Theres a horse show across the state in a few weeks, and youre planning on being there with your horses. However, its been awhile since you last pulled a horse trailer, and youre a little concerned about your trailering skills. After all, you want to arrive at your destination safely, with the horses as calm and relaxed as possible.

Guiding a loaded horse trailer down a country road or highway requires practical experience and know-how. Theres very little room for error. What do you do to ensure a safe, uneventful journey?

How to Ensure Safe Trailering

If youre out of practice, or if youve never towed a trailer before, obtaining adequate personal experience prior to the actual event is of the utmost importance. Just as if you were learning to drive for the first time, you should begin by practicing basic driving skills before getting out in traffic with the trailer.

The more experienced you become, the more prepared you will be for anything that may potentially happen. With more confidence and a higher level of awareness and preparedness, you should be better able to handle any unexpected situation that comes along.

Find a level field or a parking lot in which to practice. Mark your course with several highway cones, then, set out to work on the following driving skills:

Ready for the Highway

After youve practiced all the basic driving skills while pulling your horse trailer and you feel confident in your ability to handle the rig safely, youre ready to test your skills out on the road.

Try towing your trailer for short distances, at first. Make sure that you feel comfortable with turning corners in traffic, with backing your trailer, with parking on a grade, and with being able to stop your trailer quickly (should the need arise). Once you are confident in your towing abilities, youre ready to travel any distance with your horses.

Just remember to always be alert when out on the roads. Drive defensively and be prepared for any possible situation.

More articles at articles database

Theres a horse show across the state in a few weeks, and youre planning on being there with your horses. However, its been awhile since you last pulled a horse trailer, and youre a little concerned about your trailering skills. After all, you want to arrive at your destination safely, with the horses as calm and relaxed as possible.

Guiding a loaded horse trailer down a country road or highway requires practical experience and know-how. Theres very little room for error. What do you do to ensure a safe, uneventful journey?

How to Ensure Safe Trailering

If youre out of practice, or if youve never towed a trailer before, obtaining adequate personal experience prior to the actual event is of the utmost importance. Just as if you were learning to drive for the first time, you should begin by practicing basic driving skills before getting out in traffic with the trailer.

The more experienced you become, the more prepared you will be for anything that may potentially happen. With more confidence and a higher level of awareness and preparedness, you should be better able to handle any unexpected situation that comes along.

Find a level field or a parking lot in which to practice. Mark your course with several highway cones, then, set out to work on the following driving skills:

Ready for the Highway

After youve practiced all the basic driving skills while pulling your horse trailer and you feel confident in your ability to handle the rig safely, youre ready to test your skills out on the road.

Try towing your trailer for short distances, at first. Make sure that you feel comfortable with turning corners in traffic, with backing your trailer, with parking on a grade, and with being able to stop your trailer quickly (should the need arise). Once you are confident in your towing abilities, youre ready to travel any distance with your horses.

Just remember to always be alert when out on the roads. Drive defensively and be prepared for any possible situation.

More articles at articles database

Theres a horse show across the state in a few weeks, and youre planning on being there with your horses. However, its been awhile since you last pulled a horse trailer, and youre a little concerned about your trailering skills. After all, you want to arrive at your destination safely, with the horses as calm and relaxed as possible.

Guiding a loaded horse trailer down a country road or highway requires practical experience and know-how. Theres very little room for error. What do you do to ensure a safe, uneventful journey?

How to Ensure Safe Trailering

If youre out of practice, or if youve never towed a trailer before, obtaining adequate personal experience prior to the actual event is of the utmost importance. Just as if you were learning to drive for the first time, you should begin by practicing basic driving skills before getting out in traffic with the trailer.

The more experienced you become, the more prepared you will be for anything that may potentially happen. With more confidence and a higher level of awareness and preparedness, you should be better able to handle any unexpected situation that comes along.

Find a level field or a parking lot in which to practice. Mark your course with several highway cones, then, set out to work on the following driving skills:

Ready for the Highway

After youve practiced all the basic driving skills while pulling your horse trailer and you feel confident in your ability to handle the rig safely, youre ready to test your skills out on the road.

Try towing your trailer for short distances, at first. Make sure that you feel comfortable with turning corners in traffic, with backing your trailer, with parking on a grade, and with being able to stop your trailer quickly (should the need arise). Once you are confident in your towing abilities, youre ready to travel any distance with your horses.

Just remember to always be alert when out on the roads. Drive defensively and be prepared for any possible situation.

More articles at article database

Theres a horse show across the state in a few weeks, and youre planning on being there with your horses. However, its been awhile since you last pulled a horse trailer, and youre a little concerned about your trailering skills. After all, you want to arrive at your destination safely, with the horses as calm and relaxed as possible.

Guiding a loaded horse trailer down a country road or highway requires practical experience and know-how. Theres very little room for error. What do you do to ensure a safe, uneventful journey?

