How you use your horse riding aids and how effective you are with them in your equine training or equestrian training will depend upon your abilities and level as a rider. The more you progress and refine your skills the better you will be able to influence the horse. Natural Horse Riding Aids - are those which you give using your body i.e. legs, reins, weight and voice. Artificial Horse Riding Aids - are those which you use to re-enforce the natural aids i.e. whips, crops and spurs. In this article we will talk about the natural horse riding aids. In another article artificial aids will be discussed and in other articles specific aids for different paces and transitions will be covered. This article provides a basic overview on the types of different aids and how they are … [Read more...]
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Tips for Caring for Horses Who Live Outside
The care of horses involves many tasks. This article looks at some of the basic necessities and tasks you need to know when you are learning about how to take care of horses correctly. You may be required to undertake these as a horse owner and/or carer when you are caring for horses who live in a paddock/ field/ pasture (depending on the country where you live). A horse is a much bigger commitment than other family pets, if fact everything about them is bigger, feeding, veterinary bills, worming not to mention all the accessories that go with them. With the right care and knowledge you can keep your horse happy and healthy. Routine Checks When Caring For Horses Horses which are kept outdoors will require checking at least once a day. If you have poor quality or little pasture you may … [Read more...]
How to Take Care of Stabled Horses
Many new horse owners are not sure how to care for a horse and the main points as well as a few horse care tips are listed below. This article may not teach you how to take care of horses who live in a stable completely but it will certainly point you in the right directions for your equine care. Taking Care of Horses Twice Daily Horses kept in a stabled environment will need attending to at least twice a day. This is because they are confined to a small area, with no access to grazing and no opportunities to self exercise. The horse's digestive system is designed to take in small quantities of food at regular intervals therefore a stabled horse will need more feed, in particular roughage, to maintain weight because it will have no access to pasture. Another essential part of equine … [Read more...]
The Reason Why People Have Horse Careers or a Horse Business
If you work with horses or a horse business, you already know the answer to this one! Horse careers and horse businesses have an extra ingredient that many traditional businesses do not have. Unless your equine business coach or equine business manager understands this extra ingredient, they will try to structure your horse business in the same way as a traditional business. The nature of business is to make a profit, however if you own a horse business or plan to have a career with horses then you may be looking for that profit in another form! Why work with horses? Are you like the majority of the people who own horse related businesses? If you are like most people, you would like to work with horses or have a business with horses, because of the enjoyment you will have from the … [Read more...]
The Three Essentials for Profitable Equine Business Management!
Are you planning your horse business around one of the equine businesses that you would like to have? Or do you have the equine business management skills to create one of the profitable horse businesses who service the wants and needs of potential customers in the equine community? These three steps below will guarantee that you are able to create a profitable horse business The First Essential in Profitable Equine Businesses Make sure you are going to provide goods/ services that are in demand. You may already have a horse related skill that people ask you about. If they are prepare to pay for that skill then that is a great place to start your horse business plan. If you have lived in your district for a while then you may already know that there is a problem in the horse … [Read more...]
Horse Business Ideas that Worked
Are Your Customers Ready For Your Horse Business Ideas? You may have some fantastic equine business ideas and have written some brilliant horse business plans, but the sad fact is that unless there is a need for you equine product or service in the area you intend to market to then that is all they are . . . equine business ideas and horse business plans! Before you start your horse business, there are some important questions to ask yourself about your potential customers. What type of customer is your business targeted towards? People who have their own horse? People who don’t have their own horse? People who ride for pleasure or serious competitors? People who ride regularly? You should be able to describe your ideal customer that is interested in your horse product or equine … [Read more...]
How to Lunge a Horse
How to Lunge a Horse in Preparation for a Rider It is very important to warm a horse up on the lunge before mounting the rider ready for lungeing exercises. Lunging the horse before mounting the rider will allow the horse to warm up, provide an opportunity for you to check for any lameness (there is nothing more time consuming when lunging a horse than getting the rider settled on the horse only to realise the horse is lame). It is also important for the rider doing the lunging exercises to ensure the horse is not be fresh (excitable). The horse needs to be lunged in walk, trot and canter (even if the rider will not be cantering) by doing so you will make sure the horse will respond to your commands and be controllable in all three paces. If you are going to use lunge rein when … [Read more...]
