Fear-free Horse Training with Neil Davies

Home
Australia
Forster, NSW
Fear-free Horse Training with Neil Davies

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Fear-free Horse Training with Neil Davies, 601/28 North Street, Forster.

My mission is to share my unique philosophy of horse training—a philosophy of reward instead of punishment, of co-operation instead of domination, of trust instead of fear, and above all, a philosophy where you and your horse learn and grow together

30/12/2024

The Buck Stops Here!

When a young horse is saddled and let go to buck, you must realise that the only reason he bucks is because he’s terrified of the saddle and girth.

It’s not something for people to laugh at and it’s not something to be fobbed off by saying,

‘It don’t matter. He’ll soon get used to it.’ Or, “it’s the scariest day of his life. He’ll soon forget”.

You must remember, a horse in this situation is fighting for his life.

Let me repeat: the horse is terrified and in fear of his life.

When a horse is terrified in this manner, the fear and terror is burned into his mind forever.

Some horses may get over this experience, others never do.

Under pressure or when things go wrong, the fear and terror is instantly recalled and the horse will buck as he initially learned to do.

This is why some horses buck after they have a ‘spell’,

or when they get a fright,

or when things go wrong.

Now here’s the thing.

You don’t have to get any horse ‘used to’ to the saddle and girth.

Instead, everything must be introduced to every horse in small steps that he can understand and accept.

This is the key to having success with every horse.

Not eighty or ninety percent but one hundred percent of horses, one hundred percent of the time.

There is a way around every horse.

Every horse can be started under saddle without bucking and fighting.

Sure, we all makes mistakes.

If you move too far or too quickly, any young horse will buck.

However, when you make a mistake, you must try to learn and not make the same mistake next time.

While ever we accept chasing, bucking and fighting, we won’t improve and we won’t make life easier for our horses.

Let me tell you, it does matter.

If every horse was started without fighting and bucking, there’d be no ‘problem’ horses and there’d be no rejects that don’t make it to the track or show ring because they can’t be ridden.

Learn more here:👇
www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/the-buck-stops-here/

26/12/2024

The One Two Three of Horse Training

Your horse concentrates on three simple things, every time you ride or handle him.

When you concentrate on the same three things, you’re thinking on the same level as your horse.

Understanding this is the key to horse training.

Every movement you teach every horse comes back to these three things.

The first thing your horse concentrates on is exactly where he moves.

Every second of every time you ride or handle your horse, he concentrates on exactly where he’s moving.

When you walk from one end of the arena to the other, most people are happy to arrive at the other end.

They don’t really care what path their horse takes to get there.

The horse on the other hand, concentrates every step of the way.

He thinks all the time – ‘I don’t like the look of that rug hanging on the fence. I’ll skirt around it.’

‘There’s the gate and it’s open. I’ll drift over and maybe I can get out of here.’

‘My friend is on the other side, maybe I’ll jog over to him.’

And on it goes.

The second thing your horse concentrates on is exactly how fast he moves.

He knows that if he can control the speed, he’s one step closer to doing as he likes.

For example:

When he sees the rug on the fence, he’ll speed up before he skirts around it.

Or maybe he’ll slow down to look at it, before he moves sideways.

When your horse sees the open gate, he’ll put his head up and rush towards it.

Every horse knows that dictating the speed is the one of the first steps to taking control.

The third thing your horse concentrates on is exactly how he moves.

Your horse can take control by moving in whatever gait he chooses.

When you ask him to trot or canter, he may put his head up and resist.

Instead of cantering when he’s asked, your horse may prefer to run along for a few steps first.

Learn more here:👇
www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/horse-training-it-s-as-easy-as-one-two-three/

25/12/2024

Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas and thanks to all my followers.
All the best from Neil

14/12/2024

Never Frighten Your Horse

When you ride your horse, many trainers would have you believe that the biggest problems to overcome are plastic bags blowing in the wind, umbrellas suddenly opening and a world covered in plastic tarps.

The first thing these trainers do is frighten young horses with plastic bags, flags, tarps, umbrellas and goodness knows what else.

Young horses are confronted with all sorts of paraphernalia and forced to walk over tarps and other obstacles.

Frightened horses can be seen sweating, puffing and distressed as they’re subjected to this process.

Some trainers say that a horse must be frightened to some extent, in order to ‘desensitise’, or get him ‘used to’ things.

There are even well documented scientific studies on the best (!) way to wave umbrellas, flags and tarps at a horse.

This nonsense has become widespread and is very detrimental to horses.

