Unwanted does not mean undeserving.

Through nutrition, farrier care and veterinary attention, a once-neglected horse can have the life that every horse deserves.

The Unwanted Horse Coalition’s 2009 Unwanted Horse Survey found that the problem of unwanted horses is not only perceived to be increasing significantly, but its detrimental effects are also being noticed and felt across the country. Whatever its causes, how the horse community deals with these horses promises to be a challenge in the future.

Unwanted horses can be old or young, sick or healthy, purebred or grade, highly trained or not even halter broke. They are unwanted for just as many varying reasons – the horse may have become sick, injured, old, outgrown, dangerous, a burden or simply too expensive to care for. Read the rest of this entry »

Your location will help you “train” your cow in the fence work.

Take a position close to the gate to give your horse the chance to take hold of the cow.

By AQHA Professional Horseman Bozo Rogers with Larri Jo Starkey in The American Quarter Horse Journal

In the working cow horse, strategy can make the difference between handling your cow efficiently and letting her run down the rail without you. Read the rest of this entry »

Cowboy, clinician and horseman Bryan Neubert shares his insight into starting ranch colts.

Use Bryan Neubert's colt-starting techniques to get your ranch colt ready for the range.

By Bryan Neubert with Jim Bret Campbell in The American Quarter Horse Journal

This is the second half of a two-part story. Need to review Part 1?

Mount Up

Once the horse has softened and accepted the lessons from Part 1, he’s ready for me to prepare him to carry a rider. Remember to stay soft and quiet as you get on. I’ll slowly introduce my weight in the stirrup and just let him get used to the feel before I proceed (Photo C). I’m also ready to step back down, draw his head toward me and move his hindquarters away from me to prevent him from pulling away or kicking me. After he accepts my weight in one stirrup, I lean over and rub him on the shoulder and hip on the right side. I might also move the fender of the offside stirrup a little to get him used to the movement. When he’s handling this well, I step into the saddle, remembering to stay soft and quiet. Read the rest of this entry »

Cowboy, clinician and horseman Bryan Neubert shares his insight into starting ranch colts.

Use Bryan Neubert's colt-starting techniques to get your ranch colt ready for the range.

By Bryan Neubert with Jim Bret Campbell in The American Quarter Horse Journal

This is the first part in a two-part series.

Bryan Neubert of Alturas, California, introduced his methods for starting ranch horses when he was 50. Neubert’s experience, gained through a lifetime of starting colts and honed by learning from such horsemen as Tom and Bill Dorrance and Ray Hunt, can help you get your horses better, faster.

Now, he tells how to make your colt’s first saddling and ride much less traumatic for both of you. Neubert says that depending on your horse, you could get to bridling and saddling in minutes, while other horses might take days. Read the rest of this entry »

Decide which option is best for you when tying-on.

With a horn knot, you have to ride your horse up so you have slack to loosen it. If you use this to heel, you want to leave a longer tail in the knot so you can use it to pull it off your horn.

By AQHA Professional Horseman Jay Holmes with Christine Hamilton in The American Quarter Horse Journal

This is the last of a two-part series. Need to review Part 1?

For a roper who is thinking about tying-on, here’s what Jay had to say on the subject. Read the rest of this entry »

AQHA Professional Horseman Jay Holmes thinks tying-on is a good option for many ropers.

If a person ties-on, they could compete and enjoy roping more, rather than worrying about dallying.

By AQHA Professional Horseman Jay Holmes with Christine Hamilton in the American Quarter Horse Journal

This is the first in a two-part series.

To AQHA Professional Horseman Jay Holmes of Sarasota, Florida, deciding to tie-on in the heeling isn’t about how good someone is or isn’t as a roper. It’s about making roping fun for a competitor. Tying-on can be a practical way to do that.

Read the rest of this entry »

Attend a clinic with world-renowned trainer Stacy Westfall during QuarterFest.

Stacy's perspective on discovering the "why" in what the horse does has allowed her to be a successful trainer.

