Training Tips
Last week I was instructing a cattle penning clinic and a participant asked me how he could get his horse to stand still when getting into the saddle. The horse worked great on cattle, but had terrible ground manners.
Let’s go way back to the old school for this one. Back to when people used harness and single-tie stalls a lot for their horses.
They usually had to walk between a wood plank wall and the horse. Sounds easy enough to do…unless your horse decided to move his 1,200-pound body toward you, squeezing you into a one-foot space between the wall and him. This is not a situation you want to find yourself in, especially if you don’t know what to do.
If you push on the horse (which would be the most common and natural reaction), the horse will “naturally” lean its body weight into you, therefore pushing you with even more force toward the side of the stall. You certainly don’t want to try to scare or startle the horse away, as this could result in a serious injury to yourself or to the horse.
So, in order to get the horse to step away without any force, a simple yet effective technique was devised by using merely one finger.
What you will want to do is, with just your index finger, “peck” at the side of the horse’s rib cage. “Peck” in the same place. The horse might flinch a few times at first. Keep “pecking” and the horse will move away from you.
Do Not Do This to untrained horses. It is taught later in their training schedule.
So back to the question: “How do I get my horse to stand still while I get into the saddle?”
First, tie the horse to a hitching post. Then go from side to side of your horse, cueing on each side of the rib cage to move away from you (as described earlier).
When you have this established, get your horse to stand still using “whoa” while you move from side to side…making sure you do not touch the horse.
If the horse moves, cue him back to the exact place he was standing. Tell him, “Whoa”. Eventually he will stand still. (This is teaching him that just because you move; it doesn’t mean that he moves too).
When you have this established, you will be ready to move on. With your horse still tied, step into the stirrup (do not put your right leg over yet).
If your horse moves, step back down and cue him back to his place and tell him “whoa”. Then step up again. Once he has learned not to move, then you can go ahead and throw your right leg over and be seated in the saddle.
Reward your horse with lots of praise for the good behavior. Repeat this on the other side as well. Once you are seated in the saddle, sit there for a minute or two.
Then step down and untie your horse. Tell your horse “Whoa”, don’t touch your reins. See if your horse will stand still. Mount up. If your horse stands still, stay there for a few minutes. If not, move the hind end around in a circle each way, left and right, with the heel and spur for a minute or two, even five. Say “Whoa” on a loose rein, even set the reins down on the neck and the horse will associate this as a “park brake” being on; and in time he will learn that when he feels the reins on his neck, that it means “whoa” and the horse will stand still and enjoy not having to maneuver. If your horse moves, repeat the process for a longer time, then say “Whoa”. Eventually he will stand like “his hooves are in cement”. Don’t allow your horse to start walking away.
What a lot of horses do, is as soon as you throw your leg over the saddle, they start to move (before you even get your foot in the stirrup). Your horse should move out only when you are ready for him to do so. Eventually he will learn patience and wait for your cue to go.
This is a very effective technique that will enhance the communication bond between the horse and rider. Should you have an questions, comments, or problem that you need to advise me on, please contact me through Bridle and Bit or 480-298-1846.
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