Turning on a Dime

Welcome to your next issue of "Horse Class," your how-to source for equine tips, tricks and solid foundational training brought to you by horsemanship101.com and John Lyons Certified Trainer Keith Hosman. When you ask your horse to turn - does it happen now - or later? Do you drift and shuffle or turn on a dime? If your circles are more rectangular than round, have I got the article for you! And when you attend a clinic or ride with your instructor, do you come away feeling overwhelmed - or focused like Austin Power's laser beam? This issue's featured article, "Simple Steps to Power Steering," teaches you how to tune your turns and offers tips on how to maximize your next training session. You'll find the article sampled below. To read it in its entirety, simply follow the link provided or visit Horsemanship101.com/Articles. - - - How are you going to train your new baby? We don't train babies the same as we do adults. It's very similar - you go through similar motions - but babies are fragile and have their own set of rules. Check out the following books and videos: - Early Learning (imprinting, DVD) - Foal Handling (ground manners, DVD) - Bringing Up Baby (20-lesson workbook, a classic) - Foaling Fundamentals (prep for the novice, DVD) - Foaling Primer (birth to weaning, book) Want my recommendations? "Bringing Up Baby" and the "Foaling Primer" are the books you'll refer to time and time again - usually at 3am when nobody else can tell you why your horse is doing this, when to expect that - and what the heck it all means. You waited 11 months for the baby - you'll want good advice when it arrives! - - - Remember, previous issues can be found 24/7 at Horsemanship101.com/Articles. Most can be printed out and saved for reference later. - - - Jump to the full article: "Simple Steps to Power Steering"

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Easy Steps to Power Steering

Training is simply a matter of stringing together small, simple concepts. And, when things are going awry, it's often because something small hasn't been taught, is being overlooked or is being dismissed as "unimportant." God (or is it the Devil?) is in the details, as they say. Any time you set out to improve yourself, whether to be a better rider, a more accomplished pianist or a more "learned law student," you'll come out ahead if you challenge yourself to learn one specific thing that makes your time well-spent. From an equestrian's perspective, this means that you don't put down a training book till you've committed to memory some small fact that you can later put to use. It means that you keep querying the next pro trainer you talk to till you glean some piece of info that you can tuck away, something to call upon in the future. It means you sit in the stands at your next riding clinic, waiting, waiting, waiting for that single piece of knowledge that makes the cost of gas it took to get there pay off. To put a finer point on this, don't go to your next clinic or through your next riding lesson trying to remember everything the pro tells you. You'll lose the trees for the forest. Information will wash over you and a day or so later, you'll throw up your arms in exasperation because you're not a tape recorder and you've forgotten what comes after this or that. You'll be frustrated and make zero improvement. (This is why training DVDs and books exist.) Instead, concentrate on picking up one, single thing. Wait for it, then chew it up in your head, imagine putting it to use, ruminate, ponder and reflect. Ask questions. You know something best when you're able to teach it to someone else, so repeat it back to your instructor or mention it to another student. You've invested time and money to be there; challenge yourself to find one simple concept that made your trip worthwhile - and make sure you really know it. (Pick up the DVDs if you need a frame-by-frame replay.... keep reading this article