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Resources for boundaries
Resources for boundaries

Secret Powers are Within You!

It should go without saying that training and riding a thousand-pound flight animal is complicated—it’s the only sport I know of that involves inter-species teamwork. Riding is a partnership of two athletes—horse and human—each with
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Daily Dose of Horsemanship Homework: Ground Manners #1 Establishing Boundaries

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Daily Dose of Horsemanship Homework: Ground Manners #3, Leadline Boundaries

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Using the Boundary Stick

Julie talks about the importance of having clear boundaries with horses, and the purpose of her boundary stick.
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April 2020 Horse Report

In the four weeks since my last horse report, we have been on lockdown. Most Americans, and indeed people all over the world, are affected by this pandemic but for each of us, the effects
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Fresh Start

Like my fruits and vegetables, I prefer my horses fresh. It’s clearly not for everyone, but I enjoy riding a horse that’s a little bit excited, that’s looking down the road, eager to get there
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Consistency Counts

On one of my many visits to southern California, I was conducting a horsemanship clinic in the town of Norco, renowned for its horse-friendly lifestyle. On any given day in “Horsetown USA,” you’ll see horses
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Eddie

Equine Good Citizen Award: Is your horse eligible?

Well-mannered, easy to handle horses are a joy to be around—it’s like pushing the easy button. A calm, patient, focused horse that respects your boundaries, is eager to please and willing to do you bidding
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Back to Basics (Part 1)

“It’s time to go back to Square One.” This is a phrase we often throw out when a horse has developed undesirable behaviors, or the handler has lost all authority and control of the horse.
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A Devoted Horse

Horses rise or fall to your level of expectation, no matter how high or low. If you think he’s going to spook at something, he generally will. If you think he is going to throw
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Begging for Acceptance

Imagine you’re meeting a blind date at a coffee shop, a setup by your friend who just wouldn’t take no for an answer. Even though you’re not really interested in a relationship right now, you
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Past Performance is No Guarantee of Future Success

Anyone who has ever invested in the stock market has seen this disclaimer: Past performance is no guarantee of future success. Yet when we invest our resources into a well-trained horse, we expect a guarantee
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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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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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Off To A Good Start

Off To A Good Start Are you raising a foal or young horse? Make sure you’re setting up a good relationship with respect from the start. To start your young relationship off on the right
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Work Ethic: How Your Determination (And Your Horse’s Consistent Work) Leads To Dreams Fulfilled

A strong work ethic ensures an individual’s success—for both horses and humans. Whether you are bussing dishes or doing brain surgery, a good work ethic will make a difference in the rewards you reap and
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Winter Workouts – Ride Right With Julie Goodnight

The Trail Rider ~ January/February 2015   RIDE RIGHT WITH JULIE GOODNIGHT Winter Workouts Hone your horse’s manners and your leadership skills now for a better ride in the spring with these tips from top
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Jealous Colt

Hi Julie! My colt is now 11 hands and 275# and he’ll be 5 weeks old on Monday. He’s learning what ‘no’ means and understands he’s not supposed to bite, but he still is invading
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Teaching Babies Not To Bite

Babies, Don’t Bite! Babies like to have their mouths on everything. But the behavior that helps them learn to nurse and get nourishment can become annoying and even dangerous if allowed to continue past the
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Starting Over With A Fractious Horse

In the episode of Horse Master that we aptly called “Starting Over,” we worked with Clare and her horse “Lux” at a farm outside of Portland, Oregon. Our shoot site, Tanz-Pferde Dressage Farms (www.tanz-pferde.com, the
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Establishing Dominance

Question: I tend to be a big softy when it comes to dealing with my horse. Now I have created a horse that knows this and takes advantage of me, especially when doing groundwork. He
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No Biting Allowed

In the Horse Master episode, “Raising Her Right,” I worked with Elaine Shabazian, a longtime horsewoman and Friesian breeder with a farm on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. Elaine was recovering from knee surgery and wanted
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Teach Your Horse To Lower His Head

Caption: help your horse achieve a low headset and look calm and collected. Riding Right with Julie Goodnight Star Gazer: Teach your horse to lower his head Dear Julie, Do you have any suggestions for
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My Horse Drags Me, Circles Me And Bumps Into Me When Leading

Are you dragged, stepped on and rammed each time you lead your horse? Is your horse anxious and eager to get wherever you’re going? Does he circle you, causing you to constantly pull back to
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Barn Rules, Cleanliness & Respect At Feeding Time

Like most horse trainers, when it comes to my barn, I run a tight ship and I like things very orderly and very systematic. Even though my barn is totally private—no outside horses for training,
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Issues From The Ground: Pins Ears And Bites While Leading

Question Category: Issues from the Ground Question: Dear Julie, I purchased your Lead Line Leadership DVD and have a question. I have a 9 year-old Arabian gelding who I received from a friend about 6
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Issues from the Ground: Lead line leadership

Question Category: Issues from the Ground Question: I know I need to teach my horse to respect me while I’m leading him at halter. He’s pushy and pulls me. How do I get started? How
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Issues From The Ground: Colt Kicks And Rears While Leading

Question Category: Issues from the Ground Question: I have a three month old colt. We halter him every day to lead him to and from his pasture. We started leading him with a butt rope
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Issues From The Ground: 2 Y/O Gelding Acting Aggressively

Question Category: Issues from the Ground Question: Dear Julie, I have an AQHA gelding that will be 2 on April 26, who has started to become unpredictable. When my trainer bought him as a yearling
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Horse Behavior: Quiz: Is Natural Horsemanship Right For Your Horse?

Question Category: Horse Behavior Question: Understanding Natural Horsemanship Part I of a three part series on Natural Horsemanship By Julie Goodnight READER’S QUIZ Will Natural Horsemanship Help My Horse and Me? Take this quiz to
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Building A Better Relationship: My New Horse Is Challenging Me

Question Category: Building a Better Relationship Question: Dear Julie, I just purchased my first horse, Toby, three weeks ago as an adult beginner. He is an 8 year old paint gelding and I moved him
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Building A Better Relationship: My Horse Takes Advantage Of Me, But Not My Husband

Copyright ©Julie Goodnight 2000. All Rights Reserved. No part of this website may be reproduced without owner’s express consent. Backlinks are allowed. Question Category: Building a Better Relationship Question: Hi Julie – I tend to
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Horse Behavior: Nipping Colt

Question Category: Horse Behavior Question: Hi Julie, Here is my problem. My yearling colt, Scout, bites. It’s now become a game to him. He didn’t bite the first 3-4 months when I first brought him
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Keeping Your Horse Healthy Through The Stages Of Life Part 1: The Young Horses

Keeping Your Horse Healthy Through the Stages of Life Part 1: The Young Horses In the small town where I live, we have a large school complex with three different buildings– the elementary, the middle
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Raise Your Foal Right

Recently I was in Hamilton, New Zealand, as a clinician at EquiDays— their national horse expo. I met a lot of great people there, including three talented horsewomen, who were demonstrating their skills in a
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Good Horse Gone Bad

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times. “My new horse has turned out to be a nightmare. The seller misrepresented him as a well-trained horse. I think he was drugged when
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The Great Escape

This is the episode that is airing this week on Horse Master—it’s about a horse that learned to run off every time his owner longed him. It is one that stands out in my memories
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Home From The Oregon Horse Master Shoot

In the whirlwind of the past three weeks, I have been scrambling from one thing to the next, starting with a clinic in CO, followed by a shoot in OR for Horse Master, then July
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