Training Tip: Horse Tuning You Out? Get Him Dialed in Right From the Start

You can stop your horse from tuning you out by keeping him engaged with you. You do that by moving his feet forwards, backwards, left and right. When you start a training session, you should have a set plan about what you want to accomplish with your horse. I do with my performance horses.

Each day, I have a plan – today I want to work on speed control, tomorrow I want to focus on stops, etc. At the start of each training session, I spend a good 10 to 15 minutes warming the horse up. It’s my chance to prepare the horse for the session, and it’s also a great opportunity to see where the horse is at mentally and physically for the day. Is he in a good mind frame? Does he feel off or sore?

Sometimes, even though I enter a training session with a set plan, depending on how my horse reacts in the warm-up, I change the plan to reflect what the horse needs that day. Just as much as you expect your horse to tune in to you, a good horseman tunes in to what his horse is telling him.