Category Archives: Leading positions

Leading Position 5

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In the photo above, I am starting Boots’ education about LP5 by asking her to walk into a lane to target the yellow barrel. Using a lane ensures that she does not get used to turning toward me when I click while I’m beside her hindquarters. I move forward promptly but quietly to deliver the treat.

Leading Position 5 (LP5) finds us beside the hindquarters. We can be facing the same direction as the horse, facing his hindquarters, or we can be facing backwards (as for hoof care). If we are facing the horse side on, we are in both LP5 and LP8.

Grooming, care of the tail, hind legs and hind feet all require us to be in LP5. It’s also the position vets use to insert a thermometer. LP5 is another intermediate position toward having the horse comfortable with us right behind him in Leading Position 6 as we would use for long reining or driving. We also use LP5 for everyday care like putting covers on and off, as well as harnessing and unharnessing if we drive our horse.

Tending hind legs, feet and tail require the horse to be confident with us in that position.

Walking beside the hindquarters builds the horse’s confidence about having us remain well behind his drive line as we walk along, as well as responding to our go and whoa signals while he is walking with most of his body ahead of us.

Walking out and about on the road in LP 5 is a great exercise to prepare for riding, long-reining or driving.

If the horse shows anxiety or unease when we are by his hindquarters, he is giving us important feedback.

It means we have to write a thin-sliced Individual Training Program to address what the horse is telling us about his comfort zones. For information about the ART of thin-slicing, see Number 13 in my Blog Contents Quick Links at the top of the page. Also, for much more detail, see my book, How to Create Good Horse Training Plans (link to my books is also at the top of the page). Information about comfort zones is at Number 107 in my Blog Contents Quick Links.

It’s definitely worthwhile to spend time and effort to have our horse confident about our presence alongside his hindquarters. We also need him to be sensitive to any signal we may give to ask him to halt, move forward, and eventually to yield his hindquarters or bring his hind end toward us.

Training Plan

Aim

To have the horse confident when we move from LP4 into LP5 while he is walking along.

Environment

  • Horse in an area where he is usually relaxed and confident.
  • Herd buddies not able to interfere but in view if possible.
  • Horse in a learning frame of mind.
  • Body extension to clarify signals as necessary to send energy toward the horse’s front end to inhibit turning to face the handler, but use it only to clarify your intent. Otherwise it is in neutral by your side.
  • Halter and lead. As lightweight a lead as possible. It’s important to keep a drape or ‘smile’ in the rope at all times, so we are not giving the horse ‘please turn toward me’ signals without realizing it.
  • During the teaching phase, destinations such as treats in a series of buckets, or mats which the horse knows as targets where he will get a click&treat, will give this exercise meaning for the horse and create willingness to move forward at your suggestion without turning toward you.
  • The ideal way to begin this exercise is to create a lane with a low barrier so the barrier doesn’t get in the way of the lead rope (horse in the lane, handler on the outside).
  • And later, a safe straight fence or a roomy round pen (walking around the outside or the inside).
  • As you move further back, it helps if the horse confidently and reliably responds to a voice ‘halt/whoa’ signal. Practice ‘walk on’ and ‘halt’ in LP3, using rope texting for the halt as necessary, until a voice signal for the halt/whoa reliably replaces the need for jiggling the rope. As the horse halts, quickly but smoothly glide to his head to deliver the treat. You want his head to stay straight. (See Number 16 in my Blog Contents Quick Links for smooth walk and and halt in LP3 (alongside neck/shoulder).

Once Boots understood how to respond to my walk-on and halt signals from LP5, it was easy to send her ahead of me through a curtain for Horse Agility.

