- Confine your horse: the safest way to handle a horse is to confine it. Watch a rodeo. Bucking broncos stay locked inside a tight chute. Until the gate opens, that wild little beast can do nothing. Keeping your animal in a stall is helpful to your safety and your ability to work with it. Horses in pasture can play hard to catch. They prefer to stay close to their herd and will walk away from you, making it difficult for you to establish herd leadership. If you manage to catch it, you still must consider the other horses in the field as they crowd you to push past the gate. If you need help, get it! When you have separated your mount from the herd, bring it to an enclosed work space, a round pen or fenced arena to work with it.
- Give the horse down time: nervous horses prefer moving off, sidling away from halter and saddle or walking out as you mount. This is dangerous behavior. If you’re in a half mounted position and the horse moves, you will fall or get dragged. That's why brushing and saddling has value. It puts the horse’s mind on work. Take time getting acquainted and work slowly. When you are ready to mount, make sure the horse stands still. If your mount makes any move at all as you put your foot in the stirrup, take your foot out and wait till it stands perfectly still. Then remount. Never mount fully until your horse stands quietly. And don't let it walk off once you are in the saddle. Your horse must wait for your cues. If your horse avoids the halter or bridle, push its head down gently to gain control. Pressing gently between the ears gets the horse used to your touch. It will soon lower its head for you every time and you will be able to slip on both bridle and bit. Be aware it can take a while to gain your horse’s comfort zone.
- Tie the horse up: when I first engaged Mr. Ferrante as trainer I asked, “What can I do to prepare my horse for you?” He said, “Tie it up.” Horses learn patience from being tied. Make sure that whatever you tie your horse to is strong enough to hold your thousand pound pet. A tree, a corral rail, or barn cross ties work well. Once tied, you can brush and saddle it. Tying also prepares your horse for rides that include stopping and getting off. Although your horse might stomp impatiently, wiggle back and forth, or pull back as far as the rope will allow, it will soon become less agitated. Some horses get so bored tied up that they fall asleep at the post. How long you leave the horse tied is up to you. Keep in mind that, depending on future plans for your mount, all day is not too long. Horse events, camping, a restaurant stop, can range from one to six or seven hours. Horses will stand that long, but a horse unused to long tie ups should be trained to them. Start with half an hour and work your way up. Be sure the horse is always visible to you so you can keep an eye on possible problems. My Shay managed to work herself loose once. I quietly walked up to her and retied her before she knew she was free.
- Correct your horse: correction doesn’t mean using whips and beating on or hitting a horse. Correction simply means you ask the horse to do what it doesn’t want to do. For example, when your horse fidgets while you are holding it, back it up. Backing is unnatural, and horses don’t like it. If a horse runs wild, put it to work. Horses don’t like work any more than you or I do. Sometimes when I try to mount Shay she tries to slip away from me. She'll even turn her butt toward me making it impossible to get on her. I use long reins and can force her to run circles around me. It takes only a few minutes of circling in both directions before Shay finally quiets down to stand still. Should she move off again, I run her some more. She tires of running tight circles around me pretty quickly.
- Reward your horse when it does what you ask: reward doesn’t mean petting a horse like you would a dog. A horse is more attuned to ending its work. Shay has already learned that when she does good work for me her reward includes a dismount and feeding. I time her work for the late afternoon before her regular feeding. Whether we’ve played in the ring or ridden on the trail, I dismount when we are done, take off that constricting saddle, and bring her to her warm stall for feeding. Certainly I give her an affectionate rub between the eyes or on the shoulder, mostly to keep her used to constant handling. If I go out on an early morning ride, the reward after I dismount includes turning her out to graze. There's a small patch of grass below my round pen that I open to her on such occasions. Reward is important. In the wild, horses affectionately nibble at each other, and although horses enjoy a release from negative pressure, they appreciate a playful pat on the shoulder and a tasty carrot, too.
