2022 Fort Worth Extreme Mustang Makeover Champion and horse trainer Camille White uses groundwork as a tool to help her learn more about a horse, and shares with us one of her favorite exercises.

Using Groundwork to Build Trust

In White’s experience, groundwork is an essential part of building trust with a horse. When on the ground, you have a good read of your horse’s facial expressions and can observe how he is carrying himself. She adds that it can be helpful to see a horse’s reaction to something from the ground before observing it from the saddle.

One of her favorite get-to-know-you groundwork activities is a longeing exercise that teaches the horse how to relax and involves both sensitizing and desensitizing components. White describes “sensitizing” as getting a horse sensitive to cues and teaching him how to move his body, while “desensitizing” is teaching a horse to accept new and scary things.

She explains that many of a horse’s opinions, personality, and coping mechanisms become apparent when he is moving, making this a great exercise to help you learn how your horse thinks and what things he prefers.

“It’s a lot harder for horses to hide what they’re thinking when they’re moving, as opposed to standing still,” says White.

When teaching the exercise, White says to be clear and consistent with your horse by communicating the same way every time. By doing this, he will learn what he can and can’t expect from you, and his trust in you will grow. 

The Exercise

The following steps outline a two-part longeing exercise that White uses to get to know the horses she works with. To perform this exercise, you will need a rope halter, a 12-to-16-foot lead rope, and a flag.

Photos by Shoshana Rudski

Part One: Sensitizing

Step 1: Walk to the middle of the arena. Have your horse stand at the end of the lead rope, facing you. Hold the rope in the hand you will use to point in the direction you want him to go. Hold the flag in your other hand.

Step 2: Ask the horse to move by using your rope hand to point in the direction you want him to go. The horse should move his shoulders away from you and start to walk in a circle around you. Keep your feet planted. Once the horse moves in the direction you pointed, relax your rope hand to let him know he responded correctly.

Problem solving: If the horse doesn’t move after you point, increase the pressure of your ask by wiggling the flag toward his shoulder. If there is still no movement, tap his shoulder with increasing pressure until he moves in the direction you asked. If the horse moves in the wrong direction, keep applying steady pressure until he steps in the correct direction. Once he responds correctly, drop your flag hand and relax your rope hand.

Step 3: Allow the horse to keep moving forward. Once you ask him to walk in a circle around you, he should continue walking until asked to stop or given another command.

Problem solving: When learning the exercise, your horse may walk a few steps, then stop and face you. If this happens, repeat step 2 until he walks on the circle without stopping.

Step 4: Ask the horse to stop. Once he understands step 3, teach him to stop by sliding your rope hand up the rope and taking one step toward the horse’s hindquarters. He should move his hindquarters away and turn to face you. In response, walk to the horse and rub his face to let him know he responded correctly.

Problem solving: If the horse doesn’t move away after you take a step toward him, take another step toward the hindquarters. Keep walking toward the hindquarters until he stops and turns to face you. White notes that you may need to step toward the hindquarters and wave the flag when first teaching this step.

Step 5: Repeat steps 2-4 in opposite direction.

Part Two: Desensitizing

Once your horse understands how to complete part one going both directions, it’s time to introduce a final step to the exercise.

Step 6: Ask your horse to walk in a circle around you like you did for step 2. Then, reach out with the flag and gently rub his shoulder while the horse is walking. He should stay relaxed at the walk while the flag rubs his shoulder.

Problem solving: If your horse jumps or speeds up when the flag moves toward his shoulder, bring the flag back and keep it at the distance where he started to get nervous. Once he relaxes, take the flag away. Wait a bit, then re-introduce the flag and attempt to bring it closer than last time. Repeat this process and bring the flag closer each time you re-introduce it.

If your horse stops or freezes when the flag touches him, return to steps 2 and 3 before attempting to rub his shoulder with the flag again.

Getting to Know You

Humans don’t become experts on each other after one meeting, and neither do humans and horses. Getting to know a horse takes time and effort.

Whether your horse is a carrot cruncher that loves to cross creeks or a grain gobbler that prefers a slow stroll, groundwork can be a great tool to help you learn more about him.

This article about using groundwork exercises to get to know your horse appeared in the November/December 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Get to Know Your Horse with These Groundwork Exercises appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Although simple, trainer Clay Cavinder explains that the ground tie exercise teaches a horse how to be accountable and reduces the temptation for you to micromanage him.

Cavinder is a professor and extension horse specialist for Mississippi State University. In addition to training horses and teaching students, he is a professional judge for the American Quarter Horse Association, American Paint Horse Association, and National Snaffle Bit Association.

Why Ground Tie

While many horse-friendly locations provide ample places to secure horses, not every place has a solid, safe place to tie, Cavinder explains. When hitching posts are lacking, ground tying can come in handy.

Also, if you’re interested in showing in ranch horse classes, you may encounter patterns that require your horse to know how to ground tie. So what does a good ground tie look like?

Cavinder explains that the ground tie exercise demands a horse know how to stand still. In a show setting, the obstacle requires you to dismount and walk around the horse or go accomplish a task while the horse stays where you left him.

“Once you park the horse’s four feet, he doesn’t move—he stands there,” Cavinder says.

When he is judging this obstacle, he not only wants to see the horse’s hooves planted, but he also wants to see the horse’s head and neck stay still, too. He’s looking for a horse that mimics a statue. The horse shouldn’t be putting his head on the ground and fidgeting in the dirt. Instead, he should be alert, still, and focused on you.

Preparing to Teach

Before you consider teaching a horse to ground tie, Cavinder advises settling your horse. This isn’t an exercise to teach a freshly halter-broke horse that jumps when your hands move.

Instead, the horse should feel safe around you and know simple cues, such as what “whoa” means. If that’s the case, teaching the ground tie can help you build trust with your horse.

“Ground tying develops ‘Whoa means whoa, don’t move your feet, and let me work around you and develop this trusting bond with you,’” says Cavinder.

