Teach Your Horse Manners Using the Three Ps of Horse Training

This is basic ground manners explained. Simply put, your horse should do what you ask. The horse’s movements should be performed safely no matter how simple or routine the task may be. He needs to be taught not to push you, step on you or in any way put you in danger of injury whether or not this is intentional. While these may only appear to be slightly annoying habits at times, it is important to break them before somebody gets hurt. Since horses outweigh you by a ton, literally, a misplaced hoof can break your foot. Better not to find out the hard way whether your equine insurance will cover you for this! The best way to avoid this is to establish, and then maintain, a personal space bubble.

If you allow your horse such liberties as nuzzling his nose into your pockets to look for treats, then don’t be surprised to get a nibble if he finds something. These love nibbles will not feel as such when made by teeth as big as those of your horse. Horses in a herd treat each other differently than they must treat us. They may well nip, bite and crowd each other, but this type of behaviour cannot be tolerated towards humans.

Many have learned this lesson in spatial awareness the hard way. My first, and subsequently the last, experience with the concept of crowding occurred when I bought my first horse years ago. My wonderful new four-legged friend liked to “help” me with the paddock cleaning. As I shovelled and filled the manure cart, he would come and put his nose into it. Then one day he actually lifted his front hoof and put it into the cart when I put a rake full of manure in. He knocked the cart over, which spooked him, which in turn spooked the other three horses in the paddock. There was a furore of hooves and tails a-flying and I was stuck amongst this. Thankfully I was not hurt, but this could have been a mild or even a serious disaster – and may have even necessitated a claim on my horse insurance.

This was in the basic learning curve time period for both of us. I was so amused at his trying to help me with my chores that I didn’t think about the potential consequences. That was the day on which I learned hoe important it is to teach a horse basic manners. It was then that I realised the importance of teaching him how to respect my space when I was in the paddock attending to chores. If he wanted to play cute he could still do this during the time we spent together learning cues and training.

Basic safety manners can be taught by utilising the three Ps of horse training. Patience, persistence, and positive reinforcement are crucial to the future relationship between you and any horse, be it your own or one you are training or riding.

Patience. It’s important to remember that your horse does not automatically know what you want. You will go a long way in building trust by showing patience with your horse when showing him what to do, and letting him try and try again until he gets it. Your mind needs to be free of stresses and anxiety before you begin any training session. Take a deep breath and relax. It is part of the natural learning process for your horse to test the waters. He needs to check and see if what he thinks you want is correct. This can occur several times before the horse has confirmed his correct assessment of the task.

Persistence. Don’t simply give up when things don’t happen quickly. You will find it hard in the beginning to communicate. Over time you will learn to speak the same language! Stay with it and be consistent in your cues. Horses are very perceptive to even the slightest cue. Once they know what that cue means you’ll have cooperation.

Positive reinforcement. Whenever your horse does something correctly, show him a signal. The best rewards don’t always come in the form of a tasty treat. Horse love to be released when they have done a job correctly. Imagine the “whoa!” or “stop” cue. This is a pull on the bit within his mouth. When the horse exhibits the signs that he understands that you want him to stop, release the bit immediately. That will let him know that he’s doing things correctly.

Horses need to know their limits. How close can he stand to you before you feel crowded? Can he pull on the lead rope if he doesn’t want to go the way you are leading him? If he doesn’t feel inclined to pick up his foot, will you allow him to get away with this? These issues may seem like common sense to us, but for a horse they go against what comes naturally to them. A correctly and carefully trained horse will forever be both a most pleasing companion and could also represent a lower liability when it comes to renewing your horse insurance policy.