When I say “young horses,” I mean anything under 4 years old. I get a lot of questions about what we should be doing with those yearlings, 2 and 3 year olds. The answer is quite simple.
Training Young Horses?
Training & Instruction for the Sport of Carriage Driving
When I say “young horses,” I mean anything under 4 years old. I get a lot of questions about what we should be doing with those yearlings, 2 and 3 year olds. The answer is quite simple.
I’ve had quite a few people asking me about getting horses going again after their long winter off. The question always is: How to get the horse back in shape without over-doing it, but fit that work into the already demanding schedules that humans have to keep? Start with the rule in mind: โless is […]
I have been doing a lot of 1-1 Private Online Coaching sessions recently. I always knew this would be a really useful learning tool, but honestly, I underestimated just how effective this would be! I’m so impressed with the progress my students are making within just a few sessions. In some ways, the Online Coaching […]
When you hear hooves, you naturally think of horses before you’d think of zebras. It’s the simplest explanation. When we have training issues with our horses, we don’t always use such simple logic. Occam’s razor can help!
As of December 15th, Iโve been, for all practical purposes, under house arrest.
Itโs not what you think, even if you think twice. No, I havenโt been naughty, and no, I donโt have Covid.
Iโm recovering from some reconstructive surgery on my leg.
Things you should be doing with your horse during the COVID shut-down. Lots of people are spending a lot more time at home than normal. If you have your horses at home, this can equate to a bunch of bonus time to spend with your horses. That’s a real silver lining in this difficult time. […]
Questions Answered!
You can watch a recording of my live question and answer session from March 30th, 2020.
We talked about collars, marathon times, long lining, getting lazy horses to walk, then getting the hot ones to relax, and more.
Check out the full recording plus links to the reference materials and recommended long lines.
When youโre teaching a horse to drive, sometimes everything goes great until it doesnโt. Things may go great in the preliminary work, but then you hit an impasse. Those problems can be mild, as described below. However, if the problems go unchecked, or ignored, they may be a prelude to a runaway. This question was […]
I’ve had great teachers to learn from in my life as a carriage driving trainer. Many of them were human. However, some of the best teachers have been horses.
The best ones will catching you doing your job right. The other ones will make you better by waiting for you to figure it out.
Is the single jointed bit the root of all evil? Many people shy away from a bit that has been used successfully for generations. Whatโs bad, and not so bad about a single jointed bit?
Iโm often asked, โHow much is too much contact, and how little is too little.โ The answer often depends on what it is that youโre doing with your horse. But the question of how much contact you should use goes beyond the specific activity your are doing with your horse. It can change within the course of a single workout. Instead of focusing on โHow much contact should I have?โ you should focus on โWhat is the most effective contact for that moment?โ Read more and watch the video.
Breast collars are the most common style of harness for carriage drivers of all types these days. Theyโre light weight and easy to fit to just about any horse. However, lately thereโs been some discussion about how much pressure is placed in the neck strap when your horse is pulling. Should you be concern?
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! Mine has been pretty darn good, and still going strong. I get to have two this year since my sky family will be celebrating our own โFriendsGivingโ this weekend. This is definitely one of my favorite holidays of all of them. Cook, eat, drink, be merry. So freekin […]
The most valuable skill you can teach a horse is to stand still. You may think thatโs an overstatement but itโs not even the slightest exaggeration. You can accomplish more in all of your training by giving your horse โthe skill of being still.โ Unfortunately, many people fall into the trap of thinking that patience […]
It took less than 20 seconds from start to finish, and Iโll spend the next 6 weeks feeling these 3 reminders daily: Sometimes, shit can go wrong faster than you can move. Horses, even small ones, are exponentially larger than we are. No one is above the previous two conditions coming together and putting you […]