Training Tip: Avoid Burnout in Your Horse With Change

A simple way to keep training sessions interesting for your horse is to switch up where you work him. If you normally ride in the arena, take him out of it. That can be anything from riding him in the pasture to trailering him to a park to ride.

If you spend most of your time on the trail, focus on arena work. If you don’t have an arena, haul your horse to a local boarding barn or show grounds. Once a week, I haul my horses to an arena in town to ride them. My purpose is to get the horses used to being hauled away from home and comfortable working in a new environment so that when I take them to shows, they’re not distracted and are ready to focus. The added benefit is that it changes up our routine and gets us out of the same arenas we use daily at the ranch.

It’s like if you’re a jogger and run the same route every day. When you switch your path up, it gives you a fresh perspective and invigorates you. It makes you more attuned to what you’re doing instead of just going through the motions.

Not only will switching up training locations encourage your horse to engage with you more, but it’ll also test your horsemanship and the job you’ve done training him. As prey animals, horses are tuned in to their environment, and when you take your horse to a new location, he’ll likely be more reactive and notice everything. More than likely, you’ll discover a few weak areas you need to work on.

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