How to Ensure Safe Trailering

If youre out of practice, or if youve never towed a trailer before, obtaining adequate personal experience prior to the actual event is of the utmost importance. Just as if you were learning to drive for the first time, you should begin by practicing basic driving skills before getting out in traffic with the trailer.

The more experienced you become, the more prepared you will be for anything that may potentially happen. With more confidence and a higher level of awareness and preparedness, you should be better able to handle any unexpected situation that comes along.

Find a level field or a parking lot in which to practice. Mark your course with several highway cones, then, set out to work on the following driving skills:

Ready for the Highway

After youve practiced all the basic driving skills while pulling your horse trailer and you feel confident in your ability to handle the rig safely, youre ready to test your skills out on the road.

Try towing your trailer for short distances, at first. Make sure that you feel comfortable with turning corners in traffic, with backing your trailer, with parking on a grade, and with being able to stop your trailer quickly (should the need arise). Once you are confident in your towing abilities, youre ready to travel any distance with your horses.

Just remember to always be alert when out on the roads. Drive defensively and be prepared for any possible situation.

More articles at article database

Yesterday we talked a little about the 6 Keys for a Life Long Partnership with your horse, today I would like to visit with you about the first key, *Understanding.*

Have you ever wondered why your horse acts like he does how he thinks and moves? If so, then you need to understand the prey-predator relationship, but before we start it’s important that you understand, if your going to effectively communicate with horses you need to *think like horses*. You need to look at and approach everything from the *horse’s point of view*.

If you understand that horses are prey animals and that *horses perceive people as predators* and realize that each thinks differently, you can begin to understand how your horse thinks, acts and moves, and why you react the way you do. Understand, Both the horse and human are simply considering all factors then adjusting to the situation.

If you understand that horses are Prey animals by nature, are programmed to be cowards and are herd fear-flight animals, in other words when they perceive danger they run and continue running until they feel they have escaped the danger, then you can begin to develop a deeper apreciation of why your horse acts, thinks and moves like he does.

To horses we *humans* look and smell like *predators*. If your going to communicate with your horse in an effective manner then it’s necessary to prove to your horse that you are not a predator. You need to understand what type of behavior you need to show if you are to get a certain behavior from your horse.

Once the horse accepts that you are not as bad as you seem and you are not a predator he becomes gentle, in other words he no longer perceives you to be dangerous.

In a herd of horses there is always a pecking order and once your horse decides that you are not a danger to him he will put you in a pecking order to fit into his world (remember all of this is about the horse his world and perceptions not yours) you will be placed higher or lower depending on respect and authority.

*Remember the horse is a prey animal and is supposed to act the way he does.** It’s your task to help him act less like a prey animal and more like a partner. To accomplish this you need your horse to be sensitive or aware of your cues and communication rather than danger.

You need to turn his flight from fear reaction into forward motion or impulsion. You have to work at getting him to want to be with you, to take the herd instinct and turn it into bonding with you.

The concepts you and I have discussed today are much easier said than done. Why, because horses and humans think differently and this is often a source of conflict.

Let’s wrap up what we have discussed today. You will gain respect from our horse if you uphold your responsibilities which are: Not act like a predator, be where you need to be emotionally when communicating with our horse, to think like a horse and not a human and focus on where you are headed and what you want to do, if you do your horse will sense this, respect you and follow you as the leader.

This article is being brought to you by http://www.perfect-horse-gifts.com

If you like this article and would like to learn more or would like to send it to a friend, please feel free to do so. You can subscribe at the website above or at http://www.perfect-horse-gifts.com/roundup.html

In the next article we will discuss Mind Set; Your Attitude= How you communicate. Being assertive vs.aggressive and being evenhanded. Your mind-set (attitude) affects the mind-set (attitude) of your horse.

Copyright ? Mike Gorzalka All Rights Reserved Worldwide

*You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your ebook or on your web site, free of charge, as long as the content of this article is not changed in any way and the author bylines are included.

If you choose to publish this article I would appreciate a Quick e-mail letting me know where it will be published: Mike@perfect-horse-gifts.com

*DISCLAIMER*: The information contained in this article is of my personal opinions and beliefs and should not be taken as anything more.

About The Author:

Mike Gorzalka has spent the better part of his life around horses. His dad, Mike Sr., taught him the importance of understanding the horse and how to use a firm, but kinder and gentler approach to helping horses understand what it is we humans are trying to communicate.

Horses can be boarded at a commercial stable; however, keeping a horse on your property provides you with more management control, and saves you money. Though keeping your horse on your property allows greater enjoyment and learning experiences, it also requires you to be more attentive toward your horse and to be more knowledgeable in the care of your horse.

