Several Certified Horsemanship Association instructors share their pet peeves.

Protect you and your horse from potential harm with day-to-day safety practices.

1. Letting Loose

Walking a horse through a gate and just turning him loose as he walks off is very unsafe and instills terrible manners in him. When turning horses out, this may lead to the horse taking off as soon as you go through the gate, and he may kick up his heels as he departs, kicking right toward the handler. Whenever a horse is led through a gate, he should be turned around toward the gate before letting him loose. This will prevent him from running off as soon as you enter the gate and also turns his rear-end away from you before he is let loose.

Ardith Turpin, CHA Instructor, Horsemanship
Director YMCA Camp Manitou-Lin, Middeville, MI

2. No Rubbing It can be dangerous and annoying when people do not teach their horse to respect the handlers space. Do not let a horse rub their head on you after removing their bridle. You can give them a rub on your terms, but allowing them to rub on you shows a lack of respect. I have seen people knocked over when their horse head-butted them after removing the bridle. This can be especially dangerous with children. When handling your horse, do not allow them to come too close into your personal space unless you invite them in. If they get too close, ask your horse to back up or move over. Your horse will start to see you as the leader instead of someone they can literally walk all over.

Tabatha Gullikson – WI

3. Check Those Throatlatches

Good horsemanship and CHA recommends adjusting a throatlatch to fit three fingers width. A novice rider might wonder why there are any recommendations at all on the looseness or tightness of certain parts of tack. They all have reasons. My pet peeve is throatlatches that are too loose and hang under the cheek of the horse. This is a disaster waiting to happen if a horse goes to scratch his head and gets his foot caught there. Not a good scene! Always adjust those throatlatches to CHA recommendations!

Leslie Poole, CHA Instructor ,Peyton, CO

4. Who’s in Charge Anyway?

Many people mount their horse and no sooner is their seat in the saddle and their foot in the stirrup than the horse just walks off, with no cue from the rider. In short order, the horse, which is by now used to making decisions unauthorized by you, is walking off before you sit down and then when you put the foot in the stirrup to mount. We tend to want to blame the horse at this point for not standing still for mounting when we have not effectively trained the horse over time to do so. A horse should stand perfectly still when you mount. As you adjust the saddle and get settled, he should wait for you to actually cue him to walk before he goes anywhere. Allowing a horse to walk off at any time without a specific cue to walk is teaching the horse that he can do what he wants, when he wants. When I am teaching a group lesson, I like to explain to the riders that your horse may try to walk off when the horse in front of him walks. Make him stand until he is patiently awaiting for our signal. This is a great exercise for both the horse and rider. If you ride your horse with awareness and control, he will learn that he has to wait for a directive from you in all things and at all times.

Julie Goodnight, Master Instructor and Clinician, Poncha Springs, CO

5. Equipment Left Out in the Cold

My pet peeve is when someone is finished lunging and leaves the lunge line and whip on the ground. Not only can a horse get his hoof stuck in the lunge line, but it would also be very dangerous for a horse to step on a lunge whip and have it pop up and hit them in the stomach. The whip could also wrap around his leg. This equipment can also be damaged by laying in the dirt and mud. Pick them up and tell others at your barn that it is not safe to leave them lying around.

Anne Arisman, CHA Instructor, Petaluma, CA