Miniature Horsemanship - Kendra Gale

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Miniature Horsemanship - Kendra Gale Positive Training for Miniature Horses & Their Humans
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03/22/2025

That’s me when I was 5 years old, and the baby is the late great Circle J Buster Bo. The photo was from a newspaper clipping about a Miniature Horse show back in 1985.

It’s definitely NOT an example of good horsemanship 😉 but it is a great example of the opposition reflex in action.

Horses naturally meet pressure with pressure. If you pull, they pull back. If you push, they’ll push. And it’s not just the being “stubborn” or trying to ruin your day – it’s a hardwired survival instinct.

To understand how the opposition reflex worked in their favour, think of a wild horse being attacked by a wolf. The wolf reaches up and grabs the soft part of the horse’s belly. If the horse pulled away from that bite, the teeth of the wolf would tear open his belly and likely result in the death of the horse. But if he pushes into the pressure, not only does he minimize the damage from the bite, but he has a great chance of pushing the wolf off balance, trampling him and getting away.

So horses have this hardwired survival instinct to meet pressure with more pressure, and humans decided that the “right” way to train them was with pressure. 😜

You can skip the pressure altogether, using positive reinforcement to train your horse. But if you’re going to use pressure at all then being aware of the opposition reflex, minimizing your pressure and never escalating it, will help keep your horse comfortable and keep you safe. There are some horses who have a very heightened opposition reflex, and who become not just difficult, but dangerous.

The next time your horse braces against the leadrope or leans on you when you want them to move away, don’t call them stubborn and escalate to punishment.

Remember they’re just following their instinct, and try a different approach that doesn’t conflict with the opposition reflex.

Want a fun way to start learning to train without the use of pressure? Get started Trick Training with my online course! https://classroom.miniaturehorsemanship.com/register/get-started-trick-training/

03/21/2025

Miniature Horses are, by definition, small. If you’ve had Miniature Horses any amount of time at all, you’ve heard comments like, “Well, how much trouble can they be, just pick em up and put them where you want them!”

You’ve probably also heard, “Miniature Horses are so bad! They all rear and bite and they’re so hard to do anything with!”

I believe these two things are very related. I don’t know about you, but if I was constantly being dragged or pushed around, my protests would get increasingly violent too.

We see it all the time, and the truth is, we do it all the time, even those of us who do our best not to.

We can all do better. Every time we physically force a Miniature Horse to do something, we take away their agency and undermine their trust in us. We make the task we’re trying to accomplish more difficult next time, as now we’ve made it an unpleasant experience for them. And every time we meet force with more force, we’re teaching our horse that’s the way we’d like to communicate with them.

Once you start looking for people pushing Miniature Horses around, you’ll see it everywhere. The champion winning trainer getting their horse in position for a win photo by grabbing their opposite hip and pulling them off balance. The youth (or not so youthful) exhibitor attempting to get their horse to sidepass in an obstacle class by shoving against their horse’s ribs. The family at the auction mart loading their new acquisition by dragging them into the trailer.

Not only is it not fair to the Miniature Horse, but using brute force to move a flight animal is going to create a lot of fear. Horses need to have control over their own feet to feel safe, and when you take away their ability to move under their own power by physically moving them to where you need them to be, you’re creating a lot of stress. A horse under stress cannot learn. You might get done what you needed to, whether it was getting them on the trailer, or over a tarp, or into whatever position you wanted them in, but you’ve set back their training, understanding and trust dramatically.

There are so many better ways.

We need to stop manhandling our Miniature Horses. We can do better.

03/20/2025

What is a trick?

To us, a trick is a silly or fun behaviour that really doesn’t have a purpose other than to make us smile.

For some people, that means they don’t feel like it’s right to teach our horse’s tricks, because it isn’t necessary.

But a horse doesn’t know the difference between learning a trick and learning a “serious skill.” The only difference they see, is the difference in our approach when we teach or ask for the skill.

If we’re having fun and making the learning process rewarding for our horse, then they’ll enjoy any skill, whether it’s an important life skill or a silly trick.