There’s no need to do this to any horse.

No matter what scientific term is used, a horse is either frightened or not frightened.

A horse can’t be partially frightened.

Learn more here:👇
www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/give-the-flap-the-flick/

08/12/2024

Make Your Horse Can be Easy to Catch

If you walk into the paddock and your horse runs away, guess what?

Your horse isn’t bad, naughty or disrespectful.

It’s absolutely nothing to do with being his leader or showing him that you’re the alpha horse.

The plain fact is, your horse is worried and nervous and doesn’t want to come near you.

Never ever chase a horse that’s hard to catch.

Remember, he’s nervous and worried and doesn’t want to come anywhere near you.

Chasing a horse that’s already nervous and worried will only frighten him more.

Here’s the good news.

You can have your horse running to you whenever you go to his paddock.

It’s easy.

Any horse will learn to come to you for feed.

‘But won’t that spoil him?’

I’ve heard this a thousand times.

Spoil him for what, exactly?

Horses that come running from the far end of the paddock to be with you aren’t spoiled.

They’re confident, relaxed and easy to catch.

A badly handled horse may be nervous and worried when you try to catch him.

Learn how to overcome this here:👇
www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/how-to-catch-a-horse/

28/11/2024

Teach Your Horse to Moove Forward

If you want to move a horse or cow forward, you must apply pressure on his rear end in the ‘flight zone’.

Pressure in front of the ‘point of balance’ will move a horse or cow backwards.

This is a very simple concept.

However, most horse people try to teach a horse to lead by standing in front of him and applying pressure on his head by pulling on the headstall.

Many trainers advocate the use of ‘special’ headstalls and contraptions to apply extra pressure on the horse’s head, nose and poll.

They also advocate the use of a short stick –

far too short to reach the ‘flight zone’.

Therefore, the horse still doesn’t understand to move forward.

There’s a huge amount of pressure and pain around a horse’s head, nose and ears when he pulls back.

Whenever you see a horse pulling back, think about the diagram.

All the pressure is in front of the ‘point of balance’ and therefore, the horse’s natural reaction is to move backwards and fight.

To teach a horse to lead confidently and tie up confidently, pressure must be applied at his rear end, in the ‘flight zone’.

The best way to do this is to use a stick at least six foot long.

Then, you can stand in front of the horse and tap his rear end with the long stick.

The horse’s natural reaction to being tapped on the rump, in the ‘flight zone’, is to move forward.

Every horse needs at least one month of lessons before I even think about tying him.

Please remember, no matter how strong you are, you can’t physically pull a horse forward.

You must teach him every step of the way.

www.fearfreehorsetraining.com

26/11/2024

Teach Your Horse to Tie Up

Some trainers say that tying a horse up for a few hours will make him ‘quiet’ and ‘patient’ and will ‘teach him a lesson’ if he’s been ‘playing up’.

This shows a complete misunderstanding of how horses think and learn.

Horses don’t understand the concept of punishment.

They can’t reason that what’s happening in the present has anything to do with how they behaved even a few seconds ago, let alone minutes or hours ago.

And they certainly can’t reason that being tied up for a prolonged period has anything to do with how they behaved last time they were ridden or handled.

Tying your horse up for hours on end won’t ‘teach him a lesson’.

In fact, it won’t teach him anything at all. It certainly won’t make him confident or relaxed or ‘quiet or ‘patient’.

Imagine if you sent your child to school and the teacher tied him or her to a tree for a few hours to ‘teach them a lesson’.

As a parent you’d be horrified and your child would learn nothing, except to resent the teacher and to hate school.

Horses don’t reason like humans and they are very forgiving.

They won’t resent you for tying them up for hours, but they won’t learn from it either.

There are no shortcuts or secrets in horse training.

Every horse must be taught everything one step at a time.

This includes being tied up and being confident and relaxed around people.

Always remember, there’s no substitute for going to your horse and teaching him one step at a time, every step of the way.

Learn more here:👇
www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/timing-is-of-the-essence/

25/11/2024

Too Many Horses Can't Cope

These days, trainers everywhere chase horses with flags, ropes and tarps.

Frightened horses are forced to run backwards in the name of horsemanship.

Countless young horses are saddled for the first time and let go to buck.

These trainers preach a rigid system of horse training where one size fits all.

If things aren’t working out, these trainers say it’s because ‘your horse doesn’t respect you’,

or ‘it’s in his breed’,

he’s ‘claustrophobic”,

he hasn’t been “desensitised’

or he has a ‘medical problem’.

