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In order to get to the fun part of owning a horse, one that you can take with you on trail rides or let your friends ride, you must first put in the training necessary to make him calm and agreeable in any situation. Its always great to find an older horse that is already "kid safe" but in the event you can't find or afford such a horse there are some things you can do to train your horse for trail or competition.

A "spooky" horse is no fun at all to ride as you are constantly worried that he will jump at the slightest sound or movement and you will end up with your backside on the ground looking up. A great partnership with your horse starts from his trust of his owner. Spend as much time with your horse as you can and get the groundwork in so that trust is built. Groundwork is the time and training you put in to your horse. It is the basics of horse training to work with a horse on the ground before even getting in the saddle. Daily grooming and working with your horse in different situations forms a bond or trust with your horse. You must become his "lead horse". Trust is invaluable as there are times when you need your horse to overcome his natural instincts to flee when he feels threatened. If your horse trusts you to keep him safe, he will ignore his instincts and remain calm. Take your time when grooming him and adopt a firm but fair attitude when handling him so that he learns to respect you as his herd leader.

One good way to help your horse react differently to situations is to take him out with a seasoned "kid safe" horse that stays calm under all conditions. When a horse sees and feels that another horse is not concerned or spooked at every paper bag blowing in the wind or scary leaves blowing around, then it helps him to realize that the world isn't quite as scary as he thought.

If your horse is scared of certain things, then make sure you expose it to him every day until he is completely comfortable around it. For example you can tie plastic bags to the fence and let them flap in the breeze. Then keep taking your horse past the bags every day as part of his training to NOT be afraid of things that are moving around him when he's under saddle. Fear is the main thing that drives a horse. The point is to make him comfortable with as many things as possible on an every day basis. Your horse can over-come 90% of all the outside influences that you can come up with and eventually even more.

If you have any questions on Horse supplies or Posh Pampered Pets, please call 979-221-7251 or email info@poshpamperedpets.com. Our home office is located in Waller, Texas, with warehouses located throughout the United States such as Dallas TX, Houston TX, New York NY, Denver CO, Chicago ILL, Seattle WA, Kansas City MO, Miami FL, Raleigh-Durham NC, Washington DC, Los Angeles CA, Fayetteville AR, Philadelphia PA, Phoenix Arizona, San Antonio TX Texas.