My horses LOVE their tricks.

If a stranger comes to visit, they’re going to pull out all the stops and show off their favourite tricks. They learn tricks from each other all the time – I taught ONE horse to smile in my herd, and I have six and counting that love to show off their cheesy grins.

And teaching tricks is a great, low pressure, fun way to learn valuable positive reinforcement training skills, that you can then use to teach the “serious stuff” without losing the fun.

Because it’s all tricks to the horse.

Get started trick training with your Miniature Horse here: https://classroom.miniaturehorsemanship.com/register/get-started-trick-training/

03/19/2025

Hawk was my challenge horse.

He was the one who showed me, in no uncertain terms, that I didn’t know nearly as much as I thought I did.

I had to get a lot smarter, and learn a lot more, to be the trainer that he deserved, and I wouldn’t be where I am today, teaching the things that I’m teaching, without the lessons I learned because of Hawk.

One of the things that he tricked me into learning by accident, is the use of positive reinforcement, and I’m grateful every single day that he did.

We’d gotten through a lot of challenges together, he was a driving horse, but I just had this idea that maybe if we did some trick training together it would improve our relationship. Besides, I’d already taught him to rear on cue, by feeding him a treat when he reared anyway. (Now I know that’s called “capturing” and is a great way to train new behaviours, but then, it was a happy accident.)

Note: Do not teach your horse to rear as their first behaviour taught using food rewards. Or they will rear as their default always and forever. I love it for Hawk, his comedic timing is amazing, and I wouldn’t change a thing, but I can see how that might not be the case for most people. 😉

I remember when I first started teaching him tricks, he picked up on things so fast and I said it was like he’d finally “learned how to learn” and that it was like teaching him tricks made him smarter at everything I did with him. Now I understand that using food rewards to train new behaviours, and making a clear line of communication with him that his behaviour earns rewards, both encouraged his problem solving skills and made him much more motivated to learn.

Trick training really was the shortcut to a much more productive relationship between Hawk and I, not to mention the gateway to a whole new method of communication and approach to training.

If you’d like to get started in trick training, without muddling through like I did, my Get Started Trick Training online course will have your horse doing tricks - and improving your relationship and communication along the way!
https://classroom.miniaturehorsemanship.com/register/get-started-trick-training/

03/17/2025

Happy St Patrick's Day! And Happy 24th Birthday to Finnegan!

Thanks to Cecilia for all the St Patrick's themed fun!

03/12/2025

How to tell if your horse has Cushings Disease?

Because PPID is a hormonal imbalance, it can manifest in a LOT of different symptoms. These are the ones that I’ve seen most commonly in my horses, but if you have a horse who is over 15 and you have any sort of suspicion that “something” is off with them, then it’s definitely worth talking to your vet about testing for Cushings.

Weight Loss – The number one sign I’ve noticed in my horses is that I struggle to keep weight on them. I’ve had their teeth done, I’ve upped their feed, and nothing seems to help. Diagnosed with PPID and treatment with Prascend and they pick right up again!

Laminitis – If your horse develops laminitis with no changes in their management or environment, especially in the winter, then definitely test them for PPID and other metabolic issues.

Lethargy/Not Themselves/Seeming “Old” – Sometimes this is a symptom I only realized in retrospect. Other times it’s been one of the primary reasons I tested – something just seemed “off” too me.

Long, Curly Hair Coat, or Not Shedding – Horses that don’t lose their winter coat even in the summer time, or have a very long, curly hair coat, I’ve noticed especially on their legs.

Other Symptoms:

Regional Fat Deposits
Loss of Muscle over Topline
Increased Water Consumption/Urination
Skin Conditions & Other Infections

I recently learned that Recurrent Corneal Ulcers, Rounded Abdomen and Tendon Laxity can also be symptoms – all of which I had seen in my horses prior to treatment, but never connected them as a symptom of Cushings!