He uses a three-step process to train horses consisting of cue, response and reinforcement. It breaks down as follows:

Step 1: Provide the horse with a cue. A cue is any stimulus you give the horse. It can be verbal or physical.

Step 2: Read the horse’s response to the cue. The response is the horse’s feedback (or lack thereof) to a cue.

Step 3: Reinforce the cue. These are actions you take that help the horse understand if his response was right or wrong.

Once these prerequisites are complete, Cavinder says you can begin teaching your horse the ground tie exercise.

Teaching the Ground Tie

To teach this exercise, outfit your horse in a nylon halter. Cavinder recommends using a longe line instead of a lead rope while your horse is first learning the exercise. He breaks the ground tie down into the following three steps.

Step 1 (Cue): Drop the longe line on the ground in front of the horse and say “whoa.” (Hold on to the very end of the longe line in case your horse tries to leave.) Take one to two steps away from him.

Step 2 (Response): Watch how the horse responds. Does he choose to follow you, or move in another direction? Does he take a step and then stop? Does he stand still the entire time? Carefully assess the horse’s response to your cue.

Step 3 (Reinforcement): Communicate to your horse whether he responded correctly to the cue. If he responds by moving, show him that was the wrong response by either lifting his head and backing him up or asking him to move his hip away from you in a forehand turn. Then start over at Step 1.

If your horse responds by standing still or taking a single step and then standing still, show him he found the correct answer by returning to his side and petting or praising him.

As he begins to understand the exercise, you should gradually increase the number of steps you take away from the horse and vary their direction. The horse should remain still until you return.

Common Pitfalls

Although simple, there are several pitfalls Cavinder sees equestrians struggle with when teaching their horses how to ground tie.

Micromanaging the Horse: Cavinder cautions against micromanaging the horse. For example, when a horse is first learning the exercise, Cavinder doesn’t correct him if he takes a single step forward. Instead, he watches the horse’s response and gives him time to self-correct.

As the horse gains an understanding of the exercise, Cavinder’s expectations increase. You want the horse to try to answer the question being asked of him, and that requires him to search for the correct answer.

Giving Up: Horse training takes time. Too often, Cavinder sees equestrians watch or read training material, try the exercise a couple of times, and give up. Like humans, horses take time to learn.

Setting Unrealistic Expectations: Every horse is different. One horse may learn the exercise in three days, but others won’t. Additionally, a horse’s age and experience should help determine the expectations set for him. For example, Cavinder says yearlings should have lots of wiggle room for errors, while an older, well-trained horse will be expected to respond correctly sooner.

Misunderstanding the Three-Step Process: If you aren’t implementing the three-step process correctly, you can’t expect your horse to understand what you’re asking him to do. For example, being inconsistent with cues or misinterpreting the horse’s response will confuse him.

While simple, ground tying is a great skill for you and your horse to learn together. When a safe place to tie isn’t available and you’re faced with ground tying as the only option, you’ll be able to count on your horse to stay right where you left him.

As an added bonus, properly executing this training helps strengthen your relationship with your horse and lays a solid foundation for learning more challenging exercises together.

This article about the ground tie appeared in the October 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Master the Ground Tie appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

“It’s super beneficial to expose a horse to any sort of obstacle you can get your hands on because it creates better communication and trust between handler and horse,” says Camille White, who operates Camille’s Mustangs out of Bryan, Texas. White is also the 2022 Fort Worth Extreme Mustang Makeover Champion.

Preparation

Before you begin introducing a bridge or step-over to your horse, White advises preparing him by making sure he has a few prerequisites down pat.

Can Stand Still: A horse that knows how to stand still shows that he is capable of down-regulating his nervous system and accessing the thinking side of his brain, according to White. During obstacle training, she rewards the horse by releasing all pressure and allowing the horse to stand still and relax.

Legs Are Desensitized: When working with obstacles like bridges or step-overs, there is a good chance the obstacle will touch the horse’s legs. White prepares the horse for this sensation by introducing him to the feeling of having his legs touched by various objects before starting obstacle training.

Has a Good Follow: Before she starts obstacle work, White wants the horse to know how to track her when being led. She calls this “having a good follow.” In addition to tracking her, she wants the horse to know how to maintain a respectful distance from her.

Can Isolate Body Parts: White wants the horse to know how to move specific body parts when asked so she can position him to approach the obstacle. This includes the ability to move his shoulders and hindquarters from both sides. Once finished, she wants to see the horse return to a neutral, relaxed state.

Understands Halter Pressure: White teaches a horse how to respond correctly to halter pressure before starting obstacle training. When she picks up on the lead rope and the halter tightens across the horse’s poll, she wants him to smoothly and willingly move forward with her.

Ground Obstacle #1: Bridges

Bridges can show up in the show ring and on the trail. But White explains that learning how to step onto a bridge can also teach a horse how to step onto other strange surfaces, such as loading into a trailer. Groundwork is the key to introducing bridges and other novel surfaces.

Step 1: Begin by confidently approaching the bridge and ask your horse to follow. Don’t stop or hesitate when walking toward the obstacle, as this may communicate to the horse that it’s unsafe to move forward. If he hesitates, reinforce your ask by continuing to move forward and creating gentle pressure across the horse’s poll with the halter.

Step 2: Reward effort. Watch for the horse to commit to following you across the bridge. As soon as he commits, release all pressure. Try to time the release of pressure with the horse crossing the bridge to associate it with the obstacle. You may have to reward many small steps (such as sniffing the bridge or taking a single step toward it) before the horse commits to crossing the obstacle.

Step 3: Once he is comfortable calmly crossing the bridge, have the horse cross it again, but ask him to stop in the middle. When he stops, release all pressure and allow him to relax on the bridge. This helps the horse associate relaxation with the obstacle. If your timing is well-placed during step 2, this step will come naturally to most horses.

Be ready to troubleshoot the top three most common challenges when it comes to introducing a bridge crossing from the ground.

