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Resources for Training Advice
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Behavior Bummers

Does your trail horse paw, walk off when you mount up, or go at an inconsistent speed? Correct these behavioral woes with these techniques from top trainer/clinician Julie Goodnight. BY JULIE GOODNIGHT WITH HEIDI MELOCCO 
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Julie Goodnight Q&A: Bit Tips

Question: I just purchased a seven-year-old gelding. The previous owner was riding him in a single-jointed snaffle bit. Now, I’m looking for a bit for him and he has responded badly to a D-ring snaffle,
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Stop In An Emergency

    The Trail Rider ~ May/June 2016 Riding Right   Stop in an Emergency The one-rein stop is often taught as the go-to aid for slowing and stopping a rowdy horse. But on a
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The Pully-Rein Stop

The Trail Rider ~ May 2016 Ride Right with Julie Goodnight   To watch Julie Goodnight demonstrate how to perform the pulley-rein stop, go to TrailRiderMag.com.   The Pulley-Rein Stop Learn how to stop a
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Q & A – How To Introduce Kids To Horses And Riding

Q: What are safe tips to introduce my kids to horses and riding? I want them to love riding but don’t want to do too much too soon and end up pushing them away. –Mya
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Q & A – How To Make Picking Hooves Easier

Q: Sometimes when I’m picking out my horse’s hooves, she pulls it down onto the floor. If I hold it tightly, she tries to jerk it away. How can I make picking out feet easier?
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Extended Trot Instead Of Canter Cue

Julie Goodnight Q&A Q: How do I get my horse to move out at the trot without breaking into a lope? He’s a western horse learning dressage and the extended trot is part of the
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Cinching Up Just Enough – Julie Goodnight Q & A

Q: How tight should I tighten my horse’s cinch—and what is the right process. I don’t want to hurt my horse and I want to make sure he never becomes cinchy. –Pam Friend, via e-mail
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My Horse Consistently Breaks Gait From A Lope To A Jog On The Right Lead. Q & A

Q: My horse consistently breaks gait from a lope to a jog on the right lead. What may be causing this? –Haley White A: This is an interesting question—and I wish I had a few
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Feed-Time Aggression Q & A

Question: Why do some horses feel threatened when it comes to their food, and in return behave in an aggressive way at meal times? What can I do to prevent food-time aggression and stay safe
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3 Leadership Activities

By: Heidi Melocco with Julie Goodnight Top trainer/clinician Julie Goodnight gives you three fun activities designed to enhance the bond you have with your horse and solidify your role as herd leader. During cold winter
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Choose The Right Reins

RIDE RIGHT//NOV-DEC 2015   Online extra! For Julie Goodnight’s tip on using color-coded reins for kids, go to TrailRider.com.   Choose the Right Reins Learn how choose the right reins, and use them safely on the
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A Safe Handle On The Reins

A Safe Handle on the Reins   By Heidi Nyland Melocco with Julie Goodnight   Learn how to safely use your reins on the trail with top trainer/clinician Julie Goodnight. She’ll explain how to hold and
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Decoding Your Trainer, Part 1

Understand elusive riding terminology to get the most out of your ride time Concept and Written by Julie Goodnight ©2013 You know the feeling. You ride in a lesson and think you understand just what
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Horses Need Horses

Relationship Fix Series   By Julie Goodnight with Heidi Melocco   Top trainer Julie Goodnight discusses how horses gain a sense of calm and necessary interaction with the herd—and how their time with other horses
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Master Each Gait

TTR JULY/AUGUST 2015 ~ FEATURE Master Each Gait What can you do to speed up a slow-walking horse and slow down a horse that’s too fast at the trot? And should you ever canter on
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Stupid Human Tricks

Relationship Rescue with Julie Goodnight Stupid Human Tricks: Unsafe Mistakes We Make Around Horses If you get too comfortable around a horse (even one that you have a great relationship with), you may put yourself
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Saddle Fit Guide

RIDE RIGHT WITH Julie Goodnight Saddle Up By Heidi Melocco with Julie Goodnight — Photos by Heidi Melocco   When did you last check your horse’s saddle fit? Many horses change body shape and therefore
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Trail Tips: When To Water, Lead Across Obstacles, Don’t Allow Your Horse To Eat With A Bit

Trail Tips: When to water, lead across obstacles, don’t allow your horse to eat with a bit Take Water Breaks Horses should have access to clean water at least twice a day. Normally, a horse
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Fear Management

What do you do if you have ridden successfully in the past but a scary incident or injury replaced fun with fear? I hear from many riders who were once confident and after an accident
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Surviving First Canter Lessons

Teaching Techniques Surviving First Canter Lessons By Julie Goodnight Canter: Sometimes, the mere mention of the word is enough to send riding students into panic and cause high blood pressure in the instructor. And it
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On The Rail: Q And A

Question: I work as a therapeutic riding instructor at a facility that has about 20+ horses. We have all types of horse behavior issues that creep up before we know it. I’ve seen a gelding
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Integrating New Horses Into Lesson Programs: Q And A

Question: The camp where I work mainly serves kids which have never ridden before, and some of our horses will have 15 different riders in a week between campers and horse lessons. Some of our
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Teach –Ride At Will During A Lesson

Riding lessons are all about imparting information and developing rider skill, but sometimes students are over-loaded with information. It’s helpful to plan practice time in each lesson– either at the end of the lesson for
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Tack – Cheek Piece

For many horses, particularly in the winter when the hair coat is very thick, pulling the bridle over the ears is a tight fit and can cause a lot of momentary discomfort in the horse’s
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Herd – The Frog Sloughs!