The photos are of Pride before and after being on Prascend to manage his PPID. Note his long, curly hair coat (especially on his legs), his feet showing strong evidence of recurrent episodes of laminitis (he was quite sore and reluctant to move), and tendon laxity, particularly on his hind legs. Contrasted with his shiny black coat, normal looking legs and feet, and sound enough to enjoy a drive!

With currently 18 horses on medication for Cushings, we've seen over and over the difference diagnosis and treatment makes in their quality of life! Thanks to Burwash Equine Services for their excellent care of our special seniors!

03/08/2025

A new horse is super exciting.

No matter the circumstances, it’s likely that you’re counting down the days until they arrive home, and can’t wait to get started on whatever activity you have planned for them.

But there are a few things you can do to help your horse settle in, and make the transition pleasant for them.

It’s A Big Deal For Your Horse

Horses form close bonds with their herdmates, and feel safe when they are around. They draw comfort from the familiar surroundings and routines that they’ve become accustomed to.

We, as humans, underestimate the impact that a move has on them.

Sometimes people complain when they get a new horse. They say that the horse was misrepresented or even drugged because it isn’t behaving the same as it did at the sellers when they bought it. And there are cases where that happens, but sometimes the horse is just adjusting to a huge shift in his life, one that he was unprepared for and doesn’t understand.

He’s been abruptly taken away from the horses and humans and home he’s familiar with. Give him some time.

Ease the Transition

Anything you can do to make him feel at home, if that means getting some of his familiar hay from his owner and changing gradually, finding out his favourite treat brand, or asking about his favourite scratchy spots, will help.

Ask how he was managed in his previous home. A horse who is used to large pasture turnout, for example, is probably going to struggle to adapt to life in a stall. It doesn’t mean you can’t change him to your management system, but having that information will help you manage your own expectations of his adjustment period.

Be Patient

Let your new horse settle in. Let him get familiar with the routine and have low expectation interactions with him. Take him for walks to hand graze, spend a few minutes grooming or feeding him a treat several times a day. Let him know that this is a good place to be. My preference is to let them settle in for quite a while before asking anything more significant of them.

Introduce him to new friends gradually, across a fence for a while first (once safe if any quarantine requirements) and then in a large, safe area so they can get to know each other without anyone feeling threatened or cornered. Horses who live in a herd with other horses are better able to learn and more physically fit as a result, so safely introducing him to others is a great way to start letting him settle in.

Getting To Know You

Even a horse who is very experienced in the activity you plan to do with them, driving for example, will have a learning curve when working with a new human.

Your cues and timing will be different, your equipment won’t be exactly what he’s used to, and your routine will be new as well.

Instead of expecting him to perform immediately at the level he was with his previous owner, take a few steps back. The review will be good for both of you and you’ll be able to really start setting up a line of communication and a connection that you both understand.

There’s No Hurry

Even if you read this and think, “But show season is coming, I AM in a hurry!” remember that in the scheme of your partnership with this horse, you have plenty of time. Just give him the time he needs at the beginning and before you know it the two of you will be working together in harmony.

If we recognise and respect the monumental change that a new home brings to our horse’s lives, we’re much more likely to find the success and partnership we are hoping for with them.

03/07/2025

Your horse literally doesn’t see the world the way you do.

I don’t mean they interpret things differently (though, of course, they do), but their vision is so different than our own that they are actually seeing things differently than we are.

I think it’s a common occurrence that we assign some sort of intentional misbehaviour in a situation where the horse was actually not able to see well enough to do what was asked of them.

Horse’s depth perception works entirely different than ours, and still isn’t very good. They rely 100% on their ability to move their head and neck up and down to determine depth – how many times do we restrict the movement of their head and neck while trying to encourage them forward to step onto an unfamiliar surface?

Horse’s colour vision is very different than ours. Red, for example, blends into green for them, so the red pole against the green grass that we can see so clearly, they might not see at all.

Horse’s pupils adjust to changes in light very slowly. If they come from bright outdoor light into a dim indoor arena, it could be 45 minutes before their eyes fully adjust.

Horses also, being prey animals, notice small changes in their environment that we do not. It’s likely that when you’re telling your horse they’re spooking “at nothing” that their vision has shown them something that has changed, even though we don’t perceive it.

