Training your horse

What to do:
When you're training your horse to either race, jump or barrel race you have to start with the basics. Before you teach him anything you should get him used to wearing a saddle and bridle. You can get him used to it by putting them on him for a few minutes then taking them off, in his\her stall. Slowly leave them on for a little longer. Once he\she seems to be okay wearing them take him\her out and walk him\her around the arena a few times, eventually you can start lunging them with their bridle and saddle on to get them comfortable with wearing them while being worked. Eventually once you think your horse is ready you can ride him.
When you’re training your horse you always want to start off by just walking around, so your horse can get the feel of having someone on his back. Eventually you will be able to train your horse to trot and canter. You need to first teach your horse that when you squeeze his stomach that means go and when you pull back on the reins that means stop or slow down.
Always remember to take things slow don’t ever rush your horse into doing something he's not yet able to do, it will come eventually. It's very important to be patient, redo things numerous times to get your horse used to them before moving on to the next thing. Finally remember to always give your horse praise by giving him treats of patting his neck to let him now he's done a good job, this will encourage your horse to work hard knowing he's going to be rewarded.


What not to do:
When you’re training your horse you should never wear spurs or use a crop. Your horse is just getting used to having someone ride him, poking him in the belly with spurs or hitting him on the bum with a crop will scare him and he'll become harder to ride and lose confidence in you.
Never rush him\her into doing something he's not yet ready to do.
Never get cross with him\her and hit him\her this will only make him\her not want to listen to you and refuse to do what you tell him, it could also make him scared and not like people, these types of habits could stick with him forever.