Leading a horse with high energy can be challenging, and I think it’s something many of us have experienced.
Most of the time it looks like the horse is leading the handler, instead of the handler is leading the horse.
The main issue with this is that a lot of people are trying to manage their horses, instead of showing the horse how to manage himself.
It’s a common problem that many of us deal with, and it’s important to handle it correctly. 👇
This isn’t just helpful for your own horses but also if you’re handling horses for others, like at a livery stable where they might be very fresh or not well-behaved.
So, how do you handle this situation safely and productively while also teaching the horses to manage themselves better?
I made a video demonstrating how I lead my horses safely in any situation, even when they’re full of energy or maybe want to run over you.
You can watch the video here:
When leading a fresh or unmannered horse, it might feel like they’re going to run over you in any moment.
And that might actually happen if your horse isn’t aware of where you are.
So it’s important that you first create awareness of where you are within the horse’s space. The first step therefore is to re-direct your horse’s attention on yourself.
The next step is to do the first groundwork pattern in order to get a bit more control and to bring your horse into a state of relaxation.
This is the preparation you need to lead your horse safely. I’ll show you what the preparation looks like in this video:
When you feel the preparation is in order, you can head out to the field.
Important is that you don’t forget everything you just taught your horse and fall back to your old patterns.
Remind your horse of where he is in the space and direct his focus towards you.
A good way to check the control and focus is to ask your horse to back up.
I explain everything and a lot more in the video below.
Sadly the wind picked up at the end so it might be a little intelligible, but we added subtitles!
Fleetwood, the horse in this video, already knows the groundwork exercises.
Do you want to teach your horse the groundwork exercises as well?
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