Horses are quite sturdy and adaptable and when it comes to providing adequate shelter, their needs are very basic. Horse shelter essentially needs to provide shade, ventilation, protection from the elements, and dry footing. Building a horse barn can be quite a project (and costly). If you have only basic carpentry skills or are on a limited budget, you may want to consider renovating a shed or other structure you may already have on your property or erecting a three-sided shelter.

A common horse shelter is an open-front building, or sometimes referred to as a lean-to or run-in shelter. These structures can be permanent or portable sheds. A portable structure is convenient as it can be moved to allow removal of manure or to be relocated when pasture is rotated. The open-front should always be positioned away from prevailing winds to offer better protection from rain and snow.

As a rule-of-thumb, at minimum, 80 square feet of floor space per average 1,000 pound horse should be provided. A 12-foot by 12-foot structure would be more ideal; however, many structures come prefabricated in 10-feet by 12-feet designs, which is also adequate. Most prefabricated shelters are between 8 to 10 feet high on the backside and 9 to 12 feet high on the open side.

Your horse also needs a large exercise area like a corral. The minimum exercise area should be about 1/8 acre, but 1/2 acre is better. If your horse is fed primarily hay, then keeping your horse on ? acres is adequate. Ideally, you want to turn your horse out to managed pasture. Two acres per horse is best. However, one acre can provide adequate grazing, but requires more land management. Therefore, a combination of pasture and small lot or barn is needed to minimize overgrazing.

The most important thing about a fence is it must be visible to your horse. The fence must be visible to the horse to prevent it from becoming tangled in the fence or running through the fence. When using an electric fence, wide ribbon wire is best. Electric fencing should only be used as an interior fence, never as a major exterior fence.

Randall Holman, site owner of Front Range Frenzy and horse enthusiast, is the author of the above article. You will find other easy and practical basic horse care information on his website: http://www.FrontRangeFrenzy.com.

Theres a horse show across the state in a few weeks, and youre planning on being there with your horses. However, its been awhile since you last pulled a horse trailer, and youre a little concerned about your trailering skills. After all, you want to arrive at your destination safely, with the horses as calm and relaxed as possible.

Guiding a loaded horse trailer down a country road or highway requires practical experience and know-how. Theres very little room for error. What do you do to ensure a safe, uneventful journey?

How to Ensure Safe Trailering

If youre out of practice, or if youve never towed a trailer before, obtaining adequate personal experience prior to the actual event is of the utmost importance. Just as if you were learning to drive for the first time, you should begin by practicing basic driving skills before getting out in traffic with the trailer.

The more experienced you become, the more prepared you will be for anything that may potentially happen. With more confidence and a higher level of awareness and preparedness, you should be better able to handle any unexpected situation that comes along.

Find a level field or a parking lot in which to practice. Mark your course with several highway cones, then, set out to work on the following driving skills:

Ready for the Highway

After youve practiced all the basic driving skills while pulling your horse trailer and you feel confident in your ability to handle the rig safely, youre ready to test your skills out on the road.

Try towing your trailer for short distances, at first. Make sure that you feel comfortable with turning corners in traffic, with backing your trailer, with parking on a grade, and with being able to stop your trailer quickly (should the need arise). Once you are confident in your towing abilities, youre ready to travel any distance with your horses.

Just remember to always be alert when out on the roads. Drive defensively and be prepared for any possible situation.

More articles at database for articles

Theres a horse show across the state in a few weeks, and youre planning on being there with your horses. However, its been awhile since you last pulled a horse trailer, and youre a little concerned about your trailering skills. After all, you want to arrive at your destination safely, with the horses as calm and relaxed as possible.

Guiding a loaded horse trailer down a country road or highway requires practical experience and know-how. Theres very little room for error. What do you do to ensure a safe, uneventful journey?

How to Ensure Safe Trailering

If youre out of practice, or if youve never towed a trailer before, obtaining adequate personal experience prior to the actual event is of the utmost importance. Just as if you were learning to drive for the first time, you should begin by practicing basic driving skills before getting out in traffic with the trailer.

The more experienced you become, the more prepared you will be for anything that may potentially happen. With more confidence and a higher level of awareness and preparedness, you should be better able to handle any unexpected situation that comes along.

Find a level field or a parking lot in which to practice. Mark your course with several highway cones, then, set out to work on the following driving skills:

Ready for the Highway

After youve practiced all the basic driving skills while pulling your horse trailer and you feel confident in your ability to handle the rig safely, youre ready to test your skills out on the road.

Try towing your trailer for short distances, at first. Make sure that you feel comfortable with turning corners in traffic, with backing your trailer, with parking on a grade, and with being able to stop your trailer quickly (should the need arise). Once you are confident in your towing abilities, youre ready to travel any distance with your horses.

Just remember to always be alert when out on the roads. Drive defensively and be prepared for any possible situation.

