Dear Friend and Horseman,

Welcome to another Horse Training Tips Newsletter.

As usual, I've been getting a lot of emails containing training questions. This of course, has been the norm for the last several years. However, what really surprises me is how insightful many of the training questions have been.

Makes me believe that the subscribers to my Horse Training Tips newsletter are more tuned-in than most.

I know there are quite a few professional trainers, breeders and competing non-pros who read it. And it appears that the majority of my readers are horse owners who sincerely want to do better with their horses.

It's very gratifying for me to know that I'm sharing my training experience with people who really want the knowledge. They are the ones who take my training information and put it to good use. I just love that.

A quick note to the folks who have sent me training questions: I try to answer as many emails as I can but unfortunately, I just don't have the time to answer them all.

If you didn't receive a reply to your email, please don't take it personally. It doesn't mean you didn't send in a good question. It just means I ran out of time.

Okay, on with the newsletter.

In this issue, I want to talk about an aspect of horse training that is so important yet so misunderstood... Stopping.

To be more specific...

GOOD STOPS

Stops that a horse executes with correct form, style and good head position.

Nothing... I mean nothing... attracts more attention and admiration than a horse that stops well. Horses that are real "stoppers" always draw plenty of oooohs and aaaahs.

And on the other side of that coin... nothing detracts from a horse's performance more than NOT having a good stop. It makes him appear to be "just another average horse".

The truth is, if your horse can really stop, everybody loves him.

This is one of the topics that I receive the most requests for help from my subscribers.

We all want our horses to stop well. And rightly so.

Your horse needs to have a good stop if you want to do reining, cutting, working cow horse, team penning and gymkhana events. Even barrel racers and hunter-jumpers would benefit if they were taught the basics of a good stop.

That holds true for trail riding horses too. If a trail horse has received "good stop" training, he will be much more controllable when bad things happen out on the trail. You can control him if he spooks and tries to run off with you.

Or even worse, is barn sour and tries to stampede home.

I just can't think of any horse that wouldn't be a better horse if he knew how to do a nice balanced stop on the hindquarters.

Let me ask you a question...

How many times have you NOT participated in a particular activity with your horse because you were afraid he wouldn't stop?

My guess is... a lot of times.

I personally know a guy who would love to go team penning on the week-ends with his buddies... but doesn't because he's embarrassed that his horse won't stop and control the cattle.

Another friend of mine would like to try his hand at showing in amateur reining... but won't enter a class because of the exact same reason... No stop.

I know a lady who is afraid to let her horse go any faster than a walk.

The reason... Once her horse starts loping, he builds up steam until he eventually takes off running out of control.

This lady would give her eye-teeth to be able to teach her horse to lope slow on a loose rein.

As it is, every time she rides the horse, she is scared to death of this happening again. I don't blame her. I'd be scared too.

Many horse owners just don't realize...

It doesn't have to be this way!

These folks would be so much happier and would get so much more fun from riding if they would just go ahead and put a good stop on their horse.

Okay, I know what you're thinking. After reading the above paragraph, you are saying to yourself...

 "Yeah, right Larry. It's a heck of a lot easier said than done, I've tried it before and didn't get it done. I don't think I have what it takes to train at that level".

Let me stop you right there and explain something.

Yes, you may have tried to put a stop on your horse before and failed. BUT, the only reason you failed is because of MISCONCEPTIONS about how to do it... NOT because you lack the ability.

You see, unlike other horse training concepts, training a horse to STOP is NOT INTUITIVE.

If anything, teaching the stop is almost the exact OPPOSITE of what comes naturally to us as riders.

Let me explain.

For most people, its relatively easy for them to teach a horse to move "forward" in response to the rider's leg pressure.

Basically, we squeeze with our legs and if the horse doesn't move forward, we tap him on the butt with a crop. A few quick taps and the horse will start to go. If he doesn't, we tap him on the butt a little harder until he does go.

It's easy for us to teach this to the horse because it makes sense. It's LOGICAL.

It's also NATURAL for the horse to respond this way. It's his INSTINCT to move forward when he feels pressure from behind.

Well, this is NOT the case when it comes to teaching the horse to stop.

A horse doesn't have a basic, natural instinct to stop. As a prey animal, "stopping" isn't part of his "survival" strategy (running is). And neither is "backing up" for that matter.

These maneuvers are more difficult for a horse to learn because they don't come naturally. That doesn't mean he can't easily perform them. It just means they aren't part of his inborn instinct.

And yes, there are exceptions. Some horses ARE natural born stoppers (they are bred for it) but the majority of horses aren't.

Furthermore, when it comes to "cueing" for the stop, we as riders find the task of conveying our idea to the horse "difficult".

In other words, it's not natural for us either. Often we use a stopping "cue" that seems logical to us but makes no sense to the horse.

Its a frustrating dilemma... But...

There IS a way to simplify the "stopping" process and make getting good stops much easier.

Let me share with you some very good, though often misunderstood, facts.