Refusal to Move: If the horse refuses to move during your approach, yield his hindquarters and shoulders to unlock his feet, then approach the bridge again. If he still refuses, create pressure at the hindquarters to encourage forward movement. Begin by simply looking at his hindquarters. If there is no response, increase pressure by using an extension of your arm, such as a training flag, to tap the horse’s hindquarters until he moves forward. Reward the smallest effort by removing all pressure.

Moving Backward: If the horse moves backward, move with him without releasing the tension on the lead rope. Continue to ask him to take one step forward in the right direction. Reward effort, which may be as small as the horse leaning toward the bridge.

Rushing the Bridge: The first time the horse crosses the bridge, he may rush over it. If he rushes through the obstacle, immediately turn around and cross the obstacle again. Repeat until he slows down and becomes intentional about where he places his feet.

Ground Obstacle #2: Step-Overs

Step-overs appear in the form of ground poles, cavalletti poles, logs, branches and even puddles of water. A horse that knows how to step over an obstacle can successfully navigate many different situations. White shares the following steps for teaching a horse how to step over obstacles from the ground.

Step 1: Start with an easy item to step over, such as a ground pole. Confidently approach the step-over and ask the horse to follow. Don’t stop or hesitate when walking toward the obstacle, as this may communicate to the horse that it’s unsafe to move forward. If he hesitates, reinforce your ask by continuing to move forward and creating gentle pressure across his poll with the halter.

Step 2: Reward effort. Watch for the horse to commit to following you across the pole. As soon as he commits, release all pressure. Try to time the release of pressure with him crossing the bridge to associate it with the obstacle. You may have to reward many small steps (such as sniffing the pole or taking a single step toward it) before the horse commits to crossing the obstacle.

Step 3: Once the horse is comfortable stepping over a single ground pole, increase the challenge by adding more ground poles in a row and eventually increasing the height of the step-over. Follow steps 1 and 2 until he can calmly cross the obstacle.

Again, there are some common issues you should be ready to troubleshoot from the get-go when it comes to step-overs.

Avoiding the Obstacle: If the horse tries to sidestep or go around the obstacle, isolate his shoulder and ask him to return to a straight position before asking him to move forward toward the obstacle again.

Reacting to the Obstacle Touching His Legs: If the horse reacts poorly to the obstacle touching his legs, return to the prerequisite of familiarizing him with foreign objects touching his legs before trying the obstacle again.

Rushing the Step-Over: Adding height to the step-over may cause the horse to rush or jump over it. If that happens, immediately turn around and cross the obstacle again. Repeat until he slows down and becomes intentional about where he places his feet.

“Preparedness is always going to be your best friend when working with horses,” says White.

She encourages you to prepare your horse for situations that require him to cross obstacles before the need to cross an obstacle arises. Teaching your horse how to become comfortable with obstacles takes time, but it’s time worth investing.

More Groundwork Articles

◆ Groundwork for When You Can’t Ride
◆ Five Groundwork Exercises for Your Horse
◆ Groundwork Exercises to Improve Communication
◆ Groundwork with a Purpose
◆ How to Start Training a Horse for Liberty

This article about ground obstacles appeared in the September 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Try These Two Ground Obstacles appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Circles on a Lead

As discussed previously, the cues to call the horse are to step backward, call him with your voice cue, and possibly motion to him with the whip. After your horse is doing that from a standstill, it’s time to add some energy to the equation.

Start by sending the horse around you, wearing a halter and long lead, on a left circle in a round pen. Hold the rope in your left hand and a longe whip or training stick in your right hand. Once the horse has gone around in one or two circles, swing the whip under the rope and out in front of him, which will block his forward motion.

At the same time, call your horse with your voice cue and step back, drawing him to you. Repeat this a few times, then go the other way and repeat the exercise with the horse traveling on circles to the right.

Leave the lead on in the beginning to help the horse understand that he should come to you, that way you can pull on the lead if necessary. Since you have already taught the horse how to do this from a standstill, this part should be relatively easy.

Loose Horse

Once you have had some success, take the halter and lead off and repeat the exercise with the horse loose. Send him around, cut him off just a little bit, and at the same time back up to draw him to you.

In some ways it becomes easier once the horse is loose because you don’t have to worry about getting tangled up in the lead rope. However, if you’re having any trouble, just put the halter and lead back on until the horse figures this exercise out.

You can practice this at different gaits, but I often find the trot is best because there will be enough energy without things getting too fast.

Liberty Circles

There are some misconceptions when it comes to horses circling at liberty; the main one is that a horse running around in a round pen without a halter on is not really a horse circling at liberty because the round pen is holding the horse in. It seems if the pen were bigger, then the horse would be farther away, so it’s not true liberty.

We always start in a pen, but you want to work toward the horse circling with a strong enough connection to you that in theory, he could be doing small circles around you in a 100-acre field.

The only tool you will need for this part is a whip (either a longe whip or buggy whip) or a training stick. Start by backing up to draw the horse to you.

When he comes to you, stop backing and use the whip to guide him around you as if you were longeing. However, only send the horse about half a circle around you and then back up again and call him to you.

Stop and pet the horse. Keep building off of this. Draw the horse to you, then have him start to circle a bit more, and then draw him back again.

What keeps the horse with you is the thought that he shouldn’t go far because at any second, you are going to call him back, and then he can stop and take a break. Your horse should look at being with you as his “happy place” for this training to work.

Advancing to Next Steps

Build up to where your horse will circle a few times around you before you call him back. If you notice that he looks like he’s going to leave while doing a circle, call him back right away (before he leaves).

If the horse does leave, move him briskly around the perimeter of the pen once or twice, then call him back and repeat the exercise. He will likely learn quickly that it’s easier to do the small, slower circles around you than the bigger, faster ones around the full pen.

Practice on both sides at both the walk and trot. Eventually you can do liberty circles at the lope, but make sure the trot is nearly perfect first.

