Adiva Murphy - Problem Solving

Equipment and Fast Solutions

To fix problems people always look for more equipment and fast solutions.  If you look to teaching the horse new ways of rounding, rating speed, softening the mouth etc the horse will have a positive solution that will be fun for both rider and horse.  Figure out a behavior you would like the horse to learn rather than focusing on what you don’t want them doing.  You will only need simple equipment and consistency in your training to see great progress.

Four Steps to Tackling Problems

When tackling ‘problems’ do them in order of importance; your number one priority should be safety; yours and the horses.  The second priority is to control the direction of movement – get them to move the feet, consistently and in the direction you want them to go.  The third step is to control the speed and direction of the horse.  The forth step is control or monitor the elevation of the head (a low head is a horse that is relaxed and thinking).  This is applicable to round penning, ground work, leading a horse, and riding a horse. 

Thinking and Softening

For a horse that tosses his head, speeds up at each gait, and does not stop well, a great exercise is to work on is asking for a bend with one rein until the elevation of the horses head drops (thinking and softening).

Each time the horse speeds up, tosses the head etc., you bend until they are soft.  You may end up going into a small circle or a serpentine maneuver; that is fine, rather than force a horse to do what you want. You want them to have the same idea as yours…pretty soon they will realize that the behavior that they are doing means they have to work a little harder.   A tip for success with this is to change directions each time you ask for the bend and ride on a loose rein so that the asking for bend is a very obvious consequence for the action.  This may take a few rides to sort out but it has a profound effect on the horse – you are giving them a choice.  After some work you will be able to pick up the inside rein on the rail and they will soften and slow down immediately – you will then have a ‘relax and soften’ cue.  The horse does not want to do a small circle every time they speed up or toss their head. With consistency and patience you will cure many behaviors you do not want.  Do this with a full cheek snaffle, loose ring snaffle or a rope halter or hackamore.  Personally I find the full cheek to work the best, although they all work to some degree.

Adiva Murphy is a Natural Horseman that uses practical and useful techniques for both English and Western disciplines. She can be found at:

adivamurphy.com