It was mentioned earlier but there is a difference in teaching a horse showmanship or halter. When you have to move a horse’s foot one at a time and stand in one place for a long period things like cross tying are just easier.
Just food for thought on the whole groundwork thing.
Also not true at all that MOST western saddles put you in a chair seat. There are some crappy saddles out there for sure but a good western seat has a straight line from ear to ankle.
Our lazy western Quarter horses have far worse ground manners than our hot OTTB English gelding. The difference is not the discipline, rather the fact that the Quarter horses were backyard trained by us before we realized how a horse is “supposed” to behave on the ground. The OTTB has been in training to become an eventer and our trainer insists on respect on the ground and in the saddle. I’m now in the process of retraining the backyard horses. Know better, do better.
Everything begins on the ground, goes one line of thinking. If you can get your horse to do it on the ground, you can get them to do it when you are on their back. Ground work gets your horse focused on YOU, the job at hand, not the monster in the corner, the cute mare/gelding in the next field, the scary plastic bag… etc. Which I would think is a great thing no matter what you do with your horse.
I was moving poles today in the arena to set up a set of trotting poles. I put my horse in the center, told him to stay there according to what he knows from his ground work, and hauled the poles around. Horse stood like a statue, as he knew he should. As I knew he would. He did not move until I told him to, coming back to him, and picking up his lead rope. A very handy thing to know my horse will stay put.
Same horse- went to skip out his stall while he was in it. His neighbor wanted to start a war through the bars, as it was feeding time. Horse was told “over” ( a nifty command he learned in his racetrack days, yes, this is an OTTB) and he went and planted himself along the wall, eating his hay and ignoring his warring neighbor. He did not stir a hoof until me, the wheelbarrow and mucking equipment were gone. Again, a handy thing to have.
I cannot stand ill mannered horses on the ground. It seems to translate into a crappy attitude in the ride. My well mannered horse is a happy and willing fellow under saddle, and is calm and focused. He wasn’t always like this-- when I first got him, he was the opposite. Work on his ground manners and ground work in general resulted in the change. I know which I prefer.
I certainly know people who say that if their horse blows up they would rather be in the saddle than on the ground so they won’t get trampled. Or riding on a road with heavy traffic, they’d rather be in the saddle than on the ground because they can’t control the horses haunches from the ground.
All which I find odd. I am much safer on the ground and have more control.
Also I have always found nervous horses draw confidence from having the person go ahead of them past an obstacle.
I am in the camp of I feel safer aboard than aside, it’s just preference.
Interesting. Would you say you’ve done a lot of groundwork with your horses and still feel this way?
If something goes badly wrong and I’m on the ground I can concentrate my full attention and effort on the problem, which includes not stepped on, butted, kicked, etc.
If I’m astride I might (note the conditional) have a slightly better chance to control what’s going on as I might feel it more. But I’m also much less stable and have five or six feet to fall before I achieve guaranteed stability. I’m also north of 70 YOA and don’t bounce well anymore!!!
Again, one of those circumstances where there is no “school” answer but just an intelligent analysis and use of circumstances.
G.
Yes. I worry that I will trip, or slip down. I feel that I am safer for them, on them. My horses all self load, tie, clip, ground tie, high line, pony, lead from a golf cart, whatever… they are solid soldiers.
IME this is the most common reason. Most people don’t know. They don’t know they can train their horse to behave better/differently. They don’t know how to train their horse to behave better/differently. They don’t know how their horse’s behaviour puts other people/horses at risk.
I didn’t know I was training my horses until a coach came to look at one I had for sale and said “I have never seen a privately owned horse as well behaved as this one.” I just trained them to behave like that because I wanted to enjoy my horse on the ground. I started thinking about it, and paying attention to how other horses behaved.
After watching me with my two year old for a few minutes fellow boarder once said to me “I can’t wait until my horse decides to behave that well.” I didn’t say it but I was thinking “I can’t wait for miracles so I just train the horse!”
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
