Applied knowledge is power.
With that in mind, I want to tell you a horse training secret I'll bet you have never heard before.
Here it is.
In a way there are two sides to horse training.
One is knowing what to do.
The other is knowing what not to do.
This is powerful because making a mistake might compound your horse training problems.
In fact, if your horse does something you don't want him doing then you might make him worse if you don't use the training secret of the "Fishing Worm.
" Here's what I mean.
Think of horse training as a box of fishing worms.
Take a worm out of the box and stab him on the hook.
Then you throw your line in to catch a fish.
In that box are a LOT of worms but you need only one to catch a fish.
Likewise, in horse training there is a LOT that can go wrong.
Think of the "going wrong things" as the box of worms.
There are a lot in the box.
Horses are mostly perfect in every way until we start working with them.
As we do, we create that box of worms.
So as you work with your horse in a round pen, he may do a lot wrong like stopping where you don't want, move when you didn't ask, etc.
If you try to fix all those at once you will fail.
Instead, use the fishing worm secret and that is, "one at a time" - just like when you're fishing.
Fix one problem at a time.
Where do you start? Use logic.
If he doesn't step out, can you make him trot? If not, can you make him turn? No? Then it sounds like you have to work on making him step out.
Work on the trotting and turning later but get him moving out first.
Don't dump all the worms out because it's too much for the fish (horse) to swallow.