Horse info & SA blogs

BIT VS. BITLESS TRAINING

When it comes to the welfare of the horse, riders and trainers do their best to ensure that the horse is not subject to pain under saddle. One of the most common debates is about training horses to be ridden with a bit and training them to be ridden without a bit. There are many advantages to both methods. For certain situations, a bit may be more efficient than not using one. In other situations, riding without a bit may be more comfortable to the horse than using a bit. It depends on the situation, the training level of the horse, the rider’s abilities, and the goals that you are trying to achieve with your horse as to which method will work best.  

You should practice things your horse already knows before introducing something new. New skills should be introduced on something your horse already knows. Building on previously learnt skills is the key to being successful in horse training.

If you are inexperienced in horse training, using voice commands are just simple words and to the horse they are only sounds because horses cannot speak english… Think about what you will say to your horse when you want your horse to perform a specific task.

Loading your horse onto a trailer is one of life’s many challenges.  That is especially true if the horse isn’t sure that is where he wants to go.  Loading a horse onto a trailer can be dangerous if people become frustrated and impatient, and then they start trying to yank or shove an unwilling horse into the trailer.  A frightened or annoyed horse can start lashing out with his hooves or just mashing you into the side of the trailer.   The end result will be the horse will not be in the trailer and you could be hurt.

If you have not studied horse training, it can be a mystifying subject.  Even more of a puzzle is a horse with a behavioral problem.  This causes the owner stress and frustration.  Many people don’t understand that the problem usually lies with the trainer not the horse.

The animal kingdom has a pecking order, which is very similar to our military.  In the military the ranks in pecking order is General down to Private.  The General will make the decisions on where to go and what to do, etc.

Training of a horse is a gradual process of getting your horse’s attention and teaching him what you want him to do.  You want the horse to think of you at it’s lead mare no matter the gender of the horse or the owner.  Your horse may be a natural leader, which can make training a challenge.

You know horses do not have the ability to reason, which is the reason horse training is such a challenge.  You have to understand how they think so you will know what works and the reason it works.

Mistake #1 – Thinking your horse is like a dog or a cat.

Unless the new horse owner has been educated, they may think their horse is like a cat or dog.  The new horse owner may pat his thigh and say, “C’mon” a few times and the horse will just leap into the trailer like a happy dog.

Since there is no one right way or one wrong way to train a horse, you may want to change the method you are using to train your horse.  You have several different ways to choose from.  If you are not having any luck with one method you can always try another.

If you haven’t already made the purchase of a horse, here is something you might want to keep in mind.  Have a vet go with you to look at the horse before finalizing the purchase.  As the vet is looking over the horse, let him tell you what he learns about the horse.  You will have the opportunity to ask the vet questions about the horse.  If the vet does not feel the horse is right for you, listen to him when he tells you not to buy the horse.

Once your horse is consistently stopping in one stride and sliding a couple of feet when you say, “whoa”, you can begin to teach him to do a longer sliding stop.  Before you start this training make sure your horse is good at the short sliding stops, so that you will have a foundation to build on.

Mistake #1 – Assuming you can ride any horse

Horses are not all the same.  Some will let you get on and you can ride them easily.  While others are so green that you could get hurt if you have little or no riding experience.  The horses that will let just about anyone on and ride are usually the older horses.  Because they have been ridden the most they will be the most forgiving of the mistakes that a beginning rider can make.  The younger horses are a lot tougher to ride unless they have been completely broke.

The lead rope that attaches to the halter of the horse does not control the horse, and they won’t lead horses.  The lead rope lets you communicate the speed, the direction and the shape you want the horse to move.

There are some people who try to lead their horse by controlling their head with a lead rope.  This results in them pulling or jerking the lead rope and the horse will pull back or push around the person with the lead rope.

If you are either looking to buy a horse or maybe you have already acquired a horse.  Either way the will need to be trained.  Whether you do it yourself or hire a trainer to train the horse for you.