We’re told that horses have different personalities and you must ‘establish yourself as the leader’.

Just because a famous trainer says something or does something, doesn’t mean it’s right.

Everywhere I go, I see horses that have been through this treatment.

Many of these horses are nervous and worried.

They don’t trust people and they’re always ready to kick, buck, strike and rush away.

The fact is, about eighty percent of young horses will adapt to bad initial training.

One way or another, most of them will work out what they’re supposed to do.

Some of these horses will respond better than others, however many will never reach their full potential.

The other twenty percent never get over the trauma of being bucked out and terrified with flags, ropes and tarps.

They’re unreliable as riding horses and are always nervous and worried.

Some are rejected all together.

Learn more here:👇
www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/too-many-horses-can-t-cope/

18/11/2024

It's Nice to be Nice to your Horse

I often read that you shouldn’t ‘pet’ your horses or take them treats.

Sounds strange to me.

Surely you want to be nice to your horse.

Surely you want your horse to come to you.

Surely you want your horse to like being with you.

Just because you’re nice to your horse doesn’t mean that he can do whatever he pleases.

It doesn’t mean he can push over you or chase you.

You must always have rules and you must always be consistent and reinforce your rules at the appropriate time.

If you’re consistent, your horse will soon learn the rules and then he’ll be able to relax.

Neither you or your horse can ever relax unless you’re consistent. ‍

There’s much more to training horses than being nice to your horse but it’s the first and most important step.

Give me a confident and relaxed horse to work with over a nervous and frightened horse any day of the week. ‍

Forget about leadership, horse herds, pecking orders, respect and all the other nonsense you may hear.

The most important thing is to have your horse confident and relaxed with you.

When your horse wants to be with you and he’s confident and relaxed, whatever you want to teach him will be much easier.

Learn more here:👇
www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/it-s-nice-to-be-nice-to-your-horse/

15/11/2024

Shying – It’s All About Control

You must have control whenever you ride or handle your horse.

Control doesn’t mean being heavy-handed and it doesn’t mean that you have to dominate your horse or show him who’s boss.

Control simply means that your horse tries his hardest to work out what you want him to do and he tries his hardest to do it.

You must remember that the only part of a horse that anyone can control is his mind.

No-one can control a horse’s feet, or his neck, or his mouth, or his ears.

You can only control his mind. It’s his mind that tells him what to do with the rest of his body.

To overcome shying, you must gain better control of your horse.

You must teach him that even though he’s worried, he must still do as you ask.

You must teach your horse that no matter the distraction, it’s more important to do what you want, than it is to stop and look or rush away.

It’s never a question of exposing him to things that flap or bang or squeak.
👇
www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/shying-it-s-all-about-control/

13/11/2024

www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/book/

10/11/2024

A Magic Horse Training Fix

Everyone who rides or handles horses will have problems at some point.

Everyone has trouble at some stage.

You may have a problem cantering on the correct lead;

you may have a problem making your horse go;

you may have a problem making your horse stop….

The list is endless.

Sometimes, problems develop into something more serious.

Your horse may learn undesirable behaviours and even become dangerous to ride.

He may learn to rear, buck or kick up.

When this happens, it’s only natural to think, (hope), that there must be a quick and easy solution.

People sell all sorts of gear and gadgets that are supposed to help.

Unfortunately for the poor horse, the gadget list is endless too:

A ‘magic’ halter guaranteed to stop your horse running backwards and teach him to load into a trailer.

A ‘magic’ stick and leadrope guaranteed to cure leading problems.

I’ve even seen a ‘gum line’ – a piece of thin rope that puts pressure above a horse’s teeth – which supposedly stops bucking.

There are no magic fixes in horse training.

Horses must always be taught in small increments that they can understand and accept.

Every horse-person must use as little pressure as possible to achieve their desired result.

Never apply severe pressure to any horse at any stage of his training.

Inflicting pain and pressure on horses via contraptions and gadgets is unnecessary and can’t be justified under any circumstance.

There’s a way around every horse, it’s up to us to find it.

www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/book/

06/11/2024

Everyone looks for a magic fix to ‘cure’ their horse problems.

Plenty of people will sell you a ‘magic’ halter, stick, lead rope, bit or some other contraption.

None of them will really help.

No contraption ever invented will teach your horse to be relaxed, confident and ready to learn.

I’m going to tell you about the most valuable training tool available in the world or any other large place.

It’s free and I’m going to reveal it at no cost.