Give your horse the benefit of the doubt – they’re not trying to ruin your day, and they might just see something entirely different than what you’re looking at.

For more about how horses see and other ways to improve your communication with your horses, Understanding Your Miniature Horse is available as an ebook at classroom.miniaturehorsemanship.com/ebook or as a paperback on Amazon.

03/06/2025

Horse people talk a lot about “respect.” The idea that’s usually shared is that if your horse respects you, then they’ll do what you want them to and you won’t have any trouble with them.

But that doesn’t make sense.

Horses don’t understand the concept of respect, and even if they did, “respecting” you wouldn’t make them magically able to understand cues that you haven’t taught them.

Your horse does the things you want them to because they’ve been trained to do it. And they don’t, because they haven’t yet.

All the talk about “respect” just predisposes us to unfair punishment by assigning malicious intent to our horse’s behaviour, and overshadows the importance of actually training our horse so they understand what we’re asking them to do.

When someone has a young horse who is showing unwanted or dangerous behaviours, they’re often told to turn them out with other horses, so they can “learn some respect.”

It’s good advice, and will likely solve the problem, but it’s the wrong reason.

Horses are herd animals. Their mental wellbeing relies on being part of herd, and being able to express their natural behaviours with others of their own species.

When a horse doesn’t have that herd environment, that’s when we see a lot of young horses attempting to play horse games with their humans, or other stress related behaviours which aren’t fun for the human.

Again, it’s nothing to do with “respect.”

After all, we humans are the ones that came up with the whole concept of respect.

That means it’s our job to respect our horses enough to teach them what we need them to know with kindness, and give them a life that allows them the friends, forage and freedom to express natural behaviours that they need to thrive.

02/28/2025

✅ If you've wondered what you're supposed to be doing with your horse during your training sessions, and felt aimless while driving around in circles putting in time.

✅ If you've been at a driving clinic or lesson and weren't sure of the terminology that the instructor used, and therefore aren't sure you got the most out of your lesson.

✅ If you feel stuck, like nothing ever changes no matter how hard you work with your horse.

✅ If you have a happy driving horse, and would like to start to take them to the next level with competitive goals, without losing the happy.

✅ If you don't have an instructor nearby, and feel like you've reached the limit of what you can learn on your own.

Then the Improving Your Miniature Driving Horse online course is exactly what you and your driving horse need!

Here's what those who have gone through the course are saying:

“Fantastic course, I learnt an amazing amount and would highly recommend it to any mini drivers. Kendra explains things clearly in the classroom portion and then shows what she means by driving her minis.”

“Kendra’s courses are fabulous!! All easy to understand and feels like you are truly getting a individual lesson from her! Recommend all her courses! Thorough and step by step, but also allowing one to do some thinking on their own!”

“I learned a lot from this course and definitely recommend it. Kendra explains driving concepts very well and her videos demonstrate her explanations.”

Here's what to do next:

#1 - click the link to register for the course! https://classroom.miniaturehorsemanship.com/register/improving-miniature-driving-horse/

#2 - go take a "before" photo of your driving horse, because you'll want to look back and see how far you've come!

Register now, learn at your own pace, and apply what you've learned during your driving season this summer!

02/27/2025

Give your driving horse a heads up.

We can get so wrapped up in expecting our driving horses to respond instantly, that we forget that a) abrupt changes of gait usually aren’t the prettiest changes of gait, and b) when we’re talking about a Miniature Horse pulling an adult driver, it can be unfair to expect immediate responses without a little heads up first.

From Whoa to Go

Imagine your horse is standing there like a good beastie, snoozing a bit, while you await the placings in the class, or chat with your friends, or wait your turn.

It’s time to move, so your first move is to tap your horse with the whip. I’m not saying you whack him – of course you don’t. But if he’s gone from relaxed standing and snoozing to a whip touch that means MOVE YOUR FEET NOW then it’s probably a pretty rude awakening and he’s going to jump, lunge forward, slip depending on the footing, and finally regain his balance and walk off, likely feeling a little uncertain and nervous with the sudden change in situation.

