training, a little bit goes a long way. Feeding them lumps of grain or a whole carrot per reward is not only impractical but may also impede with your training.

2. Know exactly what you want to accomplish. It is very important that you know the specific thing that you want your horse to do. Being clear is paramount in clicker training. Clicks must be done at the right moment. Be sure that the horse knows what you want him to do! A confused trainer will create an even more confused horse.

3. In the horse’s mind, the click is an indication that a reward is coming up. Use this to your own advantage. Make it clear to the horse that the click is useless if the command is not done the way you like it to be.

It should be mentioned that food is not only reinforcement that can be used. You can use the click with any kind of reinforcement or reward. Just always makessure that the clicks will involve something that the horse will like.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Annabelle_Cabella

John Lyons-The Trail Riding Series DVD Set

Build a great trail horse

A common goal for all trail riders is to have a peaceful, pleasant ride. This is not always achievable if your horse consistently spooks or bolts from objects. A good trail horse will not come unglued if your hat goes flying off into the wind and will allow his rider to put on (or take off) a slicker.

Building a better trail horse starts at home with slickers and hats!

Step one:

Start on the ground with your horse in hand. Slowly pick up a slicker and shake it lightly. Your horse may quickly move away, perhaps snort, and generally show fear. At this point, quietly move forward and allow your horse to smell the slicker. After your horse feels comfortable, begin to slowly move the slicker over his entire body, starting on the neck.

After your horse feels relaxed with the slicker moving over his body, slowly raise it up above his head. Your horse may show fear again and attempt to back away. Calm his fears by the rubbing the slicker over his body and try again. This area is particularly important as some horses show more fear when objects are raised above their head. Ultimately, you want your horse feel at ease as the slicker is raised up and rubbed around his ears and face.