Training Tip: Avoid these common pitfalls of a Barbarian: Part 2

Avoid these mistakes to keep from acting like a Barbarian when training your horse. Barbarians lack a sense of feel and timing and try to force their horses to respond, which often results in the horses being fearful and reactive.

No Feel
Feel – knowing how much pressure to apply, takes time and experience to develop. Always remember that a horse will never get any lighter than the first amount of pressure applied. So whenever you ask your horse to do something, always ask with the lightest amount of pressure possible. If he doesn’t respond, then gradually increase the pressure. When teaching an exercise, Barbarians immediately start using the highest degree of pressure to force the horse to do what they want him to. Always give the horse a chance to find the right answer for himself.

Being Unrealistic
Just like children, horses don’t learn perfectly. You have to break a lesson up and teach it to them step by step. When you’re teaching a horse a new lesson, know that you’re going to encounter resistance. As soon as the horse even half way tries, immediately reward him. Remember, horses learn from the release of pressure, not the pressure itself. A little try will soon turn into an automatic response. But if you try to force the horse to do something, he’ll just get frustrated and discouraged.