Below is a brief description of just three simple groundwork exercises you can perform with your own horse or a horse you are training. Such exercises are the foundation of familiarity and trust between you and your horse. Future training success is dependant on good groundwork. It is important for your safety that your new ton-sized friend is taught to respect your personal space bubble.
The secret to horse training is to remain patient, persistent, and to use plenty of positive reinforcement. These are the 3 P’s of basic horse training that will serve you well no matter what level you are training or what you might be training for in the future.
1. Groom your horse. Grooming represents more than just a perfect first exercise for you and your horse. Your horse will get to know you during this quality time together, and vice verse. Standing beside your horse, brush his back and neck. It is not unusual for the horse to bring his teeth around to you for a little love bite. While horses do this to each other all the time, naturally they cannot do it to humans. Discourage this by simply waving a hand, or by pushing his head back straight. Horses have enormous teeth so it is important for your safety that you let him know that this is unacceptable. Use patience and keep calm. It will not take long for him to cooperate once he gets the idea. It will do you no good to panic, stress, smack your horse or get otherwise agitated. This will only set you back with your trust levels.
2. Lead your horse. With the lead rope in your right hand, walk beside your horse on his left side while holding the rope just below his chin. Step forward and walk slowly. He should remain at your right side and never try to go ahead of you. If he tries to go ahead just walk around him to your left in a circle. Do this as many times as necessary. Show persistence. The circular movement to the left will allow you to stay where you should be – that is, just ahead of the horse. If, on the other hand, your horse doesn’t want to walk with you, stand slightly behind at his shoulder facing the same direction. Push forward while holding the rope close to his chin. His first step should elicit praise and positive reinforcement from yourself. When he starts to walk willingly, take your place slightly ahead of him and walk on. For your safety, never wrap the lead rope around any part of you. If the horse should suddenly bolt he will drag you along too and you will almost certainly be injured.
3. Lunge your horse.This exercise is fantastic and is used by every trainer and most horse owners I’ve ever known no matter what the horse’s function is. Many of the skills, commands and cues that your horse will require for saddle work can be taught by performing lunging exercises.
In a large open area (an arena works, too, if you don’t have a round enclosure) clip your horse to a lunge lead specifically for lunging. This will be a long rope – about ten metres – much longer than the rope you would use for leading. Clip the lead to the horse’s left halter side and hold the lead in your left hand. To begin, hold the lunge lead while facing the horse’s left side. Use a lunge whip to guide the horse along, held in your right hand. Now step to your right sideways toward the rear of the horse while holding the whip out behind him. The horse should step forward as a natural reaction. Let the line out and follow the horse just behind and to the left side and make a kissing sound. Soon that sound will come to mean “move forward” to your horse. As you’re turning and the horse moves in a circle around you, hold the whip slightly behind his hindquarters. You do not use the whip for hitting. You will use it to get the horse’s attention by waving it about a little.
Now, as he moves forward, you should move yourself slowly backwards, so that you come to the centre of your training circle. As the horse walks around you in a circle, stand in the middle with the lunge rope fully extended. Watch your horse’s hip area as he’s going round.
The “whoa” command can be taught at this stage. Say the word “whoooaaa” in a low and calm voice. At the same time, step toward your horse’s head and repeat the word. When he stops, give him lots of praise and a little neck rub. This positive reinforcement will help him to remember what to do next time.
Changing your position now will allow you to lunge your horse in an anti-clockwise manner. It’s done in the same way, but with the lead clipped to the right side of the halter and the lunge whip in the left hand.
These are just a few basic exercises for you to get started with hands-on horse training. Consider the sheer size and strength of this beautiful creature at all times. This alone should be enough to remind you to have adequate horse insurance in place should either you or your equine be injured. Your success with training and all future activities depends both on safety and trust. As well as a loyal friend, your horse is also an investment, so remember to protect that investment against theft, accident or misadventure by making sure you compare horse insurance policies to ensure you are getting the best level of cover for both of your needs.
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