P ECT
that will last their lifetime, the first step
is building respect, and respect begins
on the ground. For the purposes of this
article, we will assume that your horse’s
most basic needs are being met so that he
is receptive to this type of basic training.
Your horse should be on a sound and regular feeding schedule designed to keep
him at optimum health, and even if you
have adopted or purchased a horse that
is weak from hunger or illness, you can
still address some basic respect issues
without harming your horse. If you are
unsure, check first with your vet to get
the go-ahead, and then proceed slowly,
being mindful of your horse’s comfort
and building from there.
For all exercises that follow, remember
to repeat them from both sides of your
horse’s head, and make sure to practice
them regularly and consistently; stay
calm and firm when you ask you horse to
do something, and reward even his smallest try. A horse that lowers his head and
begins to lick his mouth or make chewing
motions is a horse who is thinking about
what you are asking him to do, and this
is what you want: a thoughtful horse. If
this is your first time doing groundwork,
remember that you are training yourself,
too; as you work with your horse, your
body language and cues will become
clearer and easier to understand, and
your horse will relax and follow your lead.
BASIC EXERCISES
The purpose of these first exercises is
to show the horse that you control their
feet (direction). Going back to the example
of the boss horse moving the herd away
from their food, remember that the boss
was able to get the other horses moving
with eye contact and body language. So
that’s where we’ll start. You are looking to
get maximum response from minimum
pressure, so start small and increase your
motions until you get a result, then back
off instantly.
Many professional trainers recommend
using a rope halter with two knots over
the nose, and a ten-foot lead rope. The
reason for the rope halters as opposed to
a basic web halter is that a stubborn horse
can lean against a web halter, effectively
resisting your cues and making it nearly
impossible for you to feel their slightest
try. In a shoving match, your horse will
win, and that is not the goal in the first
place. You are looking to get maximum
response from minimum pressure (a
“light” horse), and a rope halter helps you
to give smaller cues first and feel the response more quickly than a nylon halter.
Do not wait to start until you have a rope
halter; groundwork for respect should
begin the second the first hoof hits the
property! You can always get a different
halter later.
There are four basic exercises for respect:
backing, releasing the hindquarters, releasing the forequarters and leading.
BACKING
Backing is simply getting your horse
to move backwards out of your space on
command. Not only does backing reinforce the very basic requirements of respect (for the horse to move away when
you ask him), but it also makes him safer
to approach in the pasture and during
feeding time when you ask him to move
away from gates or his feeder. There are
two basic ways to back your horse: standing at his side beside his ears, or cuing
him from in front of his head, facing him.
For the first method, start on either
side of your horse, holding a couple inches below the clip on the halter in one
hand, and the rest of the lead rope in
your other hand (remember not to hold
the rope in loops, with your hand in the
middle). Putting slight pressure on the
halter, step toward the horse’s shoulder.
You are looking for one step backwards
from any foot. If you need to, jiggle the
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