Here is a really quick and easy exercise to help you gain respect from your horse on the ground. It is great for horses that can be bargy, and those that “walk over you”.
Who is moving who?
When you are handling your horse, does your horse move his feet around you, or do you move around your horse? It is probably a question that you haven’t asked yourself before! Next time you want to move your horse out of your way, answer this question. if you find yourself moving out the way of your horse, then this is a great exercise for you!
Moving the shoulders
In this exercise, walk into your horse’s shoulder. Your horse should shift their shoulders away from you by crossing over the front legs, much like a quarter turn. If they don’t move, increase the energy until you get the movement you are looking for.
How does this exercise help with ridden work?
This exercise will also help with your lateral work on the ground and under saddle. For more information on introducing lateral work, I have Suppling Exercises and Longreining Shoulder Turns lessons within F2 Preparing to Ride, and Moving Shoulders and Lateral Yielding modules in F4 Fundamentals of Ridden Work.
Hi, when I go to back up our young TB he sometimes strikes out. Is this him trying to resist? He does go back nicely but didn’t know how to deal with this.
My horse is very dominant on the ground I have to take him to and from the field in a chiffeny , I’ve tried everything 😕