Well hello and welcome to the show! In this episode renowned horse trainer Ken McNabb talks about mounting blocks and teaching your horse to come pick you up from wherever you are! If you are looking for “a leg up” then this episode is for you! Coming up on Discovering the Horseman Within.
MOUNTING BLOCK EXERCISE FOR YOUR HORSE
Do you struggle mounting your horse?
Will your horse not stand still to let you get on?
Are you always looking for a way to get a lift up?
When you are out riding on the trail, do you worry about stepping off and getting back on?
If you answered yes to any of these questions then this exercise is for you!
EXERCISE SHORT REVIEW
(Teaching your horse to come pick you up. How? Using release!)
Step 1: Start by working parallel to a fence. Use the bit to stop going forward. Use whip to stop horse from going to backwards.
Step 2: Kiss to the horse and tap with the whip (1,2,3 Pause 1,2,3 Pause). Continue until the horse steps towards you and immediately release. Repeat this series, remaining consistent and asking for more. Your horse may not be terribly confident with the process of pushing into you. They know that they are not supposed to step on you. Don’t release until they achieve the next step, where you want them to go.
Step 3: Now move away from the fence and start the same exercise with the mounting block.
**This is a very simple exercise; however, your timing is critical.**
KEY HORSEMANSHIP LESSONS
-Training is repetition. Training is consistency. Your horse is never any more consistent than you are and he must understand the question we are asking. If the answer to the question always keeps changing the horse will never know what answer to give you. The question and answer ALWAYS NEED TO STAY CONSISTENT. We can change the environment anyway we want, but the question and answer must be the same. One of the biggest mistakes we make as trainers is we do something once or twice and then we think the horse has got it.
-An important thing to remember isn’t that you have the right tool, the important thing to remember is that you have the concept of what you are doing.
-There is no more important piece of horsemanship than release.
Until Next Time, May God Bless the Trails You Ride ~Ken McNabb
kenmcnabb.com
dmhorses.com
