February 22nd, 2010 by KittyKitty
Saddle training may well be the ultimate goal for horse riding, but you cannot get to this point without first laying the groundwork. You will need to take your horse from trailer or barn to the tack area, tack up, and then you’ll ride. There would be little point in teaching saddle training without first learning how to get to that point. When your horse learns to cooperate with you, you can act as a team. This cooperation begins with your ability to approach, catch, and halter him first. Then you’ll need to lead your horse about with a halter and a lead rope.
Teaching a horse the boundaries of acceptable behaviour is done with the primary objective of safety in mind. Pulling against the lead rope, for example, is natural behaviour for a horse which you will need to teach him not to do. Whoever is leading needs to be secure that their personal space will not be invaded by the horse. You put yourself at risk by not taking time to teach your horse basic safety manners before moving on to more advanced training. Whilst a good equine insurance policy may cover you for accidents that happen in training, it’s obviously far more preferable not to have to find this out!
Leading your horse requires that you use the three Ps of horse training: patience, persistence and positive reinforcement. Having already accomplished haltering, it is likely that you have already discovered the effectiveness of the three Ps.
Ideally you need to begin lead training with your horse when he is still a foal. A very young horse will not need to know just yet about saddles and riding, but basic ground manners training should begin early on. The youngster will still need to cooperate for the vet, the farrier, and for various operatives moving about.
If you happen to have the dam – the foal’s mother – present, lead training will be easier as he will naturally copy her behaviours. If not, any horse with which the foal spends time will also work. The young learn naturally from the elder. For example, you don’t need to teach a horse in the pasture how to graze or go to the water and drink. They learn by watching the others. If your student is older, you can still use another horse’s example by haltering and leading the other horse first. Your student will be watching, as they do notice everything that happens around them, particularly if it involves other horses in their own herd.
Start off by leading two horses – the foal and either it’s dam or a more experienced horse – side by side with you in the middle. Stay to the left of your student’s shoulder area as it is the safest spot for you, with the older horse to the left of you. Be sure that you do not wrap the lead rope around your hand or any part of your body, just in case the young horse decides to bolt or kick up his heels. The last thing you need at this stage is complicating the process with an injury for which you may need to claim on your horse insurance.
Another method you could use, if you have a calm horse that you are comfortable riding and that the foal will follow, is the pony method. This is done by simply towing the student horse behind using a longer lead rope. This is actually a logical method for teaching the lead, as it’s natural for the young to follow the elders behaviour.
With no other horses nearby, you will need to rely solely on your patience, persistence, and positive reinforcement skills. It will still be viable, but may take a bit longer for your horse to understand what you’d like him to do.
After satisfactory progress, it’s time to try it alone. Again, standing to the left of your young horse’s shoulder and with both of you looking straight ahead, gently walk forward and as you step out, tug very gently forward, then release any pressure on the rope as soon as the horse makes any motion to go forward. Understanding that release is a reward to your horse is a valuable tip used by professional trainers. It tells your horse he’s doing something right.
When he can successfully walk with you in straight lines, try a slight left turn whist maintaining the space bubble. If he crowds you, use your right hand to push him out away from you and hold your arm out to the appropriate distance. Then try turning to the right with the same safety distance between the two of you, still using your right hand to guide him into the correct zone. Reward him each time he takes a step in the right direction by releasing the pressure on the lead rope.
It takes a great deal of patience to get through lead training. Big improvements will soon be made if you can just stick with it. Do a little work every day if you can and this will put you closer to the day you can finally saddle up for a ride.