Horse Training How-To Series

If you're starting a horse or need to turn around an older horse that's proving a challenge, round pen training is your very first step. The changes you can make there are amazing - but to make these advances, you'll need to know that there is a tried-and-true system. It's more than simply running a horse around in circles; there are objective and progressive steps. It's easy - but you can't go in without a plan. This guide to the proven methods of John Lyons, shows you exactly what to do, in which specific order, and why. Follow this material as written to turn around older horses, those "set in their ways," as well. Section I of "Round Penning: First Steps to Starting a Horse" gives you a 5-day, step-by-step plan to take with you to the round pen. Section II goes on to offer 10 more lessons that you'll need to teach your young horse at this point in his life, (haltering, leading, lungeing, vices, gaining respect, hoof care, trailer loading & more). Train your horse: * to become a willing partner * to deal with its fear * to be ready for the first farrier visit * to be much safer for you and your family to be around Build a strong foundation for your green horse - or reset the attitude of a more mature horse. Do it today! He's only getting bigger! Contents: Section I: Round Penning Day One: Where Do I Start? Day Two: Come To Me Day Three: Spook in Place Day Four: Sacking Out Day Five: Picking Up Feet Section II: Beyond the Round Pen * How to Halter Train a Horse * Teaching Your Horse to Lead * Leading a Stubborn Horse * Lungeing a Horse: How, When & Why * Manners & Vices * Biting Horses * Whoever Moves First Loses (How to Get Respect) * "I'm Scared of My Horse, Please Help" (The Intimidating Horse) * Trailer Training Your Horse Using the Roundpen * Cool trick or fix for problems at the mounting block: Teach a Horse to Sidepass Toward You on the Ground * Is My Horse Hard to Train... Because of His Feet? *Note: This book does not address first saddling, it brings you right up to that point. That'd be the next step.

Your horse dances about and tries to keep you from getting into the saddle because he's either scared -- or because there's been a coup in "your little herd of two." This handbook shows you the steps necessary to put an end to this annoying and dangerous habit regardless of its cause. Section I of "Get On Your Horse: Curing Your Mounting Problems" shows you, step-by-step, how to move your horse to the mounting block, to lunge, to give respect -- and to stand rock solid. Section II presents four additional chapters designed to "round out" or "book end" the previous training. Each offers buckets of additional insight into the specific issue at hand, that is, the horse that's begun "dancing" at the mounting block. (See the Table of Contents for a complete listing.) You will: * Correct the horse that has decided he's in charge, not you * Learn to position your horse no matter which way he moves * Learn to sidepass your horse toward you on the ground * Learn how to lunge your horse * Follow easy exercises to make lasting changes * Cure a situation that could grow dangerous, left unchecked Teach your horse to show respect, to move to the mounting block, to lunge, and to stand rock solid with this DIY roadmap to the methods of John Lyons written by Certifed Trainer Keith Hosman.

Prepping your horse for a first ride requires plenty of ground work. Here are your step-by-step instructions. This book provides simple and objective training for the unbroke horse, from 1st-time bridling and saddling to sacking out, bridle work from the ground, pre-mount work, and your (necessarily short) first ride. You'll learn the proven methods of John Lyons, tips to keep you safer, and tricks to save time. Today's the day to get started putting a proper foundation on your horse, a solid start that'll pay big dividends for the rest of his life. * If you began your training in the round pen, this book outlines the next steps * If you haven't round penned your horse, you can still begin with this book BUT round penning beforehand is highly recommended. We'll get you into the saddle for a first ride -- and finish up with a chapter designed to prep you the rider/trainer, for all future rides, demonstrating specifically how to use your reins for quicker, easier results with horses of all ages. A good 90 percent of the issues I see at a typical riding clinic could have been prevented if the rider knew a few simple rules about how to hold (and release!) those reins. Developing a "good feel" for when and how to pick up and drop those reins will make training easier at all stages of your horse's life -- especially when astride a young, nervous colt when clear communication is most paramount. Finally, pinned to the tail of this book, you'll find "Cinchy