Ground Driving Duster

I have gone back to ground driving all the colts I start, as well as the training horses that I ride. I find that when I drive the young horses with long lines, they not only get used to the ropes around their legs, they begin to give to the bit better and learn how to turn. For the older horses that are in for training, it helps to develop a working mindset, as well as refresh them on staying soft and turning when they feel the pressure of the bit.



Duster, my 2 year old, bridled easily today, already accepting the bit in his mouth. But on the lunge line, he is slightly fighting the pressure of turning with the long lines. I don’t blame him, as this was his first day driving. This is only the 2nd time with a bit in his mouth. He is a smart guy though. He refused to turn, and as he refused and shook his head, he continued to feel the pressure on his mouth. When he gives and turns his head the way he is suppose to be going, he released the pressure himself, rewarding himself for doing the right thing. When he turned his head the way he is suppose to be going, and the pressure was gone, he dropped his head and moved on.



My first day of ground driving him went very well. I ended up being able to ground drive him on a straight line, turning in serpentines, and driving him in a circle around me. When I was behind him, I moved the ropes against his side, slapping the ropes gently on him, and shaking the ropes. Nothing I did with the ropes spooked him.



He is quietly bully, but he gives in and accepts his job. I wonder if he is going to do the same when I get on him! This week, I plan on ground driving me, desensitizing him to the bag on the lunge whip, and stepping up and down off of him. Maybe I’ll be able to ride him at the walk. Fingers crossed, as I want him doing as much as he can, preparing him for the Peter Campbell clinic this next weekend.

The End of the First Training Week

April 30, 2010

The week ended very well. The training horse is riding very well. He came in a little ansy and a little pushy, even though he is a big puppy dog. He stands quietly in the stall now. Shaggy settled into being into the arena by himself.

I started with the training horse. He does not need any free lunging now, as I use free lunging to get the horse accustomed to the arena and to establish myself as herd mare, the “boss”. Boss does not necessarily mean a bad connotation. Horses want a boss mare. They want someone to take care of them. They want someone to alert them to danger. And I am here to take care of the horses that are in my care. And I am here to put horses in their place when they don’t know what their place is OR they don’t realize that they have a place in MY hierarchy!

I am concerned that the training horse is still kicking out when he lopes off. I will talk to the owner about getting his back checked. I am an Equine Massage Therapist, but my disclaimer is that I can not diagnose. Only Veterinarians can diagnose and treat. As I checked the training horse’s back, he did not display any reaction to pressure on the muscles adjacent to his spine. I checked both of his hips, and he did display a slight discomfort or movement when I added pressure around the muscle on his left hip. As I free lunged him, I did notice a slight change in stride.

When I rode him, he rode fine. I did not ask him to lope off, but going to the right, I felt that he wanted to lope off. I’ll wait to see what the vet says.

Shaggy did not buck as he was free lunged with the saddle on. I left him in the arena longer with the saddle on, and he was much more settled when I rode him. He wanted to buddy up sooner. I did ground drive him, and he turned and responded and gave to the bit as well as he gave last year. He did not forget anything.

He rode better, without shaking his head as much. But he gave behind the vertical. I think since he was behind the vertical at the trot, even on a loose rein, he was evading the bit. I checked his teeth after I finished riding him and they were sharp. He will have his teeth floated next week.

I can’t wait to ride the training horse after his back has been checked and after Shaggy has had his teeth floated. They are starting to move really nice and are being responsive to my legs.

Next week’s rides will be awesome!

Come along on the ride with me!

Ground Driving Shaggy

Today warmed up to be a really nice day. A warm, sunny 60’s. And better, yet, the muddy lots aren’t quite so muddy. I decided that Shaggy could put his big boy pants on and come out of the lot by himself. He could be tied in a stall by himself, without a buddy in the next stall. And he could be in the arena by himself.

Shaggy has only had the saddle on a few times this fall. I’ve only ridden him on Saturday for about ½ hour. He hasn’t had much saddle time the last 3 years. He has just sat, or should I say stood, in the lot, growing into a big, mature 6 year gelding. Even though he acts like a big puppy dog, I wondered how he would be once I got down to work with him.

Shaggy stood pretty good, not perfectly quiet, but ok. I kept his lead rope loose in case he decided to pull back. Saddled and bridled, I tied the reins off on the horn, and lead him to the arena with his lead rope. I untied the lead rope and free lunged him. He traveled easily around the arena in both directions. There was no appearance that he would buck, or even wanted to. I turned him in both directions. I stopped lunging him and he walked towards me.

I tightened the cinch and walked for the driving lines. I don’t tie the stirrups together, I leave them to hang freely to move against him. I want Shaggy to know that the moving stirrups are nothing to be scared about.

I moved to his off side, putting the end of the line through his stirrup and hooking it to the D ring bit. I laid the other end of the line over the saddle. Moving to the near side, I repeated hooking up the line. I stepped back and away from Shaggy, picking up the line that was on the saddle and letting both lines drop behind him.

I put both lines in big loops and asked Shaggy to move off. At first, I kept the line to my inside shorter, asking Shaggy to stay in a circle. I let him move off in a straight line. Shortening the other line, I asked him to circle in the other direction. Shaggy stayed in a trot, beginning to give to the bit. He moved his head, finding the comfort zone.

