As a kid, I rode show hunters, and back then most of them were off-the-track Thoroughbreds–notorious for their shelly, thin feet and the tendency to lose a shoe right before an important show. I learned
Resources for Resources for Young Horses
Your horse didn’t exactly volunteer to join you on your next road trip, and isn’t pining for a big adventure or “revenge travel” to make up for lost time over the last couple years of
Horses are unique individuals with differing temperaments and a variety of idiosyncrasies. Even within one breed or type of horse, temperament can vary greatly between individuals. The more you know and understand about your horse’s
Let’s face it, we’ve become a society of instant gratification. From fast food, to fake nails, we like immediate results. This quest for instant results carries over to horsemanship, too—from flying lead changes, to
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?
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
When is the best age to begin training your young horse? http://americashorsedaily.com/young-horse-training/#.VGaGOU10xet
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
Question: I am buying a 3 month old colt that I would like to remain/turn into a stallion. I would like to teach him to be well mannered and to give specific commands for breeding,
Ask Julie Goodnight: When Should You Geld a Colt? Hi Julie, I am planning on buying a yearling stallion. I do want to geld him, but I’m not sure at what age is it ok
Ask Julie Goodnight: Does the Lead Horse Participate in Mutual Grooming? Dear Julie, First of all, I would like to thank you for your website and the information you share on it. Your Training Library
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
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
Question Category: Issues from the Saddle Question: My granddaughter and I started our yearling colt this year. He was schooled in halter. We’ve had a saddle pad and surcingle on him. He is used to
Question Category: Issues from the Saddle Question: Julie Goodnight, Thank you for answering my request. My colt is 3 years, he was born in my arms, he is an Arabian. I have been working with
Question Category: Issues from the Saddle Question: Julie, I hope you can help me with my horse. He is a 15 y/o gelding, I ride him hunt seat. He gets very irritated when I girth
Question Category: Issues from the Ground Question: Hi Julie, I have enjoyed your newsletters, and all the great training information. Also have enjoyed the tapes I purchased at the horse expo here in Denver. You
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
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
Question Category: Horse Behavior Question: I am buying a 3 month old colt that I would like to remain/turn into a stallion. I would like to teach him to be well mannered and to give
Question Category: Horse Behavior Question: Dear Julie, I recently purchased two Thoroughbred mares, because I want to breed Hunter Under Saddle Quarter Horses and Paints, and am really excited to tell you that I have
Question Category: Horse Behavior Question: Dear Julie, First of all, I would like to thank you for your website and the information you share on it. Your Training Library is quite extensive and I am
Question Category: Horse Behavior Question: Hello, I just bought a wonderful 3yr old AQHA colt/stallion. I read in your answer to Lindsay about letting them in a herd setting when they are young….I have a
Question Category: Building a Better Relationship Question: Dear Julie, I have a really good friend to whom I give horse advice, since she just purchased her first horse. This horse is a nice gelding, young–
Question Category: Building a Better Relationship Question: Hi Julie, I caught just a minute of your Ground Manners clinic yesterday at Equine Affaire. I have seen this method of twirling the lead (don’t know what
Question Category: Horse Behavior Question: Dear Julie Goodnight, Several times this spring my mare has made a sound that sounds like a Donkey; she did it on the 28th of May when I put her
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
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
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
I’m so proud of my young horse, Eddies Pick, a 3 y/o AQHA gelding from the famed 6666 Ranch, by their World Champion stallion, Sixes Pick. I bought Eddie back in April from the Legends
Born to Ride – Part 4: On Horse Master: teaching a colt the cues from the saddle for her first independent ride
Born to Ride – Part 3: On Horse Master: teaching a colt to get used to the rider’s weight and move forward with the rider
Born to Ride – Part 2: On Horse Master: teaching a colt to accept a rider mounting and dismounting
Born to Ride – Part 1: On Horse Master: teaching a colt to accept the pad and saddle for the first time
I like to talk about starting a young horse under saddle—what we used to refer to, crassly, as “breaking” a horse. It is a good sign for the state-of-the-horse-union that this term has fallen out of
Good day! Recently on Horse Master, we were replaying episode 5, “Missed Manners.” It’s about a two year old Andalusian filly who is pushy, rude and disrespectful to her handlers. The barn workers at her boarding