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Why Obstacle Training is Good for Every Horse by Mark Bolender Your horse’s mind is an amazing place, but understanding the basics is an absolute necessity in order to effectively train it. The reality is I want to change the horse’s natural instinct, reaction, and teach it to think …
Create Your Own Challenge and Learn Easy Tips for Mastery With a little know-how, a rock obstacle is easy to construct and easy to master. I love this obstacle because it teaches a horse to slow down and think. It will teach the horse to carefully pick up and place …
How Horses Teach Us to Be Better Leaders by Mark Bolender It never ceases to amaze me how consistently the horse remains a forgiving creature. I can’t tell you how many mistakes I have made in training, and how many mistakes I have observed being made, that the horse continues …
Gain Success Navigating a Frustrating Obstacle by Mark Bolender The raised back-through can often be a frustrating experience for the horse and rider. I commonly hear this: “I don’t understand why my horse will not trust me more and just do it.” Often their horse is pushy when being …
Become an Effective Leader by Working with Your Horse’s Natural Instinct by Mark Bolender The principle of “thinking it through” applies to both horse and rider and is a powerful tool if used properly. It is a change from just lunging the horse next to a scary obstacle (which …
Train Your Horse to Calmly Negotiate Rolling Logs by Mark Bolender A scramble is an obstacle designed to teach the horse how to walk through a set of small rolling logs that move. This obstacle is a result of a real trail situation where I was riding near Mount …
Learn How to Build and Train this Challenging Obstacle by Mark Bolender More and more trail challenges include a small 42 inch box that requires the horse to step up onto it and turn around. When you see an experienced horse negotiate the obstacle it looks very simple. This obstacle …
Begin on the Ground to Safely Jump from the Saddle by Mark Bolender Recently, while riding near Mount St. Helens in WA State, the trail came up to a washout. In order to continue on without a lengthy back track, I needed to get my horse to jump up …
Prepare Your Horse to Cross Frozen Puddles by Mark Bolender When trail riding in the winter, early spring, and/or late fall, you can expect to find frozen puddles. The crackling sound of breaking ice often catches horses by surprise, putting the rider at risk of being dismounted when it …
How to Master a Challenging Obstacle by Mark Bolender An extreme trail obstacle that most horses hate is the squirting water box. This is a standard water box, but floating on top of the water is a 4’ x 8’ piece of plywood that has holes drilled into it. …