Ground manners. Growing up as horse-crazed girl without a horse of her own I came into contact with many horses and many horse owners. Once I made a list of twenty-some horses I have ridden at one point or another. I've interacted with many more than that on the ground. Since I didn't purchase my own horse until I nearly seventeen, I had plenty of time to consider how I would interact with my horse on the ground.
Leading
I have met far too many horses who were talented, sweet, and fantasticly obedient under saddle, but a pain in the butt to lead. There are the horses that walk on top of you, the horses that drag their feet, the horses that run ahead, the horses that will only lead from one side regardless of the circumstances, and the horses that don't have any brakes. I've learned plenty of tricks and methods for dealing with these horses, but they never cease to frustrate me. The worst part is - no matter how many times I circle a horse until it stops or back a horse up until it walks beside me - I can't ever fix the problem, because I am not the owner. I can convince a horse to walk politely for a few minutes but the next time I meet that horse, I'll have to go through the whole issue again.
I'm not trying to say that everyone I've ever met neglects groundwork with their horses, that is not at all what I'm saying. I know plenty of people whose horses have lovely ground manners. I'm saying that there are wonderful horse owners, who train their horses well and love their horses to death, but neglect to teach them to lead. Long before I ever met Gambler I decided that I would teach my horse to lead politely from both sides.
That turned out to be quite a challenge. Gambler came to me after sitting in a pasture for several months of little to no handling whatsoever. I could lead him, but not without spooking, crowding, and biting. It took a long time to teach him to lead quietly and politely.
I still spend a lot of time on leading today. Gambler leads well, but now and then he needs a refresher. He also tends to pretend that he doesn't know how to be led if anyone leads him but me. As soon as his handler makes it clear that he or she won't stand for that nonsense, he snaps out of it; but it is still a naughty habit. Right now I'm working on teaching Gambler to trot in-hand. I'm encountering all the same problems that I originally had teaching him to lead politely. But I think that groundwork and ground manners are way more important than people give them credit for, so trot in-hand we shall!
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ReplyDeleteYes, groundwork is so much more important than some people think. Gaining respect on the ground is fundamental to riding, because if you don't have respect on the ground, you won't have it in the saddle either. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
DeleteGreat pictures. They really show how much you've done on the ground to get that relaxed walk. Personally, I think it is the most important thing you'll ever do for a horse and definitely translates to the saddle.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I consider that relaxed walk one of Gambler's and my greatest accomplishments
DeleteI agree with you! It drives me crazy when people don't teach their horses to lead politely. Ugh! It is always something that needs refreshing. Chrome needs a refresher every now and then, especially for when he's excited or nervous. Training horses is never ending hehe.
ReplyDeleteTraining horses is certainly never over. Gambler is constantly reminding me of that.
DeleteA horse with poor ground manners miffs me like none other. I've catch rode a few endurance horses for folks that are HEINOUS on the ground and some are even rude to the vet. UGH. And as you stated, while I can fix it for a moment, I can't resolve it forever because I'm not the owner.
ReplyDeleteBoth of mine lead quietly from both sides, will follow behind, walk at my shoulder, or lead and let me follow (tail) them. They do both of these things quietly and politely at either the walk or the trot. It's a WONDERFUL thing to have installed into their heads and really helps when introducing horse-illiterate folks to horses!
Gambler is still learning ground manners (as you'll see in my next post), but he has come a long way. The way I look at it, you never know what could happen and when a complete stranger might need to lead your horse in a dangerous situation.
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