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Petting & scratching your horse are the easiest way to reward your horse. Do you know where your horse likes to be scratched the most? Can you name the three best spots to scratch your horse? Would your horse rather be scratched by you than eat? This is such a simple thing to do that doesn't cost any money and gets the horse to understand when it has done something correctly.

Probably one of the best horse scratching spots is on the withers. Scratches and petting work better than pats with the horse. When you see horses grooming each other in the pasture, notice how they nibble on each other's withers. This is almost like a massage to us humans - they love it. You want to teach your horse that when they respond correctly, the reward is a scratch or pet on the wither, forehead, or other favorite spot.

The wither is a great place to pet or scratch because you can do it both on the ground and in the saddle.  If you get your horse used to this as the reward while you build your foundation on the ground, they fully understand this reward when you are working under saddle.  It's a little unrealistic to try and reward your horse with a pet or scratch on the forehead when you're riding down the trail or doing arena work. 

This is almost too simple, use it to your advantage. When training your horse and you get a desired result immediately reward your horse with a pet or scratch. You should do this on the groundand in the saddle. Once the horse understands that there is a relationship between doing something and the reward, subsequent learning happens faster.

Your hands are the absolute best training tool you have.  There are a lot of people who want to sell you video tapes, training programs, and training items that promise the quick fix for your horse.  Keep it simple, spend quality time with your horse.  We have actually spent training sessions of over an hour just petting our horses.  There's nothing wrong with getting your horse comfortable with you and your touch.  Ideally, you want to be able to touch your horse anywhere on their body.   In order for the horse to feel comfortable with you doing this, you are going to have to earn their trust.   Petting your horse is one way to help earn this trust.

There are other stimulus/response methods of reward used in training. Clicker training and treats are both common. These methods do get results, but when you are trail riding or in a show is it realistic to rely on a prop for the proper response? Are you always going to have food or the clicker with you? I tend to think about reward training this way - I always plan on having my hands with me when I train and the horse understands clearly what the relationship is with the reward.  Clicker training is great for a lot of people.  I don't mean to sound condescending, the clicker can be a terrific tool if you know how to use it and you move on to other aids once you have worked through the conditioned response. 

We never bribe a horse with food to get a response.  The horse will quickly come to expect the food before he has to perfom the behavior.  There's a huge difference between bribery and reward.  If you have to give your horse grain, carrots, etc. to get him to step in the trailer that's bribery.  But, if you give your horse the grain after they are in the trailer and standing quietly that's a reward.   It's a subtle difference, but the behavior has to come before the reward.

One of the worst things that you can ever do is hand feed a horse, PERIOD! When you choose to hand feed your horse carrots, treats, etc. you can never meet your horses expectations. Every time they see you they will begin to expect a treat. When you don't come through, they get annoyed. The horse will soon look to you as the "human vending machine". This is one of the quickest ways to turn a horse into a "sour" animal. What we mean by this is a horse that pins its ears and acts cranky when you come to see it without any treats.  Many horses that nip at you have been hand fed.  It's not their fault that you or their previous owner treated them this way.  But now they have an expectation that your hand should have a treat in it.   Put the grain in a feed bucket, throw the carrot on the ground, and avoid hand feeding. 

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There is some risk involved in horse training for both you and the horse. Horses can cause serious injury. Be sensible and don’t attempt anything that is outside your comfort level. This information is intended to illustrate how we apply our training techniques, you are responsible for using this information wisely. If you don’t feel comfortable with your abilities or an exercise, don’t do it! Seek advice or assistance from a professional horse trainer. Stay on the "high side of trouble".

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Last updated: July 17, 2003