Leading The Horse To The Side

Fold Excess Rope

Properly Adjust The Halter

Also, make sure the halter is not too large for the horse. While the halter should not be too small or tight, it should not hang excessively on the underside of the horse's jaw. A horse can get a hoof or protruding object caught in the extra space.

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Leading The Horse To The Side

Always lead a horse while being positioned just at the horse's neck or shoulder -- not in front of the horse, or too far behind the shoulder.

Teach your horse to stay at least 2-3 feet to the side of you. This is tough at first, but once the horse learns it, he is less likely to jump on top of you when something spooks him.

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Mount / Dismount

Standing Still While Mounting

Fold Excess Rope

Always FOLD excess Halter Rope or Longe-Line. NEVER loop it around your hand, or anywhere else it could be caught!This is a very common mistake, although it seems like it should be common-sense. Many people create a round loop with excess rope or line, and wrap their hand around the top portions. When a horse spooks or pulls on the line, it tightens around the hand, and the person can be dragged and seriously injured.

Always FOLD the excess line back-and-forth, and then grasp it in the middle. This way, the person's hand stays over the line  --  not within the loops.  Once you get the hang of it, the line is easy to meter-out when the horse pulls on it.Likewise, always keep extra line folded in your hand, not dragging on the ground. It's very easy to step in dragging line, and it gets easily tangled around a person's feet.

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Hoof-Handling

Gently Set Down The Horse's Hoof

Longing With A Longe-Line

Always Longe the horse with a Longe-Line, even when in a round pen.

By using a line, you can keep the horse a few feet off the fence, and it keeps him from acting in an uncontrolled way: i.e. no changing directions or gait without a command; and no bucking, head tossing, or turning head to the outside.

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Control The Horse While Longing

When Longing a horse, always control his gait and direction.

Never let the horse change gait or direction on his own. While a horse is handled, he should be calm and obedient. The Longe Line, the Halter, or anywhere near a Human is not the appropriate place for a horse to run, buck, kick, or otherwise behave in an uncontrolled manner. If the horse is encouraged to behave badly while handled, he will think this acceptable behavior, and act this way while being ridden.

Some people believe the horse will become tired and calmer if allowed to run and buck while being Longed or exercised. However, what actually happens is that this bad behavior becomes a habit, because the horse associates being handled with being out-of-control.

Always encourage calm, quiet, obedient behavior from the horse.

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Riding Or Longing Next To A Fence

Keep the horse at least 3 feet away from an arena or round pen fence.

Don't ever Ride or Longe directly next to the fence, because the horse will quickly learn to 'lean' on the fence, and will then have ample opportunity to run your leg or spur into the fence, or rear and leap over the fence. (And believe me, where there is 'opportunity', there is action!)

While many people feel safer riding directly next to a fence, it is actually a false sense of security and extremely dangerous.

Standing Still While Mounting

Whether mounting or dismounting from the ground or a mounting block, the horse should stand still until given a command to move.

The horse should stand quietly while being mounted, and for several minutes after the rider is in the saddle. He should also stand quietly while the rider is dismounting, and for several minutes after the rider has reached the ground.

Though it can take time and patience to successfully teach a horse to stand quietly while the rider is mounting and dismounting, it's extremely important. The rider should never be in a hurry to immediately move-off after getting into the saddle, and should not be in a hurry to lead the horse off after dismounting. Although there are times a rider does need to rush, he can always take a second or two to wait before he gives the command to move-off. This way, the horse will learn to wait for the command -- even in a rushed situation -- and not anticipate and move-off without permission.

When a rider is not rushed, he should be in the habit of waiting for a minute or two before commanding the horse to move. If the rider is not constantly in a rush, then the horse won't be either, and the horse will be calmer and more obedient.

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Desensitize Both Sides Of The Horse

Always handle the horse evenly on both sides.

This means that while Grooming, Leading, Longing, Saddling, Mounting, Riding, etc., make sure you work the left and right sides evenly. This prevents the horse from becoming one-sided and spooky on the side he's not normally handled on.

For example, if you are most comfortable working on a horse's left side but don't feel comfortable working on his right side, then just do a little bit of work at a time on his right side, and don't push it too much. But do something there! The more practice you and your horse get working with the weaker side, the more natural and easier it becomes.

The horse's performance on the stronger side will also improve, because he won't have to overcompensate as much for the weak side.

Make sure the horse learns to be mounted and dismounted on both sides. Horses easily get one-sided about this and become extremely spooky on the side they are not mounted from. However, be very careful when teaching this to the horse, and go in very small steps.

If the horse spooks while the rider is mounting or dismounting from the weak side, the rider can easily fall and his foot could get caught in the stirrup. To further exacerbate this situation, a rider who is not used to mounting or dismounting from both sides is usually clumsy on the weak side, which makes it ever more dangerous when teaching this to a one-sided horse.

So use common sense. If the horse seems nervous or spooky about the weak side, back off and extend the lesson over several sessions.

Gently Set Down The Horse's Hoof

When handling the horse's feet, always set down the horse's hoof. Never drop it or let the horse snatch it away from you.

Teach the horse to wait patiently until you set the hoof down. Gently, slowly set it down. The horse should be calm and allow you set the hoof down at your pace -- no matter how long it takes to do so. Dropping the hoof teaches the horse to snatch it out of your hand before you have the chance to set it down, so don't do it.

When first teaching the horse to gently set his hoof down, he may become impatient, or otherwise inclined to snatch it out of your hand. Keep gently picking the hoof up and slowly setting it down. Be persistent and calm. Even if it takes several sessions, the horse will eventually learn this. However, be extremely careful -- keep your hand out of the way so it doesn't get stepped on, especially the closer it gets to the ground.

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