Slices

  1. Begin by walking with the horse in LP3 (beside neck/shoulder). Use a lane to keep the horse straight (i.e. not turning to face the handler) for the initial teaching. The handler walks on the outside of the lane. use destination mats or nose targets to help the horse focus and move forward without wanting to turn toward you.
  2. After reaching each destination, work out a way to smoothly change direction so you pass through the lane on the horse’s other side next time through. As always, we want the horse equally confident whether we are on his left side or his right side.
  3. For all of these slices, if the horse wants to turn toward you, disturb the air with your body extension to inhibit that choice. The instant he turns his nose forward again, click, put the body extension into neutral and quickly move to his head to deliver the treat.
  4. The key is to reward the horse for continuing to face forward. Having pre-set destinations is the easiest way to inspire the horse to stay straight as we position ourselves further and further back.
  5. Gradually drift back until you are walking in LP4 (behind withers) toward a pre-set destination. As the horse approaches each destination with the intention of stopping there, use your voice, breathing and body language ‘halt’ (drop into your hips plus big breath out) signals; relax (click&treat) as soon as the horse stops. Quickly glide to his head to deliver the treat. We dont’ want him to turn toward you.
  6. It’s important to keep a drape or ‘smile’ in the rope at all times. Some horses are extremely tuned in to rope signals on the halter and will read any tension in the rope as a signal that you want them to turn toward you.
  7. When 5 above is smooth and reliable,, add in a HALT before reaching your destination point. That is, ask for a halt in the middle of the lane; (click&treat – move promptly to his head to deliver the treat), then walk on to the pre-set destination. At first you may need to wiggle the rope to support your body, breathing and voice ‘halt’ signal. We want the horse to halt on our voice signal at any time, and stay straight to earn his click&treat.
  8. Start in LP3 again, drift back into LP4, then drift a bit further back into LP5 and walk on to your destination, staying in LP5. Relax (click&treat) at the destination.
  9. After treat delivery, move into LP4 (behind the withers) and ask the horse to ‘walk on’ from LP4 adding a light tapping signal with your fingers just behind the withers.
  10.  As 9 above, but now ask for a halt (while you are in LP5) halfway through the lane; relax (click&treat – moving promptly to his head to deliver the treat). Then slip back into LP4 and tap behind the withers as a signal to ‘walk on’ to your set destination.
  11.  When 10 above is ho-hum moving through both directions in the lane, have both of you walk on the outside of the lane, with the lane barrier on the far side of the horse. Use the same destinations, so you have only changed one parameter. (Lots about Parameters in Number 8 of the Blog Contents Quick links.)
  12.  When 11 above is ho-hum, take away the lane and work along the fence.
  13.  Put your destinations further and further apart as the horse gains confidence. Ask for halts between your destinations. Every time you halt, be sure to move quickly to the horse’s head after the click in order to deliver the treat. It’s much easier to prevent turning than to try to stop the turning if he has formed a ‘turning’ habit. Then glide back into LP4 to give the ‘walk on’ signal then glide into position beside his hindquarters.
  14.  Work toward being able to use voice, body language and breath energy signals for the ‘walk on’ and the ‘halt’. Unless it is very windy or noisy, your horse will be able to hear you breathing in or out deeply. He can also see and feel your energy rising or dropping as you make yourself larger (for walk on) or smaller when you drop into your hips (for halt) in LP4 alongside his ribs. (See number 16 in my Blog Contents Quick Links for detail about this.)
  15.  At some point, you will be ready to ask for the ‘walk on’ from LP5, beside his butt. If you used a tap behind the withers to ask for ‘walk on’, the horse will readily learn to understand a tap on his butt as a ‘walk on’ signal. You may want to return to using the lane to teach the tap on the butt as a ‘walk on’ signal.
  16. It is also helpful, once LP 5 is solid, to teach a clear signal for when you do want him to turn and come toward you. We want the horse to understand that sometimes we ask him to turn and come, other times we simply want him to ‘walk on’ while we walk with him beside his butt. However, teach that lesson well away from the venue where you are teaching and refining this lesson.

Generalization

Play with moving through Leading Positions 1 to 5, first with the horse between you and a safe fence When that is good, we can progress to open spaces. Gradually add more ‘halts’ between the pre-set destinations as your ‘whoa’ gets well established. I.e. Repeat in the open space just what you did in the lane and along the fence. Use destinations to start with. If you have progressed to the road or paddock, it can work to toss a frisbee out ahead as a destination: click&treat when he targets the frisbee. If you’ve taught him to ‘fetch’, he may pick it up for you!

  1. Start in LP1 (in front facing same way as horse).
  2. Move into LP2 (just in front of horse’s nose in a parallel track).
  3. Step back into LP3 (beside his neck/shoulder).
  4. Drift back into LP4 (behind his withers).
  5. Glide back into LP5 (beside his butt).

