M&L HORSEMANSHIP

Born and raised in Wyoming, I grew accustomed to being able to ride my horses anywhere and everywhere. Only rarely were places off-limits, and never were they off-limits because my horses refused to go where I pointed them. They were as bold—and, arguably, in some cases, as stupid—as I was about going to new places and doing unfamiliar things. After a bad decision on my part to see what it would be like to gallop my gelding across a golf course, a week of painting golf-cart s

pres·sure /ˈpreSHər/ noun 1.the continuous physical force exerted on or against an object by something in contact with it. "the slight extra pressure he applied to her hand" 2.the use of persuasion, influence, or intimidation to make someone do something. "the proposals put pressure on Britain to drop its demand" synonyms:coercion, force, compulsion, constraint, duress verb 1.attempt to persuade or coerce (someone) into doing something. The previous definition comes from a Go

In my last post I talked about what a horse needs and how the natural drive to ensure that his needs are met will influence his behavior. In this post I would like to go into some more detail about how to structure your interactions so that you are meeting his social and intellectual needs, reinforcing your leadership position, and creating an environment your horse can learn in. Since I would like to keep this information as general as possible rather than specific to any di

In the last post I talk about the importance of goal-setting in horsemanship, specifically in our approach to new, young, inexperienced, green or unfamiliar horses so that we set ourselves up for a productive and successful interspecies relationship with them. In this post, we will examine what makes our horse tick, what his general needs are and how to meet those needs through the way we handle and interact with him. Next, I will address some of the theoretical and practical