Once your horse will come to you and circle both ways, you have an excellent liberty training foundation on your horse. From here, the world of liberty and all its possibilities open up to you. You can add obstacles, work in different settings, work with more than one liberty horse at once—and the list goes on. Use your imagination and have fun with it!

Watch our webinar with Jason & Bronwyn Irwin.

This article about building on liberty training basics appeared in the August 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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There are several ways to get started with liberty. Everyone has their own style, but I am going to explain how I start training a horse for liberty. What makes liberty work is to make the horse’s favorite place in the world with you.

I basically want to turn you into a giant magnet for your horse so that he is either with you, or if he is away from you, he will be thinking about getting back to you. This is the invisible connection that keeps a liberty horse attached to the trainer—his desire to be with that person.

However, even though the goal is to work at liberty, I like to begin the early liberty training with a halter and lead rope attached instead of turning the horse loose. With the rope attached, I can teach the liberty cues much easier, because I can help the horse more and keep things slower than I could if the horse was free in the very beginning.

One last point before you start: make sure your horse has good ground manners before you begin this training. If your horse is pushy and doesn’t have good ground manners, that’s going to cause problems.

In the early stages of liberty training, you are going to be bringing your horse to you a lot, which teaches him to want to be with you. However, if your horse is rude, then he will likely end up pushing into you, which isn’t safe.

To get started, you will need a halter, lead rope, and a longe whip.

Watch our webinar with Jason & Bronwyn Irwin.

Step 1

Pick a voice cue to call your horse. It can be any word or a whistle or just about any other sound.

If you ever watched old Westerns, you have probably seen at least a few where the hero whistles or calls out and the horse comes running to save the day—usually just in the nick of time. This is the same idea. I usually say the word “here!”

Step 2

Stand your horse beside the arena wall or a good fence. Start out with the fence on your horse’s right side.

Stand in front of the horse holding the lead rope in your left hand and the longe whip in your right hand.

Step 3

Back away from your horse, and at the same time lower your whip. Give the voice cue to come to you, and then tap very lightly on the horse’s left shoulder.

If your horse starts walking toward you when you tap him, that’s great. However, if he doesn’t, it’s OK. As you back up, the lead rope will tighten, which will give the halter a tug and bring the horse to you anyway.

What is important is to give the voice cue before the tap on the shoulder; the horse needs a chance to respond to the verbal cue before feeling the tap.

Step 4

As the horse is walking toward you, keep backing up. When you’re ready to stop, say “whoa” and lift your whip straight into the air.

The whip going up like this encourages the horse to stop, and later on, the whip being held up can be the cue for the horse to stand still, no matter how far away you are.

Repeat these steps several times. Once your horse is coming to you willingly, just motion toward him, but don’t tap as often.

Step 5

Turn your horse around so that the fence is now on his left side. Stand in front of him holding the lead rope in your right hand and the longe whip in your left hand, then repeat all the same steps tapping on his left shoulder.

Repeat until your horse is walking toward you as soon as you motion with the whip and begin backing away. Be sure to be very inviting to the horse with your posture and expression.

When the horse comes to me, I pet him (usually using the whip) to teach him that all pressure goes away as soon as he comes to me.

Step 6

The idea behind using the fence and tools as described is to make coming to you the easiest thing for the horse to do.

The horse is held in on one side because the fence is there; he likely won’t go the other way because the longe whip is there, and he can’t go backward because of the lead rope attached to him. Coming to you, therefore, becomes the most logical thing for him to do.

However, we don’t want to be stuck at the fence forever, so now it’s time to get away from it and move around in the middle of the arena. Sometimes I will hold a second whip (such as a dressage whip) in my other hand. This way I can gently guide the horse back toward me if he veers off to either side. If you’re holding two whips, you would lower both to bring the horse to you and raise both to ask for the stop.

Step 7

If your horse is coming to you the moment you call him and is following you around willingly, it’s time to get rid of the physical connection. Take off the lead rope or put it around the horse’s neck. Practice calling the horse to you and stopping him, and if it’s going really well, you can get rid of the halter and lead rope completely.

You’re now working at liberty! To learn the next steps, stay tuned for Part 2 of this liberty training series.

This article about how to start training a horse for liberty appeared in the July 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post How to Start Training a Horse for Liberty appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

It’s also a safety benefit while working in the barn. When other people and horses are coming in and out of stalls, the wash rack, or aisle, it’s important to be able to move your horse wherever you need to—including in reverse.

The good news is you can use simple ground training to teach your horse to back up. While a young green horse will clearly benefit from this type of training, older horses may also lack solid backing skills, or they may have become lazy about the process.

In either case, teaching or reteaching the skill is straightforward.

There are different methods for teaching a horse to back up from the ground, and individual horses may benefit from different techniques; what works for one may not work as well for another.

The pressure-and-release technique for backing up your horse in hand described below is simple, safe, and easy for both horse and handler to understand.

1. Turn to Face Your Horse

Begin in the normal position that you would use to lead your horse: on his near side, next to his shoulder.

The first step to backing is to turn and face your horse so that you’re looking in the direction you want him to back. Try to visualize exactly where you want your horse’s feet to go; this can help you assist him in backing as straight as possible. It may also help to work next to an arena rail or wall to aid him in backing straight while he’s learning.

2. Add a Tiny Amount of Pressure

Next, give your horse a tiny cue that he should move backward. Start with a small amount of pressure on the front of his chest by his near shoulder. You can use your hand to gently apply a bit of pressure, but it may be easier to use the tip of a short riding crop.

At the same time, take just a half step toward your horse. This may eventually be quite beneficial, as he will begin to predict what you want when he sees you take a step.

Also, a vocal cue or clicker can be used in combination with the pressure cue to help him understand that you’d like him to do something.

3. Increase Pressure As Needed

If your horse is completely green to this process, odds are you won’t get much of a response, if any. That’s OK! Starting out slow is fine.

