What is a willing horse?
To me...a willing horse is safe, confident, obedient and fun to ride. It’s the horse that does everything on a loose rein or without a bridle. The one that anyone can ride. Whether you are a high-level competitor or a part time recreational rider, we all love a willing horse.
This type of horse is the most sought after in the industry today. What makes a willing horse? Is it trust, leadership, communication, their ability to learn from their mistakes or just something they are born with? I think it’s all of the above. I’ve learned it’s possible to train a horse to be willing even if they have a unwilling attitude.
If I could give you one tip for creating and maintaining a willing horse... it would be to allow them to make a mistake.
Every horse will say "no" sometime in their training process, some more than others. How you handle that "no" is key. When allowing a horse to make a mistake, it's important that you keep the command on with very little...
Ground Work for Beginners
Ground work is a very important staple in every horse and rider relationship. Handling a 1500 lb animal that is dominant or doesn’t respect you can be scary! We have created the steps of our program to take that fear away and to be able to enjoy your horse on the ground in any situation.
It doesn’t matter if your looking for ground work for beginners or have won the world, step one is where we all need to start! Without step one, you won’t succeed with step two or step 3-4-5. It is like building a house, you cannot start painting the walls until you have poured your foundation. Luckily for us there are industry home building standards required to keep everyone safe, that’s what the horse world needs! We need a checklist that once completed, you know you are safe. That is exactly why the Training Thru Trust progressive training program was designed! To help people practice and master the steps needed from the ground up. Starting with the simplest of...