Make Horse Safety a Priority
Your Safety Horse Checklist in Preparation for Safety Riding & Teaching Horse Safety – The Gear Check Checking the saddlery and equipment (a.k.a gear check) for horse safety and comfort as well as preparation for the rider for comfort and safety riding. This means physically checking the student (and horse if it is a mounted lesson) to ensure it is safe and appropriate for the lesson and of the correct fit and comfortable. It is essential that you are thorough in performing the gear check as a failure to recognise unsuitable or incorrect gear may result in you being liable should an incident occur as a result of unsuitable or incorrect gear being used. If you have saddled the horse then you should be checking these items as you put them on the horse and you should re-check the … [Read more...]
Do You Know This Person?
You may not have heard of the person who quoted this . . . “A teacher does not have the right to put a cap on the aspirations of his students - no matter how unreal those aspirations might be” It came from the school teacher who gave Monty Roberts an ‘F’ on his school paper describing his ambition to set up a horse training facility. The teacher said it was a ‘wild, unattainable dream’. Many years later he was happy to say that Monty had taught him possibly the most valuable lesson he had ever learned! Are you the type of instructor who supports their students to achieve their dreams? If you don’t teach, are you the type of friend who supports their friends to achieve their dreams? What dreams do you have? Will you ride at the Olympics? Work in the horse industry all over the … [Read more...]
Course Pathway
At Online Horse College, we have developed a Pathway for you to learn more about horses. If you already have previous experience with horses then you can choose a suitable course along the pathway. Please contact us if you would like to talk to some-one about your career options. … [Read more...]
Equine Business Owners
Managing and owing a horse business is so much more than selling horse equipment or teaching people how to ride. There is the marketing to attract new customers, knowing how to sell your customers what they want, keeping your accounts up to date (and profitable) as well as knowing all the government, legal and insurance requirements. These articles from Online Horse College start to cover some of these issues... … [Read more...]
OnlineHorseCollege.com Courses
Check the OnlineHorseCollege.com Pathway for Equine Learning to find out where you can commence your equine studies in the current Pathway. This is a fantastic way to discover the basics about horses. You could be a complete beginner to horses, even a parent or a partner of a horse owner and just need to know a little more about how to safely care for and handle horses. → Basic Horse Care (No previous experience required) ↓ Are you a beginner horse rider, or someone who has lost confidence and would like to start … [Read more...]
Horse Riding Instructors
The best way to learn a new skill or to improve a skill is to learn from some-one who already has these skills. Many of us commence our teaching career by helping solve other people’s horse problems. But to be a safe, effective horse riding instructor, other knowledge should be acquired and other skills developed. Visit Our 'Course Pathway' Page To Become A Qualified Horse Riding Instructor … [Read more...]
Horse Industry Employment
Being paid for something that you love to do is a great way to live! If you are passionate about working with horses and would like to have a career in the horse industry then it is essential that you plan your career, just as you would in any industry … [Read more...]
Safety & Confidence with Horses
Would you recognise when your horse is uncomfortable or not happy and is about to use his natural instincts to fix the situation? He may be a lovely quiet horse, but unless you recognise some simple cues and horse body language then you may not be as safe as you think. The good news is that once you understand these signals then building lost confidence and doing it safely is as simple as A, B, C A is for Attitude Having the right attitude is essential and the use of visualization and other NLP techniques is a great benefit if you need to gain your confidence (more about that in another article) B is for Balance Before you can control your horse, your balance needs to be developed so you can use your aids to your best ability with out interfering with your horse. After all, … [Read more...]
Secret to Breaking Bad Habits
A couple of months ago I broke my hand. Once the plaster was off, I had the little finger and the next strapped together and rode with the rein held between the 2nd & 3rd fingers. After the hand was healed, holding the reins like this had developed into a habit that I wanted to break. The question is, can habits be broken simply and easily? I believe that they can, as long as there is a good enough reason. Imagine this. You have a bad habit of not washing your horse’s bit after you have ridden. This has been a habit that you have tried to change but haven’t succeeded. Then your normal happy healthy horse is diagnosed with a very rare disease and the only way to cure him is to wash his bit thoroughly after each ride and then soak the bit in a magic solution ready for the … [Read more...]
Does This Describe You?
