◆ Teaching a young horse how to steer and stop before being ridden.

◆ Improving steering on children’s horses that are too small for an adult to ride.

◆ Building a horse’s confidence by having him taking the lead.

◆ Doing an enriching activity for horses that are unable to be ridden.

◆ Introducing a horse to obstacles or pulling a cart.

Ground driving is a great way to improve a horse’s steering and stopping before he is ridden. Photo by Jason Irwin

Getting Started in Teaching Your Horse to Ground Drive

I use a saddle, a bridle with a snaffle bit, and two long driving lines. A surcingle may also be used in place of a saddle, and you may want to carry a buggy whip to encourage forward motion.

Note: When ground driving, I run the driving lines from the bridle through the stirrups and then back to me. I tie the stirrups beneath the belly using a piece of rope to prevent them from flapping.

Before running driving lines through the stirrups, tie the stirrups beneath the horse’s belly. This prevents the stirrups from flopping around. Photo by Jason Irwin

Before putting the bridle on the horse and hooking the lines up to the bit, it’s best to get the horse used to the feel of the lines around his hind end. Sometimes when a horse first feels a line touch his hindquarters, he might be tempted to bolt, turn quickly, or even kick at it.

To train him to get used to the feeling of the lines, begin with your horse wearing a halter and lead rope and saddled up. It’s best to use a halter for this part so you don’t accidentally pull too hard on the bit in the horse’s mouth.

Assuming you’re starting on the left side of the horse, connect one line to the right D-ring on the right side of the saddle and run it behind the horse’s haunches (be careful not to get kicked). Hold the line in your right hand, leaving slack in it for now, and hold the lead rope that runs to the halter in your left hand.

Start by having the horse circle around you at a walk, and then put slight tension on the line so that it makes contact with his haunches. Have the horse circle once with a small amount of tension, and then release the pressure and then repeat this several times.

Once the horse seems to be accepting of the line, you’re ready to move on to the next part.

Ready to Ground Drive

When a horse learns to ground drive, it’s a good idea to have a second person help you for the first few sessions. Put a halter under the bridle and have the second person lead the horse while you drive him. This helps the horse figure out what he’s supposed to do and keeps him from suddenly turning and getting wrapped up in the lines.

It can be done with one person, but it’s easier with two. It’s also better to drive in a small area in the beginning, if possible, so the horse doesn’t have too big of a space to pick up speed.

To start driving, hook up the right driving line to the right bit ring and run the line through the right stirrup. Do the same on the left. Keep one driving line in each hand and don’t tie them together. You can either let the remainder trail on the ground behind you or gather up the ends and hold them.

Now stand behind the horse a safe distance away from his hind end. Here is where you can either use a voice cue, such as “walk on,” or create a little flapping motion with the lines to get the horse to walk forward. This might feel strange to the horse because he’s used to you leading him most places. This is why a second person is good to have in the beginning to give the horse confidence to move forward.

Don’t make any turns or stops in the beginning, just get forward motion and follow the perimeter of the area that you are in.

Turning, Stopping & Backing

Once the horse is moving forward nicely, try to change directions by steering through the center of the pen and heading out the other way. This gives the horse a lot of space to make the initial turns. Again, keep following the perimeter in the new direction.

Once the forward motion and change of direction is going well, you can work on stopping. It’s best to not work on stopping at the beginning of the session because the horse will have more energy and might not be content to stand still.

To stop, just pick up on the lines until he comes to a stop, then release the pressure. You can use the voice cue “whoa” as well. The first few times you practice stopping, only stay stopped for 10 or 20 seconds, then get the horse moving forward again.

He might be a bit confused as to what to do when he’s standing by himself and might start to fidget. Try to get forward motion before the horse starts losing focus. Your helper can assist with keeping the horse calm for this part.

Begin with a helper if possible to keep the horse moving forward while teaching the new cues from the lines. Photo by Jason Irwin

If the horse seems like he needs some reassurance, carefully walk up to his hip and stroke him with your hand to help him remain relaxed. Eventually, you can add in a few back-up steps by pulling on the lines and releasing as he backs up. Once all these steps are going well, you won’t need the helper anymore.

To advance the horse’s turns, you can practice rollback-type turns toward the fence or arena wall. Drive him 3 or 4 feet out from the fence and then have him turn sharply toward the fence and continue forward in the new direction. Turning toward the fence causes him to turn more sharply, which makes for better turns. Even though the turns will likely be faster, remember to keep your hands soft and light on the lines.

In early training, following the fence helps to keep to keep the horse straight. Photo by Jason Irwin

Adding Speed

To pick up speed, stand to one side of the horse and have him circle around you like you’re longeing him. Ask for a trot by using a voice cue, or flap lightly with the lines. Once your horse is trotting, keep him circling around you so you don’t have to run behind him.

