How to Train a Western Horse

Place your horse in cross ties, or tie it to a study post, while you saddle it. Make the cinch just tight enough that the saddle does not slip as you ride. Keeping the girth a bit loose will give your horse more freedom of movement.

Put the bridle on your horse. Use a snaffle bit when training a young horse for trail riding or competitive western events. The snaffle is a very mild bit, and it is a good way for young horses to learn to carry the bit in their mouths.

Mount your horse and gently squeeze with your legs to move it off at a walk. Allow the horse to walk at will for a moment or two, then direct its movements by pulling on the rein in the direction you wish to go. This is known as direct reining, and it is the proper way to ride with a plain snaffle bit. As the horse gets better, it will respond to subtler and subtler cues from the reins.

Move your horse into a trot, allowing it to choose the speed at which it wants to go at the beginning. Most horses will move too fast at the beginning, but as time goes by you can use cues from your seat to slow it down. Sit deeply in the saddle as the horse is moving. This will signal it to slow down in reaction to the increased weight on its back. It can take some time to teach the horse to alter his speed in reaction to your seat cues, so do not expect this to happen all at once.

Keep your training sessions short at the beginning. A young horse learns much better from frequent short sessions than from occasional lengthy sessions. Working your horse every day for a short period of time is the best way to reinforce previous lessons and introduce new concepts.

Introduce new objects to your training sessions to give your horse a new challenge and teach it new things. You can use cones to create a serpentine to move through first at a walk and later at a trot. Logs can be used to create obstacles to step over. This will teach your horse how to pick up his feet and move properly.