People very frequently ask me for advice I put in the “tips and tricks” category. How do I stop a bolting horse? What do I do when he bucks? What’s the best way to stop him from spooking? What’s the best spaghetti stick and noodle desensitization kit to buy? (Just made the last one up cause I crack me up)
The truth is I can’t answer any of those questions except with this: fix everything. From top to bottom – fix the basics, fix the relationship, ride better, look at the things contributing to this problem and fix or eliminating them, listen to your horse, and don’t ride them til they’re good and prepared. If things fall apart, get off and fix the basics again.
Kind of hard to make a viral YouTube video on this topic because there isn’t an exercise that fits everyone.
So many horses are just doing the best they can with scared riders and sorely lacking in basic understanding or preparation.
There is no harm that will ever come to you from learning to ride better, and from working on the basics. In fact, I’d say the other way has some pretty high risk.
