08/06/2026
Sometimes horse training can look as interesting as watching paint dry.
Sit with that for a minute.
Everyone gets excited for the big run downs and stops. It’s easy to be wowed when a horse is slinging dirt in a turn.
But the way we get there is likely to put many people to sleep when they watch it.
If you want a horse to steer by using very little rein, you spend hours at a walk reinforcing the horse turning when you turn your head to look where you want to go.
When you want a horse to stop off of a leg release, you spend hours walking around and snapping your legs off, reinforcing that stop and back.
This is where most people get bored. They want to hurry up to the “fun” parts, where they get to go fast and do cool maneuvers. But none of that works if the time isn’t spent at a slow speed to really ingrain that response.
Think about if your car had a habit of suddenly veering off to the right whenever it felt like it. Would you feel comfortable taking that car down the highway knowing you would essentially be wrestling a bear to keep it between the lines?
No.
If I can’t make what I want to happen happen at 4 miles per hour, I have no business going highway speeds and expecting a better outcome.
Slow down. Zero in on how much you are cueing. See if you can get that horse to place his left front foot exactly where you want it. See how little you can do to get them to turn. See if a slight shift in weight is enough for them to slow down or stop.
You might find out your horse is broker than you think.
You might also find that you have some work to do.
Do the slow work.
You won’t regret it.
