Few boarders at my h/j barn know much about good, productive ground work, and that includes me. (Although I do know that “free-longing” should not mean chasing some poor horse around with a stick.) So how can I learn best theories and best practices? Suggestions about books, clinics and clinicians would be most appreciated.
I recommend checking out Warwick Schiller’s plan. He has a bunch of free videos on YouTube that you can watch, and then he has a subscription site (there’s a free trial.) There is also a Facebook group you can join. Warwick is straightforward and down to earth. No gimmicks or special tools you have to buy. You can do the work on a long leadrope, you don’t need a round pen. Everything he does prepares for ridden work, and he explains how it transfers. The vast majority of it is teaching the human to be present and be consistent. Once you understand even a little about how a horse thinks, they become much more predictable.
You might also take a look at Ross Jacobs – he has some very thought provoking videos and essays on his Facebook page.
Hope that helps!
Wendy
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I 100% second Warwick! I have done his full program with my horses and it changed everything. His videos are easy to understand and every horse at my barn has been improved by his methods. I cannot say enough good things about Warwick Schiller.
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Melanie Smith Taylor’s book “Riding with Life” has a superb, well-illustrated groundwork program. Not only that, her text puts it all in context. Would dovetail well with Warwick Schiller from what I have heard.
You will get a lot out of this book, especially if you’re in the H/J world.
Good luck!
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Buck Brannaman has a DVD series called 7 Clinics. Very good. Should work well with Melanie Smith Taylor’s book.
Also highly recommended would be Tom Moates’ series about Harry Whitney.
And a clinic with any of the above would probably be a whole lot more helpful than just having the books and DVDs.
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Anything you can get your hands on from Tom Dorrance, Ray Hunt, Buck Brannaman, Bryan Neubert, Mark Rashid. I think Buck’s stuff is the most readily available: 7 Clinics, the documentary “Buck”, various other DVDs. He has a little red book called Groundwork that is good.
Warwick Schiller is good. Carson James in a pinch, but I prefer to go further up the chain (he is just recycling something that he is calling his own…that bothers me.)
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If you want to learn about classical in-hand training, this is a nice book with lots of pictures:
Horse Training In-Hand: A Modern Guide to Working from the Ground
by Ellen Schuthof-Lesmeister and Kip Mistral
https://www.amazon.com/Horse-Training-Hand-Modern-Working/dp/1570764093
Another vote for Warwick. He is so easy to understand. :encouragement:
Videos from the best are great but honestly in person clinics or lessons with a regional or local person who is good, are even better.
Find a BNT video series you like them find a competent local person who follows that method. Ground work is not rocket science. Lots of local trainers who would never manage to produce a video series or make their work look “original” can get you started in the right direction.
As with learning riding there is so much about feel and timing that you can only learn in person.
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Thank you, everyone. This is very helpful. I know Buck B. does occasionally give clinics in my area, and I will check out the book sources you recommend.
Go and audit. You will learn a ton just by watching. If you can attend, so much the better…
Find a sensible local trainer who follows BB and work with them and attend clinic with them. You could audit clinic and lesson with the local person.
It’s like taking riding lessons. Going to a George Morris clinic is wonderful but won’t replace a year of weekly lessons with a good solid local jump coach with a good eye.
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My coach is a big fan of the TRT method, and I have really been enjoying using it with my tense little oddball of a horse.
That’s about right.
Audit Brannaman first, as you would a George Morris clinic. Go try to do some of the things you see folks doing in the ring at home and then, ideally, go take some lessons from a good local who does what Brannaman does. Then, with sufficiently thick skin and hopefully a somewhat thinking horse, attend a clinic.
IME, it’s harder to time your feet and reactions to the horse than it looks. It does take practice and also some one-on-one help that can be hard to get in one of those huge clinics. And the difficulty of getting your timing really accurate is deceptive. But even if you just have some videos and some intention and can read your horse, you will make progress.
Enjoy the journey!
Warwick Schiller and Tristan Tucker and good and have video series you can subscribe to. I agree that getting hands on help is really important because the timing and placement of your body is quite important and can be hard to get those subtleties just from videos. I’ve been doing NH stuff for several years and still make plenty of mistakes with those things, so I do agree on the need to also have individual help when you can. Great that you want to learn! It is SO beneficial for your horse!
Hrmmm, I don’t think you need a thick skin to take a clinic with Buck. He’s actually very kind and patient. It is a good idea to at least have an idea of what you are trying to accomplish, the videos or someone local can help with that that. But newbies will do just fine, especially if they are the type that have taken lessons and are used to listening and acting on instruction. I think a whole lot of the demographic that do Buck clinics have never taken formal lessons. They just ride, often trail riders only. The riding portion can be chaotic because of that, people going every which way doing their own thing (Buck will try to get them back in track but I feel they insist on not listening, he just leaves them be…)
