Trail Training Newsletter - Volume 87
April 2008
Dear Readers,
This has been the worst month of March for riding weather-ever. We had ice storms, snowstorms and deluges that flooded the river. We are finally able to do some hill work, and they are settling down. I'm hoping April will be the lovely month that it usually is.
The vet is coming out to see Cruiser to check out his leg tomorrow. I believe he will jus tell me to have a great summer. Cruiser is trotting beautifully and looks terrific. His new diet is doing him wonders. We even got him down the hill, yesterday-though not the whole way since there is still snow on the bottom.
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Ground Tying
The other day, I was riding Mingo in the arena with Ellen and Ranger. Kevin came in and started leading Starry around. I told him that he should practice walk/halt transitions-just so they had something to do other than wandering around aimlessly.
Kevin then mentioned how I used to be able to stop Mingo and walk away. He wondered if I could still do it. In response, I quickly dismounted, told Mingo to stand and walked away. Kevin was amazed. I walked a few circles around him, and then I told him what a good boy he was and rubbed his neck.
It isn't hard to teach a horse to do something like this. Cruiser learned the same lesson long ago. I just take it for granted that they will stand on command. Now, honestly, it doesn't work quite as well when we are on trail and there is food surrounding them in all directions, but it still helps.
I taught both horses to stand quietly when they were young, long before I started riding them. It was just another of our many ground exercises. A horse of any age can learn it. I would either have a lounge line or a long lead rope. We would do some lounging or leading-whatever was scheduled for that day. Towards the end of the lesson, I would ask my horse to whoa. Once he stopped, I would tell him to "stand" and walk a few feet a way-still holding the rope. If he tried to walk, I would go to his head, back him back to the spot he was originally told to stand and repeat the lesson.
I believe that returning him back to the spot I wanted him to be at is very important. I don't want him to be inching in the direction that he wants to go. To allow him move to a new spot and stay there, I would be rewarding him. By gently returning him to the original spot, I would not be rewarding him-but it certainly isn't a punishment. When he listens, praise him. I spend a lot of time walking back to him and petting him-telling him how good he is.
I then go out to the end of the rope and walk all around him-letting the rope rub against his sides; flicking it about-just a little bit of sacking out. If it makes him step away, I correct him.
A horse isn't ground tied if his head is on the ground looking for something to eat. His head needs to be up, and he needs to be paying attention to you. If he drops his head, shake the rope until he picks it up.
I find it useful to be holding either a lounge whip or riding whip. I keep it in the air, and if my horses attention seems to be drifting, I get his attention by waving the whip a little and talking to him.
The next step is to drop the rope and move a little away. If he moves, correct him. If he stands well, praise him. Usually, a horse will lower his head. When they do this, I gently tap the whip on the ground near their face. Don't do this if you have a skittish horse who will be surprised and take off running! If that is your horse, you would be better off walking up to his head and pulling it back up.
If you do this often enough, your horse will understand the word "stand." It has added benefits. Even if you are holding the reins, imagine how much easier it is to mount or adjust your tack if your horse knows the command. How about checking his feet for a stone out on the trail, walking up to a water fountain to get a drink, picking something up that you've dropped, pulling a large stick out of his tail...the list goes on...