Ground work?

Question

Hi,

I asked a question about my horse a while back. Well my answers were ground work.

What kinds of ground work are there?

I will be building a round pen about 60' will that be big enough to lounger her, and ride her in?

How long should i work with her, should i slowly work with her longer each day? She is 17, and hasnt been ridden in about two years.

She is good with out a saddle, but with one not really. I want her to listen to me while im riding.

Is there any thing i can do to make her listen to me. I will not ride her out of the round pen till i feel comfortable that she will listen to me. We live near a rode, and last time i almost got ran over.

please and thanks

Answer 1

I would make sure to have her respect while on the ground.  

Make sure she does not invade your space.  

She also needs to move away from you when asked to and change directions when asked.

Walk, Trot, Canter when asked.

When you say "whoa" she stops almost instantly and looks at you.

Saddle her up.

Flag her out with the saddle on.

a.  plastic bag tied to the end of a dressage whip-touch her all over and shake it around.  Smack it on the saddle.

b.  grab hold of the stirrup (western?) and smack it around to make some  noise.  It's to smack on the skirt, not on HER personally.  Don't stop doing it til she stops moving.  Do both sides til she doesn't even care the first time you pick up that stirrup.

c.  Lunge her in the saddle.  When all seems fine have the bridle on and then tie the rein through the Drings on the side so that she will bump the bit if she tosses her head up but she is not really tied down.  It's tied so that it would be in a normal position as if you are riding softly.  Understand that?  (I've got a fever so I'm having a hard time finding the words)

d.  I had a hard time with my mare bucking in the roundpen when asked to canter.  She would tear @ss around.  I tied her head tighter on one side so now she had to pay attention to what she was doing. Her nose was turned to just her shoulder. I'd make her change directions and move off WTC both ways.  She now moves off calmly.

She needs to know that having that saddle on doesn't change a thing.  You are still in charge.

When this is all going well you can now mount up.  I would use a mounting block for sure.

(assuming you have not been on this horse yet)

Lean over her and move your hand over to the other side and rub, move the stirrup, rub her neck...make sure she sees you.  

Lean onto her back, applying some pressure, then get off.

How did she take that? good?

If so, sit down into the saddle nice and easy, feet into stirrups.

Just sit there for a few then get off.  Give her a rub.

You are just waking up her memory.

Remount, and say walk (lean forward a little).  NO LEG. Let her move off.  If her ears look good and she is doing well pick up the reins and see if she will respond well to turning.

Practice your "whoa", Disengage hind end, etc....

Don't go to trot until she is listening to you.  You don't want to overwhelm her and send her to a buck.  When you feel she is looking and feeling good go from there (Trot, then canter later)  

The reason you want to go slow is so that she builds her trust in your decisions.  If you go to fast and she didn't get time to grasp it, you may get a temper tantrum buck or crow hop.  Go slow.

Just something to think on...

If I ride my mare in the pasture or in a round pen she is a complete idiot.  She hates it. Wringing her tail, humping her butt, spinning to get out...pinned ears.  I have to take her to a place that has no fence lines and work her.  For her, if she is to wear a saddle then that means FUN...fun is NOT in her pasture where she lives.  She expresses her distaste.  So we compromise.  It's no sweat off my back to work with her where she feels happiest. If I HAVE to, we do the pasture.   She knows I only do this with good reason so she will pissandmoan for a few then settle down.

She works for me in the wide open and I don't do riding in the pasture. :)

Practice bending between barrels and over poles.  Teach her to respond to you.  Lots of disengaging the hind and move shoulder over (practice for oncoming cars).

Stand at the end of the drive with her to watch the cars and see that they don't scare you.

Be mounted and have someone move the car in the drive back and forth.  You practice walking around the car with her.

Get her to respect your cues with that car moving.  Since it's in a controlled situation you can repeat it over and over!

I gotta go lay down...my son gave me strep throat! ugggg

Answer 2

Some things I would do:

1.  Make sure your horse is comfortable being touched all over.  You can use a dressage whip as an extension of your arm to reach over her back, rub her legs, etc. Then when she will accept that (doesn't show spookiness or signs of kicking or moving away from your touch) you can rub her with your hand or use a brush to groom her.

2.  Make sure she stands nicely to be saddled.  If she can't stand still happily, work on that.  Pick a spot to have her stand.  If she moves, say "whoa" and back her up to that spot.  Be calm and patient, but do not allow her to wander around or leave you when you're working with her.  Repeat until she will stand in one spot for you.

3.  If she's hard to catch, you can try "join up" in your round pen, but don't think it will create an instant bond with your horse.  That's not the purpose of join up....it is more to gentle a horse that's afraid and help it accept the trainer's presence and touch so that training can begin.  So many people misunderstand the concept.  Here's a link: http://liverystable.net/join_up.html

4.  Work on applying pressure and asking her to yield to it.  For example, standing beside her, holding the lead rope, press on her side just in front of her hip.  If she doesn't move her hind feet over to side-step her hindquarters away from you, tip her nose in toward you by tightening the lead rope, and continue pressing on her side/hip.  She should turn her front end towards you and her hind end away from you.  Repeat on both sides until she will step away from you obediently when you ask.  

5.  Work on stopping, and backing from the ground.  Lead her around and practice halting.  Then ask for her to back up, say "back", pull back on the lead, and see if she responds.  If not, press against her chest while still holding backwards pressure on the lead rope.  She should move backwards.  As soon as she moves a foot backwards, release all pressure, pet her neck, say "good girl", etc.  (I don't give treats, it is counter-productive and makes the horse stop thinking about what you're asking, just looking at your pockets and hands for the next treat.)

