If you’re interested in training a horse to be ridden, there are some steps to be aware of in order to make the process easier:
1. Build a Bond
2. Master Groundwork
3. Desensitize Your Horse
4. Get the Horse Used to the Saddle
5. Get Your Horse Used to Weight In the Saddle
6. Apply Pressure Under Saddle
When it comes to starting a horse, (the term used to describe training a horse under saddle) there is no rush to master all the steps at once. In fact, if you master all these steps in one day, you probably missed something that you’re going to have to go back and correct later. Catering to your horse and their acceptance of what you’re teaching them will benefit you in the long run.
Step 1: Build a Bond
The first aspect of training any horse is to build a bond with them. If a horse doesn’t trust you or feel comfortable around you, it’s going to be much harder to get them to do what you want them to do. Giving your horse time to get to know you will make communication between the two of you much easier.
So, how do you bond with a horse? Here are a few ways you can build a connection:
a. Spend Time with Your Horse
b. Create Positive Associations
c. Learn How Your Horse Communicates
When you build between you and your horse, your horse will start to want to with you instead of going back to its herd or stall. The horse will start to consider you as a member of its herd. As most of the training techniques I use mimic the natural behavior of horses in a herd, this is a great place to start.
a. Spend Time with Your Horse:
Spending time with your horse is one of the best ways to build your bond with them. Horses are creatures of routine and repetition, so the more you often you spend time with them, the more familiar and comfortable they may feel around you. In the wild, horses spend their entire day with their herd. As you spend time with your horse, they’ll start to see you as part of the herd. There are many ways you can spend time with your horse; you can groom them, bathe them, braid their mane, let them graze on the lead rope; hand-walk them around the property. The more time you spend with them and the more variety you add to your activities, the fonder of you the horse will become.
In the beginning, focus on low-stress activities to do with your horse. This will encourage them to associate you with calm and peace compared to stress and frustration.
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b. Create Positive Associations
It’s important that your horse associates you with positivity instead of negativity. You want your horse to think of you as a calming presence rather than one that is always requiring work and frustration. Taking time to focus on low-stress activities with your horse, having a positive attitude, and rewarding the horse when it’s due will help the horse see you as a good presence.
It’s easy for horse trainers and riders to subconsciously slip into demanding too much from the horse and not giving time for the simple enjoyable things. I know I’m guilty. I can always tell when I’ve become too focused on training rather than the relationship with the horse because my horse will start to get frustrated…and so will I!
Horses associate people with the atmosphere the person creates. If you create an atmosphere of pressure and stress, the horse will get anxious. If you create one of safety, calm, and peace, the horse is less likely to get worked up.
c. Learn How Your Horse Communicates
Another reason to focus on the bond with your horse is so you can learn how your horse communicates. What does your horse like and dislike? Are they scared of particular things? When you take the time to get to know your horse, it will help you to prepare for what you make come across in training later on.
I have a funny POA pony who is afraid of just about anything. Since I took the time to get to know him and bond with him in the beginning, I knew that when I started desensitizing him, it would probably be hard for him to handle. Knowing this, when it came time for desensitizing, I worked extra hard to not only be rewarding and patient with him but also very thorough in my training.
You may wonder how long it will take for you to bond with your horse. The time frame will be determined by your commitment as well as your horse’s personality and history. The great news is that you can constantly be building a stronger bond with your horse, even after you can ride them.
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Step 2: Master Groundwork
Groundwork is the foundation for any training you plan on ever doing. Groundwork is basically any training you do on the ground with your horse. There’s a saying in the horse world, “If you can’t do it on the ground, you won’t be able to do it in the saddle.” Likewise, if you can’t get respect on the ground with your horse, you’re sure not going to get respect under saddle.
When it comes to mastering groundwork, there are a few key exercises to be aware of:
- Standing Still
- Properly Leading
- Flexing
- Softening
- Getting Your Horse on a Circle
- Moving the Hind-End
- Moving the Shoulders
Groundwork is a great way to introduce new training to your horse. If you want to train a horse under saddle, groundwork would be the first place you start. While many people may be tempted to skip this step, it is vital to the success of not only your relationship with your horse but also your horse’s understanding of what you’re asking them to do. If you’re interested in getting step-by-step instructions for teaching your horse groundwork, you can check out my online course here.