Horses." Should you find yourself training a youngster who's especially goosey at the tightening of the cinch, you'll want this "what to do" fix. Only you can judge whether your colt or filly is ready for this material: Though not a mandatory prerequisite, round penning your horse (using the methods of John Lyons) is the smart thing to do before completing the material in this book. Ideally, your horse is now relaxed around you, leads well, has been taught to turn away from you as well as to face you (consistently keeping two eyes on you), and is wholly desensitized to your hand and various objects. At an absolute minimum, your horse must remain calm and willing in most circumstances when being worked with (today), is thoroughly "used to" being handled, and you must have the ability to turn the horse toward you as well as away. You must be able to lead your horse, he isn't head shy, and you can handle his entire body, ears, and all four feet. If not, check out the prerequisite work found in my book "Round Pen: First Steps to Starting a Horse." This book is broken down into five "Days" or sessions, each designed for you to take at a pace you set: * Day One: First-time bridling * Day Two: Bridle work from the ground (hip and shoulder control) * Day Three: Sacking out and first saddling * Day Four: Pre-mount work up * Day Five: First Ride Plus: * "The Reins: 5 Tips to Improve Your Use" * "Cinchy Horses" What this book does not cover: It's loaded with early-stages training for the green horse - but it does not cover elementary sacking out (again, see my book "Round Penning: First Steps to Starting a Horse"), nor does it offer training beyond the first few weeks after first saddling up. It teaches you hip and shoulder control from the ground, how to bridle and saddle up for the first time and what you need to do to take the first ride - which will necessarily be a short one. It gives you pointers as to how you should further your training (beyond the parameters of this book) but it does not cover "riding training" (turning, stopping, speed control, etc.) beyond lessons recommended for your first dozen or so "rides." If you're going to be the first person to sit on your colt, don't you want to do everything possible to assure success? Use the Lyons methods described in this book to build a solid foundation! You'll save tons of time and aggravation in the future if you do it right today.

Do you have a foal on the way? Maybe you've got a weanling who's growing like a weed but in need of training and possibly getting dangerous? Do you know what training is essential for baby horses, how to approach the work - and how much is too much? You have years till you can ride your colt or filly - but there's a lot of training that needs to be done in the meantime. They need to cooperate for the farrier, to stand near you politely, to be lead around the barn, to respect your space - they need to become a cheerful member of your family. This is your step-by-step guide; it shows you exactly what to do, what to look for and in what order. Train your foal to be safer and: - to respect you and your space - to deal with fear - to lead and stand calmly - to begin "giving to pressure," the very foundation of all training If you were the first person to someday ride your weanling, would you feel safer if the colt did - or did not - have a proper foundation? Based on the gentle and proven techniques of John Lyons, "Days" 1-5 teach your horse to respect your space, to deal with fear, to stand calmly and to begin "giving to pressure." Section II contains additional "how-to" you'll need at this stage in your young horse's life. Contents Section I: - Day One: Look At Me - Build Body Control - Day Two: Sacking Out and Desensitizing - Day Three: Halter Training Your Foal - Day Four: Leading a Horse: Colt Basics - Day Five: Cleaning Horses: Bathing Your Foal Section II: Additional training - Teach Your Horse to Stand Tied - Horses That Bite - Picking Up Feet - Sidepassing to You On the Ground - Teach Your Horse to Come to You I call the individual segments "days" but you'll take this work at a speed that's comfortable for both you and your foal. While you'll fly through some "days," others will necessarily require that you spend more time to really nail the material. You might want to split it up over days, weeks or months.. It's completely up to you - after all, you've got years till he's big enough to carry that saddle or pull that cart! Each chapter gives you a plan, a goal, theory and homework. The whole thing might take you a week - and it might take you months. Every trainer's different, every foal is different. Regardless, when you arrive at the other side, you will have made significant progress in your foal's training and you'll be miles ahead when it comes time later to break him to saddle.

