Training Your Own Horse

Collection is when a horse can carry more of its weight on its hindquarters than on forelegs. This ensures a stronger back and provides a more balanced ride.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding your horse or my techniques.

Al Ragusin
Address: P.O. Box 720444, McAllen, TX 78504
Phone: (956) 802-2286
Email: al@trainingyourownhorse.com

So often times while riding your horse for whatever the reason; trail riding, pleasure riding, competition or other horse events, not necessarily on purpose but little attention is given to the comfort of the horse.

Have you ever while unsaddling your horse taken the riding pad off and notice any dry spots or white hair (if the dry spots have removed the hair it normally comes back white) in other words while you are riding your horse the saddle was rubbing him thru the saddle pad.

Allow me to make a comparison. Let’s say someone tells you to walk around the next hour or two with a pebble in your shoe or boot; every step you take is very painful…right? In this state of mind do you feel that you would pay attention to instructions or perform your best during this painful situation? Or does your horse look forward to you putting your weight on his back the next time you saddle him or her? I imagine the comparison of the comfort of the saddle with your weight and the comfort of the shoe or boot with the pebble with your weight would be the same…uncomfortable!

Being uncomfortable is one of the main sources of a horse acting up which is shown by throwing his head, not following your directions or cues, or wanting to stop. I can always tell when I see a horse acting up…does he do it because (1) he is hurt, or (2) he doesn’t understand what you want him to do, or (3) is he trying to get out of work. Let me explain the three reactions one at a time.
(1) Is he hurt? Notice if there is a little hesitation when he walks, does he walk with a limp. If so, you’ll never see him run off because it hurts to walk let alone run. See if he will stop on his own. Is his tail swishing from side to side? Is the position of his ears back a little or a lot? These are just some of the things I look for to see if the horse is hurt, there are others but these are the main ones. You can bet your horse will not be looking forward to his next saddling, that you can be sure of. Would you if you were him?
(2) Does he understand what you want him to do? Are you hitting, whipping, or sticking him with your spurs. Each of these either hurt or makes him very uncomfortable and the pain will only distract him. Would you want someone to push you forward or hit you to make you move? He has no reason to look forward for you to ride him. Put yourself in his place and look at it from his point of view, why leave the comfort of his stall, corral or pasture to have a heavy saddle incorrectly put on his back that is not adjusted properly. If the saddle is put to far forward it will distribute too much weight on his withers and the girth will rub his front legs and if the saddle is put to far back it will restrict his breathing and puts too much weight on his kidneys when you are mounted on him. Put a steel bit in his mouth and perhaps a curb chain attached by two reins that run from the bit in his mouth directly to your hands, which is at least 12 inches or more higher than his head which will pinch his mouth when the curb chain is engaged by the upward pull. That’s one reason why he throws his head up, to release the pressure from the upward pull. He then now realizes that he can fight you because the pull is to his advantage because his head is higher than your pull. You can’t make him do anything he doesn’t want to do such as turning, stopping, etc. since he has the advantage that the curb chain or a bit without a curb chain because the pull would be on the side of the mouth. Most people apply some sort of tie down to hold his head down and now you really are hurting him because he can’t defend himself……GET THE PICTURE?
Wouldn’t it be much easier to learn a technique and use a set of reins such as the Double Reins. The Double Reins work by holding your hands in one place and if your horse decides to lift his head he would only be making himself uncomfortable and that he will never do, but you pulling on him he will resist. So the idea is to soften the pressure on his mouth and the bottom reins pulls four inches slightly above the slant of the shoulders and the top rein is direct from the bit to your hands and both reins are held together which will soften the pressure on his mouth and in doing so makes your hands a lot lighter which in turn makes it more comfortable for him as demonstrated in the training videos. It’s easy with my technique and Double Reins; this can be taught to you and your horse in a one hour or less or at least in one lesson.
(3) Is he trying to get out of work? You can hit him hoping he will work for you, which by the way he won’t associate pain with what you want him to do, so make it uncomfortable for him (not hurting) with my technique and Double Reins; you give him a cue, then tap him until he does what you want him to do. He hates to be irritated--ever watch how a fly can irritate a horse? My technique with the Double Reins has the same effect so this method works 100% of the time. So I will ask you a question…
”What Do You Think Is Best For Your Horse?”