The next step is to incrementally add more pressure until your horse performs the desired behavior. If steady pressure isn’t working, you can always change to a light repetitive tapping.

If there’s still no response, continue to incrementally make the cue stronger, all while moving toward your horse slightly.

4. Stop and Reward

As the cue increases in strength, most horses will naturally take a step back and yield to your prompting. As soon as that happens, stop applying pressure—this is your horse’s reward for yielding. You can add vocal praise as well.

The benefit of slowly adding additional pressure and then releasing ensures that you’re never over-cueing your horse. Repeat steps 2 to 4 a couple of times, and then let your horse take a break until the next day’s lesson.

5. Use Repetition

As with any type of horse training, short sessions that repeat the same steps reinforce the concept to your horse quickly. It’s amazing how quickly a horse can learn a skill if you do it every day.

You can certainly do this type of groundwork in a formal training setting like a round pen or indoor arena, but a couple of minutes while your horse is on his way to daily turnout can work as well. It’s simply backing up, so it doesn’t need to be elaborate.

6. Watch Him Improve

Eventually, your horse will understand the very first moments of your cue. In time, he should start to back up when he feels even the slightest bit of pressure or tapping on his shoulder.

Ideally, you’ll even get to the point where you can back your horse without touching him at all—he’ll just be attuned to your movements and start to back up as soon as you turn around and begin to walk toward him.

Congratulations! You have a horse that is well-trained to back up and easy to work with.

This article about backing up your horse in hand appeared in the April 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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Moving Goals Forward with Groundwork

Nicolet frequently sees equestrians using groundwork to get energy out of their horse, but groundwork is much more than that. She explains that both groundwork and mounted work should help move forward the mental, physical and emotional fitness of a horse.

“Everything you do in the saddle you can replicate on the ground and teach the horse to do in a way that allows him to balance his own body before putting your weight on top,” she says.

Nicolet uses the following exercises to physically, mentally and emotionally engage her horses from the ground. Once the horse understands the exercise, you should reward correct movements and good efforts by pausing and allowing the horse to relax.

The Four-Leaf Clover

Nicolet recommends this exercise to help a horse stay fit for mounted work. The pattern requires your horse to bend his body, rebalance it, and then straighten it.

Physically, the exercise helps the horse build muscle, gain body control and learn to balance properly. Mentally, it teaches him to think through how to keep himself balanced during the pattern. Emotionally, it encourages him to focus on you instead of outside stimulus.

To perform the exercise:

1. Use four cones to make a square. Each cone represents a corner of the square. Pace out 8-9 strides in between cones. (Distance can vary.)

2. Before starting the pattern, walk to the first cone and ask your horse to circle around himself and the cone at a walk. (For this example, the horse will circle each cone to the left and you and your horse will move from cone to cone clockwise.)

3. To begin the pattern, ask your horse to walk ¾ of a circle to the left around the first cone. (The horse should end the ¾ circle positioned to walk through the middle of the square.)

4. At a walk, send the horse through the middle of the square to the opposite side of the square. During the transition, stay next to the horse.

5. Once through the middle of the square, ask the horse to walk ¾ of a circle to the left around the second cone, repeating what you did at the first cone, before once again sending the horse through the middle of the square to the opposite side.

6. Continue moving yourself and your horse from cone to cone in this fashion until you have completed a cloverleaf pattern.

NOTE: Nicolet says it’s important for the horse to always turn in the same direction around all four cones and always cut through the middle of the square as soon as he has completed ¾ of a circle around a cone. While the example is done at a walk, once learned, the exercise can be done at a trot or canter.

The Leg-Yield

A leg-yield is a lateral exercise frequently done from the saddle, but it can also be accomplished on the ground. Nicolet explains that it requires the horse to travel forward on a diagonal path.

“It asks the horse to cross his front legs and then his hind legs as he moves forward and sideways,” she says.

Nicolet adds that physically, the exercise stretches and contracts the horse’s muscles by moving the joints of his shoulder and hind from side to side. Mentally, it encourages him to pay attention to your cues. Emotionally, it teaches him to calmly respond to pressure.

To perform the exercise (in this example, you will stand next to the left shoulder):

1. Begin by standing at your horse’s shoulder, facing him, with the lead rope in your left hand and a stick or crop in your right hand.

2. Next, use your right hand to slowly lift the stick, asking the horse to move his hind away from you.

3. As the horse’s hind end moves, walk forward at a diagonal toward the horse’s shoulder, causing it to move away from you.

4. Once your horse understands steps 2 and 3, ask him to move forward at a walk while alternating asking for his hind end and shoulder to move away from you. With practice, the horse will understand the cues as a request to travel forward on a diagonal path.

5. When the horse understands the movement, you can drop the stick and place your hand on the horse’s barrel, just behind the girth. Apply pressure with your hand to ask his hind to move.

NOTE: The final step begins to teach the horse the cue for the movement under saddle.

Key Takeaway

When you can’t ride, it doesn’t mean under-saddle goals need to stop. Groundwork provides ample opportunities for you and your horse to not only strengthen your partnership, but also move closer to your riding goals.

This article about groundwork for when you can’t ride appeared in the March 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Groundwork for When You Can’t Ride appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Here are a few reasons we do groundwork with our horses; perhaps you can see why personal groundwork could be beneficial for humans as well.

◆ Promotes circulation

◆ Loosens and relaxes stiff or tense muscles

◆ Helps alleviate soreness and decreases the chance of injury

◆ Develops the trust necessary for safe, effective collaboration

◆ Builds a foundation of fitness and confidence

◆ Improves communication between horse and human

◆ Increases focus

◆ Collects the physical body and mind

“Groundwork for the human” is a phrase I coined while working with equestrians on the yoga mat and on the meditation cushion through my Body, Mind, Equine programs. This concept might sound a bit puzzling at first, so let me break down what groundwork for the human looks like.