Priceless!
👇
www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/your-most-valuable-training-tool/

05/11/2024

HORSEMANSHIP

Horsemanship is for every horse owner. Whether you’re a horsewoman or a horseman, horsemanship means that you:

Always rise early to check your horses and feed them before you eat breakfast. Don’t sleep in until 10 o’clock just because you had a big night.

Always make sure your horses have the best and safest facilities. Your stables and paddocks don’t have to be the prettiest, but they must be safe for horses.

Always keeps your stables clean and your horse’s water clean.

Make sure your horses spend as much time as possible in a paddock.

Don’t leave your horse locked in a stable or yard for days on end.

Don’t leave heavy rugs on your horse on a hot day. Even when the weather’s cold, take your horse’s rugs off for a while each day to let him have a scratch and a roll.

Make sure your horse is fed correctly. Overfeeding horses can be just as detrimental as underfeeding them.

Learn to look after your horse’s feet. Know when to call the farrier or the vet.

If you ride all day, always take your horse’s saddle off at lunch time to give him a break. Make sure your horse has plenty of water on a hot day.

In short, horsemanship means that you always put your horse’s needs above your own. Even if you don’t have much experience with horses, you can still be an excellent horsewoman or horseman. On the other hand, some people work with horses all their lives and don’t achieve this, simply because they don’t care about horses.

H O R S E comes first in the word horsemanship, and that’s the way it should be.

www.fearfreehorsetraining.com

03/11/2024

Keep it Simple

The hardest part of horse training for a lot of people is being able to swallow their pride, overcome their ego and go to their horse and rub his head.

It seems that a lot of people would rather argue about horse herds and what horses do to each other in the wild.

They’d sooner chase every horse with flags and ropes, rather than simply go to the horse and rub his head.

The theory of horse training is simple.

Very simple.

You must always give your horse the answer before you set him any problem.

You must always show your horse the easy way before you apply any pressure.

The way to do this is to go to your horse and rub his head. Show him that it’s always easy and pleasant to be with you.

This must be the first answer that you teach every horse.

Teach him that life is always easy and pleasant when he’s with you.

Learn more here:👇
www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/for-horses-sake-keep-it-simple/

02/11/2024

Can You Really "Mouth" a Horse?
There’s no process that can be carried out on a horse’s mouth or nose that will make him stop or turn.
Pulling a horse around from the ground with a “special” headstall or a bit with long reins won’t help to control him.
The only part of any horse that you can teach is his mind.
Everyone needs to remember this.
At every stage of every horse’s education, you’re simply teaching his mind.
Many people think that they need a bit in a horse’s mouth for control, and so the bit is the first thing they introduce to a young horse.
Back in the early 1970s, my father always put the ‘mouthing gear’ on every young horse straight away.
Learn more here:👇
www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/mouthing-a-horse/

01/11/2024

Horse Experience

Horses have been part of my life since the day I was born.

My father and grandfather worked with cattle and horses all their lives and I, in turn, grew up working with cattle and horses.

In my late teens, I started competing in campdrafts. In 1976, when I was twenty, I began training horses for a living.

Around this time, I bought a 1964 Ford V8 five-tonne cattle truck to transport my horses.

We’d often load four or five campdrafters on Friday afternoon and drive for hours on end to arrive late at night in a country town somewhere.

We’d unload the horses in the dark, sweep out the back of the truck and lay out our swags.

After competing all weekend, we’d drive home Sunday night.

There was no internet or mobile phones back in those days.

To enter a campdraft, we made a long distance phone call and sent a cheque in the mail for the entry fees.

Through the week, I rode between eight and fifteen horses each day, for paying customers.

When my day’s work was done, I rode my campdraft horses.

I spent all day every day riding horses.

Six or seven days every week.

People sent all sorts of horses for me to train or re-train or start under saddle.

There were plenty of terrified four and five-year-olds that hadn’t been handled and I often lay awake at night wondering how I’d get them going.

I know I made plenty of mistakes and I did a lot of things that I wouldn’t do today.

There were no videos or internet in those days and not many books on horse training.

Maybe that was a blessing in disguise because I didn’t blindly follow anyone or get sucked in to any “method”.

Back then, there wasn’t much hype to get involved with.

I benefited greatly from my father’s and grandfather’s knowledge.

Though my father stepped away from a lot of the harsh methods that Grandfather used, his approach to training horses was still fairly crude.

When I first started training horses full-time, my father argued that some horses would buck when they were first saddled and there was nothing that I or anyone else could do about it.

I was never satisfied with this. My argument was that there must be a way around every horse.

