Horse Training
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Garrocha Pole Horseback Riding: Building Softness, Control, and Connection
Garrocha pole horseback riding is a traditional horsemanship exercise that helps develop softness, responsiveness, and one-handed control. By working around and alongside the pole, horses learn to stay relaxed while...
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Do’s and Don’ts of 10th Grade: Disengaging the Shoulders
Disengaging your horse’s shoulders is an important groundwork exercise that builds better control, communication, and responsiveness. The key is to maintain forward motion, keep a soft bend, and apply clear...
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Eighth Grade: Disengage Your Horse’s Hindquarters
Disengaging your horse’s hindquarters teaches them to move the hind end away from pressure while keeping their head connected to you. By starting with light cues, increasing pressure only as...
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Intro to Roping: Rein Management From Horseback
Learning to rope from horseback starts with clear rein and rope management. In this beginner-friendly guide, you’ll learn how to hold your reins and coils in one hand, keep your...
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Working Through Extreme Obstacles With Nakaia Day 1
In this Day 1 training session with Nakaia, Michael Gascon demonstrates how to turn fear into focus by building respect through foundational groundwork and clear communication. By reinforcing softness in...
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Getting A Better Stop
Want to improve your horse’s stop? In this blog post, we break down the key steps to developing a responsive, respectful stop—whether you're working on a basic halt or building...
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Benefits Of Using A Solid Bridle On Your Horse
Using a solid bridle on your horse can dramatically improve consistency, confidence, and control—especially for gaited horses. Unlike a snaffle, a solid mouthpiece helps align the horse’s head, neck, and...
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Intro To Driving Part 4
In Part 4 of the “Intro to Driving” series, Michael Gascon works with Amy, a young warmblood filly overcoming hesitation and shutdown behavior under harness. This session focuses on building...
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Neck Reining Part 2
In Part 2 of Michael Gascon's neck reining series, he continues working with Rocket, a Rocky Mountain Horse, to build softness, responsiveness, and one-handed control. This session emphasizes the importance...
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Girth Sizing Tricks
Struggling with girth sizing when saddling your horse? Instead of buying a new girth, try this simple adjustment trick—remove the leather keeper and use a diagonal strap positioning to achieve...
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Neck Reining Part 1
Ready to take your horse training to the next level? In this post, we dive into the basics of neck reining, using my colt, Mr. Rocket, as an example to...
