Clicker Training a Horse to Ground Drive/Longrein/Longline

Here Les and his assistant, Neil, are teaching a 5-year-old rescued Haflinger how to ground drive.

Ground driving is a great way to prepare a young horse to be ridden because it teaches them how to steer before you get on. Many people run into problems in the first couple rides on a horse because they try to steer the horse too soon.

When you steer a horse, you impede his forward movement, which makes him feel claustrophobic. Steering also breaks a horse's focus, which is frightening to a horse who is already on high alert due to having a predator on his back for the first time. When the horse thinks he is busy looking around to see when the joke is going to be up and the rest of your predator buddies are going to jump out of the bushes, and you ask him to look somewhere else, his reaction is often one of annoyance, suspicion, and frustration - which leads to a fight, which often leads to an untimely dismount. Additionally, many horses do not like to be steered because softening their neck muscles makes them vulnerable. When a lion goes to attack a zebra, he often grabs the zebra by the neck, pulls his head around, disengages the horse's hindquarters, and tips the zebra over like a cowboy wrestling a steer. Horses naturally want to maintain control of their head so that they can protect themselves. By teaching your horse to steer from the ground, you make your horse more comfortable with allowing you to control his head, his line of site, and his pace.

Ground driving a horse can be as frustrating as just getting on and trying to steer a horse the first time if you don't use all the tools available to you. There are two tools that I find particularly useful - targeting and an assistant handler.

When you have your horse target, you give him a destination to go to. Destinations give reason to your steering. All of a sudden your horse say, "Oh, I see, you want to go over THERE!" When the horse understands that you have a reason for pulling on his face, it's much easier for him to accept.

Ground driving can also prepare your horse to respond to leg cues. When you thread the longreins through the stirrups or cinch, you can flap the reins lightly at our horse's sides to initiate forward movement. When combined with a clear cluck or kiss, this helps to reduce the likelihood that your colt will bind up and refuse to move when you first ride him.

It's also essential that you teach your horse to back while ground driving. As much as we would all like to think that we never pull back with 2 reins on a colt, the simple fact of the matter is that, under stress, we might do something stupid and pull back with both hands at the same time, which may incite our horse to rear. If you teach your horse to back from pressure with both longreins, you'll reduce the likelihood that your colt will rear up with you under saddle.

Ground driving is simulation for riding. Done properly, it can make the transition from ground work to ridden work much simpler, safer, and less stressful.

If you like the video, please leave a comment and a positive rating. It helps the video to show up better in search results. Thanks!

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• ground+driving
• longlining
• longreining
• natural
• horsemanship
• horse+training
• colt+starting
• clicker+training
• colt

[KelseySevenfold]

thank you for this video! it is very helpful. I am going to try this with my horse. he is an ex racehorse and gets really crazy when you try to ride him. hopefully this will help.

[welcometopemberley]

You're welcome! i hope it helps. We have an OTTB as well. Do you have any specific questions? Make sure you desensitize his legs really well first as he might spook at the ropes.

[Shels00]

Loved the video and glad to see someone else in the world does ground driving before saddle training. At our farm this is done for about a month before the horse ever meets a saddle!

[welcometopemberley]

Thanks for your comment! Yes, I think it is so much safer if you ground drive first.

[poolsproperty]

love this advise .. i will try it on my 3 year old colt next .. im trainin ghim & this looks great for steering

[abirdslife]

Nice :o)

[welcometopemberley]

Ha, oic.

[MidnightContender101]

turn your head it looks like a smiley face

[welcometopemberley]

Thanks for your comment. What is XD?

[BlazingAva]

We're sloooowly comming to the back XD