Training - Ground Manners

- Horse Lags Behind

"Remember that when a horse stiffens his neck he can get away from you, but if his neck is soft he's always ready to respond." John Lyons from John Lyons Perfect Horse, Vol.2#2 Feb 1998, "Countermove and Ground Control", Pg. 5

Horses are so big and much stronger than us. That means you can't force them to do what you want. The horse has to be willing to do it. Jerking, yelling, hitting and other such tactics only serve to make the horse afraid, nervous, and resistant.

It is important to teach the horse how you expect it to act by taking your
time and building a foundation one lesson at a time. Is your horse halter broke? If not, refer back to the article Halter Breaking.

Put the halter and lead rope on your horse. Have your whip in hand. If your horse lags behind you when you lead it, you need to teach it to walk next to you. Generally horses are lead with you on their left side and your right hand holding the lead rope about 4 - 6 inches from the halter. Part of the training is teaching your horse to move forward.

This is a review from Ground Manners - Part 2:
Stand near you horse's left shoulder with the lead rope in your left hand, you are facing it's rear. Have the whip in your right hand. Now, kiss to the horse or say walk at the same time you tap him gently on the hip. If the horse talks any step forward, praise it. If not, repeat. Keep working on this until the horse responds as you want. This is a very important lesson because once the horse has learned to go forward like this you can get it to load in a trailer or do other things that horses don't do easily sometimes.

After the horse is going forward well, practice without the whip. Do this from both sides. If the horse doesn't go forward with a light tap, use a little firmer tap. Don't wack it though, this will only scare it. Reward it for ANY
forward motion, no matter how small. I belive in treats for difficult horses, I am sure some would disagree, but I find it can cause a horse to really warm up to you if you have a tidbit of carrot or other favorite food in hand. This works very well with abused horses. Gaining trust is the FIRST step when dealing with an animal that has learned only pain from humans.

What you will do when your horse lags behind is lead it as you normally do. But, have the whip in your left hand. The whip should be pointed back behind you. As you are leading the horse, just when it starts to slow down, tap it
gently on it's left hip or it's side s close to the hip as possible. Be careful you don't hit it in the flanks or legs.

This will feel awkward at first. Take your time. You don't have to whack the horse. If your horse becomes frightened, then you need to stop and review the lesson above. Your horse should not be afraid, perhaps you hit it in the flanks, which is a very sensitive area.

If you are having a hard time feeling comfortable using the whip in this way, practice first without your horse. Stand with a wall to your right and try tapping the wall at the same height your horse's hip would be. When you are good at it, try again with your horse. I do not recommend using the end of the lead rope for this. It is too flexible, often hitting the horse in the wrong place. Also, you may jerk the horse's head giving a mixed cue.

It is important that you praise the horse. The first few times you do this exercise you should praise the horse after it moves into the correct position. After that, just use verbal praise. If at any time the horse regresses, go back
and review.

1.) You and the horse start out OK, horse is in good position.

2.) The horse befins to lag behind. Start moving the whip into postition to tap the horse gently on the hip or side. Avoid his legs, do not raise the whip too high, it should be parellel to your waist. Hold the long string tip in your hand if you are using a lunge whip. Never hit your horse with a whip.

3.) You reach back and lightly tap the horse on the side or hip. The horse moves forward. Be sure to retain control so the horse doesn't move too far ahead. Some horses react violently to the whip touching them. If yours does, repeat the basics of tying and halter breaking.

4.) Now the horse is back in position. Repeat as many times as necessary. Soon your horse will not lag behind you.

By Pam Hunter

Copyright 1998-2012 All Rights Reserved - These articles are the property of Pam Hunter DBA Hunter's Pony Farm. They may not be copied or reproduced in any form - EXCEPT: ONE (1) copy of the article on  Halter Breaking and ONE(1) copy of subsequent articles in the Continuing Series on Training can be made by an individual for their sole personal use. Other use violates this copyright.