Principles of Horsemanship – The Horse Magazine

Principles of Horsemanship: Part 6 – Proportional Principle

June 3rd, 2021
Compared to other forms of horse training, performance horses need to be much more responsive in terms of speed and power variations. For example if your aim is simply to enjoy trail riding then the task of training is considerably less complex than that of an event horse or a dressage horse… Read Article 1 Comment »

Principles of Horsemanship: Part 9 – Mentality

December 3rd, 2014
So important was the horse to Western civilisation in the last two millennia that all European cities are adorned with statues of the horse. The horse fought our wars, it toiled for us; it helped build much of the New World. Nowadays it fulfills our dreams... Read Article Comments Off

Principles of Horsemanship: Part 8 – The Fear Principle

The fear response is the horse trainer's greatest adversary. Fear in animals such as horses expresses itself as the flight response - the horse's attempt to flee from threatening situations... Read Article Comments Off

Principles of Horsemanship: Part 7 – Self Carriage

At first, the concept of self-carriage seems simple enough. It means that the horse self-maintains his own rhythm, tempo, stride length, straightness, outline and rein and leg contact and engagement... Read Article Comments Off

Principles of Horsemanship: Part 5 – Shaping

Shaping is a term used in behavioural psychology and understood by animal trainers of many different species. It is about targeting and rewarding responses, then step by step adding more refinement towards the ultimate desired response... Read Article Comments Off

The Principles of Horsemanship: Part 4 – Exclusivity Principles

When you communicate to horses (or men!), you have to issue one command at a time otherwise both commands will result in lowered responses... Read Article Comments Off

The Principles of Horsemanship: Part 3 – Pavlov’s Principle

Pavlov’s principle is all about training the horse to operate from light aids, including seat, weight and positional cues... Read Article Comments Off