You are a horse owner with problems. This is a book with solutions. This book is dedicated to every horse owner who has seriously considered leaving the gate open and spilling a trail of corn out to the highway. I've been there, my brothers and sisters. I feel your pain. Horses can be an amazing high - but can also drive ya nuts faster than you can say "Why would you do this to me when I pay all the bills?" This book is also dedicated to all you folks who, new to horses, ignored all sensible advice and bought a young horse, figuring you could "learn together." Doubtless, you're starting to doubt the sanity of that decision... but relax, it's our little secret. Cram what you can of this material each night; amaze your friends in the morning. Section I: The lion's share of challenges faced by riders and owners revolve around some form of "fear," the rider's - or the horse's. Here we deal with "fright" in it's myriad forms. Section II: Neglect your lawn, get weeds. Neglect your car, break down. Neglect your horse... collect trips to the ER. Here's what you need to know to keep your horse tuned-up and out of trouble. Section III: Find step-by-step fixes for the "most popular" (notice the quotes?) problems faced by horse owners. CONTENTS SECTION I: FEAR, IN ALL ITS FORMS How your horse gets scared has everything to do with how we go about fixing it. Retraining the Flighty or Bratty Horse Horses are herd animals and instinct tells them that there's gotta be a boss. If it's not you, it's gotta be them. Here's how to get and maintain control. Covered: - Whoever Moves First, Loses - Scared of My Horse - Despooking: Scary Things - Despooking: Scary Moments - Despooking: Scary Places - Say Good-Bye to Mr. Jiggy - How to Slow Down Your Too-Fast Horse - Calm Down Now SECTION II: Keeping your horse on the straight and narrow. Today's actions determine the horse you'll ride tomorrow. Perfect the First Time If you're guilty of being a bit heavy-handed (as evidenced by a stiff-as-a-statue horse) here's a Top Five Horse Training Concept that will soften your horse fast. 6 Easy Ways to Improve Your Training Six horse training tips, each designed to simplify your training and make big changes fast. Rider Checklists Here are 3 "Rider Checklists." Together, they'll keep you safer - and accelerate your training to boot. The First Thing I Do Here's the first thing you should do with your horse today - and with any horse that's "new to you." When You Get On, Do This First Here's one small thing you can do to keep your horse's attitude in check - and prevent mount-up problems from taking root. Is My Horse Hard to Train... Because of His Feet? If your horse stumbles, cranes his head to the ground, takes halting steps, doesn't want to "move out," or has grown irritable, it might be that his feet are hurting him. Here's how to tell. SECTION III: OVERT VICES Here's how to fix some of the most common problems you might face with your horse: easy, objective, step-by-step. Covered: - Biting Horses - Cinchy Horses - Horses That Won't Go - Leading Stubborn Horses - Help! Picking Up Feet

Question: "I just bought a horse. What do I do now?" Answer: "Buy my book, 'What I'd Teach Your Horse.'" If I had a dollar for every email I get asking "what to do" to make a riding horse out of the mare Uncle Emo just traded for the old RV - or how to retrain a horse that's grown rusty - or some version on either theme, I'd be the world's first gazillionaire. With the publication of this book then, I'm hoping to grab that distinction. If you broke your horse to saddle and rode it for the first time yesterday, this book (chapter 1) is where you'd start tomorrow. If you have an older horse and you've taught him everything you know and he still don't know nothin', this book is where you'd start, (chapter 2). It's a roadmap to building the foundation every horse needs, regardless of age, breed or background, regardless of what you've got ultimately planned for that horse. Afterwards, when your horse knows this book back to front, go train for barrels, roping, eventing, jumping or dressage. But today, basics are basics. Section I is the stuff your horse needs to know. Section II is the stuff (the theory) you need to know. Practice the first handful of chapters in order, as written. Beyond that, you should feel free to mix and match depending on your needs or abilities. Some chapters are dependent upon others - but in those cases, I've spelled out necessary prerequisites. Contents: SECTION I: BASICALLY TRAINING YOUR HORSE - Legs Mean Move (Step 1 if This Is "Day 2" for