To go faster than a walk, have the horse move in a circle around you, similar to longeing. Photo by Jason Irwin

If you’re moving straight, you’ll have to go as fast as your horse to keep up. By having him on a circle, you won’t have to chase behind him. Also, if your horse picks up too much speed and you find him hard to stop, just put him on a smaller circle, which will help slow him down.

Once your horse is ground driving well, you can add some obstacle work or even start cart training. Ground driving is a fun way to spend time with your horse and even has lots of benefits that transfer to under saddle work.

This article about teaching a horse to ground drive appeared in the May/June 2025 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Teach Your Horse to Ground Drive appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Bronwyn grew up riding English before making the switch. Photo by Jason Irwin

Adjust to the Seat

For the last 20 years, Bronwyn has mostly ridden and competed in a western saddle. Photo by Jason Irwin

When I bought my first western saddle, it felt substantial compared to a smaller English saddle. After years of training in a western saddle, my first piece of advice is to go ahead and sit down in it.

When riding English, I always sat properly on my seat bones, heels down, shoulders back, elbows by my sides, thumbs closed on the top of my reins, all with very tall posture. I had a light seat that was deep when needed, but I never sat in the back of the saddle to achieve that.

In western training, you will use most of the saddle, including the back part. To find a deep seat, take a deep breath and, on the exhale, roll your belly button toward the sky and sit on the pockets of your pants.

Western riders sit deeply and use the whole saddle. Think of rolling your belly button to the sky and sitting on the pockets of your jeans. Your legs should be relaxed unless giving a cue. Photo by Mary Cage

When you are riding western, you need to be able to use the saddle differently to encourage the horse to use his body correctly. Consider the back end of the horse as the engine. To make that engine move powerfully, you need to drive it with your seat. The change in my seat is always the first indication to the horse that a cue is coming.

Consider Your Leg Position

As you work toward more advanced maneuvers on your horse, it’s important to train your muscle memory correctly from the beginning. When sitting in an English saddle, you’re encouraged to drop your weight into your heels to maintain proper leg position.

In an English saddle, you sit more lightly on your seat bones with your weight in your heels and hold constant contact with the bit. Photo by Mary Cage

But if you do that in a western saddle, your legs will always be tight on your horse’s sides, which you don’t want. You need to keep your legs relaxed and not really on the horse unless you mean it as a cue.

When sitting in a western saddle, your feet should be a bit more relaxed in the stirrups as well. Think about relaxing the weight of your body downward and through your heels. Keep the weight heavy in your heels, but don’t focus on pushing them down.

Stopping May Be Different

Another important point in the differences between the two riding disciplines is that your feet are going to play a part in stopping when riding western. When going into a stop, the first thing that is going to change is your seat. Melt down into your deep seat in the back of the saddle, pushing your feet slightly forward to anchor yourself, and then pick up on the reins to finalize the stop.

Stops on a western horse can be very dramatic, with the horse really dropping his haunches. By sitting deeply in the saddle and pressing your feet slightly forward, you are less likely to pop forward out of the tack.

A New Kind of Reins

One of the biggest differences when I changed from English to western was the way in which I used the reins. It also had a big impact on my core horse-training values, giving the horse the responsibility to do a maneuver with limited help from me. When I focused on that, I became a better educator for my horse.

When I rode English, there was always some form of contact on the bit, my fingers were always closed on the reins, and I was always ready to guide the horse through an exercise, whether he needed it or not.

This contrasts with my western horses, where I pick up the reins, make contact to give a cue, and then release the pressure and have the horse carry on doing what I have asked. My expectations are for the horse to take the responsibility of performing a maneuver with limited help from my reins.

In western, cues are performed on a loose rein with a light hold, striving toward using mostly leg cues. Photo by Mary Cage

My fingers are not always closed on the reins; often, the reins are held only lightly in my fingers. There are specific ways to ride one-handed, but most of my training is done with two hands on the reins.

My goal is to perform exercises on a loose rein, and this is achieved by using less and less rein pressure as the horse advances in his training. This requires me to use my seat and leg cues first, giving the horse a chance to respond before I go to rein cues.

Key Takeaway

Whether I ride in an English saddle or western saddle, I’m always conscious of my horsemanship and my job as an educator of the horse I’m riding. I pick the tack that best suits the job at hand, and I incorporate good horsemanship practices into my training.

It doesn’t matter if the horse is wearing an English or western saddle (or bareback)—the main goal no matter the riding discipline is to focus on being a better communicator and teacher for your horse.

This article about changing riding disciplines from English to western appeared in the March 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Changing Riding Disciplines: English to Western appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.