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Inspiration for
Groundwork:

8

Exercises you can
do easily at home

It looks so exciting when a horse and his owner is in complete harmony while performing horsemanship. We have all watched the videos where extremely cool personalities often involving a western hat or other superstar equipment makes the horse do incredible things as lay down, roll over, sitting up, riding around in the arena with no equipment etc. All this is very impressing but quite far from the world most horse owners live in with full time jobs, children and of course a loving horse as well. So, even advanced horsemanship looks cool, it might be a good idea to start somewhere simpler. Therefore, here we give you eight inspiring and instructive exercises for you and your horse.

Teach your horse to move away from you – a simple but underestimated exercise

Before you enter the big and exiting world of horsemanship it is advisable that your horse can actually move when you ask it to. Not seldom, horses are pushing and not respecting personal space, and this is both in the stable and in the field. To make sure your horse does not incorporate this bad habit of pushing, you should always teach it to move away by a small pressure. Place a hand on the front of the horse an make a very gentle pressure. If the horse does not react push a bit harder. If you do not get any response try using two or more fingers instead of the whole hand. This way, you have a more concentrated pressure on the part you wish to redirect. The same exercise can be used on both sides of the horse. 

The dangerous umbrella can become a problem at competitions 

Most horse owners enjoy the competition season. It is a great feeling making the horse shine, and you probably also have an adrenalin rush just before entering the arena in front of the judges. Many competitions take place outside, and this means that you can with a fairly high risk enter the arena while it is raining. Therefore, a good exercise is to prepare the horse for umbrellas. It might seem silly, but imagine you enter the arena and suddenly all the people watching you are holding colorful umbrellas. This could scare your horse, and everyone knows it is pretty annoying riding a horse who is stiff and tense looking at everything around him. With this in mind, try to prepare your horse for as much as possible before entering competitions. Example can be moving plastic or tarpaulin, loud noices etc. 

It is pretty complicated not to say annoying when a horse is wandering around while you are trying to get up on it, or perhaps cleaning its legs. Again, a very simple but also difficult exercise is to teach your horse to stand still with all four legs placed on the same spot on the ground. This is harder than it seems, but we promise you it is a pleasure working with a horse that has actually learned to stand still. At the beginning you should only do the exercise for a few seconds otherwise it is too difficult. You should use a simple sign indicating that you are now expecting that the horse does not move. A raised hand can do the trick. Also, use your voice for example saying “stand” to stress the exercise for the horse. 

It is always quite fun to work with poles together with your horse. Most of all, because horses usually enjoy the pole training very much. It challenges them in a good way, because they have to stay focused to avoid falling over when entering the poles. You can also expand the exercise by asking the horse to back over a pole or walk sideways with a pole between the front- and hindlegs.

You probably have several empty cans at home. Put them in a plastic bag, close it and ensure that none of them can fall out. Then fixate a long robe to the bag and drag it after you and your horse. It is a great exercise teaching the horse there is nothing to be afraid of even the sound is coming from behind.

To teach the exercise you need to prepare of the horse properly: 

For a very small amount of money you can buy a tarpaulin and use it for several different exercises. We will only talk about the one where your horse has to walk over it. It is a fairly easy exercise which most horses can lean pretty fast. If your horse is very afraid place some buckets with snacks on the plastic. Remember to let the horse sniff and scrape the substrate – this only increases the horses’ desire to explore the world – a character trait which will come in handy in most future situations with the horse.

Longing is good for the horse, especially if it needs to get back in shape. But be aware of not overdoing it. It can be quite hard work both physically, but also mentally to just walk around in a circle in different tempi. You can do variation in your longing work by placing poles in the circle. This way, the horse has to concentrate more on the work. A book called Training Your Foal: Raising a Foal from Birth to Backing by Renate Ettl actually advice not to do longing work with a horse before it has turned two years old. 

  • Begin with showing the bag to the horse. Let it sniff it and push it.

  • Make sure the horse is familiar with the sound of rattling cans before you place it behind the horse. In other words, shake the bag in front of the horse - slowly to begin with

  • At the beginning, you move the bag on the ground infront of the horse.

  • You should use a long robe both for the horse and the bag, so that the horse can get away easily if it becomes afraid.

  • When your horse is familiar with the sound of a rattling bag, then place it behind the horse and walk slowly forward. If the horse is afraid take a few steps back in the exercise, and built it up again slowly.

Especially if you have a young horse you will find yourself taking several long walks together. These walks do not always have to be on the pure concrete. You can easily challenge your horse by asking it to walk up and down of ditches, in narrow paths in the woods, at the beach or what else you can find of interesting and different nature. Just remember of course not to destroy any nature or cultivated land.

1.
2.

Is your horse able to stand still?

3.

Pole training - Great for variation in your training

4.

Cans in a plastic bag

5.

The tarpaulin is always fun

6.

Longing – be careful not to overdo it

7.

Walks in nature – up and down of ditches

8.