The yoga mat and the meditation cushion can be great places to practice personal groundwork for the body and mind. Yoga offers an opportunity to focus on overall awareness, body alignment, placement, and orientation—all beneficial skills to have when we’re around or riding horses.

Groundwork for the Human Body

Through yoga, you can work on body mechanics, fine-tuning, focus, discipline, moving through challenges, and observing inner energy and breathing. Treat the mat as a training ground to develop effective, efficient use of your body. As you become more body-aware, these lessons begin to trickle over into your riding and other physical activities.

Often on the mat and in riding, you think you’re aligned or symmetrical, but that’s not always the case. For example, when in a tabletop position on the yoga mat (on hands and knees), it may feel like your weight is placed equally on each hand and knee. But sometimes, upon checking, you look at your knees and they are together, rather than hip-width apart, or when you take a glance at your wrists, they are not aligned under your shoulders as you think they might be.

How this might look in the saddle is that you may think your weight is even in each stirrup, or that your shoulders are relaxed down away from your ears. But upon checking, you notice you are not physically as collected or as aligned as you thought.

When you’re not physically collected, your horse will not be either, as tensions and misalignments in your body can restrict your horse’s movement.

The yoga mat is a great place to learn bodily self-correction. Once this skill is honed on the mat, it begins to naturally translate to self-correction when riding or even in your body language while training or interacting with horses.

Exercise 1: T-Pose Symmetry

◆ While mounted (saddled or bareback), bring your arms to what you think is a T-position with palms facing downward.                                     

◆ Look out at each arm or have someone else look or take a photo to see if your arms are at shoulder height. Notice if your arms are coming directly out from your shoulders, or if they are above or below shoulder height, or if they are lopsided.

◆ If doing this exercise while saddled, it’s also a good opportunity to check and see if your weight is placed evenly in each stirrup.

Note: It’s a good idea to have someone hold your horse so you can solely focus on the exercise.

Pictured above are two riders doing this exercise. One has her arms in an aligned T-pose and the other thinks hers are, but they are not.

This and other simple, similar exercises can be practiced on the yoga mat or while mounted as a form of physical groundwork for the human.

Groundwork for the Human Mind

Then there’s the aspect of mental groundwork. When your mind is all over the place and unfocused, your energy becomes less clear and more fragmented, which of course your horse detects and responds to, often mirroring back distracted or uninterested energy.

Through yoga or meditation practice, you’ll notice when your mind wanders to a thought or to a distraction so that you can gently rein it back in to the breath, the bodily sensations, and the present moment—where life is happening.

Mental groundwork is a most valuable tool for training the “mental muscle,” much like developing your other muscles. Without focus, it can be hard to complete a task, whether at your desk or working with horses—not to mention the excess energy it takes to be scattered.

In deep meditation, you are fully integrated and focused, without attention wavering. Ultimately, you can learn to carry that focus with you beyond the sitting meditation.

Training the body can seem easy compared to training the unfocused “monkey mind” (for more, read “Harness Your Monkey Mind,” pg. 18, Horse Illustrated January/February 2024). The good news is, you can learn to collect your mind through meditation techniques.

One effective method is directing attention to your breath. It’s simple yet powerful, and can be done virtually anywhere.

Exercise 2: Watching and Counting Your Thought Stream

◆ Set a timer for one to five minutes.

◆ Close your eyes.

◆ See your thought stream (the succession of thoughts).

◆ Notice that each individual thought arises, is present, and then disappears.

◆ See if your attention can remain on the succession of thoughts. See each individual thought, one after another.

◆ Count the number of individual thoughts you see in a row.

◆ Attention will move somewhere else. When that occurs, let your attention return to the thought stream and resume counting.

◆ With practice, the count will increase as your ability to direct your attention strengthens.

This is one mental groundwork exercise to gather the mind, improve focus, and help you become more aware of the workings of your mind. This practice also allows you to feel less controlled by your thoughts as you notice how they arise, come, and go while you build your power to observe and direct your mental attention.

Key Takeaway

When your body and mind are integrated—working as a team—your life and your relationship with your horse is enhanced. Personal groundwork helps you show up as more centered and grounded rather than scattered.

Physically and mentally, you become a better companion for your equine partner. I hope that you enjoy and consider this new way of viewing groundwork beyond the horse.

This article about groundwork for the human appeared in the March 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Groundwork for the Human appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Groundwork Exercise 1: Longeing

Longeing can be used to develop engagement, build stamina, and enhance your horse’s range of motion. To longe your horse correctly, follow these steps.

1. Clip your line to the side of a halter or use a longeing cavesson. 

Note: For safety reasons, avoid attaching a longe line directly to a bit. The line can pull too harshly on the bit, potentially causing harm to the horse’s mouth.

2. Avoid a continuous hard hold on the line whenever possible. Too much tugging and contact creates tension and unbalances your horse.

3. Make your circle as large as possible to reduce strain on your horse’s joints. Break up the circle with straight lines occasionally by letting your horse travel slightly ahead of you while you walk forward and parallel to him.

4. Your horse’s body should mirror the shape of the path he’s following. If he’s on a straight line, his spine should be straight from poll to tail. Conversely, he’s only able to travel in comfort and balance on a bend if the arc of his body is uniform.

If your horse isn’t able to maintain proper alignment, he may not understand the concept or be balanced enough. Give him a hand by leading him on a straight line until he can walk with his body in alignment for several strides on a loose lead.

Next, switch back to longeing for a few strides, then back to straight-line leading and so on, until he can hold it on his own.

Groundwork Exercise 2: Ground Poles

To develop impulsion, improve posture, and increase flexibility, try laying down some ground poles. Better yet, use landscape timbers (square-shaped poles) because they won’t roll if your horse bumps or steps on them.

1. Start with one pole to introduce your horse’s brain and body to the idea of stepping over something on the ground. Any new movement needs to be introduced slowly to avoid causing emotional stress or physical strain.