Your Young Horse) - Hip Control, Part I - Hip Control, Part II - Classic Serpentine - Train Your Horse to Travel Straight - Clockwork: How to Teach Anything to Your Horse - Shoulder Control - The Reverse Arc Circle - How to Fix Leaning Shoulders - Serpentine: Indirect to Direct - Speed Control - Slow Down, Part I: Move the Hip - Slow Down, Part II: Wherein We Train the Brain - Balky Horses: Comatose One Minute, Hot to Trot the Next - Crossing Creeks and Scary Stuff - Teach Your Horse to Lower Its Head While Standing - Better Back Ups - Simple Steps to Power Steering - Diagonal Movement ("Leg Yields Without the Legs") - Softening - Getting Leads - A Fix for Cross-Firing (aka "Cross-Cantering") - Hips, Get Behind the Shoulders (And Stay Put) - Hips-in (aka "Haunches-in" or "Travers") - Neck Reining How-To SECTION II: TEACHING YOU, THE THEORY BEHIND THE PRACTICE - The First Thing I Do - Each Time You Mount Up, Do This - How to Pick Up Your Reins Like a Pro - Training Magic: Release on the Thought - What You're Feeling For - Reins Tell Direction, Legs Tell Speed - Talking Horse - See Yourself Leading When Riding - Perfect the First Time - Six Easy Ways to Improve Your Training - Rider Checklists - Diagnosing Problems Second Edition

Does it scare the devil out of you when your horse throws himself in the air? It should! Wanna make riding fun again? You can! But how? How do you fix this -- when the very touch of the reins sends your horse up and over? When things escalate so fast? Start by asking yourself what you were doing seconds before your horse reared the last time. The odds are pretty good you were trying to stop or back up - and you were applying even pressure on both reins as you asked. In "When Your Horse Rears: How to Stop It" we'll train your horse to accept pressures typically associated with stopping and backing and the like. We'll learn the theory and practice allowing us to soften and relax our horse, giving us greater control over his mind and various body parts. We'll teach respect for the bit while building smooth transitions from standing to walk to trot to lope. In the end, you'll be able to make ordinary requests, (to "stop" or "back," for instance), without fear that your very pressure is an overt invitation to rear up. In fact, once you've put the time in, you'll be amazed at the difference made in your overall control, safety and enjoyment. With this guide, you will teach your horse to: - Keep his feet on the ground! - Deal (well) with increased pressure - Pick up the correct leads - Move his hips independently - Drop his head immediately You can't make your horse stop rearing with a "bigger, badder bit." You've got to retrain the brain. This downloadable book shows you the steps you must take to put an end to this scary and very dangerous habit: - Greatly improve your ground control - Get your horse amazingly soft on the bit - Greatly improve your brakes - Follow easy, step-by-step exercises for lasting changes - Cure a nightmare situation that could put you in the E.R.! This is true "Do It Yourself" training - and only you can decide if this is something you, personally, are up for. Horse training can be a dangerous activity - so if you have any doubts whatsoever in your abilities, then I suggest you purchase and read this book simply for the deeper understanding you will glean - and then hire a pro for help and guidance. "When Your Horse Rears: How to Stop It" is broken down into five "Days" or sessions: - Day 1: Start turning your horse's first thoughts from "fight" to "give" - Day 2: Teach your horse respect for rein pressure -- and do it where you're safest: on the ground - Day 3: He can't rear with his head on the ground! Teach your horse to drop his head and "calm down now" - Day 4: Gain "Control of the Hips" and get a great way to calm or slow any horse in a bad situation - Day 5: Teach perfect transitions, tune up your brakes and nail your lead departures Plus, the second half of the book offers 9 more chapters you should know if you ride a "rearing horse": - How to Pick Up Your Reins Like a Pro - The Reins: 5 Ways to Improve Your Use - Rider Checklists - Whoever Moves First, Loses - How to Teach a Horse to Pivot on Its Hindquarters - When You Get On, Do This First - Is My Horse Hard to Train... Because of His Feet? - See Yourself Leading When Riding - Training Magic: Release On the Thought See the first half of this book as a set of detailed instructions designed to fix your horse; see the second half as a way to develop and improve you the rider/trainer, your training habits and methods.

