Starting young horses

Hi, I am delighted that you are interested in this email series on: Starting a young horse (or re-starting) under saddle with clicker training. In the coming weeks/months, I’ll send you more information about the programme I did with Malou, a 4-year old Quarter Horse mare, that came to us in summer 2024 for a … Read more

Hi, In this email, I set the scene for this series and outline what I plan to develop over the coming weeks and months. Since you subscribed to this list, it’s probably safe to assume that you are either already a clicker trainer or at least sympathetic to clicker training. Therefore, I presume you already … Read more

Hi, In May 2024, Malou travelled across the Alps to come to our ‘place’ – I can’t say barn, because we don’t have one. My friend Giulia Gaibazzi and her husband Eugenio have created a little horse paradise up in the hills close to Parma, in Northern Italy. Side note: Parma is known for its … Read more

Hi, Alexandra Kurland​ has developed Six Foundation Lessons​: I start all horses with these lessons because they truly are the foundation for everything that follows. In the last email, you have seen the beginnings of the first three of that list. A nose target is a fabulous way to introduce a horse (and a novice … Read more

Hi, One of the first things you may want to teach your young horse is self-haltering, which means that you present the halter, and she puts her head inside. All you need to do is to close it and give her a treat. I am so used to having self-haltering horses that I am honestly … Read more

Hi, In the last email we explored how to teach self-haltering. Now we want to take our horse out of the stall. Leading is a skill than needs to be taught. This needs to be emphasised, so let me repeat it: Leading is a skill than needs to be taught.Many people take it for granted … Read more

Hi, In German equitation, we differentiate between various types of bend and flexions. It is difficult to transmit these nuances in English, where all of them are covered by the same term “flexion”. You can differentiate between flexions around the horizontal and vertical axis. A flexion around a horizontal axis includes descriptions such as “behind … Read more

Hi, In the last email, I introduced you to the Feldenkrais-inspired lateral flexions and how you can teach it with a your “listening” hands. Using your hands, you get a better FEEL for this very subtle movement. It will make it easier for you to request it with a similar softness through the lead rope … Read more

Hi, You are probably wondering when we’ll talk about riding. But before putting a person on our horse’s back, we want to have good leading skills. So in the next emails, we will build those skills. Our horse is now self-haltering and knows how to give to pressure, i.e. she yields to pressure without tension … Read more

Hi, In this email, I want to look at two things: Feeding position and turns. Where you deliver the treat is important.Blondie and Malou are both Quarter Horses and they are very low in front. We want to be careful where we feed so that they don’t get even lower. Graya, a PRE, has a … Read more

Hi, Your horse turns just fine? Why spending so much on time on turns? Being able to get and, in fact, recognise a good turn, is an important skill for beneficial gymnastics later on. A good turn sets you up for good lateral work. A good turn helps you to create the bend, which brings … Read more

Hi, As we have seen in the last email, Malou’s turns would have benefitted from a “magnetised” mat that pulls her forward after the tight turn. An excellent lesson to get this “tractor-beam effect” is ​Alexandra Kurland’s “Runway lesson”​ to teach her foundation lesson “Standing on a mat”. In a nutshell, you set out a … Read more

Hi, The Runway is a ‘complete’ lesson as it contains fine rope communication, “magnetising” the mat, leaving the mat and a break. Going through the Runway lesson, you will probably find yourself in the situation that your horse is not lined up well to get to the mat. What to do? If you go straight, … Read more

Hi, The opposite exercise to “Backing in a Square” is the “Wall exercise”. In Backing in a Square, you ask your horse to take the head to the off-side and the hindquarters towards you. Whereas in the “Wall exercise”, you request a give or flexion to the inside and the hindquarters move away from you. … Read more

Hi, There are, of course, many more lessons and details around leading skills that we could look at. The more you work on it, the lighter your horse gets, the more elegant your communication and connection. It will continue to evolve over the (hopefully long) time that you and your horse work together. But instead … Read more

Hi, Blondie was ridden regularly, almost every day, by her previous owner, for at least 3 years (that I witnessed), plus another 6-12 months at her breeder’s. I was told that the breeder didn’t keep her because her sliding stop had no potential. I don’t want to know what they do with a 2-year old … Read more

Hi, The programme I developed for Blondie is tailor-made for her. Each next step evolved out of the training as she needed it. It was a very fluid process that I adapted on the spot. However, the principles that I applied, remain valid for other horses not only those with saddle aversions but basically with … Read more

Hi, When you are presented with a training puzzle, the constructional approach suggests to start with the identification of your goal, followed by an assessment of your current position in relation to that goal. My goal was a saddling routine during which Blondie remained calm, relaxed and engaged from approaching with a saddle until the … Read more

Hi, This is a long email. I thought about splitting it in two, but decided to finish up with Blondie’s saddling project. This topic could easily take ten more emails (in case you want those emails let me know, and I’ll think about it). So let’s continue… Now that we have found our starting point … Read more

Hi, As I write this email on January, 22nd, 2025, I have just returned from a fabulous week in Copenhagen. We had the kick-off meeting of an exciting project about developing methodologies to assess positive animal welfare using behaviour-analytic and ethological approaches. The project is lead by the Danish Technological Institute and the University of … Read more

Hi, Everything is ready to get on your horse. She leads well, knows how to walk on, come to a halt and yield her hips. If you want to use a saddle, she has experienced and is comfortable with it.But there is one more important consideration BEFORE getting on your horse’s back: What are you … Read more

Hi, In the first emails of this series, I introduced you to my dear friend Giulia Gaibazzi. Giulia and her husband board my horses and take wonderful care of them. She is also a skilled trainer with tons of experience and a big heart. Explore her ​website​ and ​Instagram​ to know more (in Italian). She … Read more

Hi, When the young horse gets comfortable with a rider and understands the basic cues, i.e., go forward, halt, changes of direction, it is time to request a few steps of trot. There are a number of ways to get there. As you have seen in email 21, requesting trot and canter with a rider … Read more

Hi, In the last email, we talked about how to get into the faster gaits. There are lots of fun ways to do that. Try out what works for you. When you are able to get trot and canter reliably from the ground, you can transfer to riding through the cue transfer procedures that I … Read more

Hi, The key to achieving the desired transformation is to be consistent around the fundamentals. Every small step contributes towards reaching your goal. Remember the four questions of the constructional approach as formulated by Dr Israel Goldiamond? These questions can guide you when making the next training decision. The answers to these questions help you … Read more