Give your young horse the best start by building a solid foundation with this essential training guide, from newborn foal to adult horse. Dip in and out of the four distinct sections to solve specific problems, regardless of your horse's age. Tackle new experiences calmly and with confidence by following the step-by-step sequences with explanatory captions and practical tips. Richard begins the book with Making the Decision, covering all the general areas that you should know when buying or breeding a youngster. Richard explores what has changed with working with horses and why over the years, from using round pens and join-up, focusing on owners as well as horses, to creating a training pyramid plan to follow an organized training regime with a logical progression to help you and your horse achieve your goals. Richard asks the important questions you need to answer before committing to owning a youngster and runs through the 10 training principles. He highlights the importance of repetition, establishing a clear means of communication between you and your horse, and understanding how the horse’s brain works, from the right side to the left side. There are also areas of special mention: orphan foals and keeping entires. The second chapter runs through training your horse from 0–6 months. Maxwell encourages you to develop your foal’s brain from the very beginning. From imprinting and halter training to leading and weaning, the section covers all of the basic techniques for training for your foul at this influential time. The third part of the book looks at preparing your horse for a working life at 6 months–3 years. Maxwell teaches you further halter techniques, tying up, desensitization, techniques for avoiding the challenging year when the horse turns two, tips on preparing for the farrier, bathing, clipping, injections and preparing for loading with a comprehensive step-by-step guide to loading. He also covers preparing for a bridle and circling work. Part 4, Backing and Riding On, focuses on horses aged 3 years+. The chapter explains how to: introduce the first saddle, the first bridle, to teach your young horse to accept the bit, to introduce long-lining, to introduce a rider using a dummy, to back your youngster, and to desensitize on the move. Maxwell goes on to show a day-by-day guide to riding from day one, concluding with an interesting selection of real-life case studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of Maxwell's methods for molding a young horse into a safe, rewarding ride. With valuable checklists, step-by-step instructions, and useful question and answer sections at the end of each chapter, Richard Maxwell really does provide all the essential information you will need to effectively train your young horse.