The frog of the hoof grows continuously and is an important structure of the foot. Traditionally, farriers would trim the frog back, keeping it very neat and trim, but increasingly farriers are leaving the frog
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Top Tips To Prepare Your Senior Horse For Winter

What defines a senior horse? While there is no consensus among experts about what constitutes a “senior” horse, most agree that it is not based on chronological age but on physiological age. Some horses may
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Julie’s Tips On America’s Horse Daily

Find Julie’s tips from the AQHA publication. Tips about riding a rough trot, dealing with a head shy horse, links to safety videos, cantering tips, manners at feed time and more. Videos and articles await>>
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Horseback Riding Basics: Using Your Aids, Part 2 from AQHA Daily

Clear, consistent communication is the key to smooth transitions with your horse. AQHA Professional Horsewoman Julie Goodnight explains that your horse comes to understand how you’re moving with how he’s moving and that you can
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Your Horse’s Quiet Place; Teaching the head down cue

Getting your horse to drop his head gives him a serene, quiet place to be. It’s a great horse-training technique. From AQHA Professional Horsewoman and Certified Horsemanship Association instructor Julie Goodnight. Your horse’s head is
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In-Depth Thoughts On The Combination Bit

Why would you use a rawhide nose band to achieve results with a lighter touch? Why not just do the training to have the horse understand the lighter pressure with a softer nose band? Rawhide
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The Dish On Discipline

In a perfect world, horses would never bite, kick or misbehave. You know you need to correct your horse, but how do you know what is appropriate or too much “in the moment?” Here, top
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Fear Of Bugs?

Does Your Horse Have A Fear Of Bugs? Check out this Q and A with Julie Goodnight. Question: My horse has a fear of bugs, over the last year it has steadily gotten worse to
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To Buy Or Not To Buy

To Buy or Not to Buy? Do you have your eye on a stock-horse breed for your next surefooted trail horse? Follow top trainer/clinician Julie Goodnight’s seven expert horse-evaluation steps to help ensure a successful
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Finding A Kid’s Horse

Finding a Kid’s Horse Older is Better—You want a horse that is set in his ways, experienced and unflappable. The Rule of 20 says that the age of the horse plus the age of the
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The Secret? Keep It Simple!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE www.GettyEquineNutrition.com July 30, 2015 The Secret? Keep It Simple! By Juliet M. Getty, Ph.D. We know they’re out there. Horses who are enjoying life. Horses who are brimming with health – strong
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Relationship Fix Series

Relationship Fix Series   Bonding Dos and Don’ts   By Julie Goodnight with Heidi Melocco   Top trainer Julie Goodnight discusses how to show your horse affection without deteriorating your leadership in your herd of
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ABC’s Volume 2 Care And Maintenance

First Aid   Sometimes it seems like a horse could hurt himself even if you locked him in a padded stall. Running and playing with other horses keeps your horse happy but may mean he
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What Supplements I Feed My Horses

With a high-quality forage, horses may not need concentrates or supplements at all, but all my horses get supplements because I want them to look and feel their best. For the most part, my horses
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Horse Illustrated – Julie Goodnight Q & A

Cheating the Circle During Round Pen Work; Following the Herd Hierarchy at Feed Time Q: How can I get my horse to longe or round pen in a complete circle? He keeps cutting in to
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Expert Trailer-Loading Fix

Have you ever had trouble loading your horse into the trailer — even when he’s loaded successfully in his past? There’s a chance you may unknowingly be contributing to his trailering issues. It’s easy to
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Horses That Graze on Pasture All Day Eat More Slowly

Feeding Tips from Dr. Juliet Getty Horses That Graze All Day on Pasture Eat More Slowly If you let your horse out to graze on pasture for only a few hours each day, and provide
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Ride Right With Julie Goodnight: Confidence on the Trail

It’s easy to lose confidence on the trail if your well-trained horse has defied you or refused to go forward. A threat to bolt or rear can make a confident rider worry and, in turn,
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Bits Approved for Dressage Shows

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Riding Bridleless, Part 1 from Horse Illustrated

Julie talks about what you need to know before you even think about taking off the bridle. See the PDF>>Bridleless Preparation PDF
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Canter Malfunctions

Top trainer Julie Goodnight helps you analyze your riding posture and prepare you for the perfect canter. Find out how rider errors contribute to wrong leads and more. By Julie Goodnight with Heidi Melocco Cantering
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Stopping Saddle Squeaks

Stopping Saddle Squeaks There’s nothing worse than riding around the arena in a saddle that’s so loud that everyone can hear you coming. The solution is simple. Take some baby powder and sprinkle it between
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Ground-Work Exercises

RIDE RIGHT WITH JULIE GOODNIGHT Ground-Work Exercises Hone your horse’s manners and your leadership skills over the winter for a better ride in the spring with these tips from top trainer/clinician For more on how
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My Horse Goes Where He Wants To Go

Does your horse always cut the corners in the arena? Does he veer around little obstacles—such as puddles—even though you told him to go straight through? Do your circles become smaller and smaller as you
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Saddle Sore No More

As we get older, time in the saddle can bring on aches and pains. Here’s one horseman’s advice on how to minimize discomfort and enjoy your rides. http://www.equisearch.com/the-trail-rider/learn-ropes
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