Training horses doesn't have to be complicated or reserved for the elite. You can work with your horse to achieve goals through groundwork and riding exercises. Warwick Schiller put together a list of training principles to help the average horse person. With his years of experience, he has found these to be true. Use them as a guide when training your horse.

Principles of Training

  1. Make the wrong thing hard and the right thing easy.
  2. Don't go to bed angry- get your horse relaxed before moving on.
  3. Do the opposite- ride a slow horse fast, ride a fast horse slow.
  4. Choose where you work and where you rest- your horse recalls places where no rest occurs. They have an internal GPS.
  5. The Donkey Kong principle- when you get something wrong, you return to the beginning.
  6. They need to know the answer before you ask the question.
  7. Anticipation is your best friend or worst enemy.
  8. Application of aids- also known as the order of cues.
  9. Create a tool before you use a tool- make sure you have the tool/exercise mastered before you use it to fix a problem.
  10. Isolate, separate, recombine- make sure to break things down for your horse in steps.

Warwick Schiller's video library elaborates on these basic principles. He puts them to use in various training exercises.

horse training COWGIRL magazine
Black and white beauty. Photo by Josephine Amalie Paysen.

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