If you want to be able to ride your horse any place there are other people, you will have to teach him to tolerate automobiles and other roadside distractions.

You can begin getting your horse used to the noises from a car or truck by using your own vehicle. Simply drive it slowly past him in his stall - kill the engine and coast past in neutral if possible; your horse will get used to seeing your vehicle. Then run the engine and drive past when he no longer appears to be surprised to see your car roll past. When he gets used to the car going past with the engine running and no longer backs up or runs away, you are ready to take him out.

Next, take your horse to the car. Do not have the engine running. Just let your horse sniff it, look at it and reassure him the entire time you won't allow anything to hurt him. Don't be surprised if he tastes your car, horses are very curious and much like a child, tend to taste anything new. Once he is comfortable being around your car, start it and let him get near it. Once he is comfortable or acts bored about being around a running car you're ready to move to the next step.

This next step should be done when you're absolutely sure your horse is ready and in an open area so you can drop the lead if your horse rears. Lead your horse around the perimeter of his field and have someone drive your car slowly by. If your horse doesn't rear or seem uncomfortable, repeat the process the next day. Then lead your horse to your car and let him investigate it again. He will probably sniff and maybe even lick it again to make sure it is the same vehicle that did him no harm last time.

When your horse is comfortable with this scenario, you can mount your horse and ride him on the perimeter and ride him up to your parked car with no engine running. If he seems bored with it or uninterested in exploring, you can have someone start the car and lead him up to it again, he will probably be just as uninterested and bored. If he wants to explore the car - he's not ready to be by traffic on the roads yet. Let him explore and give the car the once over to get comfortable with it. When your horse can remain calm and seems disinterested in exploring the car anymore running or not, he's ready to be around other cars. Take it slow and choose low traffic areas where he might only encounter the occasional car on the road but since he's with you and he knows that cars won't hurt him by passing by, he should be a calm companion to ride by the roadside.

Your horse will probably prefer to walk towards oncoming traffic as horses tend to get uneasy about sounds they can not see from behind and he may get jumpy so always try to walk your horse where he can see what is coming and you should be able to desensitize your horse to the buzz of the traffic and this type of training will further increase the trust and bonding your horse has with you.

You will often hear people refer to a horse's gait. That simply means the specific way a horse is moving and how fast he is going.

Here are some of the most common gaits you will see:

Walking is the slowest gait a horse has. The horse moves his right front leg at the same time as his left rear leg. There is no one time when all four feet are off the ground at the same time.

Trotting is another common gait. It's slightly faster than a walk and many horses trot when they are excited or happy. It is the same pattern of leg movements.

Cantering is a little faster than a trot but the horse hasn't broken into a full running gallop. All four feet leave the ground at one point during each move forward.

Galloping is the fastest speed a horse can go. Galloping position includes all four feet off the ground with each stride and his neck will be stretched forward with each lunge forward.

Teaching your horse to move smoothly with each gait is part of good horse training and with frequent positive interaction and movements from you as you ride your horse will help him learn proper foot placement for each of his gaits and will move much more smoothly. The more you work with your horse, the smoother his gait.