What does your horse do for a living? Does he need a change from your routine to keep him mentally fresh and physically rested, or does he need a challenge mentally and physically to make him safe to be around? In this article I will concentrate on horses that are working regularly and horses that are seldom working. Both of these scenarios can be detrimental to the horse’s mental and physical well-being.

With the green horse there is also a safety factor that is not always present with a schooled horse. If we do too much the potential for the green horse to react violently is very real, yet to continue learning there must be a challenge to improve every day. The amount of improvement will be different each day, but there must be some.

By Will Clinging - Much of what I teach is far more mentally and emotionally challenging than it is physically difficult. There comes a point when we are just plain tired of working and learning, and it can be detrimental to continue training until this mental and physical fatigue has subsided.

By Will Clinging - As the difficulty level and expectations increase, those fundamental skills may need to be improved. Forward motion, accepting contact from the bit, steering with a direct rein, steering with an indirect or neck rein, adjusting pace, and some basic lateral work such as turn on the forehand and turn on the haunches, are fundamental skills that will be improved and modified as training progresses.

As a trainer I used to ride a huge variety of horses. Some horses I would meet only once, some I would work with for a few months, but rarely did I get the chance to ride the same horse for much longer than that. They say variety is the spice of life but things can, on occasion, have a bit too much seasoning.

By Will Clinging - The behaviour and learning patterns of the horse play a major role in his training process. These patterns are established by instincts, genetic makeup, and environment. We are not in total control of these patterns but to some degree we can help or hinder the direction they go in.

By Will Clinging - Some time ago I wrote an article about giving your horse a break from training. I talked, if I recall correctly, about too much work over time becoming detrimental to the horse’s progress. Mental and physical breaks are needed to refresh the mind and the body.

When working with a green horse, progress is not always consistent. The horse will plateau as he becomes confident in performing what he has been taught. The amount of progress we expect from the horse, and his physical and mental ability to handle increased expectations for performance, will be major factors in how quickly he improves.

Horses “live what they learn and learn what they live,” said the late Ray Hunt. It means that a horse will accept what he is taught and if it is consistent he will develop life habits. It also means that much of what a horse learns does not come from a trainer but from basic, everyday handling.