Then do it in reverse order, ie. drift forward through the positions. Relax (click&treat) for good effort. Keep a body extension with you to quietly inhibit any attempt to turn toward you, in case the horse ‘forgets’. Remember to occasionally relax (click&treat) when the horse is moving along staying straight.

We want to let him know, via click&treat, when he is in the action of being correct, rather than after a correction. At this point, I generally build in a voice signal for ‘straight’ when I want him to stay straight. It is handy later when I teach voice signals for right and left turns.

Be careful not to give halter touch signals with the rope without being aware of it. Use the lightest rope or web lunge line that you have available, or can make with cord from the hardware store.

If the horse is totally relaxed with us walking beside his hindquarters, teaching long-reining or ‘guiding from behind’ will probably proceed smoothly.

The video that follows is the same one as in the December blog for Leading Position 4, as the only difference is that we gradually move back so we are beside the hindquarters rather than beside the ribs.

Leading Position 4 – Beside Ribs

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If we have first taught and consolidated and generalized Leading Position 3 (beside neck/shoulder), it’s usually easy to move from LP3 into LP4 (beside ribs).

This leading position encourages the horse to move with us with his shoulder well out in front. The handler is where he or she would be when riding. In fact, riding is Leading Position 4 sitting on the horse rather than walking on the ground with him.

I sometimes use a body extension to clarify the task for the horse from a distance. A light touch signal just behind the withers for ‘walk on’, (as well as all the ‘walk on’ body language – big breath in & raised energy, step off with outside leg, voice cue) helps to make our intent clear – ie. we want to stay beside the horse’s ribs while we walk along together. The other use of a body extension is to indicate, by bringing it forward, that we don’t want the horse to turn toward us, but to walk on straight.

We also ensure walking straight by using a lane (horse in the lane, handler outside the lane) and by walking in straight lines between a series of targets. Once the horse understands the task, a small finger tap behind the withers and our voice signal, are usually all that is needed.

to summarise, if we have taught the horse that a tap behind the withers (with our fingers, eventually phasing out the body extension), the tap, a deep breath in and a voice ‘walk on’ – are all signals to move forward, these will continue to make sense to the horse when we mount up if we intend to ride.

The main concern for the horse when we ride is that most of our body language suddenly becomes invisible to him. Here Boots is intent on targeting the body extension which I’ve left on the ground.

The rider suddenly disappearing from view is a big deal for horses because horses are, by nature, strongly tuned in to visual body language. Body language plays a key role in equine culture. An empathetic trainer will give the horse ample time and opportunity to adjust to the new touch and weight shift signals, plus the many balance adjustments that the horse has to learn.

Riding has us in Leading Position 4, behind the horse’s withers. If we teach moving forward in this position on the ground, we are building the horse’s confidence in having half his body out in front of us. For timid horses, this can be challenging. The cues/signals we teach on the ground will stand us in good stead if we intend to ride. If we are working with a young horse which will be ridden, this training gives him a major head start with the ridden experience.

Training Plan 18

Aim:

To have the horse comfortable walking along with the handler when the handler’s position is behind the horse’s withers, alonside the horse’s ribs.

Environment:

  • Horse in an area where he is usually relaxed and confident.
  • Herd buddies not able to interfere but in view if possible.
  • Horse in a learning frame of mind.
  • A safe stretch of fence or a waist-high lane.
  • Series of destination mats or nose targets for the teaching phase, .
  • Body extension to clarify signal as necessary.
  • Halter and lead.

Slices:

See clips #55 and #56 in my HorseGym with Boots playlist. Clip 55 also looks ahead to when we want to walk alongside the hindquarters, which is the topic of the next blog.

Click here for Clip #55.

