Trainer Jason Smith shares six tips for handlers of young halter horses.

A really big pet peeve of mine is when exhibitors let halter horses drop their shoulders and fall into the handlers. Sometimes I see an inexperienced exhibitor and an inexperienced horse go into the show pen—then something happens, and the horse bolts, drops his shoulder and starts doing doughnuts around the handler to the left. Once the horse starts, he goes faster and faster, and the handler usually can’t get him shut off. It’s a really dangerous situation because, as the circle gets tighter each time, the handler can get stepped on by the horse.