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Check the latest news on our platforms
Receive our newsletter about the
daily life with horses in your inbox
New image
New image
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Inspiration for
Groundwork:

8

Exercises you can
do easily at home

It looks so exciting when a horse and his owner is in complete harmony while performing horsemanship. We have all watched the videos where extremely cool personalities often involving a western hat or other superstar equipment makes the horse do incredible things as lay down, roll over, sitting up, riding around in the arena with no equipment etc. All this is very impressing but quite far from the world most horse owners live in with full time jobs, children and of course a loving horse as well. So, even advanced horsemanship looks cool, it might be a good idea to start somewhere simpler. Therefore, here we give you eight inspiring and instructive exercises for you and your horse.

1.

Teach your horse to move – a simple but underestimated exercise

Before you enter the big and exiting world of horsemanship it is advisable that your horse can actually move when you ask it to. Not seldom, horses are pushing and not respecting personal space, and this is both in the stable and in the field. To make sure your horse does not incorporate this bad habit of pushing, you should always teach it to move away by a small pressure. Place a hand on the front of the horse an make a very gentle pressure. If the horse does not react push a bit harder. If you do not get any response try using two or more fingers instead of the whole hand. This way, you have a more concentrated pressure on the part you wish to redirect. The same exercise can be used on both sides of the horse. 

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The dangerous umbrella can become a problem at competitions 

2.

Most horse owners enjoy the competition season. It is a great feeling making the horse shine, and you probably also have an adrenalin rush just before entering the arena in front of the judges. Many competitions take place outside, and this means that you can with a fairly high risk enter the arena while it is raining. Therefore, a good exercise is to prepare the horse for umbrellas. It might seem silly, but imagine you enter the arena and suddenly all the people watching you are holding colorful umbrellas. This could scare your horse, and everyone knows it is pretty annoying riding a horse who is stiff and tense looking at everything around him. With this in mind, try to prepare your horse for as much as possible before entering competitions. Example can be moving plastic or tarpaulin, loud noices etc. 

Is your horse able to stand still?

3.

It is pretty complicated not to say annoying when a horse is wandering around while you are trying to get up on it, or perhaps cleaning its legs. Again, a very simple but also difficult exercise is to teach your horse to stand still with all four legs placed on the same spot on the ground. This is harder than it seems, but we promise you it is a pleasure working with a horse that has actually learned to stand still. At the beginning you should only do the exercise for a few seconds otherwise it is too difficult. You should use a simple sign indicating that you are now expecting that the horse does not move. A raised hand can do the trick. Also, use your voice for example saying “stand” to stress the exercise for the horse. 

Pole training - Great for variation in your training

4.

It is always quite fun to work with poles together with your horse. Most of all, because horses usually enjoy the pole training very much. It challenges them in a good way, because they have to stay focused to avoid falling over when entering the poles. You can also expand the exercise by asking the horse to back over a pole or walk sideways with a pole between the front- and hindlegs.

Cans in a plastic bag

5.

You probably have several empty cans at home. Put them in a plastic bag, close it and ensure that none of them can fall out. Then fixate a long robe to the bag and drag it after you and your horse. It is a great exercise teaching the horse there is nothing to be afraid of even the sound is coming from behind.

To teach the exercise you need to prepare of the horse properly: 

  • Begin with showing the bag to the horse. Let it sniff it and push it.

  • Make sure the horse is familiar with the sound of rattling cans before you place it behind the horse. In other words, shake the bag in front of the horse - slowly to begin with

  • At the beginning, you move the bag on the ground infront of the horse.

  • You should use a long robe both for the horse and the bag, so that the horse can get away easily if it becomes afraid.

  • When your horse is familiar with the sound of a rattling bag, then place it behind the horse and walk slowly forward. If the horse is afraid take a few steps back in the exercise, and built it up again slowly.

Advertisement

The tarpaulin is always fun

6.

For a very small amount of money you can buy a tarpaulin and use it for several different exercises. We will only talk about the one where your horse has to walk over it. It is a fairly easy exercise which most horses can lean pretty fast. If your horse is very afraid place some buckets with snacks on the plastic. Remember to let the horse sniff and scrape the substrate – this only increases the horses’ desire to explore the world – a character trait which will come in handy in most future situations with the horse.

New image

Longing – be careful not to overdo it

7.

Longing is good for the horse, especially if it needs to get back in shape. But be aware of not overdoing it. It can be quite hard work both physically, but also mentally to just walk around in a circle in different tempi. You can do variation in your longing work by placing poles in the circle. This way, the horse has to concentrate more on the work. A book called Training Your Foal: Raising a Foal from Birth to Backing by Renate Ettl actually advice not to do longing work with a horse before it has turned two years old. 

Walks in nature – up and down of ditches

8.

Especially if you have a young horse you will find yourself taking several long walks together. These walks do not always have to be on the pure concrete. You can easily challenge your horse by asking it to walk up and down of ditches, in narrow paths in the woods, at the beach or what else you can find of interesting and different nature. Just remember of course not to destroy any nature or cultivated land.

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