Hi All, I am new to the forums, so be gentle with me. I have just started in horses, and am having trouble finding the right training method for me. I do not want to be "heavy handed" with my horse, as he is such kind spirit. He is great on trail, but he just seems to be scared of every leaf blowing around him. Any suggestions will be welcomed.

Welcome! That sure can ruin a nice trailride - wait till a plastic bag comes by.

If you want to get some ideas check out Horse Training Tutorials

If you set up a "Horse Eater" and spend about a month working with it your horse will not care any more what comes by. And as a "bonus" your horse will trust you - and you will be able to trust your horse.

Good luck!

GC

Hello! Welcome to the neighborhood! Tell us a little bit about your horse, how old is he? What breed? What kind of training has he had up to this point?
GC is right, the more time you can spend desensitizing him to everything you can think of the better off you will be. Ropes, tarps, plastic bags, barrels, wood to walk on, flapping blankets, introduce him to it slowly and continue until he stops reacting. How long it will take depends on him, I'm working w/a yearling now that reacts to EVERYTHING! Loud noises, fast movements, it's taken some time to get him to where he doesn't flinch when I throw ropes or flap blankets. My gelding though, has a very laid back personality. Very little worries him, even when he was a baby. Where the yearling backs up with a wild eyed look, Jack reaches out to nibble on it,lol.

Looking forward to hearing more

Hey and welcome again. Let me give you some idea what I do with my guys.

It is fun and it works.

GC
Horse Training Tutorials

First, Glad you found us.
Then your question;
Just breath
Alot of times after they over react to something, we then become tense and "wait" for the what if's to come out. If you can stay calm and relaxed and have an- I saw that rabid cow with 3 heads, but we're good- demeanor about you, it will do alot to settle him.
Do pay attention and try to see things that may be an issue first, but blow a deep breath out and try to stay calm.
Trust me it's alot harder once your mounted but it does work, also try riding with a CALM trail buddy.
The second will give you someone to talk to as well, but most people think horse people are crazy anyway, so talking to yourself/horse is not uncommon.
Anyway Welcome.