Guest Author - Darling Poor

A horse who is enjoyable to work with is one who yields to its owner/rider. This yielding should occur not just while in the saddle, but also in the barn, while getting its teeth floated, while leading, loading, and every other situation between human and horse. When a horse yields to you, and not the other way around, it proves that you are maintaining the herd hierarchy and have established yourself as lead horse.

The proper distance for your horse to maintain when you are on the ground is approximately 18-24 inches. She should not invade that space, either with her hooves, shoulder or even head. The only time the horse is allowed into that space is if you ask her, and not the other way around.

To begin training of good ground manners, remember the principle that when your space is invaded, the horse must move and not you. If you move, you have taught her that she is higher in the pecking order than you. Unless the situation becomes dangerous, always hold your ground and ask the horse to move out of your personal space.

As noted in my other articles, a ground assessment should precede riding, particularly with a new horse. Clip a sturdy lead rope to your horse’s halter and stand approximately two feet away from her with the rope loose and not taut. Does she move into you with her feet? Lean your way? Turn her head to cross that two feet of space? Or does she stand perfectly still and not invade your space?

Even small steps into that area can indicate the horse is testing you. In a herd, horses test each other all the time. As humans, we must be aware of the language the horse is speaking when they take one or two tiny steps into our personal space or swing their head into the space we have asked them to maintain. Overlooking these types of behaviors can cause additional, more vigorous testing of your lead role to occur in the future.

For a head swinger, use the palm of your hand to push the horse’s head out of your personal safety zone. Horses use their jaw bone as a weapon to swing at other horses. As innocent looking as it may appear, you will be correcting such cloaked aggression by consistently pushing their head back and asking them to respect your space.

For a horse that wants to lean into you, push back with steady pressure using your fist or open palm into the horse’s shoulder. Correction is the key here, not pain. Be firm, and be consistent. Whenever they step into your space, hold your ground and apply pressure to make the horse move back out of the invaded space. Once they are out of the arm’s length space, the pressure from you stops.

If the horse comes into your space but not enough for you to apply a palm or fist with firm pressure, use your free hand to swing or flick the end of your lead rope toward their body to get them to back away (do not let go of the lead rope while doing this).

By paying attention to the small language the horse is using, you will become a more effective lead animal in your two-horse herd. Oftentimes, it’s not that the horse is not communicating with us, it’s that we are failing to listen to all their forms of language.