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a. Standing Still:
A horse that can’t stand still is either not paying attention to you or they’re invading your personal space. Teaching your horse to stand still will encourage them to look to you for the next step to take. Have your horse on a halter and lead; stand facing your horse on the end of the lead rope. All you have to do is stand still and allow the lead to be slack. As soon as your horse takes a step out of their original position, shake the lead rope to ask the horse to back up. Make your horse back-up a good few steps so they understand that walking off is wrong.
If your horse doesn’t back up right away, shake the lead rope harder until the horse responds. Keep giving your horse the option to walk off, but always correct it if the horse chooses to.
b. Properly Leading:
Leading a horse is a simple task, yet many horses struggle with doing it correctly simply because they’re never required to. This exercise will not only teach your horse how to lead correctly but also establish that you’re the one in charge.
Having a rope halter, lead rope, and lunge whip on-hand, simply start by leading your horse. The correct position for the horse to be in is at your elbow on the side you’re leading them on.
If the horse walks slower than you, encourage them to stay at your elbow by waving the lunge whip behind you. If the horse is pushy and tends to try and walk in front of you, immediately stop and make the horse back up. Repeat until the horse responds correctly. Practice starting and stopping, increasing your speed, all the while requiring the horse to stay at your elbow at a steady pace.
c. Flexing:
It is when the horse bends it’s neck to the right or to the left. This groundwork exercise will teach your horse how to respond to the pressure applied by reins. Your goal is to get your horse to turn its neck so its nose touches just behind its shoulder.
With the lead rope in hand, bring your hand out and up to the horse’s withers. There should be moderate pressure on the lead rope, asking the horse to bend its neck towards the pressure. Now, the horse may bend its neck right away, but it may not give completely to the pressure.If the horse’s neck is bent towards you but you still feel pressure on the lead rope, the horse hasn’t completely given to the pressure. Continue to hold the pressure until the horse dips it’s nose even more and you feel the pressure release. As soon as you feel this in your hand, immediately stop asking and reward your horse. Do this both to the left and then to the right.
d. Softening:
Softening is when the horse lowers it’s head when pressure is either applied to the poll or to the lead rope. Teaching your horse to soften will help them better accept the bit and pressure on the bit when that time comes. It can also be lifesaving in a dangerous situation. If a horse gets its head stuck in a fence, the horse will hopefully respond to the pressure and keep its head down instead of freaking out.
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To teach your horse to soften, simply grab the base of the lead rope that clips to the halter and then apply slight pressure down to the ground. The horse should lower its head to respond to the pressure; if they do this, you can immediately stop asking your horse.
If your horse tries to fight the pressure by yanking their head up, just keep steady pressure on the lead rope. As soon as the horse even drops their nose in the slightest, release the pressure.
e. Getting Your Horse to Go Around You in a Circle:
Getting your horse to go in a circle around you while on the lead can help you in so many ways. This is really the essence of working your horse even though you’re not on them. Being able to get your horse to go in a circle around you means that you control the movement of your horse’s feet.
Moving a horse’s feet is the best way to teach them right and wrong. You want to teach a horse that doing the wrong thing is hard and means more work. So what do you do when your horse does the wrong thing? Immediately start to move their feet around you.
f. Moving the Hind-End:
When you can disengage the hind-end, you are taking away all the power from the horse; it’s basically like the emergency brake. A Horse’s power and forward motion come from the thrust of the hind-end, so if you can take the power out of the hind-end by getting the horse to step over, then that means you control the horse’s power.
You’re going to take a few steps assertively towards the hind-end of the horse. As you do this, lift your hand closest to the horse with the lead rope in it up and over towards the horse’s withers, encouraging the horse to bend its neck towards you.
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g. Moving the Shoulders:
Moving the shoulders is the third great way for moving your horse’s feet. To me, this exercise is all about the horse respecting your boundaries. When horses tend to step into our bubble, they’re usually using their shoulders or front-end. With this exercise, I want to see the front legs of the horse step away from the pressure, stepping one in front of the other.
To do this, stand a few feet in front of your horse, facing them. Next, step very assertively towards one particular side of the horse, putting the hand closest to the horse, up towards the horse’s eye (not to touch them but simply to make a wall for the horse to step away from) in your other hand, wave the lunge whip towards the same shoulder encouraging the horse to step away.