The training techniques we use at Smart Start Stable are all based on what we can do to get the horse to think. We use a blend of "natural horsemanship" exercises and "French" dressage and call it "Smart Horsemanship".

Horses have two sides of the brain, two ways they react to everything in their life. One side is the natural, reactive, instinctive side - the one that's kept them alive throughout the ages. When danger is perceived, run first, ask questions later. Horses also have the thinking, reasoning side of the brain. Different horses have different ratios of these two ways of thinking. The really tough, problem horses have a high sense of danger and self preservation. Unfortunately, with the reasoning ability of a 2-3 yr old child and the size of the horse, this is a very dangerous combination.

We teach the horse from the moment we meet them to think. They learn through various exercises and the way we are with them at all times, that we are asking something of them and we expect an answer. We develop them to think on their own, offer them the chance to give us the answer and let them know what the right answer is. The more exercises we practice, the more the thinking side of the brain works and takes over. A horse has to have a leader, we want to be that leader, not the horse. (Remember the 3 yr old brain in the 1000# horse?) When the horse perceives danger we MUST be the leader and show them that it's going to be fine. It's like changing the subject on a child who is focused on the piece of candy and showing them the toy. When the horse is afraid of the plastic we ask it to bend, move it's rt front foot, move its left hip, stay soft, something, anything, to take it's mind off the plastic. In essence we say to the horse ' you know it's there, I know it's there, it's a non issue - we're too busy doing this and this and this and this to worry about some silly plastic'. We've built up the horse's thinking side and teach it to take over for the reactive side of the brain.

The biggest "secret" is that THE ANSWER IS IN THE RELEASE! We allow the horse to try different answers and when they give us the answer we are looking for we "release" the pressure so they know that was what we wanted. The "pressure" could be the rein, the leg, our body language, our voice. We don't mind when a horse makes a mistake, it just means we get to practice it more! Horses always assume that they are giving the right answer and they never lie. If you say that your horse only bucks the first two minutes you get on, that horse thinks he's supposed to and that it's OK to buck the first two minutes you get on. If you don't teach him differently he will assume that there's nothing wrong with that. (As a side note: A HORSE SHOULD NEVER BUCK, EVER if it is with you - whether riding, on a lunge line, leading). Every moment of every day that you are with your horse it is learning, good or bad, what you expect of it. That's how they stayed alive in the wild, always adapt to the surroundings, always find the comfort zone. Always know who the leader is. If you aren't the leader, your horse will be. Period. We teach the horse the exercises to understand that humans are the leader and they can rely on us for safety. We teach the people "horse language" so that they learn how to be the leader and show their horse how to rely on it's people.

If you see us at shows you won't always see perfect horses/riders. We are all in the learning process and some of our horses had HUGE problems when they came. Just to be there on a horse that isn't rearing, running off with the rider, going absolutely crazy in a stall is a major accomplishment for some of the horses we show! We teach problem horses how to deal with the human world so that they begin to understand it and learn to trust that life is OK. Each horse is wired differently, just like humans and when they come to us they have also been influenced by the humans in their life. Most horses never truly understand the training process and the majority aren't even "broke". They're trained to do "stuff" but they don't truly do things for their humans and because they want to, they just submit and do what they've been programmed to do. If you do something not in the program it can be rather upsetting to them as they have no good way to figure out how to deal with it.

Starting a horse under saddle is the most important time of a horse's life. The first time a horse does anything sets the tone for how it will react to that thing for a very long time. When a horse is being started under saddle it is first taught to think, then to respond. Before the first saddling and mounting, tools are built into the horse to stop any bad reaction, like bucking. If the thought of bucking enters the horse's brain, it is immediately replaced with a thought of something being asked of it by it's person such as give to the bit, soften the shoulder, move the hip. Remember A HORSE SHOULD NEVER BUCK.

If we leave you with anything to learn about our philosophy on horses, it's that they are extremely intelligent creatures if you can learn some "horse language" and it becomes like ESP when you have worked a horse long enough. They can literally feel like they read your mind, they pay such close attention to your body language. It is a wonderful feeling to have your horse trust and respond that closely with you! Teach your horse that you are with them and they will learn to be with you.

Suzette and Rick