Horses are very sensitive to our emotions. If a rider or handler is uptight, nervous or angry, the horse will become nervous and agitated. If a horse becomes frightened, their first reaction in most cases will be flight, unless we can become the 'alpha horse', in which case they would look to us for an appropriate response. If you have taken the time to become connected with your horse, the horse will overcome fear, confusion and anxiety. As your relationship with your horse improves, so does its learning.

Horse's do not have cognitive thoughts, which means they cannot reason or think for themselves in an emergency situation. They are a habitual animal, which means they learn by repetition. Therefore, always finish a lesson on a good note. Make sure the horse knows it has done well, even if there is only a slight improvement from the start of the lesson. Or maybe the horse has regressed from the original stage it was at the beginning of the lesson but has improved slightly from the last action. The horse still moving forward, providing he knows you are pleased with his performance.

There are many ways to train a horse and what may work on one horse does not necessarily mean that exact same method will work on the next one. You will need to be aware of the horse's individual capabilities and limitations. The more information you have as a horse owner or trainer, will enable you to make a more objective decision as to what to do under the present circumstance.

If a human is always ridiculed and never praised, how will that person react? Most people don't like to associate with people whom they don't feel comfortable with, or who constantly make them feel inadequate. A horse does not have that option. Unlike a person, a horse's owner holds his papers and life in their hands.

A horse will do anything for a person providing that person has proven them self worthy of the horse's total trust and dedication. We can use force to tell the horse what we expect of them, but will we be able to totally trust that horse in an emergency situation?

Check out the youngster's early years.

All the new horses we acquire start off in the round pen prior to riding them. We seldom have to bring one of our older riding horses back to the round pen, but will if the need arises. Horses will always challenge other herd members or people. We need to always let them know, we are the 'alpha horse'.

Check out the round pen basics early years.

There are no books on how to train a blind horse but is has become a reality for those of us who have had to deal with this disability. Many people question us as to whether we are better off disposing of the blind equine. Is it not dangerous to work these horses? I agree that is can be, but a blind horse deserves a good quality of life, just as a sighted horse does. Is it really fair that we dispose of these equines for our own selfish reasons, or should we give them a chance. I believe we were all put on this earth for a reason. Let's find out why we were given the chance to work with these gallant equines.

Working with a blind horse is very similar to working with a sighted one. The only difference is that we need to use verbal commands instead of body language. A blind horse feels and hears their commands. A hand on Buffy's chest tells her to stop while loose in a field. A hand on her withers calms her down. Verbal commands tells her of obstacles she needs to navigate. A firm 'whoa' tells her to stop immediately, whether she is loose or being handled.

Check out the challenges involved with training a blind horse.