A blog about training principles.
My horse Z has been jumping for years. He’s got a wonderful flatwork foundation that makes him very rideable and confident. But Z is a true skeptic about everything. He’s open to reason, but he begins with being skeptical of the latest human plans for him. Probably a good way for a horse to survive …
There is always a reason for a horse’s behavior, but finding it, that’s another matter. We’ve all seen the horse that won’t load on the trailer. People surrounding him, trying to make him go on. Sometimes more come to help get him on. They may give him some time to mull it over and go …
Wally hasn’t lunged for about one month. I’ve been hacking him out around the farm with and without company. I feel at this point that is what he should be doing. However, it’s difficult to video that and I needed something for his page to show his movement and how he’s doing. In addition, I …
You can’t see it in this video, but a car drives up and parks nearby just as our training session begins. People get out. The timing is unfortunate because we’ve just begun. Crush immediately reacts by trotting off with a tight back. He loses all focus on me. A major goal in his training is …
Epigrammatist came to us Saturday, April 30. He had travelled from Maine to Fair Hill, Maryland and then to Leighton Farm in Upper Marlboro, Maryland within the past couple days. “Crush’s” last race was at PARX on September 15, 2021. He had retired from racing shortly after that and was let down and turned out …
I stood in front of his stall and was overcome with dread. I didn’t want to go through this. I couldn’t stand to feel anymore, so I became uncomfortably numb. A half hour before, I had finally made my way down to the barn to begin work. I was looking forward to getting on my horses. …
Each first ride is similar, but has differences based on what each individual horse needs to feel safe and relaxed. I do my best to listen to the horse and give him or her what they need on that day. Wally is a calm and relaxed horse so this was a very easy ride. It …
We restart most of the horses that come to Leighton Farm the same way. First, we evaluate them and if they are physically sound, we begin to put in place a regular training session. It happens each day, consecutively if at all possible. In Wally’s case the weather caused breaks in between sessions. This will …
It is okay to have dreams and goals with your horse, in fact it’s a good thing. However, you’ve got to be willing to get down to brass tacks and do the work that gives the horse the ability to perform as you wish. For one person, this might mean accepting that he doesn’t actually know …
It seems like every barn has at least one of them, unless it’s a private barn. You know, that person who walks into the barn and all of the horses go crazy. If you are there and had your horse’s focus, it’s gone. Even if they aren’t going to give your horse anything, he becomes …