As the first woman to compete in and win Road to the Horse, Stacy Westfall is no stranger to the competition arena. Her love and passion for horses started at a very early age and has allowed her to enjoy much success in her career as a professional horsewoman. Just to name a few of her accomplishments, she was the National Reining Horse Association’s freestyle champion in 2003, when she competed with no bridle. She went undefeated for two years in major freestyle reining competitions, and in 2006, Stacy won the prestigious Road to the Horse colt-starting competition.

Of her many feats, Stacy may be best known for her bridleless freestyle ride where she and a black American Quarter Horse, Whizards Baby Doll, aka “Roxy,” were named champion of the All American Quarter Horse Congress freestyle reining competition in 2006, making history with a score of 236. She dedicated the ride to her father, who had died days before her performance. The bareback and bridleless championship performance to the Tim McGraw song, “Live Like You Were Dying” has inspired thousands.

Read the rest of this entry »

Make clear communication with your horse a priority with the best equipment for ground work and riding.

Photo courtesy of Julie Goodnight

From AQHA’s “Fundamentals of Horsemanship”

The study of horsemanship requires the appropriate quality equipment. Halter and lead rope, used in both ground work and riding, will help you achieve the desired result of clear communication with your horse.

The halter is made from sailing rope that should not be too thick or too thin, because to be effective, a halter must encourage the horse to look for the solution.

If it is too thick, the horse will not be in a sufficiently uncomfortable position to find an alternative answer to the one he usually gives. If it is too thin, the halter could hurt him, which would be utterly ineffective as well as cruel. The aim is not to cause your horse suffering, but to refuse him comfort when he resists.

Read the rest of this entry »

Use these resources to find a riding instructor near you.

The purpose of CHA is to promote excellence in safety and horsemanship education for the benefit of the horse industry.

So you want to learn how to ride or get better at it?  Should you open up the yellow pages to find a barn or riding instructor near you? You could, but then how do you know which people use quality school horses?  How do you know that they are safe and the instructors know what they are doing?  What credentials do they have?

By visiting www.CHAinstructors.com and searching for an instructor near you, you know that instructor has gone through a week-long hands-on training course where two people have evaluated her on how safe, effective and fun her riding lessons are.

Read the rest of this entry »

Make the start of working with your young horses a successful one with these valuable tips from an experienced trainer.

Are you in search of some pointers to help you start working with your young horses?

Several short learning sessions each day with your horse are better than one long session, and patience is key. Photo from AQHA's "Fundamentals of Horsemanship."

Below are some horse training tips from AQHA Educational Marketing Alliance Partner Country Living Association.

1.  Wear a helmet; your safety is most important!
2. Teach your young horse to go, whoa, back and plow rein before mounting.
3. You can’t begin working with a horse too early in life, but be sensitive.
4. Several short learning sessions each day are better than one long session.  

   Read the rest of this entry »

Overfed horses are more likely to have health and training problems.

Martin Black rides Borsalino, a fit 3-year-old stallion, alongside Royal Haida, a 16-year-old gelding who's been getting too many groceries.

By Martin Black

Some people may think they are being nice to their horses by feeding them the best feed available, keeping them fat and their hair slick.

People are doing the best they know how, but humans have taken animals that have been bred for centuries to work and be fit, and in only a few decades, fed and confined them like an animal for slaughter.

If we could just step back and make an observation, the cure to a lot of our horses’ problems may be obvious. Read the rest of this entry »

Find out how you can help your horse to learn.

From “AQHA’s Fundamentals of Horsemanship”

Conquering His Fear

A frightened horse will find it extremely difficult to learn because his is constantly on the defensive and ready to act. His actions are more reactions than responses to the rider’s demands, and they may even be dangerous for himself and his rider.

The horse can learn to accept new things if his teacher gians his trust and respect, and here we see the vital difference between tolerance and acceptance. A horse that accepts a new situation remains relaxed; if he merely tolerates it, his stress level will always be on the verge of pushing him over the limit, and there will be a constant threat of danger.

The horse may even become introverted, and his next reaction could be surprising or dangerous. In the chapter on desensitization, we will see how to help a horse conquer his fear. This is one of the first phases in a horse’s education so that we may later ask him for respect without fear and obtain positive responses without negative reactions. Read the rest of this entry »