Quick Tips Series 3 - Leading a Horse with Float

Learning to lead a horse should not mean dragging him here, and dragging them there. It means teaching a horse responsibility for his end of the bargain, and this means using feel, timing and balance to soften your horse. In this part, we discuss float, what it is, and why it's a good gauge of your horse's training, and very quickly go over the basics of leading a horse with a float in the rope.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Roland
• Millington
• feel
• timing
• balance
• lead
• horse
• float
• slack
• backyard
• horsemanship

[libsmacker7]

Im already having respect issueswith my 9 month old filly Scarlet. She has already tried running in the barn while leading and will not back up when i ask her to. She knows how to back she just doesnt want to do it unless its on her terms. Im back to square one again with her ground training.  I hope to use what you have on this vid to train her to RESPECT!

[artroland]

So how is that filly doing?

[lulubelleish]

thanks

[libsmacker7]

She is doing much better! She is now eager to go outside to be worked with and her backing has improved. She stands at the gate and nickers when I have a lead in my hand!

[artroland]

And I too offer much respect to you and your opinions. Without differing opinions, we'd never broaden our understandings. :D

[artroland]

The ears, by the way, also follow the train in the background, they follow my arms, they follow the lead rope, as well. It's not so much dislike, as it is awareness of what is going on around him.

If you'll notice, the whip is always in the "off" position until I need him to pay attention to it as a tool, such as when the lead rope is in my left hand and spinning, and the whip is in my right hand to reinforce that hand's presence.

[artroland]

Actually, I agree. You don't need to strike a horse in the manner that an angry person would. But you do need to present pressure in the same manner that another horse would (making the horse move their feet, their hindquarters, etc.)

With the problem horses I am sometimes called on to deal with, though, the distance that whip affords me in being able to touch (not strike) the horse and assure him I mean no harm, keeps me safe. I don't enjoy being kicked by a frightened horse.

[Quandary121]

A lot of the time horses ive trained listen to the voice commands rather then other commands they listen for certain command words when im speaking and i find there responses are tuned into waiting for these key words

[Quandary121]

watch his ears they signal his dislike of the whip,the ears twitch when the whip moves i understand you know what your doing its just i too train horses and dont believe you need a whip to get a horse to work with you much respect to you and your training methods

[artroland]

Thank you for the kind words. I don't think he's scared of the whip, I think he understands that it is an extension of my arm. But yes, he does follow the signal of the whip, as well as the signal of my body language.