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30/ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 THE RIDER


Horse Leading Essentials - In 5 Minutes Or Less


By Kathy Farrokhzad You can do this before


AND after your ride, to and from the field, or whenever you have a chance to be at your horse’s side. It’s nothing special really,


as it should be part of your regular handling routine. But as we all know, we


tend to let our expectations slide from time to time, then more regularly, until at some point (maybe when we get pushed into or dragged off with), we remember that we really should be doing this ALL. THE. TIME. If you’re familiar with


Showmanship in the Western Performance Classes, then maybe you actually DO do this all the time! But I’m sure most of us don’t!


What is it? Well, it’s a simple leading


routine. But I wonder how many of us do this regularly?


Exercise 1 The goal of this exercise


is to get your horse to walk with you, at your side. For the sake of clarity,


I’m going to be very particu- lar: • horse’s head is at your shoul- der • horse walks at your speed • horse doesn’t go ahead of you • horse doesn’t lag behind • no pull on the lead to make the horse go (visual cues only) • no verbal cues (Yes! Get the horse tuned into your body language)


Walk on: Your horse should start


walking as soon as your shoulder starts to move for- ward. So the horse’s cue is that you start walking (no leaning forward or giving any extra indication that you’re going to walk - no, not even a cluck). He should stay with


his head at your right shoulder at all times. If your horse isn’t famil-


iar with this and needs some help to understand to “tune in” to your shoulder, you may need to carry a crop with you to urge him forward as you start walking. I would hold it in my left hand and tap him from behind me, while the right hand continues to be steady on the lead. If you don’t have a crop, the end of the lead rope is likely just fine. Swing it behind you and that will probably get your horse walking on.


Halt: The only cue for halting


is that you stop walking. Again, the horse’s head


should stay at your shoulder. So he shouldn’t keep walking after you’ve stopped. If he does keep walking, use the lead rope and pull back until he stops. Repeat many times until he responds to


your shoulder. Once your horse responds


regularly, you can move on to


Exercise 2 After the halt, do a back


up. The goal is to have the


horse backing up without fuss - no pulling on the lead - step- ping sharply, straight and using diagonal pairs of legs. • your body is positioned slightly to the left of the horse (exactly where you were lead- ing from) • the horse walks at your speed backward • his body is straight and the your line of travel is straight • your lead stays in the right hand, ideally no extra pressure or shaking of the lead • horse uses diagonal pairs of legs (as in, slow, stilted steps


are not what we’re looking for)


To initiate the back-up,


halt first. Then s-l-o-w-l-y turn your body to face the horse. This will give the horse time to see that you are no longer going forward, and that you are preparing for the back-up. As you turn, your left


shoulder will start to turn into the horse’s space. The horse should then


back out of that space, at the speed of your walking steps. Go fast enough for him to use diagonal pairs as he’s backing. If your horse needs help


getting started, once again, I use the end of the lead rope and swing it in the direction of his chest, right between the front legs. The motion of the lead is usually enough to get


the horse to start moving his feet.


Back up enough steps to


a) get the horse out of your space b) build momentum c) go straight The key to getting a good


back-up is to have lots of en- ergy. Again, the final picture is that the horse should liter- ally start backing up as you turn your left shoulder into “his space.”


Well, that’s it! Sounds really simple but


I wonder how many of us are that particular when we’re leading the horse.... Do it when your horse least expects it. Walk forward, stop, turn to face the horse, back up, stop, face forward and walk on. Again and again until your horse is your shadow. Play with the speed - slow, then fast, then slow. Be sure to praise all his efforts.


Why do this exercise? Most of all, it’s for the


safety of the ground person. It sets up a bubble for you (“my space”) and a bubble for your horse to be in (“your space”). It teaches your horse to walk alongside you - which we all know is so important espe- cially when leading outside. The ultimate result would


be when the person is leading her horse and has to suddenly stop, and the horse instantly stops right alongside the per- son. No yanking on the lead rope necessary. Or if the horse and leader


are stuck in a situation where they have to back up and it’s all done with grace, poise and calmness. It also teaches you to be


consistent in your expecta- tions and to develop a rapport with your horse. Do this anytime, any-


where. It literally takes less than 5 minutes!


Bio: Kathy Farrokhzad is an EC coach and author of the Horse Listening book collection, and Goal Setting For The Equestrian: A Per- sonal Workbook. If you liked what you read here, check out her blog at www.HorseListening.com for many more articles about horses, riding and life in general.


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