- Change the scenery: your horse will be going to different places and be subjected to different sights and sounds in the course of its life with you. It is unlikely that you will always work at home or in your neighborhood. Both your horse and you will want an occasional break from arena work. Trail riding is relaxing and welcome for both you and your mount, but a sudden change of scene can frighten a horse, especially if you haven't exposed it to a variety of impressions. I live close to an interstate highway where noisy Semi’s pass daily. The first time I brought my horse near that road she shimmied and wiggled in terror. I dismounted and kept my riding crop visible. My horse quickly decided between the crop and the tractor-trailers. Sensing my firmness, she soon stood quietly and stopped her nervous pawing. I rewarded the good behavior by leading her home. Within days, repeat sessions enabled me to ride her near the highway as truckers roared by.
- Introduce unfamiliar objects: any place you ride has its own frightening aspects for horses. Expose your horse to the odd and unusual, from cars backfiring, to off road quads and motorcycle noises, or trash blowing across a trail. My gelding seems to think water is only for drinking. He tries to jump over or sidestep streams or runlets of water. The trail is not the best place to teach your horse to cross water, jump logs, or climb rocks. It’s easier to water an area inside the work ring heavily enough for the horse to notice wetness without undermining the dirt footing. I’ve introduced lightweight plastic 4x4 posts for the horse to walk and even jump over. Look for other things in your neighborhood that the horse should get used to. Neighborhoods are full of things that scare horses. Garbage cans, running hoses, small block fences, boulders, or overstuffed furniture and refrigerators standing at the driveway for trash pick-up. Men on the roof nailing down tiles can terrify horses because they look like predators lying in wait above them. Some backyard owners will even tie plastic bags to a stall to accustom the horse to the flapping, the noise, or the blowing away of trash.
- Make consistent demands on your horse: horses may be shy about a particular area near the work pen. When I trimmed my bushes at the bottom of my hill, Shay was anxious passing the spot. Although the bush was part of her landscape, I had to bring her near it several times to show her there is nothing worrisome about its trimmed condition. Insist that your animal move calmly toward any ‘scary’ spot. New things to which you expose your horse will help it overcome fear and teach it to trust you. Dogs or dirt bike riders, often a nuisance on the trail, need not cause your horse to bolt. City police horses are constantly subjected to sirens, traffic, stray dogs and crowds. They stay calm because they have been desensitized to these sights and sounds daily.
- Work your horse every day, if you can: horses revert to the wild state when not exposed to routine. I’m saddened to see many backyard horses stand in their pens for years on end. The gelding I rescued from starvation was not rideable initially. Not having been saddled for eight years and improper feeding had turned him into an emaciated, nervous mount. After I purchased him, he was so glad to have room to run that he kicked up his heels and raced madly around his new half acre. Within weeks, good feed and frequent handling made Reagent the best mount a girl could ask for. It was obvious that he had once been a well trained animal.
- Invest in training equipment: a lounge line is a fifteen to twenty foot tether helpful for working your horse from the ground. When attached to the horse’s halter at its chin, the lounge line allows you to stand still in the middle of an arena while the horse runs broad circles around you. Although a line isn’t a must when working in a ring, it is helpful when you are in open areas that don’t have walls. Forcing the horse away from you during this circling process tells it you are boss. Whenever a horse misbehaves or avoids training cues, making it run circles works wonders. If you are on a trail and your horse misbehaves, you can back the animal, or you can use the reins like a lounge line to demand the horse circle you. Step toward its flank (hip) and shoo it forward while holding the reins. It's a proven method. Other helps include hobbles, stud chains, and long reins for ground work. All these should be handled only by professionals who can teach you their proper use.
Never rush to accomplish your goals. Your way of handling your horse might be different from that of its previous owner, so be kind to your animal. Impatience with a confused horse will amplify its fear; and fear explodes into flight. My Shay had always been cross-tied with chains for bridling. Today, I leave her totally free. At first, she thought she could avoid the bridle and bit by stepping back. I stepped back with her. Soon enough, Shay realized that this new method of bridling is safe and a lot more comfortable than being strung up between two poles. So be good to your horse, because ground work is a good thing for both of you.
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