horse body language

If I’m in the room with five people, and there’s one mosquito, I’ll be the one that gets bit. Some people are like that. We give off whatever it is that the biting insects use for navigation. Some horses are like that too. Tonka is one of them. He attracts […]

Itches and Scritches

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This might look like a disobedient buck, but it’s not. When I watched the video frame-by-frame I could see that Tonka hopped behind for a stride. Like he had a glitch that needed adjustment.     This also might look like disobedience.  Dressage riders don’t like open mouths. It’s how […]

Vitamin E and Recovery

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Tonka has never had big issues with trailering, but I don’t take it for granted! When I purchased him, he loaded fine, but scrambled too fast backwards when stepping out, so I trained him to wait patiently in the trailer and back slowly when asked.  Over the years, there have […]

Optimistic Trailering

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In an ideal world, your horse confidently walks with you anywhere. A comfortable halter and lead rope provide for subtle, tactile information. Turn here. Slow down. Wait.   However, when faced with something worrisome, a horse might need more from you. We’ve all been there. A horse won’t get in the […]

Effective Luring For Horses

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We teach our dogs to come. Even the little ones will rush towards you with a bit of training. (Scooter has a hard time putting on the brakes. He stopped just behind me.)   Like dogs, horses can be taught to come for treats. However, a horse is a grazer, […]

Come! From Turnout

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It takes just one bad scare to change how your horse behaves from then on – for days, maybe months, maybe years, maybe forever. With observation, management and training, you can alleviate some of your horse’s fear, but you might not be able to “fix” it. I’m in this situation […]

Overcoming a Fearful Incident

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Last week, I drove way up the coast of Maine (Maine is a huge state!) to see my friend, Lindsey Lewis. We know each other through our websites, and we’ve met in person at training conferences. She’s been clicker training her horses for years. We talked and talked and talked […]

Horse Hugs

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Does your horse look like this when you put the saddle on?   When you try to tighten the girth, does your horse air snap, or reach around and try to bite you?   This behavior is often called being girthy (or cinchy if you use western tack). I don’t like that term, […]

The Girthy Horse

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My clients come to me with a mix of experience and training knowledge. Many of them are doing, or want to start, clicker training. Some have done a lot of research and have read books and watched videos. Some have found this training methodology on FaceBook. Almost all have heard […]

Horse Training Starting Point

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