Click here for Clip #56

  1. Ensure the horse is comfortable walking between you and a safe fence (or in a lane) in LP3 (beside neck/shoulder).
  2. When the horse is relaxed in LP3, glide back so you are walking just behind his withers. After a step or two, relax (click&treat). Be sure to let the lead rope flow out to keep a float (smile) in it as you drift back, so you don’t give him a ‘slow down’ text message up the rope without realizing it. Move promptly up to the horse’s head to deliver the treat so he is not tempted to turn toward you. Walk on again in LP3 and glide back into LP4. It can be quite difficult for us to remain in LP4. For some reason, most people, including me, have a tendency to creep up toward the horse’s neck and shoulders.
  3. This smooth letting out of the rope is another skill it’s good to practice first with another person standing in as the horse.
  4. Repeat 2, adding a few more steps in LP4 each time before you relax (click&treat).
  5. If we are working along a fence rather than in a lane, using a body extension makes it easier to keep our position behind the withers because we can bring the body extension forward to gently block any tendency to turn toward us. The instant he goes straight, put the body extension back in neutral by your side or lying lightly behind the horse’s withers.
  6. It can help to keep our hand behind lying gently behind the withers as we walk with the horse, as Bridget is doing in the final photo of the blog. This might not be an option if the horse is very small or very tall.
  7. If you use mat or nose targets, set these out and ask the horse to walk between them, stopping for a click&treat as he reaches each one. Return to LP4 after delivering each treat and ask for the ‘walk on’ with a gentle tap behind the withers.
  8. If the horse tends to move his shoulder toward you rather than stay straight along the fence, use your body extension to disturb the air alongside his neck.
  9. If the horse has a habit of moving his shoulders into you, create an Individual Education Program to address just this issue. It would include a release (click&treat) the instant the horse responds to the signal pressure from the body extension swung forward in the air next to his neck, inhibiting his shoulder movement toward you. Once he realizes that the release/click point is when he stays straight, you can begin to gradually add more steps forward before you relax (click&treat).

LP4 asks the horse to have his eyes, nose and shoulders well out ahead of us. That can be worrying for an anxious type horse who is more comfortable following than being out in front. Bolder, more confident horses will may find it easier. If you are developing a riding horse, it is important to understand this lack of confidence to ‘be out in front’.

By setting up mats or nose targets, we can make this a much more interesting game. The horse will begin to look for the next target so he can earn his next click&treat.

For horses who are anxious about leaving their home area or their herd mates, this is a great exercise to give them a brand new focus for going out and about with their handler.

We can collect plastic drink bottles for nose targets and hang them around our training area. Then we can devise different walking patterns between the various targets, including turns and weaves. A series of rags hung on fences or shrubbery can also make interesting targets (be aware of horses who may try to eat them).

The activity of walking along together with the hand or stick behind the withers needs to become comfortable and ho-hum for the handler and the horse.

If we want to ride out or walk out, setting up a series of nose targets along the way gives the horse something to seek out. His mind will be engaged in the next target rather than the fact that he is moving further away from his friends or barn area.

At first we’d have the targets close together. As the horse gets keen on the game, we can gradually spread them further and further apart. It also works to use something like a Frisbee or a ball as a target. We can throw it out ahead of us, move to target it, throw it again, and so on.

If the horse is very barn or buddy sweet, we can lay out the target destinations in an arc. The arc will first guide the horse away from where he sees his ‘safety’, and then closer again. Over days and weeks, we can gradually set the top of the arc further and further away. One day the horse’s desire to seek out his targets will eclipse his need to get back to the barn or his buddies.

If the horse has developed the habit of rushing home or rushing to the field, we can slow the rushing by having him seek out targets on the way home or on the way to the field.

Summary of LP4

Leading Position 4 became important to me when I was preparing my horse for riding. When I came to teach long-reining, it was an excellent intermediate position to having the horse comfortable with me walking right behind.

Mat or nose destinations enable us to play the nose or mat target game, which gives the horse an incentive to move smoothly from halt into walk (or trot) and back to halt at the next destination. Since ‘go’ and ‘whoa’ signals are the backbone of all of our communication with horses, the targeting games have many positive outcomes.

When we move the horse around us on a long line (lunging), our position usually moves between LP3, LP4 along with LP8 when we face the horse’s side.

Walking out and about on the road in LP4.

Leading Position 8-a

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In the photo above, Bridget is using Leading Position 8 to ask Boots to go through a gate.