More articles at articles database

Theres a horse show across the state in a few weeks, and youre planning on being there with your horses. However, its been awhile since you last pulled a horse trailer, and youre a little concerned about your trailering skills. After all, you want to arrive at your destination safely, with the horses as calm and relaxed as possible.

Guiding a loaded horse trailer down a country road or highway requires practical experience and know-how. Theres very little room for error. What do you do to ensure a safe, uneventful journey?

How to Ensure Safe Trailering

If youre out of practice, or if youve never towed a trailer before, obtaining adequate personal experience prior to the actual event is of the utmost importance. Just as if you were learning to drive for the first time, you should begin by practicing basic driving skills before getting out in traffic with the trailer.

The more experienced you become, the more prepared you will be for anything that may potentially happen. With more confidence and a higher level of awareness and preparedness, you should be better able to handle any unexpected situation that comes along.

Find a level field or a parking lot in which to practice. Mark your course with several highway cones, then, set out to work on the following driving skills:

Ready for the Highway

After youve practiced all the basic driving skills while pulling your horse trailer and you feel confident in your ability to handle the rig safely, youre ready to test your skills out on the road.

Try towing your trailer for short distances, at first. Make sure that you feel comfortable with turning corners in traffic, with backing your trailer, with parking on a grade, and with being able to stop your trailer quickly (should the need arise). Once you are confident in your towing abilities, youre ready to travel any distance with your horses.

Just remember to always be alert when out on the roads. Drive defensively and be prepared for any possible situation.

More articles at articles database

One of the reasons I strongly encourage horse owners to train their own horses rather than ship them away to a professional trainer is familiarity. Quite simply, an unfamiliar party will not understand your horse nearly as well as you, and this understanding of a horse is the backbone of any successful training plan.

This is not to suggest that all horse trainers are clueless individuals that bumble along hoping to do something right, because most professional trainers will take the time to understand a horse before ever thinking about saddling him and training him to ride. But all too often an impatient or inexperienced trainer will misread a horse’s problem or intention and react incorrectly due to his lack of understanding. Too many of these incidents can prolong the training process (thereby costing you money) and potentially mentally scar your horse for life.

Far too many head-shy horses can be attributed to inexperienced or abusive past trainers and/or owners who lacked an understanding of the horse they were working with. Once a horse has developed this mistrust or fear of people it can take a good while to reassure the horse that another cuff is not waiting around the corner. And who can blame the horse? If every past exposure with a dog resulted in the dog biting you, chances are you would be very wary, if not outright panicked, by future exposures to canines.

To correct an improper action it is first important to understand the motivation that lies behind it. For example, let’s say that you are training a young filly to walk alongside you to your left. Suddenly without permission the filly slams against your side, but being that she’s still young it doesn’t do much more than get your attention. What would you do?

1. Ignore the behavior ? no harm was done after all.

2. Jab your elbow into the filly’s shoulder and growl at her to remind her to respect your space.

3. Take a moment to detect the reason why the filly brushed against you.

If you selected the first option, you chose wrong. Although your heart is in the right place in your willingness to write off a seemingly harmless action, eventually if you ignore these things they can compound to worse problems. Your filly won’t always be so small and light!

If you selected the second option you might have reacted correctly if the filly was gently asked to respect your space previously and elected to ignore the request out of defiance. In such a scenario you would need to reinforce your authority lest she view herself as being the alpha leader amongst you.

But what if the filly stepped against you because the wind was carrying along a plastic bag that startled her? In such a case if you discipline your horse you do her a huge disservice because she’s not trying to be defiant or challenge your authority ? she’s scared and she wanted your reassurance! If you start cuffing your filly for violating your personal space she will be like a deer caught in a car’s headlights; the bag to her left and the handler to her right are scaring her and she’ll either bolt or become paralyzed.

Had you understood the root of her concern you could have forgiven the invasion of your space and instead showed your filly the plastic bag was nothing to be concerned about. Such reassurances would have put her mind at ease, allow her to regain focus on the task at hand and hopefully become desensitized towards future encounters with plastic bags.

A trainer that believed in the one size fits all philosophy would probably have chosen option two in the above scenario since at face value that would be the correct reaction, but without understanding the horse or the motivation behind her action his correction would have further compounded the problem. It is essential a handler take the time to understand a horse’s behavior before attempting to correct it since one size most definitely does not fit all. And who would better understand your horse than you?

In addition the training process does not have to be the stressful battle of wills that most of us initially believe it to be. Taken slowly, both the horse and the owner can actually look forward to advancing along the lesson plan. As the owner and horse work together, each will develop an even better understanding of the other’s mannerisms, personality and expectations? and with understanding comes success.

Jeffrey Rolo, owner of AlphaHorse and an experienced horse trainer and breeder, is the author of the above article. You will find many other informational articles dealing with horse training and care as well as games and other horse fun on his website: http://www.alphahorse.com