I love this poem . . . Why do I like horses? I reckon I must be mad. My mother wasn't horsey And neither was my dad. But the madness hit me early And it hit me like a curse. And I've never gotten better In fact I've gotten worse. My stables are immaculate. My house is like a hovel. Last year for my birthday I got a brand new shovel. I hardly read a paper But I know who's sold their horse And I wouldn't watch the news If Mr. Ed was on, of course. One eye's always on the heavens But my washing waves in vain As I rush to get the horses in In case it's gonna rain. And though they're wearing 15 rugs, The best that you can get, I bring them in to keep them dry While I get soaking wet. I spend up every cent I've got On horsey stuff for sure. I buy fancy … [Read more...]
How You and Your Horse Can Have a Winning Day
While winning first prize at a horse competition is wonderful, it is not the only way to have a winning day. Some may consider the final proof may be on the competition day, but the real winning is in the training. Consider the progress you are making in your own training, your horse’s training and/or your student’s training. A simple explanation of the stages of learning (using the rising trot as an example) could be Unconscious incompetence This might be some-one who is having their first ride, are walking quite happily but have not yet experienced trot Conscious incompetence This could be once they realise there is a much easier way to sit on the horse at trot, but haven’t quite fallen into the rhythm of the trot Conscious competence Then the beginner … [Read more...]
Is Impulsion Only for Horses?
If we think of impulsion as ‘controlled energy’, isn’t it the best state for us as well? You know . . . lots of energy to do all the physical tasks that having horses requires with enough control to stay focused and goal orientated? Lots of energy to ride for long enough to keep our horses fit, with enough control to sit quietly in the saddle and to give invisible aids Most of all . . . lots of energy to stay alert to our horses needs with enough control to appreciate them and reward them Remember to live your passion, Glenys … [Read more...]
Have You Ever Been In This Position?
Have you ever been in the position where you know that you are totally right, but you also understand the position from the other person’s point of view? With horses and students this is often the case if they have been training previously with someone else. You may clearly give your horse the correct classical aids to lengthen the trot . . . and then your horse canters. You may ask you students to stretch down with their lower leg . . . and then their heels are forced down and their lower leg swings forward. With both horses and students . . . lower the level of expectation, create the basic groundwork and reward them when they ‘get it’ with a simple ‘good boy’ and a break or positive feedback for your student. Happy Riding, Glenys … [Read more...]
101 Ways To Make Money With Horses!
It is finally ready! The first edition of '101 Ways To Make Money With Horses' is ready for you to download at http://free-horse-site.com/fhs/ebks/101-Ways-To-Make-Money-With-Horses.pdf Please don't forward this book directly onto your friends! I have another gift for you if you have friends who would like a copy of this book (and I am sure you do) There are a few more details on this page http://www.free-horse-site.com/101-friends/ Happy Riding (or should I say Happy Reading?), Glenys … [Read more...]
Is Riding Your Horse Risky
Horse riding is categorised as a high risk sport, but that risk can be minimised! To minimise the risk with horses, it is so important to continually assess the risk of everything around us when we are working and riding them. Look at the likelihood and consequence of every situation. For instance, a quiet dog that has been around horses all his life may be overlooked when a new horse is brought in to the stables. The likelihood of the dog upsetting the new horse may be low, but the consequences could be disastrous! Sometimes you need to have ano The list is endless but if you adopt this practice you will minimise your risk with horses! Stay safe and enjoy your horse, Glenys … [Read more...]
Do You Know Any ‘Sour’ Horses?
A ‘sour’ horse is often described as one that is reluctant to go forward, usually giving some of the following behaviours kicking out laying ears back slowing down stopping rearing jibbing When a horse becomes sour, there is no one single ‘magic’ cure. The first thing to do is to find out the reason they are sour. Horses don’t change their behaviour for no reason. It is one of their ways of communicating with you. Many people blame their horse for bad behaviour, but a horse becoming sour is often caused by bad management. It could be that they have some type of soreness/ stiffness and someone is asking them to do a task that causes them pain. It could also be that they consider themselves higher in the pecking order than you! When a horse has over exerted themselves or has … [Read more...]
Does Your Horse Riding Instructor Use Double Negatives?
As a Coach Educator, when I am training horse riding instructors I like to encourage them to use positives (look up) as opposed to double negatives (don’t look down). This teaches students what to do, not what not to do There are many qualities that make a good horse riding instructor, but there is yet to be a perfect one that is perfect for every student in every situation. If you have a great instructor who uses double negatives regularly then a technique that is commonly adopted by many non-English speaking background students may come in handy. When they hear a word, it is ‘filtered’ and translated into their native tongue before they react. Initially their reaction time is a little slow but as they pick up the new word/s and they become familiar with the word/s their reaction … [Read more...]