Begging your horse to enter the trailer is frustrating at best. Forcing your horse into the trailer is dangerous. And, unfortunately, you can't just leave the little bugger there at the fairgrounds, so you're stuck. Who needs the aggravation? The next time you're running late for a show and the kids are driving you nuts and you need to get your horse boxed up and you're running really late... wouldn't you love to have a pro horse trainer appear and show you what to do? Well, the bad news is, I'll be twenty states away that day. The good news is... you can bring my book! Trailer training is actually very easy - it's just a matter of knowing what steps to take, how long to do each, and what to emphasize. To that end, I've compiled a simple set of instructions, a guidebook to getting your horse loading smoothly using the proven methods of John Lyons. Train your horse to: - Load immediately and willingly - Unload easily and in a controlled manner - Lead politely You'll find the book broken down into five "Days" or segments: - Day 1: Easy trailer loading begins by solidifying great ground manners - Day 2: Refine your control over specific body parts, gaining respect along the way, setting yourself up for success - Day 3: Two different ways to get your horse into the trailer - Day 4: Exercises for "hard-luck" cases, training tips for everybody - Day 5: Do's, Don'ts and What-To-Do-Ifs, plus notes on tying, horses that won't unload, horses who "thrash" and more And... learn to use a round pen to teach your horse to actually look for open trailers! You point, and your horse runs over and hops in! I call them "days" but you should take this work at your own speed. Each chapter gives you a plan, a goal, theory and homework. Some segments, or "days," will be easier than others. And, while you can breeze through everything in hours, you might want to split it up over days or weeks. It's completely up to you. Whatcha waiting for? Don't wait till the morning you're leaving to find out if your horse loads!

"Old doesn't mean out-dated." • Annotated with thoughts for the modern horseman • Includes 5 original chapters by John Lyons Certified Trainer Keith Hosman • In all, 44 tricks plus an addendum containing a fix for "Biting Horses" This book brings together public domain material written by G.H. Sutherland, MD and by me, Keith Hosman. It is published in two sections. The first is a collection of dozens of tricks you can teach your horse and was written in 1861 by Dr. Sutherland. The second contains five "feats" I put to paper after finding them to be quite popular at my training clinics. You will also find a fix for horses that bite, should they get nippy following some of the training which calls for the horse to pick objects up with its mouth and the like. I have annotated Dr. Sutherland's work. That’s a fancy way of saying that I read through his material, then added comment to each chapter based on personal experiences, modern thinking and techniques. Know that, while they may be short, each observation or insight was placed with care; each can make big changes fast somewhere in your training. I daresay you just might recoup the cost of this book somewhere in that sea of italicized notes. Still, why should you lay down your hard-earned cash for a horse-training book written generations ago? Because author G.H. Sutherland could train horses to do tricks that you'd like to learn -- and when something works, it works. Besides, in all this time, what's really changed? It's still a human using the same simple tools to teach a horse to do the same maneuvers. NOTE: The free or cheap copies of "Dr. Sutherland's System of Educating the Horse" found elsewhere online are poorly scanned-in, blurry and very difficult to read. The material you'll find here in my book has been reformatted for the modern era. More importantly, I've annotated the material ("added comments") and included 6 additional chapters written by myself. See for yourself in the Table of Contents, which follow. Table of Contents: SECTION I DR. SUTHERLAND'S SYSTEM OF EDUCATING THE HORSE With Rules for Teaching the Horse Some 40 Different Tricks or Feats CHAPTERS INCLUDE: - TO COME WHEN CALLED - TO MAKE A BOW - TO SHAKE HANDS - TO KNOCK ON THE DOOR - TO STAND ON A TABLE - TO CIRCLE AROUND - TO JUMP THE WHIP - TO JUMP THROUGH THE HOOP - TO LIE DOWN - TO KNEEL DOWN - TO SIT UP - TO SIT UP--ANOTHER METHOD - TO WALK ON THREE LEGS - TO STAND ON HIND LEGS - TO WALK ON HIND LEGS - TO SAY YES - TO SAY NO - TO WALTZ - TO PICK UP THINGS - TO HOLD THINGS - TO CARRY AND FETCH THINGS - TO TAKE OFF