How often do you see your favorite school horse?
Once a week? Maybe a few times a week if you are very lucky?
How many other people work with this horse each day and do you think they know and remember you?
Many of our students here at HorseClass ride lesson horses and common questions we receive are “how do I connect with my school horse?”, and “is it even possible to change the behavior or attitude of a horse when so many others are working with them?”
Most school horses do interact with many different people, but connection is still absolutely possible. So is changing their behavior, even if it is just with you 😉
In this video I will share three keys to better connection with your horse – and these are not only for school horses, they are equally important and effective with your own horse!
P.S. This October, I will be offering an all new Balanced Riding Course. This course is not just about learning how to ride or train a horse, it is equally about learning how to see past the words that are used, to recognize what is really going on between a horse and person, and to choose what is best for you.
In my upcoming FREE Balanced Riding workshop, we are going to separate fact from fiction for 3 BIG Riding Myths. Together, we’ll investigate each riding myth, how and why they’re holding you back, and what to do instead.
We get started October 11, so click here to learn more and join the FREE Balanced Riding Workshop.
8 Responses
Thank you on behalf of school horses. Not excuse for not doing fairly well at the barn where I ride. Each lesson horse works 1 hour a day for about4 to 5 days a week. Them remainder of their time is spent hanging out in large paddocks with their group with feed 24/7. And “my” horse did not turn out to be a good lesson horse so I lease her and I am her only rider. She is supposed to also do 2 lessons a week to my 3 rides but she only has me. Thanks for your videos.
Marjorie,
Sounds like you have had the special opportunity to bond more with your leased lesson horse. So wonderful! Great to hear the lesson horses at your barn get plenty of time with their paddock pals and to simply be a horse outside lesson time. Thanks for sharing!
Yorke
Thank you for these very helpful videos. I bought your book and refer to it regularly! I am discovering my love for horses all over again now that my girls are in college. I’m leasing a wonderful horse that knows a lot more than I do – an eventer! However I’m just working on collecting him. He’s a good teacher as he won’t do it unless I’m asking properly. He is more whoa that go for me so my goal is to get him forward so I can collect him. This video helped about setting your expectations for every ride within the first few minutes. I’m off to the barn to give it a try! Thank you!
Diane,
Horses are a such a gift in our lives. Excited to hear you are rediscovering them now! Would love to hear how some of your rides go with exercises from this video and the book. All the best to you and your eventer horse!
Yorke
This is a wonderful video! Thank you so much! I volunteer with a therapeutic riding school and am looking for ways to help the lives of those wonderful horses!
Nancy,
Such a wonderful thing you do volunteering with therapeutic riding school horses! They give so much. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work!
Yorke
I teach and totally understand the frustrations that can be seen by students with the horses. Some of our horses are used for multiple lessons daily. As you said though, horses learn quickly. Being kind as well as firm with consistency is so important. My students that are able to do this can do so much better with the same horse someone else has “trouble” with because they are timid or are having trouble with timing. The horses figure out super quickly who they can get away with “bad” behavior during a lesson!
One of the most common “bad” behaviors I see is the horse who won’t stay on the rail and comes into the middle and stops. My students all know to not give the reward of release and “downtime” when they do this and to keep the horse in motion, whether circling in the middle or crossing to the other side and continuing on. The horse will quickly remember they don’t get a break for moving off the rail and then “listen” better. In the meantime, my student doesn’t spend half their lesson sitting on a horse in the middle of the ring. Horses will also remember which students give more consistent cues and often not even bother trying to see what they can “get away with!”
Shanna,
Horses are very clever and smart sometimes with how they will test different riders, and learn to get away with certain behaviors. It sounds like you are teaching your students a useful way of thinking in how to respond when a horse is ignoring them. Lesson horses are so amazingly patient as new riders work to become clearer and consistent in their cues. Thanks for sharing!
Yorke