How do you get a horse started to ground drive? How to get them to move out, forward and not turn into you? Does youtube have any videos? I looked and can't find someone just starting. Posted via Mobile Device
Dont suppose by any chance you're lucky enough to have a double lunge arena?
Then, second question, is your horse prone to kicking and do you have someone who can help you?
Since I didnt have anyone who could help me, I used our double lunge arena. Put the two lunge lines on my mare and threaded them through the rings of a lunging surcingle. Then, she knows the command 'walk on' so I said that and then pushed her bum (I know she doesn't kick, people anyway) and stopped once she moved forward. She was very confused in the beginning as she's used to lunging but luckily, with the double lunge, all we had to focus on was walking forwards with me behind her which took a little while. Now we have to work on the turning part...
But if you don't have one, and you have someone to help you, then stand behind your horse, slightly to one side for safety sake, and get someone to stand at your horses head. Then give the command, and get the person to lead the horse forward until your horse is used to you being behind him/her with him/her walking forwards. Then I found it useful to have your assistant stay for a little while at your horse's head without actually leading him/her.
Thats all the advice I have to offer, I've still got a lot of learning to do about ground training myself.
How is she with the saddle? If she is good with the saddle you can take the lunge lines that you are using, usually two of them and go through the stirrups on the saddle and behind her keester. Then you can bump her forward with the hind rope and she will walk forward, work on walking forward first then worry about everything else. First get her used to the lines on her are you using a halter or bit? Otherwise you can use a lunge whip behind her to tap her first. Does she know what lunging in a circle is? If not start there first.
How is she with the saddle? If she is good with the saddle you can take the lunge lines that you are using, usually two of them and go through the stirrups on the saddle and behind her keester. Then you can bump her forward with the hind rope and she will walk forward, work on walking forward first then worry about everything else. First get her used to the lines on her are you using a halter or bit? Otherwise you can use a lunge whip behind her to tap her first. Does she know what lunging in a circle is? If not start there first.
Hey you! No, gotta work on the saddle yet. You know how she is Blue. She follows me everywhere so getting her to go away from me is going to be a trick. I kind of want to start her with a hackamore for bending excersises without hurting her mouth. Just until she understands the pressure. What do u think? I'm just trying to think of someways to get her started with understanding pressure and turning. I do lateral flexion now on the ground just standing near her and she does real well but would like her to move out andlearn turning. Posted via Mobile Device
How I start all youngsters to double lunge and then ground drive is start with just one line and get them moving away from you through the use of your lunge whip and body position. You also need to work on voice commands so that they walk/trot/canter by voice command. Once you have both of those in place, you introduce a second line.
To get them to move out I use voice commands and if they do not move off promptly I tap them with the whip. If they are turning when they are not supposed to then you do not have proper contact on the bit. They are a mirror of you. They need to be supported with the reins
Ok I start to lunge with a whip and make sure you are standing not at the shoulder as that is a pressure point to stop. Stand back by the hip, you can tap them with the whip but as soon as they take a step forward stop immediately with the whip. This is the give/take. You can also crack the whip in front of you to make sure that they are moving away. This is the space issue. Start with that, when I start with pressure and giving I do it with a full cheek d-ring as it won't pull through the mouth. That is when they learn to give. They also learn what the bit feels like. It is a good thing. But I have never used a hack to start the giving process. A sidepull is a good thing but not a hack, just an opinion.
Starting ground driving in some of the ways mentioned above is liable to get you kicked or hurt and your horse scared and unwilling to work with you.
Ground driving comes after you have done lots of other ground work with your horse. Your horse should be taught at liberty how to respond to voice commands, how to move away from and yield to pressure, how to not be scared of long lines dragging by his/her feet and all over their body, and other excersises that will make the transition to ground driving less stressful. Hope this helps!
You shouldn't be that close to get kicked. I have never had any issues ground driving but that wasn't the 1st thing I did. I didn't see in the post that nothing had ever been done with the horse just assuming it had.
Yes in some ways my post could get you hurt but I know this horse very well. She just doesn't know. The way I suggested can make her move off, like with the whip. I have used this technique many times to get a horse to move away from me. The way I suggested was a give and take. But I do agree a horse should respond to voice commands also. Mine do too.
The horse that she is speaking of, already lunges both ways without a whip and standing by the hind quarters well away is how to get her to go forward, if she stands by the shoulder the horse will stop. So hopefully we can help her through this with all the suggestions.
Yep. All good suggestions and will definetly put a lot of it into action. Always thinking safety first. One thing I do not do is use voice commands. Never had to. Guess its a good time to start hey? I have practiced with her when we walk that if she spooks a bit she is to continue to walk calmly next to me. She's getting better. The only reason for the crop whip, is to get her out of my space as she tends to get to close as she circles but again she is learning well what I want out of her. I'm doing a lot of ground work with her just haven't been able to do much lunging as she is hurt on that leg. Plus I'm not sure how much she is able to lunge being young. I don't have a round pen but I bought a 14ft. Cotton lead. So that will help. Believe me, I'm taking all suggestions into consideration. Thanks so much! Posted via Mobile Device
I started my horse ground driving a few months ago. he knows how to lunge and lunges in a surcingle and side reins, he mostly goes off voice command but when i lunge i have a lunge whip just to encourage him along. So i hooked up two lines, one to either side of his bridle and looped them through the dee rings on the surcingle.
The outside line i put over his back just behind the surcingle and i lunged him round as normal. when he got used to this i let the outside line drape over his rump and gradually down behind his hind leg, still lunging him in a circle like normal.
After he was used to this in both directions. I straightened him out and let him walk froward. I kept him at a walk and did little turns, like the corners of the arena. If i felt he was getting a little too fast i put him back on the circle until i felt a bit more in control again. Then let him walk straight again.
It took a lot of work on his part and mine to get used to the tow lines. At first he was a star, i kept dropping one line because i wasn't used to holding it and he'd stop and turn to look at me like "get with the program mam!".
Now we're working on refining our turning aids. i set up cones and have him walk through the cones, and use poles and have him walk both over and through the poles. We started to add trotting but i find he gets too fast for me to keep up with and if i jog along behind him he sometimes takes this as me signalling a want to play and gets a little rambunctious! I've found that because of the extra line in my hands i'm not co-ordinated enough to carry a whip so i just don't, if he turns in to me i just give him a walk on command and sometimes turn his head to face away from me.
he's completely fine with the lines dragging and someone at my barn suggested i get a tire and see if he would drag that along too. i might, maybe a piece of wood or something. i know they want to be able to drive him at some point. the barn manager really wants to be able to get him pulling a sleigh.
Yea I only bump with the rope if there is not a bit in the mouth. I start driving with the halter first same as lunging. I understand them feeling it in the mouth on a bit. You are exactly right there.
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