Instead, what if we simply took the very small amount of time it would take to pick up the reins, take some gentle contact, stay your horse’s name, and give a verbal cue “And WALK”. The result would be the same – your horse walks off. But from his point of view, it was a much more pleasant experience, with no surprises, and he’s balanced and ready to pick up another gait right away … say a pretty trot to go pick up your ribbon for example!

Transitions Matter

Next scenario: you’re driving in the show ring at a walk, and a trot is called for by the announcer, or you’re in a dressage test and the letter is coming up where you need to make a transition to the trot.

You could use sudden clucks and/or a whip tap to chase your horse into the trot. You’ll get the trot, but it might not be pretty, and it will probably take a few strides (or more than a few) to get your trot built into something you’re proud of.

Or, you can let your horse know what’s coming, and they’ll be able to rebalance and respond promptly and be ready for a higher level of performance right away.

Help them rebalance for the transition by checking in with your contact, breath, and say And TROT! – the rein cue, breath and “and” tell them that something is coming, and TROT tells them what to do next. Give them a second to step into the trot, and if you don’t get it right away, then you can follow up with a cluck or whip cue as needed. With repetition, you won’t need to follow up with anything, as they’ll be balanced and ready when you say TROT, much more willing to step into the new gait and ready to show a quality trot right out of the transition. And if you’re in that dressage test, you can start your cue sequence wherever you need to for your horse’s level of training, to get that trot exactly when his nose crosses the letter.

By helping your horse prepare for the trot, instead of suddenly chasing them into it, you’ll have a much better trot and a much happier horse.

Go to Whoa

One more example: You need to stop. Whether you’re coming up into the lineup at the end of your class at the big registry show, or halting at X at the end of your dressage test, a good whoa is a good whoa.

Often we see people stop so abruptly that their horse’s mouth pops open, they stop dead with legs splayed as they try to rock into the weight of the cart and stop it – harder when they’re in the show ring and probably don’t have breeching on. It was a prompt whoa, sure, but was it pretty? Or pleasant for your horse?

When we’re driving a Miniature Horse, the cart and driver routinely weighs as much as they do. They can handle that, sure, but why not make it as easy on them as we can? Not to mention prettier!

Same thing, let’s warn them. As you’re coming up to where you’d like to halt, start by giving a big slow breath (horses communicate with their breath a lot, so they’re very in tune with it – learn more here!), then a very drawn out aaaaannd and finally tell them whoa. With a little practice, you won’t need to do more with your hands than support them as they stop, which means you won’t be accidentally pulling them off balance. With a little warning they’ll be able to rebalance and slow the forward momentum of both themselves and the cart and be able to stop smoothly and in balance.

Communicating to our horse what’s coming is not only going to improve your horse’s performance, but it’s going to do wonders for their confidence and your relationship with your driving horse!

If you’d like to learn more, the Improving Your Miniature Driving Horse online course includes lots on improving your communication, as well as exercises to help and so much more! https://classroom.miniaturehorsemanship.com/register/improving-miniature-driving-horse/

02/26/2025

Horses are born to move, and their movement has captured our imaginations ever since horses and humans first came in contact with one another, and Miniature Horses are no exception.

But the way that a horse moves can be good for them, building healthy musculature, allowing for freedom of motion and setting them up for a long athletic career, or their movement can harm them, building the wrong muscles, causing repetitive strain injuries, and resulting in pain and a reduced level of performance, or even a reduced life span as a result.

If you’d like to start educating your eye to identify healthy vs harmful movement in our miniature driving horses, here are a few things to watch for. While not an exhaustive or comprehensive list, it is a good place to start.

Good:
⭐ Steps and rhythm are even and equal on front and hind legs.
⭐ Both front and hind legs have the same length of stride and similar elevation.
⭐ The hind legs reach well forward, under the horse, falling at or ahead of the prints of the front feet.
⭐ The horse’s back is lifted and round – look for a very small or no space between the horses back and the backstrap of the harness.
⭐ The horse’s neck is arched, with an open throatlatch.
⭐ The horse doesn’t have difficulty breathing.
⭐ The horse’s face is soft, mouth closed, no teeth showing.
⭐ There is no use of gimmicks or tools to force posture or movement.

