10 RULES TO MAKE YOUR RIDING EXPERIENCE MORE REWARDING

1. Look after your own personal safety first, then your horse's:
And, of course, the safety of anyone nearby. Working with a horse is different from working with smaller animals. Even a horse who doesn't want to hurt you may do so by accident. He has so much size, power and quickness that a slight miscalculation on his part can result in serious
injury to someone. We have seen some very experienced horse people who have been too close
and were nailed by a horse who was just playing and got a little careless.
Don't be careless yourself.

2. The most important factor in having a horse who wants to please you is genuine caring on YOUR part!
Horses are very forgiving of the people who truly love them ... even when we make mistakes
that are frightening or even painful.

3. Make learning fun for both of you!
Look for ways to make the horse feel successful, not frustrated or angry. REMEMBER ... you
are a team and it is not a contest! If you get bored or frustrated during a training session, change your routine. If you aren't having fun, your horse won't either. Use a LOT of praise and smiles.
When you smile, it makes you feel happy and your horse will sense this and feel happy, too.

4. If it doesn't seem to be working, try something else:
Helping your horse solve it's problems is a lot of trial and error.

5. Be patient, persistent and consistent:
PATIENCE: Take the time it takes! Don't try to get it all done in 1 day. Only if you are willing
to take the time it takes doing the basic stuff will you get the best results. That doesn't mean you have to continue to do the same boring things over and over. That does mean that as you move forward and see weaknesses, you must have the patience and persistence to go back and fix
what isn't right. As you are persistent asking what you want, so you are consistent.

6. Always ask yourself "WHY?"
Don't make the "just" assumption, "the horse is just being a stinker," or "just wants to annoy me,"
or "that's just the way he is." Horses have reasons for everything they do. It often takes a long time to understand the reason. Sometimes you won't know for sure but you make an educated guess.
In the case of sudden behavioral changes, always look for a physical cause - something that is causing pain or the potential for pain.

7. Beware of shortcuts and quick fixes:
A horse doesn't develop a bad habit or attitude in a day, and you aren't going to fix it in 1 or 2 training sessions. Physiologically, it takes three times as long to change a habit as it did to
develop it in the first place. The true "shortcut" is to learn as much as you can, so you can find
the true cause of the problem and select the best method for solving it.

8. Always quit when you're both ahead:
It's so tempting to do it "one more time" when things are going well. Besides risking failure,
you also take away the horse's feeling of success, which is what makes him want to do it again tomorrow. ALWAYS praise and make a BIG DEAL out of your horse's success!

9. You don't always have to win!
Remember ... it is NEVER a contest! Sometimes when you are simply getting nowhere, leave it alone, rather than making a big issue of a particular problem. Work on other, totally unrelated
things that you and your horse can enjoy together. After a few weeks of this, if the problem comes up again, the horse's entire attitude toward you and it may have changes to the point where he no longer sees it something to worry about.

10. If you don't know ... ask!
If you have a problem that you can't resolve, find someone you know AND trust to help you. Or,
you are always welcome to email us at worth@worthmiller.com and we will be happy to try
to guide you.

Until next time, remember ... ALWAYS reward the slightest try!
You CAN ride a better horse ... yours!