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When a horse has correct basic training he is calm, obedient and content. Horses that buck, shy, rear, are coldbacked, have hard mouths, rush, refuse to load onto the float and get tense usually have flaws in their basic training and retraining the stop, go and turn responses will go a long way towards solving these problem behaviours.
When training is incorrect and the responses are heavy, horses show a higher incidence of stereotypies such as wind-sucking and physical changes such as raised cortico-steroid levels and gastric ulceration.
Our training system focuses on calmness, obedience and self carriage at every stage of training. Any training that uses pressure cues (such as reins for slow/stop and legs for go forward) relies on negative reinforcement. A thorough understanding of negative reinforcement is vital for all horse riders as incorrect use can lead to problem behaviours. If negative reinforcement was correctly applied all the time there would be no need for gadgets and devices such as head checks, harsh bits and draw reins. When training is correct every horse has the chance to become a happy athlete.
When the horse has correct basic responses he will be light to the aids and demonstrate self carriage in all gaits. Once this is achieved he is ready to embark on any activity or adventure from pony club to dressage - with or without a bridle.
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Learn to ride in a safe and fun environment. Our school holiday pony camps are great fun for kids: from those just off the lead line to those who compete. Our next pony camp is on the 10th and 11th January. Contact Portland on 0409110732 for more information.
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