Description

We’ve all been there. Whether it’s a great big truck, or a horse-eating sandwich bag blowing in the wind, at some point in life your horse is going to have a spook. It just comes along with the territory of working with “flight or fight” animals.

Those can be tense moments, but they don’t have to be the undoing of your entire day. If you employ the right strategies, that scary moment can be reduced to a blip on the radar.

Preventing A Runaway

Those can be tense moments, but they don’t have to be the undoing of your entire day. The key to preventing a spook from turning into a runaway is staying ahead of the action. 

No single line of communication will save your bacon when your horse’s brain has decided to on temporary leave. So you’ll need to understand how all of the aids work, and how they relate to one another. If you quickly employ the right strategies, that scary moment can be reduced to a blip on the radar.

In this class you’ll learn what those aids are and how to employ them.  Learn which rein, verbal, and whip aids are the most effective in each situation. Perhaps more importantly, you’ll learn how to improve your skills with those aids before you get into a scary situation. So we’ll cover how to train those aids into your everyday driving.

The Free Stuff

It’s one thing to take a class, it’s another to put the learning into action. You’ll get some help with that with downloadable handouts that you can print out at home.

Article ~ Driving Past the Spook – 2018 Update!

This popular article has already helped countless drivers better understand how to handle their horses in scary situations. In the 2018 update you’ll find new tips plus an easier to follow formatting. This is the one article that no driver should be without.

 

 

 

Article ~ 5 Spooks (and how to get past them)

There are certainly more than 5 types of spooks that horses are capable of, but most of them have something in common.

You want specific advise on “What do I do when my horse _______.” This article cover 5 of the most common scenarios that you’ll encounter when you horse misbehaves. You’ll get specific advise on where to focus and which aids to use to get through.

 

 

 

Lesson Plans

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Practicing the skills you’ll need to employ when your horse spooks means that you’ll have them at the ready when the time comes.

Outside Rein Tuneup

Possibly one of the most valuable tools in your rein handling is the use of the outside rein. It can be used to contain, balance, and direct your horse out of trouble. This short, easy lesson plan will help you and your horse become familiar with the outside rein aid through 3 easy exercises on 1 simple figure.

 

 

Moving Off the Whip – Sidestep

The whip can be an effective communication device during a spook, but much of that depends on the horse’s training and understand of the whip aids.  If the horse only knows the whip as a forward aid, it’s use is somewhat limited to those spooks where moving forward is the best option. This lesson plan will help you define the whip aid for your horse so that it can help you get out of a jam.