Bad:
🚫 The front legs are much more extreme in their movement than the hind.
🚫 You can’t identify the one-two rhythm of the trot.
🚫 The hind legs trail out behind the horse, with a large gap between the front and hind legs.
🚫 The horse’s back is hollow or even swayed, with a large space showing beneath the backstrap of the harness.
🚫 The horse’s neck is thick and hard, showing no definition, just a solid mass of muscle.
🚫 There is no obvious throatlatch, the horse’s jowl crushed against their neck.
🚫 The horse wheezes or roars in movement.
🚫 The mouth is open, or lips pulled back in a grimace. (learn more about the equine pain face)
🚫 Devices to force posture or movement are or have been used on the head or feet of the horse.

And don’t dismiss your instincts – even if you’re not experienced with horses, if you look at something and think “that doesn’t look comfortable” or “that horse doesn’t look happy” you’re probably right.

Miniature Horses are great athletes. They can be great driving horses without the painful artificial contrivances that force them into ever more extreme movement, and a championship win doesn’t necessarily mean that they are moving in a way that’s beneficial to the horse. The show ring is a unique environment, with only a short time in front of a judge, so while I truly believe that a correctly, healthy moving horse can be competitive, unfortunately in many cases the opposite is also true, and a horse who is displaying harmful movement may be the one who wins.

If your first concern is for the welfare of your horse, then understanding what you’re seeing, and what was involved in creating that movement, will help you make educated choices on behalf of your horse.

For anyone who would like to learn more about helping encourage healthy movement in your driving horse, the Improving Your Miniature Driving Horse online course is for you! https://classroom.miniaturehorsemanship.com/register/improving-miniature-driving-horse/

02/25/2025

If you’ve driven a Miniature Horse any amount of time at all, you’ve probably dealt with a crooked horse.

We’ve all been there, struggling to get their head going in the same direction as the rest of their body.

While this is a concern with all horses and disciplines, as all horses, just like humans, have a stronger side that they favour, I believe it’s even more common in Miniature Horses, as when driving we’re asking them to not only balance themselves, but also a load that is often equal to or greater than their own weight. They’re capable of doing what we ask, for sure, but we can help them out by making it as easy for them as possible. And one of the ways we can do that is by helping them be balanced and straight.

What does straight mean?

Straight doesn’t mean that we want them to be in a perfectly straight line from ears to tail all the time. In fact, we absolutely DON’T want that. We want them to be straight in the direction of travel, with weight equally distributed and well balanced. That means that if we’re turning to the left, they should be bent to the left, along their path, not travelling left with their head turned right, which is a very common issue.

How can we help?

There are a number of contributing factors that may be involved a horse who is struggling with straightness, and depending on what the cause is it might be a quick and easy fix, or take some time. But here’s some things to try!

Rule out pain first.

We tend to always assume a training issue first, when it could be that our horse has a physical reason they’re not able to do what we’re asking. We should always look for an injury or other source of potential pain before trying to “fix” anything with training. Get their teeth examined for any potential issues, recheck harness fit and comfort, have a lameness exam performed, try a massage treatment. If we’re going to have a performance horse working at the top of their game, it’s always going to be a team effort, and your vet, farrier and bodyworker are a key part of the team.

It’s not them, it’s you.

When it comes to crookedness in our driving horses, we need to look to ourselves before we blame our horses. It’s nearly always us. When I’m struggling with a horse who wants to counterbend, the more I try to “fix” it the more I end up with my body and theirs contorted and the problem worse than ever. But if I remember to stop, breath, roll my shoulders back, and drive from my core instead of my hands, things get better immediately. It’s always me making it worse by trying too hard to fix it. And chances are, it’s always you too.

Bending is weightlifting.

