Groundwork

Groundwork

Try these exercises with your horse to help improve your communication and bond with your horse as well as teach him basic skills and manners.

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Groundwork
  • Jogging Your Horse in Hand | Monique Potts

    Monique talks about being able to jog with your horse and stresses how the two of you should be in sync with your stride. She takes the same principles of leading the horse into jogging with the horse and demonstrates how to jog a horse in hand.

  • Backing Your Horse on the Ground | Monique Potts

    Monique wants to be able to back a horse in multiple ways, and she demonstrates different ways to teach the horse. Often when a horse refuses to back up it's because the feet are stuck. Once the feet move, the horse understands what is being asked of him. She also wants the horse's step to be in ...

  • Groundwork with a Distracted Horse | Monique Potts

    When a horse gets distracted, Monique likes to use tasks that the horse already knows, but she emphasizes that the horse needs to have a solid understanding of them so that it's easy for the horse to do when he's distracted. When she asks the horse to move, the horse switched focus away from the ...

  • Footwork with a Ground Pole | Monique Potts

    Monique demonstrates how you can move the horse laterally over a pole. She emphasizes giving the horse a chance when he is searching for the correct answer. She just stays consistent until the horse finds the correct answer, and then she allows him to relax. This exercise exposes all the places w...

  • Groundwork Exercises to Under Saddle | Monique Potts

    Monique talks about how to correlate groundwork to under saddle work. One of the questions she thinks about is how we connect the horse's feet to our body. They work on bending the horse and moving the hindquarters away from the leg pressure. She wants the rhythm to be in sync with the horse's hi...

  • Groundwork with a Baby Horse | Monique Potts

    Monique demonstrates how groundwork can be introduced to a weanling. Much of it is getting the horse to stay out of your personal space, which is approximately the length of your arm held out straight in front of you. She emphasizes the importance of controlling the horse's feet even at this youn...

  • Introducing Scary Objects | Monique Potts

    Monique explains and demonstrates how to introduce scary objects to a young horse. In this case, she uses a tarp on the ground, which the weanling offered to go over it himself. This is because of building confidence in the horse and communication between horse and handler.

  • Introducing Picking Up the Horse's Feet | Monique Potts

    Monique explains and demonstrates how she introduces picking up the horse's feet. This is a critical skill that horses need to understand and not be fearful of doing. It's important to find where the horse is uncomfortable. She works to going to that place until the horse is relaxed and then slow...

  • Introducing De-Wormer | Monique Potts

    Monique shows how she introduces the de-wormer or works with a horse that is nervous about the de-wormer because of a bad experience. She goes step by step so that he understands where there is no resistance.

  • Introducing the Mounting Block | Monique Potts

    Monique demonstrates a positive way to introduce the mounting block to a young horse. She wants the horse to understand that the better place to be is by the mounting block. When he is in alignment with it, she allows him to relax. She practices moving one foot at a time. When he's comfortable th...

  • The Purpose of Groundwork | Chelsea Canedy

    Chelsea explains why she does groundwork in relationship to our connection with our horse and the connection to the work we do under saddle. She works on getting a connection established, which goes from the barn to the arena.

  • How We Can Help Horses Learn | Chelsea Canedy

    Chelsea explains how meditation can help work with clients and horses. It makes her more comfortable with a sense of stillness, allowing her to take moments of silence both externally and internally and locating a warmth of presence and gratitude.

  • The Concept of Pressure and Release | Chelsea Canedy

    Chelsea explains how to use pressure and release with horses. Horses learn by the amount of the pressure that is put on them and when the release occurs. It not the pressure that teaches them. It the moment we remove the pressure that teaches them about the thing that we wanted to actually have h...

  • Groundwork - Pressure and Release | Chelsea Canedy

    Chelsea demonstrates what it looks like using the different levels of pressure to help your horse connect with you. When that happens, he will look to you to see if there something he needs to do when other things are going on in his environment.

  • Groundwork - Leading the Horse Within Boundaries | Chelsea Canedy

    Chelsea explains some of the common issues she sees with people leading horses. Every time you lead your horse you are teaching him how to relate to you on the ground. She shows how the horse should stay out of your personal space bubble and then demonstrates proper leading procedures.

  • Groundwork - Transitions on the Circle | Chelsea Canedy

    Chelsea moves from leading the horse to circling, which she uses more for building the connection with her horse instead of for exercise. She explains her single cue aids for different gaits, stressing that using a barrage of aids to get your horse to move is just like using your leg constantly w...

  • Groundwork - Moving the Horse Laterally From Pressure | Chelsea Canedy

    Another useful tool on the ground is moving laterally from pressure. Chelsea demonstrates how to do a leg yield from the ground with the horse’s head to the wall, which helps with a boundary to go sideways instead of forward. When the horse gets it right, she removes the aid and relaxes her body ...

  • Using the Rope Safely | Chelsea Canedy

    Chelsea takes a moment to explain how she safely works with her rope and considerations to take when working with your own horse.

  • Basic Groundwork Skills Away From Home | Chelsea Canedy | PART 01

    Chelsea explains the basics of groundwork including keeping the horse out of her personal space, how to send the horse on a circle around her in different gaits and how to read the horse's energy. She also explains how going somewhere new will affect the horse's ability to concentrate and perform.

  • Basic Groundwork Skills Away From Home | Chelsea Canedy | PART 02

    Chelsea continues to work her horse on the line and explains how to be patient and relaxed so that the horse can cue into her and relax as well. If the horse has extra energy, she wants to allow the horse to express her energy. To do that, she allows the horse to go forward, but then gives the ho...

  • Basic Groundwork Skills Away From Home | Chelsea Canedy | PART 03

    Chelsea continues to work the horse through external distractions and points out the cues the horse gives her to show that the horse's anxiety is lowering. She makes sure to get the same type of reactions going both directions.

  • In-Hand Piaffe | Laura Ashley Killian | PART 01

    Laura explains and demonstrates her process of warming up a horse in-hand. She shows how she holds the reins and the whip. She goes through what she does with groundwork, including different size circles and leg yielding before going into piaffe steps. Please note: Spurs should not be worn during...

  • In-Hand Piaffe | Laura Ashley Killian | PART 02

    Laura shows how she asks for quality piaffe in-hand. She shows how she uses her reins and her body language to keep the horse relaxed because she doesn't want him to get tense. She starts off easily and then asks for more.

  • In-Hand Piaffe | Laura Ashley Killian | PART 03

    Laura gives a piaffe demonstration with her Arabian/Oldenburg to show some differences between how she schools different horses. She also shows how it can be done without the reins.