When teaching horses, you must remember that the equine species needs repetition and more repetition to learn well. A horse may often need 5 or 50 repetitions of instructions to finally grasp the action, and the point is this: if you are incapable of exercising great patience, you haven’t got any business teaching horses. If you approach your pony the right way, you’ll find that as the training advances, your bonding with your horse swiftly improves, and in turn, that reduces his learning cycles.

Try to stick to those systems that have successfully withstood the test of time. To my mind, pony coaching isn’t a matter that calls for extensive creativity. The strategies that have come down through the ages are the ones that have appeared successfully through years of trial and error, and they have served generations and generations of horsemen very well. You can use innovation to adapt them to your precise circumstances, but don’t tinker with the basics.

You will struggle to find a better approach than natural horsemanship. This method emphasises the need to understand equine psychology and a bit of the history of horsemanship as a prerequisite to pre-eminence in coaching. It is very important to be well capable in these subjects to gain maximum effectiveness.

Some significant features of coaching primarily based on natural horsemanship

* Natural horsemanship eschews force and negative reinforcement while coaching. This strategy believes in the efficacy of easy-handed convincing. It is attested for by famous reporters like Laura Hillenbrand who have specialized in equine matters.

* Each problem related to pony training has a solution. The responsibility lies on the trainer to come up with the ideal solution to every issue that arises. You’ll find that as you pursue your coaching endeavours, you become a much improved human being even as your horse learns more and becomes a better animal for it.

* Keep one thing in mind: if the pony is not responding well, the issue most probably ensues from the coach.

* Keep your consciousness and perspective free of the sort of unhealthy attitudes that surface from ownership pride.

* In the opening stages, don’t spend time on aspects to do with riding your pony. The much more important thing is to bond fully with the pony; this makes him a miles better learner and makes your future coaching a cake walk.

* Horses have herd instincts. Since they’re prey animals, they have also got robust survival instincts. They naturally have a tendency to form herds as a survival mechanism. You must keep this under consideration as you train your pony, because this knowledge will be instrumental in helping you understand horses.

* Horses use body signals extensively as a means of communication with each other. You may gain hugely by watching them closely. Be especially alert to their use of their ears, eyes and body position to convey emotions, alerts and moods.

* The horse’s head position is a good indicator of its mood. If the head is bowed, the pony is feeling submissive; if the head is raised, the horse might be feeling anxious or rebellious.

You need to govern your pony with an iron fist in velvet gloves. NEVER use the fist to strike, though. Once he becomes used to the idea that you are the leader, your pony will enthusiastically follow you. But before things reach that stage, he is perhaps going to try you out. He is going to go against you simply to check if you are resolute of purpose. Once you convince him that you are , he’ll be fine. Just accept the incontrovertible fact that even as you are teaching your horse, you are learning things yourself. Have patience and you’ll soon see the massive benefits of natural horsemanship.

Horses are Heather Tomspassion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers click here