Contemporary Horsemanship Podcast

There are a lot of details when it comes to buying and selling horses. Horses are not machines and there are many variables that can change a horse’s behavior. I’m talking about some of the main things to think about when buying and selling horses. Hopefully with these tips both experiences go smoothly for you and especially the horses.

I’ll cover how to train your horse to pick you up from the mounting block using both positive and negative reinforcement. I’ll talk about how to teach your horse to side pass toward you using R-. And talk about asking the horse to come up to the block using R+. Having your horse come to the mounting block is very handy and will give you an idea of how your horse is feeling about riding that day.

There can be many behaviors horses show us that they are uncomfortable being mounted and ridden. Walking off while you are getting on is one of the most common. I’ll talk about this behavior and others, why they are happening and how to fix them.

Hobbling is one of those things that can go wrong very quickly. It’s important to teach the horse how to give to rope pressure on each of his legs first. I’ll talk about some other steps to take in order to set your horse up for success. But also consider the cost v.s. benefit of teaching this lesson.

I’ll explain a few ways to load your horse into a trailer using negative reinforcement (R-). You can use different tools to load the horse, but the application and release of pressure will still be the same. I’ll talk about some ways that I use to load that are the least aversive to the horse.

Horses that rush through gates or stall doors can be frustrating and dangerous. I’ll cover some of the reasons why horses feel the need to rush through tight spaces. I’ll also talk about some ways we can retrain this behavior.

A horse that pulls on you while leading to graze can be frustrating and if the horse makes a habit of pulling it can get worse. I’ll talk about some ways to get the horse to stop grazing when you ask. But most importantly we need to get to the root of the problem and make sure that your horse’s needs are met so he doesn’t feel the need to be as desperate for grass.

There are two root causes why a horse would not want his ears touched or handled. Either he is afraid or in pain. I’ll cover some training tips to fix both types of horses.

I recently saw a video of a horse eating hay out of a hay bag that was attached to the saddle horn. This was a funny way of “teaching” a horse to bend and be softer on his stiff side. This made me want to explain how to actually teach your horse how to be soft. I’ll cover how to get a stiff horse to be responsive in the bridle and some reasons why he his is stiff in the first place.

I’ll explain what negative reinforcement is, how it is different from positive reinforcement, and what roll they both play in horse training.

Transitioning from traditional horse training to clicker training can be tough especially if you have been practicing for years. When I started adding clicker training to my program I struggled with these details that I had trouble letting go of with all my experience using R-. Hopefully these tips will help you use clicker training better with your horse.

I’m discussing what the difference is between actual desensitization and flooding. Tying things to horses has been somewhat popular on social media recently and I wanted to talk about some of the potential issues with doing this in training.

Horses can easily learn to bang on gates and stall doors or paw in anticipation of their meals. To fix these behaviors is pretty straightforward. You need to set aside the extra time while feeding and really watch what behaviors you are giving attention to.

Horses speak almost exclusively in body language. Some signs that the horse is tense can be hard to notice if they haven’t been pointed out to you. Being able to see small changes in posture, muscle tension, and body language will help you to understand what your horse is thinking. These small things can help you notice if your horse is starting to become worried and you can then help to calm the...

Trying something new with horses can be hard because we can get so stuck on doing things the way we’ve always done them. But the mat gives the horse a focal point to stand on and acts as a target. This can be helpful for training the stay, tying, grooming, tacking up, or tricks.

Wondering how long a normal training or riding session should last? I’ll tell you what I do with my horses and explain what ending on a good note should look like in a lesson.

Horses are designed to see all the way around them in order to look out for danger. When horses can’t see out when they are in a stall, wash rack, trailer, etc. they can become panicked. Horses can also be worried when they can’t see other horses. Being in a herd is a horse’s security system and without that the horse could feel like he has to look out for danger at all times. I’ll talk about what...

Tying a horse can become dangerous fast if you don’t pay attention to the details. I’ll give some tips on how to keep you and your horse safe while he’s tied up.

Having a horse that resents being saddled can be very frustrating and even dangerous to deal with. I’ll talk about some ways to break the lesson down and rebuild tacking the horse up. I want the horse to have new, positive experiences with the saddle.

Riding with loose horses has become more popular with videos I’ve seen on social media. So I wanted to discuss some benefits and dangers of doing this exercise.

Having a horse who doesn’t want to stand for fly spray can be very frustrating. I had tried different methods of teaching my horses how to accept the spray and found that clicker training worked best for them and me. Here I will give you an overview on how to train this behavior using positive reinforcement.

I saw a dog agility competition recently and it gave me a lot of ideas about horse sports. I loved how happy the dogs were to be doing the course. I want to have horses be that happy about their work. I think it’s possible for horses to show as much joy as the dogs do (in their own way). So I just talk about thoughts I have about making this happen in the horse world.

In this episode in the ground driving series I’ll discuss how to get the horse used to having the lines over his hocks and then actually driving him on a circle. Once all of the desensitization had been done at the stand still, you can move on the getting the horse used to the rope touching him while he is moving. After this, we will start the beginning of ground driving by teaching walking and st...

Protected contact is a great resource for when you are training horses. I love using it to introduce clicker training to most horses. It is also beneficial to use for aggressive, muggy, or scared horses. Having a barrier between you and your horse allows you both to feel safe, let’s you set your horse up for success, and helps you make less mistakes in your training.

Once your horse is accepting of the ropes, you can start to teach him to move off of rope pressure. This lesson is super important in teaching your horse to steer and not be afraid of the ropes while ground driving. Don’t move on until your horse does this step well. Once he can do this lesson in a relaxed manner, he is ready for two reins and the beginning of actual ground driving.