Category Archives: Brain-Based Horsemanship

Last week, we talked about the inevitable: falls. We know what it means to a rider to fall, but what does that experience mean to a young horse? What is...

In my last article, you might have noticed that I continued north while True spun away from a Killer Bird and went south. On young horses, these things happen in...

While practicing his basic walk-trot-canter, True, my three-year-old Warmblood gelding, is captivated by new sights, sounds, and scents. He was transfixed by his first bicycle and his first child. In...

Young horses are notorious for trotting clumsily into a canter. It’s hard for them to balance the weight of a rider and still get all those feet in the right...

My discovery ride also flagged my three-year-old Warmblood True’s inconsistent trot pace. Fast, slow, medium, whoops way too fast, and so on. This is a very common problem in young...

A couple months ago, I described my first discovery ride on my three-year-old Warmblood True. He had only just arrived and, in that ride, he displayed a few basic needs...

On with the Discovery Test in the round pen from last week… My second round pen peeve is the whoa. Here, my three-year-old Warmblood True fails my test. Some youngsters...

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...