Category Archives: Brain-Based Horsemanship

I usually start young horses with the round pen before transferring that knowledge to the longe line. Like the “Discovery Ride” described in an earlier post, my first round pen...

By now in this weekly column, you might think I never ride my young horse! I do, almost every day, but it is important in brain-based horsemanship to establish a...

Young horses use their mouths a lot, and my three-year Warmblood True is no exception. As a baby, he wants to chew on his halter, his reins, his lead. Anybody’s...

One of the many reasons to use brain-based training is that it builds trust within the horse-and-human team. Think about it in human terms—we trust those who understand how we...

Whew! There was a moment just before the release of Horse Brain, Human Brain when I thought my work on the book was done. Instead, it was released three weeks early during...

Last week, I promised to explain the importance of canter balance in training young horses. Imagine throwing 10 to 15% of your body weight up on top of your shoulders....

I wasn’t sure what to write about today. The topics are endless, and my three-year-old Warmblood True throws something new into the mix at almost every ride. This morning while...

Spring. It’s been windy here, and my Dutch Warmblood True is presently in a small paddock while the spring grass gets a good healthy start. What this means in three-year-old...

As you can see from my Horse Network posts so far, new baby horses offer a million details to consider. We’ve talked about catching, tying, settling in, approaching from behind,...

As long as it’s a calm day at the barn, my three-year-old Dutch Warmblood True naps through most of his grooming, eyes half shut while I brush. But lifting the...

My new three-year-old Dutch Warmblood True cross-ties well in the barn and likes to be groomed. But even after a few weeks, he’s still nervous about his position. Which, I...

Greetings! Last time, we talked about teaching a young horse to tie. It takes time and patience, progressing only a little every day to give her gradual experience. “Snubbing” a...

One key to horse training is that it’s better to prevent problems than correct them. So, always test a new horse’s knowledge of tying before fastening her to something. The...

A new place with new food and strange water, an unusual climate and elevation, surrounded by new horses and new people? No wonder young horses need some time to settle...

Sometimes horses are just so darn cute. My three-year-old Dutch Warmblood True was in quarantine for the first week and a half at his new home. He seemed completely healthy,...

True, my new three-year-old Dutch Warmblood, is coming to me more than half the time when I call him from the pasture gate. I call, and he lifts his head...

We’ve considered teaching the catch to an easy young new horse like my three-year-old Dutch warmblood True and to a more difficult new horse. But what about Ole Miss, who...

In the last article, we talked about teaching a new horse to be caught. The strongest mental lesson is formed if we teach the horse to come to us, rather...

Chasing a horse around while she plays bob-and-weave is fun for about 60 seconds. Then it’s frustrating. And it becomes dangerous when an ill or injured horse goes limp-loping away...

My new horse is here! He’s a three-year-old Dutch Warmblood, 1250 pounds of curiosity, muscle, and baby teeth. Within three days, he knew his new name and trotted across a...