Trail Obstacle Problem Solving – Mastering Logs and Poles

Photo by Cambrie Caldwell Photography

Half a point may not sound like much, but boy can they add up! In Mountain Trail competition, each time your horse nicks a pole it costs you half a point. You lose even more if they try to step around them! Whether poles are short or long, thick or …

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Trail Obstacle Problem Solving – Master the Swinging Bridge

Photo by Cambrie Caldwell

Some of the prettiest pictures and coolest maneuvers in mountain trail are done on the swinging bridge. It’s impressive to see a horse do a 360 as it sways or turn and back up the other side. An image of a horse with its head down, eye soft and ears …

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Trail Obstacle Problem Solving – Master the Water Box

Photo by Cambrie Caldwell Photography

The water box is a fun obstacle that’s a crowd-pleaser at competitions. But it can be tricky to train a horse to calmly walk through it—let alone do a 360º turn inside! If we break down these scary parts, it makes it easier for horses to overcome. We start everything …

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Trail Obstacle Problem Solving with Mark Bolender – Overcoming the Teeter-totter

Photo by Mark Bolender

The teeter-totter is a very popular obstacle at many trail challenges, and it’s one of the more difficult ones. That’s because most people do not teach their horses how to deal with the ground moving under them. Suddenly, we get to a teeter-totter and we expect them to “just do …

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Confidence Lost and Found – Overcoming Fear

“You have to let your heart be soft. You have to let your love be just an inch bigger than your fear.” Photo by Anna Blake

Ever notice how horse stories all have the same plot? We get a new horse, usually the wrong one. There’s a period of struggle. We get bad advice, we lose money, we get bucked off. We persist, two steps forward and one step back. In time, the horse ends up …

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Confidence Lost and Found – Overcoming Fear

“You have to let your heart be soft. You have to let your love be just an inch bigger than your fear.” Photo by Anna Blake

Ever notice how horse stories all have the same plot? We get a new horse, usually the wrong one. There’s a period of struggle. We get bad advice, we lose money, we get bucked off. We persist, two steps forward and one step back. In time, the horse ends up …

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Training Your Horse to Hate the Arena – Less Correction, More Direction

“Ride like nobody's watching.” Photo by Anna Blake

Does your horse go better out of the arena? It seems like some horses just won’t go forward and no amount of kicking and yelling work. Sometimes they’re gate sour: fast toward the gate but then getting away from the gate is a wrestling match. Horses who are great on …

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Select A Winning Trainer – Positive Feedback and Constructive Critique Essential Traits for Instructors

Photo by Teresa Rice

Perhaps you have a new horse that needs finishing and you’re asking for recommendations for a good trainer to send it to. Or maybe you’ve hit a plateau in your progress with your current mount. Whatever the reason you’re searching for a trainer, my number one recommendation for how to …

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What to Do When Your Horse is Wrong – Affirmative Training Shapes Behavior

Training is directing your horse toward something he doesn’t know. Photo by Anna Blake

It started the way it usually starts. Either the horse looked to the side or the rider pulled on her horse’s face. It’s the fundamental disagreement; the rider thinks it’s her right to control the horse and the horse doesn’t like having metal jammed on his jawbone. A common miscommunication, …

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How to be Your Performance Horse’s Best Friend – Listen to Horses in Their Own Language

Photo courtesy of Anna Blake

The horse is relaxed and soft, volunteering his best answer to the rider’s quiet cues. Whether a competition horse or your trail horse, a sweet and successful partnership requires two-way conversations. Find a deeper connection with your horse by listening to his calming signals—the subtle body language horses use to …

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