Jake a young horse I bought for myself in March. Today was about his 10th ride and I couldn’t be happier. First time out on the trail he just wanted to go. Any stream, banks or scrub just straight thought it and a good fast walk. Still young, only 3 next month and lots of fine tuning to do. But his forwardness and ability to track means he will be a keeper. So looking forward to developing him over the coming years.
Indy, here for one more week, and she has passed the gate opening test.
Whoever decides to buy her will be a happy owner. Very nice mare.
Groundwork and why its so important:
Manners: If you don’t have it on the ground you sure as hell aren’t going to have it in the saddle.
Safety: This leads on from manners, if were don’t feel safe around our horses on the ground why on earth would you hop on a hunk of muscle and expect things will go well.
Communication: It’s so much easier to teach a lot of the foundation work from the ground up. Again if they don’t understand what you are asking from the ground chances are they won’t in the saddle.
Trust: A lot of how horses learn is though body language, whether that’s a horse or us. On the ground clear communication can be established. With the right techniques this correlates to what we are asking in the saddle.
Most of all, with all of the above you build that bond, that trust between horse and rider. Groundwork doesn’t need to be complicated or do it everyday, it’s just another tool but a tool that should used well.
Whatever you are doing, ask yourself, “whats in it for my horse” because in nature your horse would have nothing to do with you!
Happy trails
Getting down to the last couple of days with Eve and the Morgan here.
One thing I like to have on them before they leave is can they open a gate?
This is just a piece of rope, but the movements are pretty much the same if it was a full gate. I like this because you need to have a horse completely settled underneath you, one that is responding to your slight changes in seat and leg pressure. You are using only one hand for the reins and she certainly hasn’t been taught how to neck rein.
For Eve that likes to fuss and move those legs more than what’s asked for this was a big accomplishment and on her 4th attempt.
With my own horses this is something I practice a lot, just one step, that maybe back, forward or sideways. You can do this out on the trail, around the yard etc. Try it, see if you can just get one step with each foot in each direction.
Steady the mind, the feet will follow.
