Did you know that you can also teach horses tricks? Horse training also involves trick training. The experience can be fun for both the trainer and the horse. There are times when the usual training routine gets boring. You can amuse yourself by teaching your horse neat tricks.
How to be Ashamed
Your horse should already be used to a halter and lead by now. Let your horse stand in the stall, near the fence, or the aisle. Get a carrot and hide it behind your back but turn around a little so that your horse can see it. Then tell him ‘shame on you’. Make your horse lower his head. When be obeys, you can now give him the carrot. Repeat this for about five times each day until he finally gets it. Make your tone a scolding one.
Saying ‘No’ by Head Shake
When an insect bites your horse, you will notice that he shakes his head. Horses have short attention span and so you need to make the lessons quick and simple. You can teach this trick when your horse is relaxed and standing still.
Get a nail and stand on your horse’s left side. Prick the horse near his withers but make it light, just like the bite of a fly. Experiment on the pricking until you find the right spot where your horse shakes his head. When he shakes his head, give him a reward or a pat. Praise your horse. Put your horse away and after an hour, repeat the procedure but this time, ask a question that requires a no answer. Again, you must consider your voice tone when asking the question; repeat this for a couple of times.
Keep on repeating but this time use your whip as a cue; you can still use the nail for pricking when your horse does not shake. Eventually, he will learn the cue when he sees the whip and shake his head.
Nodding
You can also teach your horse to say yes by nodding. Again, you will need a nail to teach this trick. Refresh the ‘no’ trick before you start teaching this new trick. Take the nail and prick your horse lightly on the chest. When the horse bites, it means that you’re pricking him too hard. The initial reaction of the horse is to pull his head down to bite the fly. Praise your horse when he moves his head downwards. Find the right spot where you can get an immediate response from your horse. Keep repeating this process.
Allow your horse to rest and then do the same thing but this time, ask a question that requires a ‘yes’ answer. Get the whip and use it instead of the nail. Use the nail if the horse doesn’t respond. As you keep on repeating the lessons, on the cue of the whip, your horse will bend his head downwards.
How to Smile
Horses look funny when they smile. You can also teach them how to smile. Remove the halter and lead and let him stand by the fence or in the stall. Place a thing which smells strange to the horse like an onion or ammonia near his nostrils, then say ‘smile’. Repeat this procedure until you’ve removed the ammonia or onion. Eventually, your horse will smile when you touch his muzzle.
If you want to train your horse, you need to catch its attention. Horses hate human presence; they instantly feel threatened when humans are around. You see, they are the prey while the humans are the predators. It’s a natural instinct for horses to evade humans. Catching their attention is of great importance to the success of the horse training program.
There are three lessons to learn to catch the attention of the horse.
Recognition
Recognition is easily achieved once the horse recognizes the signal given by the trainer. There are horses that hardly recognize the presence of humans even if they are already walking side by side. However, when you poke the horse, he instantly recognizes your presence and the situation changes. Here’s a fact – your horse’s attention is easily diverted to other things around him. It is vital that his attention is focused on you. Recognition is very imperative if you want to get to the next level.
Respond
The more the horse recognizes your presence, the better he will respond to your signals. When you’re riding, you hardly care about what your horse thinks. All you care about is for your horse to respond to all your signals properly.
However, as a trainer or horse owner, you also need to give your horse a break. Once in a while, you should take your horse for a trail ride. Just let him explore the outdoors. Bond with your horse and by doing so, you’re also reminding him that you’re his friend.
Control
When you’ve finally caught the attention of your horse and he responds accordingly to all your signals, it only means that you’re in control. You should never allow your horse to control the ride; otherwise, you will be putting yourself in danger. Make it a point that your horse pays close attention to you and that he gives the appropriate response.
Some horse owners tend to offer treats just to catch their horse. At times, you may be able to get the attention of your horse by offering treats but this is not true all the time. To be a better trainer, you need to understand the horse’s language. You must earn his respect, trust, and leadership.
Try to observe how each horse communicate with others in the herd. They communicate through body language. As a rider and a trainer, you should know how to use your body language to converse with your horse. You must be confident of what you’re doing. With confidence, strength, and proper body language, you can get your horse to obey you. Gaining trust is vital for an ideal horse-trainer relationship.
Catching your horse is just the beginning. All the hard work starts from that point. A horse that pays attention to its owner or rider can give you a safe ride.
You can find horse training videos that can teach you the proper techniques in catching a horse. There are helpful exercises that you can learn to achieve the three factors – recognition, respond, and control.
Always keep in mind that controlling your horse is a way to ensure your safety. You can train your horse much better if you’re in control of the ride and the situation. You must dominate your horse but make sure that you do it humanely. Don’t be cruel to your horse.
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