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 Groundwork Exercises for Gentling

The leading exercises we discussed last month teach your horse to become light and responsive to your aids. This month we’re focusing on gentling exercises, which encourage your horse to be safe and dependable. These exercises can literally be lifesavers for both you and your horse because they train your horse to respond rather than react or panic in new situations.

1. FLAGWORK

This exercise teaches your horse to remain calm around fluttering objects like jackets, tarps and even butterflies! I wish I had known about this exercise before I rode my mule mare Tess for the first time with a wind breaker—when we came around a corner the wind caught my jacket and we were off! As you can imagine, the faster Tess ran the more my jacket flapped. To get her back under control I finally had to take the wind breaker off (with Tess still at a dead run) and toss it away. Now that I know about flagwork I look forward to never having another experience like that again!

You can easily make your own flag by attaching a plastic bag to the end of a dressage whip. Before you begin flagging make sure you and your horse are in a safe and enclosed area, like a round pen. Begin by standing a good distance away from your horse (4-6 feet) while holding his lead rope and moving the flag briskly up and down. This may startle him so don’t be surprised if he moves away from you. If you’ve already practiced the groundwork exercises outlined in last month’s newsletter you’ll easily be able to roll his hind end if he moves away from you too quickly. Keep moving the flag up and down and rolling your horse’s hind until he stops moving away from you, then stop moving the flag, walk up to him, and pet him. If you find that your horse does not stop moving away from the flag within a short period of time, slow your movements with the flag and stop at the first sign that your horse is slowing down and trying to stop.

Continue with this exercise until your horse is totally unconcerned with the flag. If you stop before this point (i.e., when he tolerates the flag but is still concerned about it) your horse won’t get as much benefit out of this lesson and you may have to repeat it several times in the future. Once your horse is totally relaxed around the flag, start moving it closer and closer to his body. Continue until you can flutter the flag all around and over his body including his face and legs (be careful to avoid his eyes).

2. SACKING OUT

You can do this exercise with a folded feed sack, lariat, or slicker. Start by folding your feed sack into a small square and rubbing your horse’s neck with it. Allow him to move away if he gets anxious but try to keep the sack in contact with his neck. Continue until he stops or slows down, then remove the sack from his neck and pet him. Once your horse stays calm and relaxed with the feed sack at his neck, move the sack to different parts of his body. If he moves away from you, keep him in a tight circle around you and, when he stops, remove the sack from the area of concern. This teaches your horse to move his feet in a controlled manner rather than simply bolting away from you when he is afraid. Once your horse is totally comfortable with you rubbing the folded up sack all over his body, open the sack to its full expansion and slap it gently all over his body. You can repeat this exercise with any similar item that frightens your horse.

3. ROPE WORK

Even if you never intend to rope off your horse it’s still a good idea to do some rope work on and around his body. Rope work ensures that your horse won’t panic if he gets caught in a fence or if the saddle slides back causing the back cinch to slap him in the belly. Begin by making a loop with your lariat and swinging it gently while standing next to your horse. Toss the loop near your horse, and then pull it back in. Be careful when you draw the rope into the blind spot directly below his nose because he may paw at the rope. When your horse is comfortable with you swinging the rope near him, toss it up on his back and let it drop over his hindquarters. Again, if he moves off let him go in a circle around you but try to keep the rope on him until his stops. When he stays relaxed with the rope draped in his hind end, allow him to step through the loop so that the rope runs between his hind legs. Repeat this maneuver on his front legs with the rope around his neck.

4. YIELDING TO A ROPE ON THE LEG

This exercise is specifically aimed at teaching your horse to stay calm and relaxed if he gets caught in wire. You will need an assistant for the second half of this exercise. Start by placing the loop of your lariat around the pastern of one of his front legs. Hold the lead rope with one hand while using your other hand to apply pressure to the lariat. When your horse allows you to move his foot forward with the lariat, release the pressure, and pet him. Repeat this process and move his foot a little further forward each time. Eventually you should be able to lead your horse by his front foot. Repeat this exercise on the other front foot.

Next you want to teach your horse to yield his back feet in response to pressure on the rope. It’s a good idea to wear leather gloves and chaps to prevent rope burns and bruises for this exercise. Have your assistant take a loop of the lead rope around a stout fence post and stand on the opposite side of the fence or use a long rope so he can stand more than a horse body length from where your horse is tied. Now place the loop of your lariat around one of your horse’s back pasterns. Stand about 15 feet away from your horse and gently apply pressure at a 30 degree angle out behind your horse. Ask him to pick his foot off the ground in response to pressure from the rope. His first reaction will probably be to kick violently to free his foot. This is exactly the action that causes such severe injury when a horse gets caught in wire. Don’t try to stop your horse from kicking but keep enough tension on the rope that your horse can’t kick the loop off. Release the rope as soon as your horse stops kicking. Again ask your horse to yield his foot and relax the rope at the slightest response, such as resting the foot on the toe and letting you drag it backward. Your goal is to have your horse lift each back foot in response to the rope pressure and to hold his foot up with no resistance. This may take several sessions so be patient. In addition to preventing injury, this exercise also helps your horse learn how to balance on three legs.

Why Groundwork?

I’ve listed only a few of the many exercises you can do with your horse in preparation for saddle training or as a review on days when you can’t ride. Not only will your horse develop more self-confidence but he will learn to trust you as well!

Contributed By: Madalyn Ward, DVM

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