Leading Position 8 (LP8) is anytime we are facing the side of the horse. We can be in LP8 facing his ribs, his head/neck or his hindquarters. Still to come in future blogs are notes about LP7 – facing the front of the horse, and then LP6 facing his tail, as when walking behind him (long-reining) or sending toward something away from us, or asking for a back-up from behind the horse.

Remember, when we say ‘leading position’ we mean any position we use to orchestrate the horse’s feet, whether we want them to move or to remain still.

I want to look at LP8 next, because it is the Leading Position we often use for grooming, saddling/unsaddling, mounting and dismounting. For all of these, we need the horse to be comfortable standing still while we move around him.

We are in LP8 when we saddle the horse as well as for mounting and dismounting.

Clip #49 in my HorseGym with Boots playlist looks at our position when we are grooming, saddling and checking for relaxation.

Boots is not always relaxed about being brushed. It’s not something she experienced early in life before I got her. Giving her something else to think about, like the cloth in the video clip,  seems to act as a ‘soother’.

Some horses love rubbing and cuddles while others are much more aloof. When Smoky and Boots lived together, the difference was very obvious. Smoky adored being groomed and fussed with. When we sat with him Sharing Time and Space, he would nibble and lick and want to be very close.

Boots learned to tolerate being touched all over for grooming, but sometimes finds it hard to relax into being brushed or massaged without a lot of licking, chewing and yawning. In summer, when we groom every day, she is able to settle into it a bit more.

When Smoky and Boots indulged in mutual grooming, Smoky was very tentative because after a few mutual nibbles, Boots would have had enough and give him a nip.

Any time we are along the horse’s side and pointing our belly button toward him, we are in Leading Position 8.

We can use signals behind his withers to ask the horse to move forward, shift his hindquarters or move his whole body sideways.

To get Boots used to the idea of shafts in a cart, I asked her to move sideways to push the gate along. Another LP8 position.

LP8 allows us to use signals in front of withers (the base of the neck) to ask the horse to yield his shoulders to change direction.

LP8 is handy for teaching a horse to become fluid with ‘walk on’, ‘halt’ and ‘back-up’ signals when we are facing him side-on. These skills lead nicely into teaching the horse to work in a circle on a long line or reverse pen.

Teaching circles has us facing the side of the horse.

Slices:

For illustration, please see clip #48 in my HorseGym with Boots series. Please note that I use a body extension only to make my signal clear for the horse and be able to give a clear signal from further away. Once the horse understands the ‘tap behind the withers signal’, a finger tap is all that’s needed. The rope texting at the end of the clip is next month’s theme.

‘Walk On’ Signal

  1. Ensure the horse is comfortable halting in the lane or alongside the fence (on a mat if you like).
  2. Stand facing the horse’s withers, at a distance which allows you to easily tap him gently behind the withers with your fingeers or your body extension.
  3. Move into and out of this position a few times with click&treat for the horse remaining in a relaxed halt.
  4. When 3 is ho-hum, rub the horse all over with your body extension or your hands; click&treat for relaxation. To encourage relaxation, pause and turn your energy away from the horse at every indication of relaxation (lowering head, sighing, softer ears, more relaxed lower lip, cocking a hip).
  5. For this part of the training, it helps a lot to have a mat or cone at which the horse knows he gets a click&treat, just a few feet in front of the horse.
  6. When the horse can stay relaxed as you move into position facing his ribs and you can rub him all over, tap him behind the withers, then ask him to walk forward to the mat or cone, click&treat.
  7. If the horse does not understand at first, just tap, then guide him to the cone or mat. He will quickly pick up that the tap means, move foreward to the cone or mat.
  8. As his confidence increases, stop moving with him to the cone or mat. Wait until he gets there before you click&treat.
  9. When the horse reliably steps forward when you tap gently, gradually increase the number of steps before you click&treat by moving the destination mat or cone further away. Always stop tapping the very instant the horse moves and relax your body language.
  10. Eventually, set out a circle of cones or mats and and ask him to move between them with a click&treat at each one, followed by a wither tap to move to the next one.
  11. If you are using a leadrope, keep a float (smile) in the lead rope. At first you may find yourself changing from LP8 into LP3 (shoulder to shoulder) or LP5 (beside hindquarters) and back to LP8 again.
  12.  Once he understands the tap signal, add in your usual ‘breathe in strongly’ and voice signal (e.g. ‘walk on’) that you will always use. You could include these earlier, but I like to make sure the horse understands the tap signal on its own. (See Number 16 in the Blog Contents link at the top of the page for details about smooth ‘walk on’ and ‘halt’ transitions.)
  13.  When he is smooth on one side, teach it from the beginning on his other side.
  14.  Generalize using this ‘walk on’ signal in other venues and situations.

