Say you have an outstanding horse, a champ at the equestrian sport you trained her to take part in. You’re happy with her and her achievements. Have you ever stopped to ask if she’s actually , really well-broke?

Stupid? Well, in fact , she’s a champ at what she does, and she’s never dropped a hint of being spooked or sensitive to what you do around and with her. Let’s assume you have even begun teaching routines proportionate to high dressage maneuvers and she has not disappoint you. Why would you suspect she is not well-broke yet? Just to be sure, try changing the environment or riding with other equestrian trainers and horse owners on a trail completely new to your horse. If she freaks out at even the most straightforward cues and spooks around other horses or folks, then you know she’s not well-broke, she’s just used to your routines, your commands, and your exercises (as well as the equestrian sport you trained her for) in environs she’s similarly used to. She might be a mare fit for her equestrian sport or for whatever activity she was trained for, but she’s not well-broke.

A well-broke pony can shift from his regular routine, say cutting for example, and continue with another activity and perform almost as well as he probably did with cutting in any environment without as much as a neigh of complaint. Well-broke horses listen to their trainers ‘ or riders ‘ commands and follow their cues without regard for the situation. Naturally, you have to train your mare to perform precise functions satisfactorily well and to develop correct responses to stimuli instead of just showing the ever-present flight or fight behavior.

To do that, your equestrian training routine, whether for straightforward horse riding or actual sport, shouldn’t rely solely on repetitive lessons taught in the pen but should also include sort of on-the-job coaching to be certain that beyond consistently achieving mastery of the manoeuvres you teach, your horse can also put them into practice as well as learn practical lessons you can not or don’t teach her in a pen. Introduce these straightforward out-of-the-box exercises to your mare’s routine to start her on the path to being really well-broke:

Gate work “Working a gate is a small model of equestrian training the depths of which you wouldn’t be well placed to imagine unless you do it. Your horse could well be nervous or spooked by contact with a gate she’s meant to snug up laterally to, and this is what you want to dispose of. From standing still next to a gate to adjusting position in single steps to shedding her reaction of moving away, there’s a lot of training to be undergone in gate work.

Log dragging “The theory is simple: use some rope or a lariat to drag a log behind you as you ride. This would teach your mare to not get spooked by things, animals, or folks coming up from behind.

Maintaining level of gait on trail group riding “Horses are herd animals. The difficulty is, when you are riding with other horses and riders, if your horse isn’t well-broke, when one of the riders gets his pony to modify gait and go quicker, your mare might wish to follow follow suit on its own. So teach her to repress that nature. You’ll need another horse and rider for this one.

While there are lots of more training exercises to guarantee a well-broke horse, these are examples of the simplest and most useful ones when you are starting. Take it slowly and remember to bring your patience with you.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about stable rugs