Once Shaggy realizes to give to the bit more easily, I will move him into a short shank curb with a broken mouthpiece. I like moving into a mild curb bit as soon as I can. I like the feeling that a short shank gives as it gives some leverage so that the horse doesn’t lug on the rider. With leverage, it takes less movement of your hand to get the desired effect. When the horse gives easily, I move him from a broken mouthpiece to a small port, as I feel that the broken mouthpiece bites the tongue. The port gives a place for the tongue to lie and gives comfort to the tongue instead of a bite. Since the horse has learned to give to the bit, it becomes an easy transition to give to the pressure of the curb on the roof of the mouth.

Shaggy walked and trotted on the lunge lines, changing directions. He tended to drop his shoulder to the outside as we neared the gate. As soon as he leaned toward the gate, I changed directions. He started leaning less and less. At the end of the driving session, I asked him to stop, settle, then back. As he settled after the stop, he naturally leaned back, making the transition into the back a little easier. The first back was rough. Shaggy wasn’t sure what to do, and tossed his head from side to side. As soon as he moved one foot, I asked him to move off. I repeated the stop and back 2 more times, and by the 3rd time, he started to back extra steps after I let up on rein pressure. Good boy! He is learning fast!

Shaggy was being quiet and I decided to get on him. I unhooked the driving lines, first moving and flapping them to desensitize Shaggy to the long lines. I threw the lines towards his head, over his body and saddle, and around his legs. He didn’t startle, but a few times, he moved away. But each time he moved, I told him whoa, and he turned to face me. Good boy!

After I unhooked the reins, and moved away from Shaggy to lay the lines down, he followed me. I like that he was bonding with me after the work session. I untied the reins, tightened the girth, and lead him to the middle of the arena. I checked my stirrup length and mounted.

Shaggy walked off easily. He seemed to be accepting the bit and turning more easily after the driving session. We walked and trotted around the arena. I won’t lope him until he is giving well to the bit and trotting slower. I changed directions, circling and reversing often. I didn’t want to keep him on a straight line. I wanted Shaggy to get use to moving as soon as the rein moved and the bit gave a direction.

Shaggy was beginning to sweat. Before I ended the ride session, I asked him to back. Three times. I read some time ago, that you should do things in 3’s with horses. After the 3rd time, the desired result would be engrained. We’ll see if the next ride session is easier!

I was pleased with today’s results. Shaggy is riding well, and hopefully, I’ll be able to ride him in the fields soon. Come along on my rides with me.

Back to the Basics: Ground Driving

I’ve gone back to the basics. Ground Driving. This teaches horses, that don’t give to the bit, to give. If the horse wants to fight, then the horse is fighting the ropes and not you. Or more specifically, the horse will not be fighting your hold and pulling on your shoulder, he/she will be fighting against himself/herself. I like to let a horse figure out things for themselves sometimes, and this is definitely one of those times. I feel that if a horse is smart, then they will “get it“ without throwing a big hissy fit more than once. If a horse is bully, they will continue to blow hissy fits for quite a few days. And if a horse is really stubborn, they may blow up! But if a horse is smart, they will raise their head once and feel the pressure of the bit, then drop their head and keep it there. Oh, I like those horses. They want to please!

I always free lunge the horse. I want the horse to get a feel of the arena and see all the spooky places. I want to turn the horse back and forth in the opposite direction to change the horse’s direction and to set up dominance. I want the horse to bond with me. Then we saddle and bridle and free lunge with the saddle on, with the reins tied off on the horn. At no time, with or without the saddle, is the horse allowed to play and buck around. Not with me in the arena. This is a time, maybe to blow off steam and run, but we are still there to learn. And that does not mean to learn to buck and kick out while a person is in the arena with them. If a horse does kick out or start bucking, I quickly change the horse’s direction. And I keep changing the direction often, it gives the horse something different to think then bucking and kicking.

Free lunging also starts to teach the horse how to lunge on a line. To go around in a circle. To stay away from the center. To respect the person in the middle of the arena. To get used to the saddle stirrups flopping on the horse’s side.

I always leave the halter on, so that I can tie up quickly if I need to. Horses are always learning patience by standing tied in their stall while another horse is being worked. Now we attach a lunge line to the halter. The horse already knows how to circle around the handler, so teaching to lunge on the line becomes easier to do.

I attach the long lines to the bit. The line goes through the stirrups and I lay the end of the lines across the saddle until both sides are attached to the bit. I don’t secure the stirrups. I let them loose so they can flop against the horse’s side and the horses becomes used to that feel. Once both of the lines are attached, I stand on the near side of the horse and hold that end of the lunge line in my left hand. With the other hand, I bring the other lunge line down from the saddle and throw the end over the horse’s butt. Sometimes, the horses are scared of the rope as it touches their legs and they kick out and run. I try to keep them in a circle around me, but if they are too scared, I will let them run with the lines loose behind them. They need to become desensitized to the ropes. Once they aren’t scared of the ropes, I ground drive them by standing behind them. I serpentine the arena, by shortening 1 line while lengthening the other line, being careful to keeping the lines in a loose circle while I hold them. Doing serpentines in the arena teaches the horse to follow reining directions by giving to the bit and bending and flexing the neck in the direction that the reins are telling him to go. I teach the horse to go in a circle and to trot and lope in a circle. With the lounge lines on, the horse is beginning to learn collection as he is bending at the poll and withers, while driving with impulsion.

The horse is saddled, bridled, and lunged. The horse is being ground driven. The horse learns to follow the direction of the reining. The horse has already learned to walk, trot and lope while giving to the bit and to change direction. Once the horse is accustomed to this, and drives easily, the transition to riding becomes easier. The foundation and fundamentals have been easily taught. Next training step will be the first ride!

Come along on the ride with me!