DOES YOUR HORSE NEED GROUND SCHOOLING?
Is your horse hard to catch? Does he get pushy with you? Is he hard to lead because he trys to pull away from you? Does get fidgety and have a hard time standing still? Do you have to tug and pull on him to follow you? Does he ever bite, kick or strike at you? Do you have trouble keeping his attention focused on you? Is he always uptight and holding his head high like a trojan horse? Does he spook at the littlest things? Is he hard to trailer load?
If you answered "yes" to any of the above questions, then the answer to your question is YES, Your Horse Needs Ground Schooling!
Through a few simple horse handling techniques you can have your horse acting respectful and content to be in your company. You will be able to move him willingly in any direction (forward, backward, left and right) at the slightest request. You can help him to become soft and supple which in turn allows him to relax his body and be comfortable. You can have him standing quietly with you. You can stop annoying or dangerous behavior. You can prepare him for saddle work, or if you're already riding him, you can improve his saddle work. You can give him the confidence he needs to conquer his fears. All this can be accomplished from the ground with a halter and lead rope using Natural Horsemanship methods.
Natural Horsemanship is a humane method of training using the least amount of pressure possible to allow the horse to find the correct response. The horse learns from the "release" of pressure, not from punishment or forceful tactics. "Pressure" is any new stimulae or situation presented to the horse. An example would be: Teaching a horse to lead with the halter rope - you would hold the end of the rope, firmly but gently take the slack out, and maintain the "pressure" of the rope on his halter until he made the slightest try to lift a foot or even lean in the right direction. Then you would let slack back into the rope - releasing the pressure. Repeat the lesson and release the pressure again when even the slightest try from the horse occurs. Before you know it your horse is walking with you one step at a time because you reward him by releasing the pressure and he is understanding your request. Later, you would ask for 2 or 3 steps at a time before releasing the pressure. You would continue to build on that lesson.
Ground schooling is essential for building a trustful relationship as well as safe working relationship between horse and human. It is the foundation that virtually all other training is built upon. Whether you will ride your horse, or drive him with a cart, or just have him as a family pet, you and he will both benefit from some simple but effective ground work techniques.
You may think your horse is "bomb proof".....but is he really? Many people think their horse is well mannered enough and confident enough without any formal ground schooling. Then one day a piece of paper blows across the path and he comes unglued. And they say...."I don't know what came over him - he's seen a million flying pieces of paper, but never reacted that way before". Sometimes it's not the paper that scared him, but life in general. Sometimes insecurities and fears will build up in a horse over time and like a pressure cooker, they're just waiting to explode. It's not the thing that happened, but the thing that happened before the thing that happened happened. Does that make sense to you? No? Then perhaps you and your horse need to come to our Special Ground Unit Boot Camp to get an understanding. :)
SPECIAL GROUND UNIT BOOT CAMP INTRODUCTION PAGE
PARTICIPATION REGISTRATION FORM
Send donations to: Lifesavers, Inc., 23809 East Avenue J, Lancaster, California 93535
Phone for more information: 661-727-0049 or email lifesavers@wildhorserescue.org
© 1997 Lifesavers, Inc.