By nature, there are LAWS of horsemanship. And these laws allow us to COMMUNICATE to the horse to perform in a certain way---whether it's an inborn instinct or not.

And that includes performing really good stops.

These horsemanship laws are not complicated. They are very simple. You just have to take the time to learn them.

I've produced a NEW video that teaches these laws. The video covers every aspect of training your horse to perform good hindquarter stops. Stops with correct form, style and good head position.

It doesn't matter if your horse is a "natural born" stopper or not. This new DVD shows you EXACTLY what to do... and EXACTLY how to do it.

Every kind of stop is covered. From strong, hocks buried in the dirt stops---to soft, collected stops that are smooth and balanced.

The title of my new video is...

"Teach Your Horse to Stop
Light & Collected"
Volume l.5

This NEW video (Volume 1.5) is the replacement for my original stopping video, "Teach Your Horse to Stop Light & Collected" Volume 1.

Yes, I know what you are going to ask me. You want to know...

Why did I make this one? What was wrong with Volume 1?

Well, quite frankly, I didn't explain things well enough in Volume 1.

I just didn't do a good enough job of teaching.

Volume 1 was the very first video I ever made. A lot of people liked it and learned from it. But, after watching it, they would still have questions. It needed to be better.

So... that is what I did.

I made VOLUME 1.5 and I made it way, way better.

I shot all new footage... I added new, more detailed, explanations of what to do to get those really good stops... And vitally important, I videoed new training demonstrations that really show you what to do.

Just about every mistake a horse can make is demonstrated in this video. I lucked out and had some horses in training that were making the kind of mistakes that I wanted to show you how to fix.

And yes, that includes teaching a horse to LOPE SLOW on a loose rein.

All in all, this video turned out better than ANY video I've previously made. I'm not exaggerating here. This is the best horse training information I've ever produced.

The only downside to this video is that it's so l-o-o-o-n-g. Three hours long to be exact. But realistically, it had to be. It simply took that much time to cover all the needed information.

For a limited time only, I'm going to offer this video
at a special reduced price.

Click on the link below to check it out:

New DVD for training horses to STOP

A note about ordering:

There are times when our phone literally rings off the hook and the staff is kept jumping taking everyone's orders. We like it this way and want to help as many people as we can.

If you call us to place an order and the line is busy, please call back and try again. Or better yet, leave a message with your name, area code and phone number.

If you'll do that, my assistant, Bev, will get back to you A.S.A.P.

More Saddle News

Many of my subscribers have asked me if I've put together that saddle deal yet.

If you'll remember, in a previous newsletter, I wrote how important it is to have a saddle that's designed to let you ride in balance and sit the stop.

When I wrote that, I was working on trying to find a saddle manufacturer that could build a well-designed saddle that could retail in the price range of $1800.

I've got to tell you, my research has been a real education.

Since that newsletter, I've ordered several "test" saddles from makers that said they could deliver what I wanted.

This is what I've discovered:

Many of these guys are so full of B.S. they remind me of horse trainers!

What they SAY they are going to do and what they ACTUALLY do, are two different things.

So far, EVERY single saddle that I have ordered (except one) has arrived NOT the way I ordered it.

I'm not kidding.

Either the seat is wrong. Or the front end is not the height I ordered. Or the rigging is bad. Or the cantle is too high and hits you in the back. Or the stirrup leathers are hung too far back. I mean the list goes on and on.

Here's what else I've discovered. Their calendar and my calendar is different. They will promise the saddle in 60 days. In reality, they deliver it in 6 months.

And, they never call to let you know there is a delay. You have to call them. And when you do, they swear the saddle is just about finished and ready to go.

So you keep waiting and waiting. And then finally, just about the time you figure they have totally forgotten you, the saddle shows up out of the blue.

Keep in mind, during all this, they are holding your $500 deposit. So in reality, it's like you're paying them to give you the run-around and then deliver something you didn't order.

Frankly, I'm a bit disgusted.

As a business owner myself, I don't understand this way of doing business.

I mean, I told every saddle maker that I ordered from, that if things went well and he delivered a good saddle... I would order a bunch more for my clients and customers.

I've actually received several hundred requests for a saddle like this so I know there is a big demand and we are talking some pretty significant numbers.

With that much potential business at stake, wouldn't you think the manufacturer would do everything in their power to make sure the order went well?

Wouldn't you imagine the saddle shop's owner would personally inspect the saddle to make sure it was right?

In practice, they act like they really don't care. Maybe its just too much of a hassle for them. Who knows for sure.

Anyway, I'm still working on it. (For now)

There is still a chance that I can get this to work but don't hold your breath. I'm beginning to feel like it just isn't worth the trouble.

There are a couple of saddle makers that I'm thinking of trying again. Who knows, maybe they just made an honest mistake or had some bad luck.

Well, this wraps it up for this newsletter. I hope you liked it.

Until next time, have fun training your horse.

Larry Trocha
www.HorseTrainingVideos.com

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