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.
- Ensure the horse is comfortable walking between you and a safe fence (or in a lane) in LP3 (beside neck/shoulder).
- 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.
- This smooth letting out of the rope is another skill it’s good to practice first with another person standing in as the horse.
- Repeat 2, adding a few more steps in LP4 each time before you relax (click&treat).
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
herthamuddyhorse 