Horses don't learn from pressure; they learn from the release of pressure. While pressure motivates the horse to look for another answer, it is the release of pressure that teaches him that he did the right thing. That's why timing is such a crucial element in training horses. If your timing is off, you may be rewarding the horse for the wrong behavior and sending him mixed signals. Whatever the horse is doing the exact second you release the pressure is what you're rewarding him for. So if he rears and you release pressure, you've just rewarded him for rearing.

Every single moment you're with your horse, you should be training on him. When you're cleaning his stall, have him move around you, rather than vice versa. If he puts his head up when you're putting his blanket on or taking it off, pause a moment to desensitize him to the blanket and remind him to remain standing still. As you're leading him, insist that he follow obediently, without hanging back or dragging you forward. The old adage is absolutely true: You're either training your horse – or untraining – your horse every moment you're with him.

Horses are naturally afraid of objects that move and make a noise, something that the plastic bag does both of. Desensitizing your horse to plastic bags will increase his tolerance of strange objects and acceptance of your tools. Remember, your goal as a horse trainer is to desensitize your horse to as many objects that move and make a noise as possible. Many horses are afraid of plastic bags, but by using the Approach and Retreat Method, you can teach your horse to use the thinking side of his brain, rather than just reacting with panic.

Horses establish dominance by being able to move each other's feet. The most dominant horse in a herd can make all the other horses move their feet forwards, backwards, left and right. Horses use that same principle when they are around us. Anytime you can move your horse's feet forwards, backwards, left and right, you are establishing yourself as the leader and commanding his respect. Anytime the horse moves your feet, in his mind, he's establishing himself as the leader. Remember, whoever moves first, loses.

When I was studying under legendary Australian reining and cow horse trainer, Ian Francis, he used to remind me that there are a lot of heroes in the graveyard. What he meant by that was that too many people get on horses that aren't ready to be ridden and get bucked off. They break their necks and die because they don't use their heads. Preparation is the key. Groundwork exercises are designed so that you can get control of your horse's feet on the ground before getting in the saddle where you have less control.

Every horse has a thinking side to his brain, but until you show him how to use it, he doesn't even know it exists. The thinking side is shoved way back in the corner of the horse's brain. It's like a tiny crystal ball sitting on a table covered up with an old tablecloth. Your job is to wheel the table out to the middle of his brain, sweep the tablecloth off and say, "Ta da! Here it is!" It's very small and doesn't get used much, but you're going to make it grow.

The One Rein Stop is the first thing I teach every single rider in my clinics as soon as they get on the horse’s back. Why? Because once they realize that they can stop their horses anytime, anywhere, whenever they want, you wouldn’t believe the amount of confidence it gives them. I often refer to the One Rein Stop as the emergency handbrake because that’s exactly what it is. If you can stop your horse anytime you don’t feel secure in the saddle, you’ve just given yourself control of the situation.

It doesn’t matter what sport you do with your horse – western pleasure, dressage, trail, jumping, cutting, reining, etc., every single sport revolves around the horse being soft, supple and relaxed. In order to get a horse soft and supple throughout his entire body, you need to concentrate on five body parts – the head and neck, poll, shoulders, ribcage and hindquarters. Think of these five body parts like the hinges on your horse’s body. Each time you ride your horse, you have to oil those hinges to make them work properly.

Lunging is one of the most used and abused exercises in the horse world. You can go to any horse show or training facility to see what I mean. Often you’ll see someone in the middle of an arena lunging a horse on a 60 or 70-foot lead rope. The horse is galloping around, he’s got his head turned, looking out of the circle and he’s dragging the person halfway across the arena. Most people use lunging as a way to tire a horse out.

Raising foals is a lot of fun. The thing to remember when you’re raising a foal is that the little things make a big difference – both good and bad. Using my Method to work with a foal just 10 to15 minutes a day for the first six weeks of his life will put a foundation of respect and responsiveness under his training that you can build on for the rest of his life. Remember, the younger you can get to them and the more consistent you can be, the more you can stop fear and disrespect from developing in the first place to prevent problem behavior later on.