6.  Do everything you can from the ground that will simulate what it will be like once you are in the saddle.  For instance, when I'm training a horse, I put a loose ring snaffle bit on it and tie just one rein to the stirrup of the saddle.  This is meant to help the horse learn to give its head to the rein pressure.  The rein should be snug enough that if the horse's head is pointing straight in front of it the bit will be pulling on the horse's mouth, but so if the horse gives or turns its head towards the rein that's tied to the stirrup, there will be slack in the rein and not pull any more.  This gives the horse practice so that when you are in the saddle, it will give and turn its head when you tighten the rein.  ONLY do this with one rein at a time, and be sure the rein on the other side is completely loose (can tie it to the saddle horn loosely or else pass it through the D-ring on your saddle, be sure it's loose but not long enough to get a leg over it).  You can let the horse alone in the round pen for about half an hour.  Stay close and watch, but let the horse figure out it's own situation and think its way through what it is feeling.  It may turn circles for awhile, but it should learn to just hold its head to that side slightly, and find the place where the rein does not pull or have any pressure on the horse's mouth.  That's the goal.  Then switch sides so it learns to give to the other rein as well.  This is good preparation for riding.

7.  When you do go to ride, if your horse is too fast, unpredictable, out of control, etc...try pulling one rein so she turns in a circle.  When she turns, she will automatically slow down.  This also helps if she attempts to buck or rear, if you ask her to turn, your previous groundwork will come in handy because she should know how to give to the reins and turn for you.  Remember to leave the other one loose.  Just pull one to get her to turn and slow to a stop.

A good article on groundwork: http://www.horsetrainerscorner.com/horse...

Groundwork basics:

http://www.localriding.com/groundwork-ba...

Types of groundwork you could try:

Lunging  http://www.ultimatehorsesite.com/article...

Leading, Pivoting, General Handling

http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/pr_eyas/trainin...

Hope this helps.  I don't know your complete situation, such as how much training this horse has had previously, but groundwork is good for everybody.  If she can do all of the above with no problems, you're probably ready to ride.

Answer 3

i would lunge her with her saddle on then tak it off just so she gets used to it at a WTC and she should get used to it then weight in down slowly!(:

Answer 4

There are lots of kinds of ground work, besides lounging.  If your goal is for her to listen to you while riding anywhere, and respect you, then lounging isn't going to help, it'll just get her back in shape.  My suggestion is look into the basics of natural horsemanship groundskills.  They help the horse form a bond with you, become safer, have fun, and stay fit.  I don't blame you for not wanting to ride her out of the round pen yet, but natural horsemanship can help with that.  I do Parelli, and find it to be the best.  I don't know what you've heard about it, but if you really try, you will get extrordinary results - even just on the ground, which will then help you with riding.

There are seven basic things on the ground we do in Parelli.  Called the 7 Games, because they're supposed to be fun for you and your horse, while helping you with any problems you've got.  Here is the link to the Parelli page.  You can check it out just for fun.  Also, this is a fairly accurate description of how to play the 7 games.  Give them a try and I bet you'll love them.  Don't try to ride your horse while doing them, you'll have much better results when they're all mastered, and then you get on your horse.

Again, I can't tell you how much Parelli has helped me.  Its given me sooo much confidence, and now I'm comfortable outside the round pen.  If you have any questions about this, e-mail me.  Good Luck!!!

Answer 5

Be aware that at 17 if she is not already a very good riding horse she probably will not be.  At that age it typically doesn't matter how long they have been left unridden.  Our 20 year old arab get ridden once a year on a cattle drive and does excellant.  She typically runs the quarterhorses into the ground.

On the other hand if she has not been ridden much at all she probably will improve some.

To tell you the truth I probably would not waste my time on a lot of ground work with her (I may do some but not a great deal, especially if her ground manners are already good).  What she needs is primarily riding.

I like about a two acre field to ride in until I am comfortable.  Round pens drive me and my horses bonkers.  (Well actually probably just me but...)  The small fieldallows me all kind of room to do turns and figure eights, etc., while still being small enough that the horse comes to a fence before gaining much speed.

Edit

I may have misunderstood you.  You said she is good without the saddle.  I took that to mean she has good ground manners.  If she doesn't then YES I would work on ground manners with her.

Answer 6

lung her with the saddle on and she will get better over time

Answer 7

I think that should be good enough of a pen. You should start her in the saddle by lungeing and then walking around on her back maybe 3 times adding a round every day for about 2 weeks. Then you can add in a round of trot. For ground work a horse should be riddern fluently with a saddle so work her into the saddle slowly and then start with serpentines, loops, circles, changes across the diagnol, halts, backing up. You can always look some exercises on line. For 17, she is probably reaching her older days so don't over due it. Then, you can ask a friend to hold her or lunge you and the horse outside the ring. That way if something goes very wrong, then there is some one to help you with you and the horse. I would give it about 2 or 3 months with about from 15 minutes of work under saddle working up to an 1 hour. Then you can start doing some work with changes and more complicated movements. It takes time to condition a horse that has been out of work for that long. It is best not to overdue it.

~GROUNDWORK: anything ridden on the ground, no jumps. If you walk her around he pen it is considred groundwork.~