The Mission of Sierra Horse Halter is to see an end to old and hurtful methods of training, and in turn create a cooperative, and trust building experience both horse and handler can enjoy. We seek to provide each trainer, handler, and rider with the tool to effectively communicate with their horse, ultimately reigniting the ancient bond between human and horse.
Pulling Back
The Everlasting Problem…
The problem that has vexed horse trainers since man and horse came together is that of pulling back. Any experienced trainer, owner, or handler can tell you that this is one of the most unpleasant, uncomfortable, and dangerous habits that a horse can develop.
The Sierra Horse Halter taxes a new spin to solve this issue by implementing a horses instinctual and psychological tendencies in order to enable communication between you and your horse, building the trust that is crucial to a positive equine experience.
When dealing with a horse that is pulling back, follow the following steps in order to remove the relational barriers causing it to distrusts the handler.
Place the Sierra Horse Halter on the horse, ensuring that a strong lead rope is attached and that the halter is placed properly. For questions on how to properly put on the halter, please refer to “first time use”.
Take the lead rope and wrap it around a strong pole, tie or anchoring point. This point must be strong enough to with hold the weight of your horse. Do not tie the lead rope but simply wrap it around to allow for quick release when needed.
Ensure all handlers are in a safe location. The horse may pull back as soon as it feels the lead rope being anchored to a tying point. When the horse pulls back, allow him to do so. This is when the halter is working its magic. As he pulls back, the pressure will be redirected to the neck pressure rope. This removes all dangerous pressure from the pol and redistributes it to the much larger neck muscle which can handle the weight much more evenly and safely. At the same time, a small percentage of the pressure is applied to the horses nose. This limits his ability to stretch his neck out, and as such limits the amount of pressure he can exert while pulling back.
The horse will resist and pull back at first. However, the moment he releases and gives the slightest amount. Both the neck pressure rope and the nose band will release instantaneously as well. This is teaching that all the pressure that the horse is feeling is coming from his own resistance, and removes and negative perception of the handler.
When the horse releases, he will pull back several more times. Allow him to do so. You will see with each pull, the amount of force he exerts will be reduced. This conditions the horse to not want to pull back anymore. Horses naturally want to escape any pressure exerted on them, as such, when they identify that the pressure they feel is product of their own resistance, they will instinctually begin to stop resisting.
Multiple sessions may be required to remove the problem completely. However, to further solidify this training, using the flex conditioning method will further improve results. This can be seen on the “how to use the SHH” page.
If any unfavorable or dangerous situation is to occur, release the lead rope that is wrapped around the anchor point. By not tying the lead rope solidly, you have provided a safety release in case a dangerous situation arises.