2. Build up to two or three evenly spaced poles at a distance that is comfortable for your horse. A 3-foot span works for most horses at the walk, and 4 feet for the trot.

3. Take your horse over the center of the poles. Again, it’s important that his head, neck, and body are in alignment so he’s using his muscles symmetrically.

4. When your horse is ready for a greater challenge, increase the number of poles. You can also add height by alternately elevating the ends of the poles slightly.

Groundwork Exercise 3: Backing Up

Backing up is a deceptively simple yet useful exercise for activating your horse’s hindquarters, core, and back.

1. Back your horse with his head straight and his neck in a neutral position. Cue him by applying light alternating pressure on the lead, rocking his weight back and forth until he takes a step.

2. If he moves his head toward his chest instead of moving his feet, rhythmically press your fingertips against his chest at the same time.

3. Start with one or two steps at a time, slowly building to eight to 10 steps.

4. Once your horse can easily back several strides without crookedness, increase the intensity by reversing him on a slight incline.

Groundwork Exercise 4: Bands

Proprioception bands help restore healthy patterns of movement by bringing awareness to the areas of the body that they are in contact with. These bands are strips of slightly stretchy fabric that do wonders for developing engagement, symmetry, and range of motion.

There are bands available that are specifically made to use on horses, or you can stop by your local pharmacy and purchase long, wide elastic bandages. Standing or polo wraps work too.

To activate the hindquarters, a band can be placed behind your horse’s rear legs, while his core can be engaged by wrapping a band around his midsection.

Proprioception bands may feel odd to your horse, so introduce them slowly. Use them for short periods of time at first to give his body a chance to acclimate to them.

Groundwork Exercise 5: Carrot Stretches

Stationary mobility exercises, AKA carrot stretches, are great for developing stabilization and core muscles. They also loosen tight fascia for better comfort and improved flexibility.

These exercises don’t require a lot of time or space. A routine of three to five movements can be completed in 10 minutes.

Useful stretches include chin to chest, nose to knees, and nose to fetlocks. Flexing the head and neck to the side activates muscles that stabilize spinal vertebrae so your horse can have a stronger more comfortable back.

Key Takeaway

Next time you don’t want to tack up, turn to groundwork to improve your horse’s fitness and quality of life. These five exercises may seem simple, but remember: the basics are the cornerstone of your horse’s training.

This article about groundwork exercises for horses appeared in the January/February 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Five Groundwork Exercises for Your Horse appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

A lone horseman stands in the spotlight. He gives a signal and his equine partner, a big bay with four white socks, gallops into the arena. The music starts and they move as one in an intricately planned, magical routine. His cues to the horse are incredibly subtle, and it seems horse and human share the same mind.

The performance is done at liberty, part of it working together on the ground and part of it bridleless under-saddle. Reining spins, flying lead changes, sliding stops, circles and lateral movements in step together on the ground, rearing and bowing on command, and more are intertwined into a mesmerizing show. It is awe inspiring, and the crowd loves it.

The man is Luke Gingerich, a rising star in the equestrian world, accompanied by his long-time partner, American Quarter Horse gelding CJ Rio Zan Bar Gun (aka “Rio”). The liberty work they do together may seem unattainable, but their dance is the result of lots of practice and finely tuned communication between the two.

Gingerich says it is something that most equestrians can learn to do with their horses, and he is on a mission to inspire and teach anyone who wants to work to achieve that goal.

“Liberty work requires a thorough understanding and awareness of your body language, timing, and feel, and how to use these to communicate with your horse,” he explains. “But it’s something that most anyone willing to put in the time, dedication, and consistency can experience with their horse.”

The Man Behind the Performance

Like many kids, Gingerich, who grew up in central Ohio, begged his parents for a pony. When he turned 10 years old, they purchased a mare named Misty for him. From then on, he was hooked. Several years later, he purchased his first Quarter Horse, a mare named Zippy; they competed in western pleasure and trail classes.

A fascination with liberty work from a young age led him to study with James Cooler in Summerfield, N.C. In 2017, he started training with Jesse and Stacy Westfall in Loudonville, Ohio, and he says that they have been a major influence in his horsemanship. A keen observer of equine behavior, he noticed that horses naturally want to be in sync with other members of their herd and do this by mirroring behavior of others in their group. He also saw how important body language is to horses in communication. He then applied these concepts to his training.

“I channel that desire and natural instinct to read subtle shifts and changes in body language to create complex maneuvers and behaviors that my horses become capable of doing at liberty with me,” he explains.

Performance Liberty Horsemanship

Helping horses learn how to use themselves correctly in a balanced and athletic way while working at liberty is also a personal mission. He is passionate about combining relationship-based training with training for high-level athleticism, and labels the combination of the two “performance liberty horsemanship.”

“Both the mental and emotional connection, combined with the physical body control and muscle memory that this work creates, can be directly carried over into riding in many competitive disciplines,” says Gingerich.

He’s put it all into practice in both training and competition. In addition to liberty exhibitions and competition, he competes in reining, freestyle reining, ranch versatility, and most recently, western dressage. He incorporates many dressage principles into his training.

In 2021, he brought 4-year-old palomino mare Tinseltowns Whizard (aka “Chloe”) to Quarter Horse Congress, where their bridleless freestyle reining routine earned them a large following.

Thus far, all of Chloe’s training under-saddle has been done without a bridle or reins or head gear of any kind. While Gingerich initially thought he would soon transition to tack, he was so pleased with how well Chloe’s foundation of liberty work carried over to ridden work during the first rides of her life that he has remained on the bridleless journey with her ever since.

In 2018, people started asking him to teach them how to do what he and his horses were doing, so he started a business, Luke Gingerich Horsemanship, in his hometown of Plain City, Ohio. In 2021, with the help of family and friends, Gingerich built a facility where he holds clinics and lessons.

He has expanded his business by creating online training video library memberships. So far, he’s traveled to 20 states to compete, teach and perform, and has students from nearly all equestrian disciplines.

