{"id":21737,"date":"2025-11-14T01:00:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T08:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/?p=21737"},"modified":"2025-11-13T22:43:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T05:43:00","slug":"horse-training-basics-keep-on-keeping-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2025\/11\/14\/horse-training-basics-keep-on-keeping-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Horse Training Basics: Keep on Keeping on"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Patty Wilber<\/em><\/p>\n

Clinton Anderson<\/strong> talks frequently about horse training requiring hundreds to thousands of repetitions.<\/p>\n

Buck Brannaman<\/strong> emphasizes “many, many repetitions until it becomes the horse\u2019s idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ray Hunt<\/strong> said, \u201c<\/em>You can\u2019t teach a horse anything; you just create the right habits.\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Tom Dorrance<\/strong> mentions repeating steps until the horse finds relief in the right answer.<\/p>\n

One of Pat Parelli’s<\/strong> aphorisms is “Take the time it takes, so it takes less time.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In reviewing articles about creating new habits in humans,<\/strong> I found this Scientific American Article (2024):<\/a> “A hallmark 2009 study on habit creation found that habits developed in a range of 18 to 254 days; participants reported taking an\u00a0average of about 66 days<\/a> to reliably incorporate one of three new daily activities… Consistent daily repetition was the biggest factor influencing whether a behavior would become part of an automatic daily routine…”<\/p>\n

All these agree<\/strong> that building new behaviors takes time. Thus, to train an ordinary horse to be a reasonably good citizen, one of the keys is persistence.<\/p>\n

Are other factors important?\u00a0<\/strong> Sure. Skill, timing, balance, a talented horse, proper equipment, and I am sure everyone can think of five more things, but with calm, quiet persistence, a whole lot can be accomplished, eventually.<\/p>\n

Eons ago,<\/strong> I had a person come wanting to compete in western pleasure.\u00a0 They were pretty handy, and the horse was easy to get along with.\u00a0 The lessons went well, but instead of reinforcing the skills we covered, they went home and did things like run barrels with their friends. Naturally, the horse didn’t learn to do western pleasure.<\/p>\n

I had a friend that needed<\/strong> their horse to trailer load better.\u00a0 They spend an entire day working on it.\u00a0 It wasn’t the easiest day, and there might have been a smoother way, but persistence paid off.\u00a0 By the end of the day, the horse loaded like a champ.<\/p>\n

I had a Fjord<\/strong> that didn’t want to canter under saddle.\u00a0 He didn’t buck or do anything dangerous.\u00a0 He knew how to canter on the lunge line, but he just didn’t want to lope under saddle.\u00a0 At first, I was going crazy as I was not making noticeable progress.\u00a0 I called a trainer specializing in Fjords. She suggested I first accept faster trotting, and then have the owner lunge him while I rode.\u00a0 This took a few weeks, but eventually, he was comfortable, and he learned to canter under saddle.<\/p>\n

One of the first horses I solidified lead changes on was a <\/strong>Whisering Spirit mare bred by Connie Hunter. The horse learned lead changes in four tries on one single day.\u00a0 She went on to win a big event that featured lead changes.\u00a0 No persistence needed. I thought I was brilliant–(turned out the horse was the brilliant one). When I went to teach lead changes to other horses, I learned that for most horses, I just had to keep on keeping on, sometimes for months, and eventually, the lead changes fell into place.<\/p>\n

In today’s instant gratification<\/strong> clickbait world, it is still true that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are good horses or new habits.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Penny! People said she was stubborn, but honestly, we’ve always gotten along. Maybe because we had time.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Patty Wilber Clinton Anderson talks frequently about horse training requiring hundreds to thousands of repetitions. Buck Brannaman emphasizes “many, many repetitions until it becomes the horse\u2019s idea.\u201d Ray Hunt said, \u201cYou can\u2019t teach a horse anything; you just create … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[89,23,158],"class_list":["post-21737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-write-horse","tag-horses","tag-riding","tag-the-write-horse"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb2lc3-5EB","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20175,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2023\/06\/23\/training-plateaus-and-i-am-done-with-radiation\/","url_meta":{"origin":21737,"position":0},"title":"Training Plateaus and I am Done with Radiation!","author":"BlogPatty","date":"2306.23","format":false,"excerpt":"By Patty Wilber I finished my 20 radiation treatments on Wednesday!\u00a0 My photon-fried skin should start feeling better in a few more days.\u00a0 The electron bombarded site seems less upset. The radiation folks were really nice, but I am not going to miss laying on my back, perfectly still, with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Write Horse"","block_context":{"text":"The Write Horse","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/the-write-horse\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/DSC_0060-.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/DSC_0060-.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/DSC_0060-.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/DSC_0060-.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21573,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2025\/07\/24\/move-the-horses-hip\/","url_meta":{"origin":21737,"position":1},"title":"Move the Horse’s Hip","author":"BlogPatty","date":"2507.24","format":false,"excerpt":"By Patty Wilber I recently read a FaceBook post by a cowhorse trainer called \"Why I Don\u2019t Disengage a Horse\u2019s Hindquarters\". It is by B1 Horsemanship. I spent a week or two thinking about what he said and decided not to get on that bandwagon. 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There a lots of great resources about the techniques involved\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Write Horse"","block_context":{"text":"The Write Horse","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/the-write-horse\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/20220717_081927-300x214.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3990,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2011\/05\/13\/born-that-way\/","url_meta":{"origin":21737,"position":3},"title":"Born that Way","author":"BlogPatty","date":"1105.13","format":false,"excerpt":"By Patty Wilber I read an article talking about the early days in reining and the importance of having a horse that was bred for its job. Born that way! Buckshot (A Para Dox) (click his name to see pictures)\u00a0 is a four year old stallion that is bred to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Write Horse"","block_context":{"text":"The Write Horse","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/the-write-horse\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/christmas-068-233x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15296,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2018\/03\/09\/pen-remodel-and-a-training-experiment\/","url_meta":{"origin":21737,"position":4},"title":"Pen Remodel and a Training Experiment","author":"BlogPatty","date":"1803.09","format":false,"excerpt":"By Patty Wilber I was talking to my friend Dr. Stacie about treats as training aids. I am not a big treat giver, although I did train horses to the clippers with treats.\u00a0 It got to the point that when the horses heard the clippers they would come and offer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Write Horse"","block_context":{"text":"The Write Horse","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/the-write-horse\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/20170729_163043-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9429,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2013\/10\/25\/ground-tie\/","url_meta":{"origin":21737,"position":5},"title":"Ground Tie","author":"BlogPatty","date":"1310.25","format":false,"excerpt":"By Patty Wilber A horse that can \"ground tie\" stands \u00a0in place, without eating, when you drop the reins or lead rope and say \"whoa!\" This can be useful if, say, you are fixing fence on the prairie where there are no trees and you don't feel like tying your\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Write Horse"","block_context":{"text":"The Write Horse","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/the-write-horse\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Toots, on the gravel, square and not moving. 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