Here I am in LP8 getting Boots confident with flapping things moving across her for a Horse Agility course.

Leading Position 2

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Leading Position 2 (LP2) has the handler in front but to one side of the horse; the horse keeps his eye/nose at or behind the handler’s shoulder. We walk in parallel tracks. Note that I use a body extension to make my intent clearer for the horse, but this soon morphs into an arm signal.

In the photo above, I’m about to step forward. In LP2, we want the horse to remain just at or slightly behind our shoulder and walking in his own track beside our track, not right behind us.

Clip #47 in my HorseGym with Boots playlist looks at LP2.

Leading Position 2, in some ways, resembles the position in which a mare often keeps her foal when the herd is moving. She wants it close beside her and keeping its nose behind hers. So in a way it is a position of safety for the horse. He is not out in front.

Training Plan

Aim:

To teach signals that indicate we want the horse to walk, in a relaxed manner, keeping his nose/eye at or behind our shoulder. We want the horse to stay close beside us on his own track, not edging behind us into LP1 or moving forward to bring his neck/shoulder into LP3.

Environment:

  • Horse in an area where he is usually relaxed and confident.
  • Herd buddies not able to interfere but in view if possible.
  • Horse in a learning frame of mind.
  • Safe fence-line (not a wire fence).
  • Body extension can be an aid for initial teaching.
  • Halter and lead.
  • This plan is written for a clicker savvy horse.

Slices:

  1. Begin in LP3 (beside neck/shoulder). Ensure the horse is confident walking with you in LP3 along the fence. The horse is between you and the fence.
  2. Work out a signal that lets the horse know you want him to keep his nose/eye behind your shoulder. It might be the same signal used to teach Leading Position 1 – i.e. stepping in front of the horse and staying in front. For some horses, an arm held out in front of his nose is enough of an indicator. For other horses, a swishy body extension is useful to disturb the air in front of the horse to let him know you want him to remain behind your shoulder. Think of a mare letting her foal know it needs to stay close and keep its nose behind her nose. Once the horse understands the concept, the initial larger signal can morph into a small hand gesture and your body language. It may take a while to sort out your exact signal. It can help to try things out with another person standing in as the horse.
  3. Walk along in LP3, then increase your pace slightly while at the same time giving your signal to let the horse know you want his nose/eye to stay behind your shoulder or elbow. Walk a step or two in the desired position, slow to a halt; click&teat. A clicker savvy horse will stop when he hears the click – turn to deliver the treat. It may be a rough approximation at first, but each time you do the movement, it will get a bit more accurate as the horse learns that staying back earns the click and treat.
  4. Once 3 above is smooth, walk a bit further, repeating your signal to stay in LP2 if necessary, before you click&treat.
  5. Once 4 above is smooth, gradually walk even further each time before you click&treat. Using destinations makes it easier because you can put them a little further apart each session. Destinations allow the horse to know when the next click&treat stop will be, no matter what leading position you are asking for.
  6. Once 5 above is smooth, build in halt duration with the horse remaining in LP2. At first turn toward him as you click&treat to reinforce the idea that staying in LP2 was the right thing to do. Then build up duration at the halt (before turning and the click&treat) one second at a time.
  7. Teach it all from the beginning on the horse’s other side.

Generalization

  1. When it is very good along a fence, use LP2 walking along a track or the road and in open areas.
  2. Play with it doing serpentines or weaves and walking a circle.
  3. Play with it at the trot.

Summary of LP2

LP2 is a nice position to use at times for companionable walking together. The horse can easily read our body language from his position just behind our shoulder.

In some situations we don’t want the horse’s eye and nose ahead of ours, as it is using LP3, and we don’t want him right behind us in LP1.

Using a safe fence. Horse and I in parallel tracks. Building ‘wait time’ in LP2.