Understanding Horses Part 6: Trailer Loading, Part 2

Last month we talked about how to aggravate the horse to load into a trailer. Remember, this isn’t beating the horse or getting angry. It’s like the horsefly being able to make a 1,000-pound horse move. You merely make it more comfortable to be

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A Late Start

I have a 5-month-old colt that was never halter broken. According to the breeder, it appeared that at one point a halter had been put on him, and the experience was traumatic for him.

Since he came home with me, I have been spending time with

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Understanding Horses Part 5: Trailer Loading Part 1

The reason most horses don’t load in trailers is that owners have studiously trained them to not load. Horses learn this by accident. The horse gets led up to the trailer and decides not to go in and turns sideways. Then the owner leads him away an

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Calculating the Equine Attention Span

Using operant conditioning, scientists have quantified horses’ attention spans, and they have drawn some conclusions that could help horse trainers and owners better understand their charges and how they learn.

The researchers at

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Let Nature Work it Out (Shy Stud Colt)

I desperately need some advice about my new colt. He is a 2?-year-old Gypsy Cob named Geordie. He was raised in a herd, then separated as a yearling colt, and ran with a colt herd until I imported him to Australia. He is naturally gentle and not

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Understanding Horses Part 4: An Epic Day

People are shocked that I give my horses treats. I tell them there’s a big difference in giving your horse treats, and him demanding treats. My horses don’t demand treats. I don’t show them treats before I catch them. Consider my horse Epic. I give

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Herd Instincts: Sparring

My horse was seen biting another horse in the throat. They were up on their hind legs supposedly playing when all of a sudden my horse made a very unusual move, according to the witness, and bit the other horse in the throat. The other horse ran an

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Understanding Horses: Basics #2 and #3

Last month we started talking about the three things every horse needs to know to make his rider happy. My hero, champion reining horse owner and trainer Dick Pieper, told me I had been making the training of my horses way too complicated. “You

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Overexcited Stallion

I have a stallion that “saucers” (exhibits glans penis enlargement) prior to mounting. Any suggestions?

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Keeping Stallions Focused

I’m a veterinary student from the United Kingdom and have been riding with a stud farm veterinarian in America going from place to place. I am trying to figure out the art of handling stallions for breeding. Can you please enlighten me on the

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Understanding Horses: Basic Movement #1

Champion reining horse owner/trainer Dick Pieper is my hero. I was showing and winning, but I wasn’t completely happy with my reiners. In less than an hour under Dick’s tutelage, I learned more than I had in the last 20 years. He said I was making

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Hormone and Drug Use in the Stallion

Many hormone and drug treatments could have a negative impact on the endocrine system, so it’s best to avoid using them altogether in the breeding stallion. However, Sue M. McDonnell, PhD, Certified AAB, of the University of Pennsylvania’s School

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Orphans and Families

I wanted to share with you a horse behavior experience that I had after I lost my best broodmare. “Janet” died overnight on May 30, 2006, at age 22. She looked remarkably great for her age, so we were breeding her back to our stallion. She was

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What’s Wrong? (Understanding Horses)

How do you tell if a horse has a physical, behavioral, or a training problem? Once you rule out a physical condition, are the other two options that different from one another?


Andy Anderson, DVM, grew up training, riding, and showing

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Take Time to Analyze Bad Bit Manners

The average horse weighs at least five or six times the average human adult. So it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to predict who’s going to win if they get into a pulling contest.


Humans who find themselves in pulling matches with

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