Written by Kellyn
The first, and most important in my opinion, step in working with a horse is the ground work. Most people overlook groundtraining, but really the first step to getting on a horse is putting a halter on him. The average horse for sale is already halter broke and trained to lead, tie, etc. So, going from a horse that is already halter broke, lets take a look at leading a horse forward.
The first thing to do is take a few steps forward. Does the horse walk right with you, or does he lolligag and daydream while you keep walking away? My first horse was the latter: I'd walk, and he would be lead weight at the end of the rope. If you're a big, strong person and you prefer dragging a 1,000 pound horse behind you, fine. But I prefer the horse to walk right next to me. A simple way to fix this problem is to grab a dressage whip and keep it in your left hand. I say dressage whip simply because it's the right length, but really you can use anything handy that will allow you to reach from where you comfortably stand by your horse, to the point on his side where your leg would hang were you riding him. Now, when you take a step forward, cluck to him, and if he does not walk out with you, tap him on the side with your whip. If the horse is responsive to the leg under saddle, it won't take long to get him walking next to you. A problem with this method is that sometimes instead of going forward the horse goes to the side, just avoiding the whip. An easy way to avoid this is walk next to something (a fence, a house, a barn, whatever. Just so its solid and the horse cannot avoid you). When you take a step forward, the horse should walk out right next to you, keeping his head even with your shoulder. Continue with this excersize, always giving the horse a short opportunity to walk out, and if he does not, then reinforce your command with a tap on his side. Repeat this, and soon the horse will be walking next to you without you having to tap him at all! You can also apply this to getting your horse to trot with you. For most health inspections or halther and showmanship classes, you have to trot with your horse in hand. So, as you're walking, cluck to the horse, and take a few steps at a trot (jog) and if he does not join you, tap him on his side with your whip. Do this just as you did to get him to walk next to you, and soon you will be able to trot with your horse in hand.
This is me working with my filly Bertie, she was 2 at the time and she is now 7. I have never had any problems leading her, or trotting in hand with her. Even my boyfriend, who knows very little about horses, can make Bertie trot next to him.