Like we wouldn’t expect ourselves to benchpress a hundred pounds on the first day we go to the gym, we can’t expect our horse to be able to carry themselves and a cart and driver in balance on a tight circle until they’ve had a chance to gradually build the strength to do so. Start with straight lines, big circles and wide, gentle turns until your horse has a change to get stronger, then gradually ask for more bend, smaller circles and sharper turns. Remember that the inside hind leg should be reaching well underneath their body in a correct bend – if that leg is sticking into the middle of the circle, then they’re not in balance and a bigger circle would be better for them at this stage of fitness.

No rush.

When you’re working to build a strong, balanced driving horse who can perform to their most brilliant potential, speed is not your friend – in two ways.

First, faster steps are a sign of imbalance and won’t help them build the right muscles they need to get better and better. A steady rhythm and longer steps are going to be much more beneficial – rushing is simply a sign they’re not yet strong enough for what you’re asking.

And second, changes don’t happen overnight. Quick fixes and gimmicks might show you a difference in the short term, but for your horse to truly be their best you have to allow them time to learn to carry themselves and build the fitness to to it well. Go slow, and I promise you’ll get there faster.

Just the beginning

Being aware that your horse is struggling with bending and straightness is the first step. Checking their physical comfort, your own balance, and giving them the tools and time to get stronger are the basic ingredients, but as every horse is an individual, your approach and conditioning plan will need to be tailored to what they tell you along the way.

Want to help your driving horse to be their very best? The Improving Your Miniature Driving Horse online course will show you the way! https://classroom.miniaturehorsemanship.com/register/improving-miniature-driving-horse/

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Videos

Happy New Year! May we all have healthy and happy Miniature Horses and lots of fun together in 2025!

Take a tour of the Getting Started Trick Training online course! I love this new format - I am *this close* to having the Groundwork Masterclass completely transfered over to this easily navigated structure, and will be doing the same with all my existing courses. (Cameo appearances by Henry the chihuahua puppy who I think was confused about me talking to myself lol)

Happy National I Love Horses Day!

Stampede Parade 2024!

How to show your Miniature Horse's teeth to the judge.

Play. This is Zoom (he’s the tall one) and his full brother, Vodka (the little one). Zoom was 11 months old and not yet gelded, Vodka was 4 years old, and they spent a good chunk of every day playing like this. They do still, and they're 3 and 7 years old now! When this is how horses (especially male horses, gelded or not) play with each other, it isn’t surprising that sometimes they try to initiate the same sort of games with their human. You can see how this would feel like “aggression” or “dominance” to a human! But knowing that it’s play can really change our response. We absolutely can explain to our babies that reaching over to bite our leg while we’re leading or rearing up at us isn’t a game we like to play, without hitting them or making them afraid of us. These early experiences with humans will shape how they feel about people their whole lives. Our instinct, when our horse does something we consider “bad” is to punish with hitting or sudden movements. But in this case, that’s very similar to the game they’re trying to initiate. Bopping them on the nose or shoving them away often makes them MORE likely to repeat the behaviour as they’ll think you’re playing along with their super fun rough and tumble game. So what DOES help? 1. Get your baby an equine friend. The number one way to see less play behaviours directed your way is to give them a playmate who actually likes those games. 2. Ignore what you don’t want to see repeated as much as possible. Keep yourself safe, if your youngster has really gotten in the habit, then interacting with them through a fence can make it much easier to simply step out of reach when they start with behaviour you don’t like. 3. Teach non-compatible behaviours and make them highly rewarding. They can’t chew on you if they’re learning to touch a target, or you’re reinforcing them for keeping their nose away from you. 4. Keep sessions short. Youngsters have a very short attent

I have Miniature Horses ....

Nothing like a few tricks to make feeding horses in a late March snowstorm a bit more fun! If you want to have more fun with your Miniature Horses, build a stronger relationship and better line of communication, then trick training is a great way to do that! Only two more days before the Trick Trainin Bootcamp! Join me starting April 1st to learn how to teach your horse 10 tricks in 30 days! classroom.miniaturehorsemanship.com/tricks