Horse Training Tips – Simple Groundwork
Below is a description of some basic hand-on exercises which may be used when training your horse. Such exercises are the foundation of familiarity and trust between you and your horse. All future training depends on first performing good groundwork exercises. The importance of safety and maintaining your personal space bubble should not be taken lightly.
To achieve success in horse training you will need to have patience, be persistent and give lots of positive reinforcement and praise to your horse. 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. This is the perfect first exercise for you and your horse. You’ll get to know each other. Brush his neck and back as you stand beside him. A horse will often turn to give you a little love bit at this time. This is natural behaviour between horses, but obviously they cannot do this to humans. Just wave your hand or push the head back to straight ahead position to discourage this. Horses have enormous teeth so it is important for your safety that you let him know that this is unacceptable. It’s important to stay calm and be patient. It will not take long for him to cooperate once he gets the idea. Nothing will be gained from smacking, shouting or getting angry with your horse. This will send you backwards where trust is concerned.
2. Lead your horse. Walk on the left side of your horse, holding the lead rope just below his chin in your right hand. Take a step and walk slowly forward. He should remain at your right side and never try to go ahead of you. If he does, walk around to your left in a circle. Do this as often as you need to. Demonstrate persistence. By circling to your left you will stay just ahead of him as it should be. Should your horse not want to walk with you then stand slightly behind him, 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. Never wrap the lead rope around any part of yourself – this is for your own safety. If the horse decides to bolt you’ll be going along and it will not be pretty.
3. Lunge your horse.This is a fantastic exercise which the vast majority of horse owners and certainly all horse trainers will use to teach their horse about what is expected. It will help you to get closer to saddle work by teaching the horse many of the skills, cues and commands he will need.
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 lungeing. 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. Begin by holding the lunge line and facing the horses 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’s natural reaction will be to step forward. Now let out the rope as you follow behind the horse to the left side, making a kissing sound as you do so. He’ll begin to associate that sound with “move forward”. 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 just need to wave it a bit to get the horse’s attention.
Move yourself slowly backwards to the centre as the horse is moving forwards. Stand in the middle and turn in a circle with the lunge line fully extended and the horse walking around you in a good circle. Watch your horse’s hip area as he’s going round.
This is the perfect time to teach your horse to understand “whoa”. In a low, calm voice, say the word “whoooaa”. At the same time, step toward your horse’s head and repeat the word. Lots of praise, and a little neck rub, should be given when he stops. Your horse needs this positive reinforcement if he is to remember what he needs to do.
Now you can change your lunging position to move him in the counterclockwise 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 few exercises are just the very basics to help you get started with training your horse. Remember always how big and powerful a horse actually is. This alone should be enough to remind you to have adequate horse insurance in place should either you or your equine be injured. Safety and trust is crucial to your success in training ventures and in all future activities. 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.