This is part 2 of a series of videos where I take our four year old registered quarter horse, Macaroni, out for a walk at a local park with the goal of getting him used to water. In this video, we have left the trailer and are on the way to the water. When leading…
Category: Groundwork
Leading a Horse out of a Trailer
Taking a horse somewhere in a trailer can be a peaceful experience all around with practice and diligence regarding unacceptable behaviors by the horse. Horses that get away with poor habits can be a real danger though and in this video I talk about one of them: Leaving the trailer before you are ready. Horses…
Benny – 2009 Standardbred Gelding
Benny is a retired Standardbred who has some amazing owners that are looking to give Benny a new life after racing. I’ve been privileged with the job of helping Benny go from a pacing race horse to a relaxed trail and arena horse. This is part one of a three part series posted to show…
Leading A Horse While Under Pressure to Practice Safety
It’s important to practice things with your horses, like leading a horse, before you really need it. In this case I was originally just leading this horse with tarps and getting him used to them. As you can see in the thumbnail, he did pretty good but horses (like humans) have trouble multitasking and sometimes…
Horse Communication Through Rubbing a Horse on the Head
Here is a really quick video talking about and showing simple horse communication to convey your intention of being friends with a horse. This concept usually works very well with horses if they are ready for it. The key here is to make sure they aren’t trying to avoid you while you do it or…
Safety Around Horses: Controlling a horses head
Controlling a horses head can be a daunting task and possibly quite intimidating as horses are very big and can move fast when they feel the need to. There are quite a few things to do with a horse on a day to day basis that it’s vital to be able to control their head…
Road Safety With Horses
This video talks about what to think and look for with horses that are scared around roads and vehicles. I show two different horses that give two completely different reactions to traffic that is both loud and fast. Each one teaches and shows horse reactions and behaviors that can tell you what will happen if…
Training a Horse That Crowds the Gate
A horse that isn’t calm has a higher probability of being dangerous than one that is standing around calmly. In this video we talk about gate crowding, which can also be about being buddy sour or barn sour or whatever sour, but essentially is an anxiety in the horse. This particular behaviour can be hard…
Groundwork: Using Direction and Drive for Movement
In this short video I talk about what direction and drive is when doing basic groundwork with a horse. The horse in this example has a bit of trouble moving her feet around a tarp and on a tarp and as such is a great candidate for practicing drive and direction. The very basics of…
Groundwork: Training a Horse at the Mounting Block
Here’s a quick video talking about the importance of training horses at the mounting block by doing groundwork from the mounting block. One of the differences between doing groundwork at the mounting block in comparison to normal groundwork is that you are higher than the horse and it’s a different view for them. The other…