Contemporary Horsemanship Podcast

Here I give some general information on cross tying from the horse’s perspective. I also talk about some training tips to help you as you teach your horse to cross tie.

I like to think of horse training as a two way communication between horse and human, not just the human telling the horse what to do. When you listen to your horse, he can tell you if he is ready for a particular task. He will tell you he is not by struggling with it. This is when you go back and break down the lesson so your horse is always successful and therefore so are you.

Horses all want to be comfortable, just like we do. When riding or training, a horse will want to get to the place that he perceives as a comfortable area. That place is called the horse’s magnet. Magnets are usually the gate, another horse in the arena or on the other side of the fence, or the side of the arena where the horse lives. The horse wants to go to these magnets seeking comfort. Most ho...

Horses who pin their ears can be frustrating to handle and obviously don't feel comfortable around you or with what you are doing. You want your horse to enjoy your time together, as well as keep yourself safe. Here I will talk about my experience with a mare I had who pins her ears and some solutions to help the horse feel more comfortable with whatever is causing the ear pinning behavior.