Being a pace-setter in minature horse training means having a nil toleration policy towards your horse invading your personal space or disobeying your requests regardless of what his size. In the herd, the pecking order is often challenged. Stay vigilant as the pecking order is never set in stone. If you get slack, the horse will start to dominate you. Be firm, consistent and persistent in applying your rules. You're either coaching or de-training your pony each moment you're with him. Mind the tiny stuff. It truly does matter.
Your horse will test you in tiny paths to see how serious you are. If you do not hold your ground over your space or do accept a tardy response to a request, you're effectively eroding the status he has for you. 'That's ok, I don't really mean stop when I say so'. This is then a green flag for your horse to try on bigger and bigger misbehaviors. For example, don't let your horse kiss you. Not only for reasons of hygiene! No, letting any horse nibble or kiss you is sending him down the slippery slope of developing a biting habit. In fact, a bite is simply a firm nibble isn't it? And a biting problem isn't one you wish to be working with. Agonizing for you, and difficult to get rid of. In this situation, no kisses, no nibbles, no bites. Ever. Be firm, consistent and persistent in applying your ground rules. Comprehensive CONSISTENCY is the key to fast minature horse training.
There has to be Trust when working with minature horse training techniques. One of the biggest reasons horses lack good ground manners is the fact they do not trust as well as respect the people that are handling them. Trust and respect go together and once you have achieved that, the remainder of your minature horse training is so much easier. As leader ( where you earn respect), part of your job is to keep your horse SAFE ( where you earn trust). That's safe from his perspective, not yours. You may think he's perfectly safe in a trailer, but if he's never been in one you'll need to show him that you will go into one and that other horses agree it's safe too. Your job is to demonstrate to your horse that no matter what goes on around him, he will not be mistreated. Irritated bullying won't work. Losing your temper won't work. Banging his teeth with the bit, slapping him surprisingly on the rump, making loud, sudden noises and astonishing gestures don't help either. Let your horse know where you are and what you're up to as much as practical. Be tranquil, be considerate, be loving, bide your time. This path leads to earning your horse's trust, an essential for a long and ecstatic relationship.
No one, even a horse, enjoys all work and no play. Do not forget to make your minature horse training delightful. Your target is to encourage your horse to predict relaxing with you. What your horse likes will be individual, but most horses have a place on their body they like having scratched or rubbed. This can be a reward for obedience. Many minature horses enjoy the mental stimulation of the minature horse training if it is not repeated constantly at one go. More than half an hour on any one lesson at once is too much. Ten or fifteen minutes is sufficient. And horses like variety in their 'work'. So sometimes go out for a trail ride, occasionally do some jumping, often in the ring. Mix it up and keep it fascinating. A bored horse is a cranky horse, and anyone in a bad mood is probably going to misbehave.
The horse likes a life of comfort. That implies, a life free from irritants as well as agony. You may use his detest of being irritated to your minature horse training advantage. Fundamentally , you're searching for non-painful but annoying things you can do to persuade your horse to do as you ask. The key is to remove the irritant instantly when the horse does what you are asking. Stopping the annoying thing you were doing is his reward for doing as you asked. So go on and enjoy your little horse, and with the minature horse training you may both be content for a particularly long time!!
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