CAP, COAT AND MITTENS - TO UNBUCKLE SADDLE GIRTH AND TAKE OFF SADDLE - TO OPEN AND SHUT THE DOOR - TO PUMP WATER - TO FIRE OFF A PISTOL - TO RING THE BELL - TO FIND HIDDEN THINGS - TO TELL HIS ABCs - TO COUNT OR SELECT DIFFERENT NUMBERS - TO SPELL - TO READ - TO ANSWER ANY QUESTION IN THE MULTIPLICATION TABLE - TO ADD, SUBTRACT, MULTIPLY AND DIVIDE - TO BRING THE CARDS CALLED FOR - TO TELL HIS AGE, DAYS IN THE WEEK, MONTHS IN THE YEAR, ETC. - TO TELL FORTUNE - TO PLAY CARDS - TO PASS AROUND THE HAT SECTION II "A Handful of Feats" as originally penned by Keith Hosman CHAPTERS INCLUDE: - Teach a Horse to Sidepass Toward You On the Ground - Teach Your Horse to Lower His Head While Standing - Teach Horse to Pick Up Its Feet when You Point - Teach Your Horse to Come to You (Using a Roundpen) - Teach Your Horse to Load Into a Trailer - From Some Distance ADDENDUM Fixing "Biting Horses"

Control: Either you have it--or you don't. Two words, "Either Or," are particularly appropriate when describing, owning, and handling the majority of horses that buck. Either they do it because they're scared or because they're defiant. Either you're the type of person who takes on the challenge with a gleam in your eye or you have a bad stomach over the very idea. Either your barn friends think you should sell the animal because they feel embarrassed for you and your odd excuses for why you exercise it via hand walks and turnout and never a ride on the trail -- or they're pretty sure you don't realize the risk you take each time you hop aboard and they're considering an equestrian intervention. And either you've got a plan to fix it--or you do not. Make that "did not." "Did not have a plan." Because now you do. You've got this guide and so you've got a plan and with it a solution. This book falls into 4 sections: Section I: Learn the ground work required to begin snuffing out this deep-rooted issue. Given that "you ride the horse you lead," you'll begin your fix with your feet planted safely on terra firma. You'll gain confidence and control. Section II: Learn to see a buck coming and what to do if it happens, then get back in the saddle for exercises designed to put you in charge and prevent future problems. Section III: Perform exercises geared to address immediate and specific bucking issues: Bucking into the canter, how to deal with your fear, crossing obstacles, the horse that crow hops when first introduced to the saddle. Section IV: Training appropriate for every horse and rider--and a must for those schooling the bucking horse. Your horse isn't going to buck if you have control. Your task, then, becomes gaining that control, understanding when you have it, knowing when you don't, working to get it. Contents: Section I Ground Training - When You Really Lose It If your horse went ballistic last week, it didn't just "happen." Spot the signals. - Where I'd Start Bucking horse owners, here's something you can do with your horse that advances his training, is low risk, and fun. - Whoever Moves First, Loses (Or, "How to Get Respect") Secure your rightful spot as leader in your herd of two. - Bridle Work from the Ground Develop control over your horse's individual body parts and gain respect - Reverse of Respect Backing your horse is an excellent way to affirm (or establish) your position as leader - Lungeing a Horse for Added Control With added training for the bucking horse, here is the how, when, and why of lunge-line training Section II Fixes from the saddle and preventative medicine - Your Individual Prescription - Ride Where You Can, Not Where You Can't - Core Exercises (Introduced) - Despooking: Scary Things - Despooking: Scary Moments - Getting Back On: What to Do If the Horse Bucks - Hip Control - Classic Serpentine - Softening - Calm Down Now: Drop Your Horse's Head on Command - Speed Control for Mind Control - Slow Down, Part I: Move the Hip - Slow Down, Part II: Train the Brain - Horses That Don't Wanna Go Where You Wanna Go - Shoulder Control - Train Your Horse to Travel Straight Section III Questions answered: Specific and immediate fixes for the bucking horse owner - Horses that Buck When First Introduced to the Saddle - How Can I Overcome My Fear After Being Bucked Off? - My horse wants to buck or crow hop when going from a trot to a canter. - Crossing Creeks and Scary Stuff Section IV Training for every horse and rider--and a must for those schooling the bucking horse - Each Time You Mount Up, Do This First - How to Pick Up Your Reins Like a Pro - Training Magic: Release on the Thought - Reins Tell Direction, Legs Tell Speed - Talking Horse