My aim has always been to find a way to start every horse without chasing and bucking and fighting.

I’m often asked who I learned from, which trainers I follow and who I’ve worked with.

Everyone always seem to think that I must have learned from another trainer and many people don’t like it when I say that I learned from all the horses I’ve worked with.

Though my father and grandfather taught me a lot and started me thinking, most of what I know came from going out into the yard every day on my own and working with ten or fifteen different horses.

Day after day, month after month and year after year.

Whenever I walk into the yard with a horse, I try to see every situation from the horse’s point of view.

I don’t follow any fairy stories and I don’t follow a set method. The horse I’m working with always lets me know what works and what doesn’t.

And horses are the only critics I care about.

Learn more here:👇
www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/no-ifs-buts-or-maybes/

Address

601/28 North Street
Forster, NSW
2428

Telephone

+61414286302

Website

http://fearfreehorsetraining.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Fear-free Horse Training with Neil Davies posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Fear-free Horse Training with Neil Davies:

Videos

www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/book/

🐴 Never Frighten Your Horse Imagine on your child’s first day of school, the teacher says “Now Johnny, one day someone’s going to bully you and we want you to be prepared. So, we’re going to put you in a room with the school bully every day and he’s going to harass you and frighten you for an hour or so.” “Now don’t worry. Every session with the bully will make you less frightened. You’ll react less each day and eventually you’ll be desensitised. After a week or so, you’ll be used to being frightened and you won’t react at all!” This sounds stupid because it is. Yet when it comes to horses, some trainers say and do exactly the same thing and some people think it’s okay. You can make up all sorts of stories to justify frightening horses and don’t worry, I’ve heard most of them so please don’t tell me another one. I don’t want to hear it. You can see how to handle every horse without frightening him in my Foal Handling Online Clinic. The idea that a horse’s response will wane when he’s constantly exposed to things that frighten him, is nonsense. And please don’t tell me it must be right because it’s been done for the last hundred years. And don’t tell me it must be right because some so-called ‘famous’ trainer does it. I don’t care how long it’s been done and I don’t care who does it. However, I do care when I see horses being frightened and stressed. Learn more here:👇 www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/fear-free-horse-training/

Is Your Horse Ready to Tie Up? www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/how-to-teach-your-horse-to-tie-up/

Is Your Horse Ready to be Tied Up? www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/how-to-teach-your-horse-to-tie-up/

No Respect www.fearfreehorsetraining.com

Does Your Horse Respect You? Perhaps your horse kicks up and resists when he’s asked to step over a log or up a creek bank. Your horse may resist and kick up before he canters. He may push over you when you lead him. It’s a mistake to say such responses are inappropriate or that the horse lacks respect. Whatever response a horse gives is neither good nor bad. It’s just a response. It may not be the one you hoped for but it’s not wrong or disrespectful. It’s merely the response that the horse sees as being best under the circumstances. It’s only what he’s been taught to do. A horse doesn’t think, ‘I don’t respect this person, so I won’t do as he asks. I’ll push over him when he’s leading me. I’ll kick up and resist when he rides me because that’s inappropriate. I know what he wants but I’m not going to do it.’ Learn more here:👇 www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/the-respect-myth/

Do You Need to Gain Your Horse's Respect? www.fearfreehorsetraining.com

Don't Pet Your Horse!

Learn more with Neil's Book:👇 www.fearfreehorsetraining.com

Wake Up World

It's Time to Wake Up. www.fearfreehorsetraining.com

CONSIDER YOUR HORSE By Neil Davies Do you think your horse enjoys it When you tie him up to fight Do you really think he's happy As he pulls with all his might Do you think your horse is having fun When you chase him from the ground Do you really think he loves it As he's running round and round Do you think your horse knows what to do When you flap a tarp or flag Do you really think he understands Why you hit him with a bag Do you think your horse kicks for a lark When you lasso his hind feet Do you really think you have to win And dominate and defeat Horses just don't think that way They're not looking for a boss They don't want to fight, they don't keep score Of who has won or lost The simple tool we all can use You know I've always said Don't be proud, go to your horse And rub him on the head Learn more here:👇 www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/book/

Fear-free Horse Training with Neil Davies

30/12/2024

26/12/2024

25/12/2024

14/12/2024

08/12/2024

28/11/2024

26/11/2024

25/11/2024

18/11/2024

15/11/2024

13/11/2024

10/11/2024

06/11/2024

05/11/2024

03/11/2024

02/11/2024

01/11/2024

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Videos

Wake Up World

Shortcuts

Share