Why Liberty Work?

Almost any horse can do liberty work with proper training, at least at a basic level, says Gingerich. Yet, liberty work is more than just turning your horse loose in an enclosure and chasing them around.

“It should be more of a dance—a constant two-way communication with our horses—where we can guide and direct their thoughts and movements in an accurate, refined manner,” he explains.

He points out that liberty work gives horsemen and women a better connection with and understanding of their horses, serving to improve their relationship and results together. The horse will learn how to balance and use his body properly, which translates into improved under-saddle work. Not to mention that it can be just plain fun!

Preparing to Start Liberty Work

Gingerich advises doing homework before starting liberty work with your horse. Select an instructor for in-person and/or virtual learning. Watch liberty routines at shows, exhibitions and on videos and take note of what the human and horse are doing during their performance.

Find an appropriately sized work space, either a round pen, compact or subdivided arena, or a small, sturdy paddock. At first, work in-hand with your horse wearing a halter and lead. This provides more guidance and support as you start to learn how to communicate via body language what you would like your horse to do with you—move forward, stop, turn away or toward you, move around your body in a circle, change gaits, and so on. He explains that the way you move and angle your body, combined with consistent verbal cues, signals your intention to your horse.

He also uses three types of whips (dressage, carriage and longe whips) to offer guidance and support to the horse. He often carries two whips at a time and uses them to deliver separate signals to different parts of the horse’s body. Gingerich has found that the weight and balance of the whip is very important for allowing the cues to be as understandable and consistent as possible.

“Whips are an important tool when learning liberty work with your horse,” he says. “They are simply an extension of my arms to help me to be more clear and precise with the cues that I give my horse. Their function is similar to how our hands and legs function while riding, in that they can correct when necessary, yet should always be used to communicate and show my horse how to move and use his body, and how to find connection, focus, and relaxation under pressure—both physical and environmental.”

Before using the whips in work with your horse, practice learning to carry and control one with each hand so you can reliably send individual signals with each whip. The whip cues are used along with body language to ask the horse to do different movements.

In planning for liberty work, you should also decide what types of rewards you plan to use to tell your horse that he has done a good job. The release of pressure at the correct time will always help your horse understand what is being asked of him. Pats, rubs, scratches, and verbal praise are all excellent rewards, and different horses appreciate some of these more than others.

Gingerich does incorporate clicker training, a form of positive reinforcement that involves using food rewards, into his program as he starts to move into more advanced work. But he cautions against introducing treats too quickly or offering them with poor timing, as this can cause problems with your horse.

Body Language is Key

Gingerich emphasizes that understanding the body language of both horses and humans is one of the most important aspects of being able to work at liberty.

“We need to have a clear understanding of the difference between drive and draw with our horses, which is instinctual for them,” he says. “Applying energy and pressure to our horses with the correct angles and feel in our bodies—and knowing when and how to release that pressure—is essential for clear communication, understanding and connection.”

His first lessons involve teaching people how to differentiate between driving, drawing, and neutral energy in their own body language. He explains each term this way:

◆ Drive is the intention in the person’s body language that asks the horse to move away from the handler.
◆ Draw is the intention conveyed by the person’s body that invites the horse to move toward the handler.
◆ Neutral energy is the handler holding his or her body in such a way that they do not ask the horse to change anything.

In most cases when working at liberty, Gingerich likes to be standing in a position by the horse’s head. This gives him a safer distance from the horse’s feet, and leaves more space between him and his horse, which allows him to communicate more easily since the horse is in a better position to see the cues he gives.

After teaching his students how to differentiate between drive, draw and neutral energy, Gingerich focuses on having them use these concepts to help their horses find connection, focus and relaxation.

Then he moves on to teaching body control. This involves the human learning how to use her body, and the whips, to show the horse how to move each part of his body independently, eventually without the need for a lead.

Basic Skills

One of the first things Gingerich teaches a horse is to back away when he applies pressure to the horse’s chest from the front. This helps ensure that he can adjust how close the horse comes to him as he advances in his training.

From there, he teaches the horse how to move his shoulders, hindquarters and rib cage independently in response to his body language. These basic skills help transition into starting liberty circles, lateral work, straightness training and so on. Teaching the horse to come when called is an important skill, too.

Gingerich advises keeping the training sessions short in most cases, especially at the beginning. Although a lesson can range anywhere from 15 minutes to over an hour, depending on the horse’s stage of training, 15 to 30 minutes is a good starting point.

He counsels to always try to end on a positive note with your horse. If the horse doesn’t master a task that you’ve asked for, go back to the basic skill set and end with a successful completion.

Safety Tips

As with any activity with horses, interacting safely is imperative in liberty work, too. Gingerich cautions to carefully read the horse’s body language for signals telling you to back off. A horse may be feeling playful, frightened, confused, annoyed or claustrophobic, which could cause him to lash out in your direction.

“My general rule is, when in doubt, increase the distance at which I am working with a horse, so we both have more space to safely read and respond to each other, and communicate from there,” says Gingerich.

To help you stay safe, he advises to first teach the horse that any part of his body you intend to draw towards you later must first be yielded away from you when asked. He feels that this is important to help everyone involved stay safe and confident. He also says giving cues with a longer whip can remind the horse to keep a safe distance.

Gingerich sometimes advises a handler to revert to work using a halter and lead to enhance safety.

“Liberty work requires a high level of education and understanding from both horse and human, so there are times that I will recommend that a horse and human use tack to help improve clarity, consistency, and communication before going back to working at liberty,” he says.

Advanced Liberty Exercises

Things to aspire to later in liberty work include teaching flying changes and to bow and rear on command. In his sessions with his own horses, they practice advanced movements such as straight-line flying lead changes, half-pass and pirouette at the canter, liberty spins, the cutting game, and a walking rear, among other cool moves.

With patience, practice and communication, you and your horse could dance like you mean it one day, too.

This article about liberty work appeared in the November/December 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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