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Groundwork Equals Obedience and Safety
by Joyce Fahrni

There are a few people who think that ground-working horses is unnecessary and a waste of time and for them, that is okay. They can probably ride anything that wears hair and usually like it when they have a challenging horse underneath them. Or they simply do not believe that groundwork will accomplish anything and accept a few broken bones from the saddle turning into an ejection seat.

It does not matter what other people think about ground working horses when it comes to your safety. Don’t try to be someone you aren’t. Every once in a while I think, ”that guy can just climb up on a young horse and lope off, surely I can!” Wrong!! Invariably I end up making an unplanned dismount! Know your limits and deal with them. You do not have to make excuses to do ground work. What counts is simply…Your Safety.

The three main reasons we do ground work are because:

1. The horse is untrained and using ground work aids in teaching;
2. The horse is rude and doesn’t have respect for you and therefore is potentially dangerous on the ground and/or on his back.
3. The person does not have confidence around a horse and it is much safer and less intimidating building that confidence on the ground than on top of a twelve hundred pound horse!

Groundwork does not mean that you merely chase your horse around to get the edge off him. That usually just builds up the horse’s stamina so that eventually you have to run him around longer. The whole objective with groundwork is obedience. I want their mind to get busy listening to what I ask them to do and then do it. I want a horse to look for the right answer.

Horses must be taught that there is a right answer. Just because we know that if the horse responds correctly (according to our definition of correct) that we’ll release the pressure, it does not mean the horse knows the same thing. You have to start with simple exercises so the horse can learn to find the correct answer easily. You have to find ‘yes’ exercises! (refer to Building Blocks of Training in the March 2006 EqCen issue)

For example a relatively simple groundwork exercise is to send the horse over a barrel. Oops! Hold it!! Maybe it’s not so simple. If someone decides this is his or her goal, then places a barrel in the middle of the arena and asks the horse to go over it, the horse just might:

a. back up and not go forward at all;
b. go around it on the other side;
c. go between you and the barrel, knocking you over in the process;
d. rear up and refuse to try;
e. any number of other things, including pulling away and heading for the nearest exit at speed with the head and tail up in the air.

Before the end goal is accomplished the ‘yes’ answer to go over a barrel starts by breaking the exercise down after teaching a sequence of ground work exercises:

1. The very first groundwork exercise I teach my horses is the ‘back up’ (refer to June 2006 EqCen issue). This exercise teaches my horses that they cannot run over top of me as one of the answers they might want to use. When taught correctly, backing a horse gains a great deal of respect for the handler.
2. The second ground exercise I use is ‘sending thru’. This is simply pointing with the halter rope or rein and driving the horse past me (with a respectful distance).
3. The next one is turn on the haunches (or spin) away from me. This is another important exercise required to correct a wrong choice that the horse makes of coming over top of me.
4. And finally the last exercise is to side pass away from me. You can later advance this exercise to side pass towards you (mounting blocks become a piece of cake).

When these four exercises are mastered, you can start ‘sending thru’…over barrels, logs, bridges, tarps, ditches, water, into trailers, etc. (Don’t forget, you can send backwards and sideways also.) You can combine a few things or a whole bunch of things. Your imagination is your limit. If the horse gives you the obedience and control to do these exercises with the halter and lead rope on, when you ride, your horse will have added respect and you are more likely to enjoy your time in the saddle.

You can continue to improve these ground exercises and gain sufficient control so that you can ultimately take your halter off and do these at liberty. Wow!! Keep an open mind and always be on the look out for new exercises to teach your horse.

Eventually you will not need to use groundwork because:

a. Your horse has developed strong respect and obedience for you and is therefore safer;
b. You have finally gained enough confidence that you are comfortable to go to the next stage of mounting.

I ground work all of my horses and sometimes even my well trained ones. If I haven’t rode them for a couple weeks or (as usually happens) a couple of months, I will ask them to send thru and change directions a few times before I mount. Not only does it let me see what kind of mood they are in, it allows the saddle and cinch to set comfortably before I step up.

So recapping your ground work rules:

1. When first teaching a principle, work in enclosed area that is safe for you and your horse.
2. If you are riding and things start going wrong, do not be afraid to get off and refresh some groundwork.
3. Don’t try to be someone you aren’t…it’s a good recipe for getting hurt. You have nothing to prove to anyone!

It’s winter and harder to get out and ride, so take the opportunity to teach your horse something on the ground and enjoy your rewards!