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Groundwork Exercises

Groundwork involves working with the horse from the ground using a halter and lead rope, a longe line, a cavesson and neck rope, long reins, etc. There are many lessons that are helpful to teach from the ground. Working on ground lessons with your horse can improve communication, teach a horse a new skill, work on problem areas, allow you to assert your leadership skills with the horse, work on a complicated skill before trying it mounted, and gives your horse physical and mental challenges. It’s a great way to mix up your horse’s training and keep things fresh. Groundwork is also helpful if you can’t ride that day due to weather or footing issues or if your horse is healing from an injury and can’t be ridden. It’s also a great way to first teach a horse about obstacles and how not to be fearful of certain objects, like a tarp, water, a bicycle, etc.

How to Bridle a Horse That Evades the Bridle

If you’ve been around horses long enough, you’ve likely come across at least one who actively tries to evade being bridled.…

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Groundwork for When You Can’t Ride

Injury. Behavior. Age. Fear. Each of these factors can be a reason why equestrians put away their saddle for a…

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Groundwork for the Human

Groundwork can be an essential part of horse training and is quite beneficial to our equines for a variety of…

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Five Groundwork Exercises for Your Horse

You don’t have to ride your horse to give him a good workout. Groundwork is an effective alternative that’s loaded…

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Introduction to Free Jumping

A riderless sport horse negotiates a series of ground poles and small jumps, finding his wings along the way. This…

8 months ago

Teach Your Horse to Self-Load in the Trailer

If you’ve owned or been around horses long enough, you’ll no doubt have witnessed the gamut of trailer-loading abilities. From…

1 year ago

Unlock the Secret to Equine Behavior

Read the full article about equine behavior in Horse Illustrated’s July 2024 issue! Below is some great content we couldn’t…

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Introduction to Showing Sport Horses in Hand

Read the full article about showing in hand in Horse Illustrated’s June 2024 issue! Here is some great content we…

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Liberty Work with Luke Gingerich

Luke Gingerich gives some pointers for anyone interested in starting out in the appealing discipline of liberty work, which both…

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Tips to Keep Your Horse from Bucking

It’s a scene riders dread: A tense, strong horse ignores your cues, moves straight ahead then begins bucking and kicking…

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