Don't Put Off 'til Tomorrow What Must be Done Today

Quite often owners bring their horses to me to be "fixed". Most of the time what needs to be fixed wouldn't be necessary if the problem had been addressed right when it first appeared. Horses are very much like kids - if you give them an inch they will take a mile. If you don't "nip it in the bud" it will blossom into uncontrollable behavior. It's not necessarily because they are bad (both kids and horses), but because they are looking for the right answer which, in turn, creates security.

Things like standing still when being mounted came become huge ordeals if not handled at the first sign of unwillingness. Soon your horse starts backing when you're trying to get on or maybe they walk off when you are half way up. Both of these things can be embarrassing and, more importantly, dangerous. Quite often people have excuses or reasons for why their horse may have walked off and they feel it's not appropriate to correct the horse. If you are not consistent in what you expect from your horse how can you possibly expect your horse to do what you need especially in high emotion situations? How can they know what you REALLY want? If your horse won't stand still work with him until he does THEN go for your ride.

Sometimes crossing water presents a test of wills. Your horse refuses, you kick, he backs up, you spin him around then he jumps it like it's the Grand Canyon and you go on down the trail. Don't accept this poor performance and think that you can deal with it later. Work on crossing that water just as if it were his first time. Then cross it again and again until your horse does so willingly and confidently.

You ask your horse to stand still while you are talking to some friends from your horses back but instead he dances around. Back him up a couple of steps, lower his head, make him side pass. If your horse still wants to move quit talking and control his movements until he wants to stand still. In this case it is about what the horse wants. You just have to convince him that he wants what you want.

If you put off your problem until later you are just creating a bigger and sometimes more expensive job for yourself. It becomes such an issue that you end up needing to work with a trainer to get the problem under control. If this is what's necessary then be sure to learn from your trainer how to control the problem. If not, you will take your horse home and the cycle will start all over again.

Every time something comes up look at it as a training opportunity - an opportunity to create the perfect horse for yourself!

Raye Lochert is teaching and training full-time out of his California farm. Visit his website for more information. http://rlhorsemanship.com