There are 8 diffent basic positions we can be in when we want to communicate with our horse. In order to simplify the notes about each one, I’ve given the leading positions numbers 1-8.

1 is in front of the horse walking with ones back to him, the horse walking behind the owner.

2 is walking alongside the ear/eye area, as we migh be if we are asking the horse to turn away from us.

3 is beside the horse’s neck/shoulder area, which is often the most comfortable spot when leading the horse. It’s the one we will start with.

4 is alongside the horse’s ribs if we are teaching him to walk with us confidently having his nose well out in front. It puts us in the position we will be in if/when we ride.

5 is beside his hindquarters as we mighte be when grooming,asking him to lift a hind foot or enter a trailer.

6 is behind the horse, as for long reining.

7 is in front of the horse, facing him if we are asking him to back up away from us or come toward us.

8 is facing the side or back of the horse, as for grooming, saddling, mounting, foot care.

This clip demonstrates the 8 leading positions.

FIRST: Leading Position 3 – Beside the neck/shoulder

When I started working through the 8 Leading Positions, it made sense to start with Leading Position 3 (beside neck or shoulder) because it is the ‘handiest’ position if we are moving along in close communication.

Leading Position 3 (LP3) has the handler beside the horse’s neck or shoulder, facing forward in the same direction as the horse.

I think of LP3 as our ‘baseline’ position when moving between two points.

Walking shoulder-to-shoulder in step with each other.

Much of ground work starts with Leading Position 3. From this position we can easily read the horse and the horse can most easily read our intent.

When we walk with our horse we are always between two points: the point we just left and the point to which we are heading. The two points can be relatively close together or, if we are walking on the road or on a trail, they can be miles apart.

Staying in LP3 we can:

• Walk forward together in a straight line.
• Walk forward together in a weave pattern.
• Walk forward together doing inward turns and counter-turns.
• Walk forward together over rails, tarps, and other unusual surfaces.
• Walk together through water or curtains or under arches and overhangs.
• Walk forward together with the horse in a lane while we walk outside the lane.
• Walk forward together, then do 180 degree turns together.
• Walk forward together in circles or triangle shapes – handler on the inside
• Walk forward together up slopes and down slopes.
• Go over a jump together.
• Back up shoulder-to-shoulder.
• Trot along with a bicycle or mobility scooter.

Figure 63: LP3: An outing with the bike. It gives her an opportunity to do sustained trotting on the grass verge.

Teaching Leading Position 3

It makes sense to teach everything on both sides of the horse right from the beginning so both the horse and the handler become more ambidextrous. Then we won’t have the problem of ‘left neglect’ or ‘right neglect’ in either the horse or the handler.

The term ‘neglect’ simply means that lack of use has resulted in lack of strong nerve pathways developed on that side of the body.

Since both horses and people have a ‘preferred side’, (i.e., we tend to prefer using either our left hand or our right hand) things will feel more awkward on one side for both the horse and the handler. Frequent short practice on the ‘hard’ is ideal.

If both the horse’s weaker side and the handler’s weaker side come together, it will take extra time and effort to get things on that side moving smoothly, since both parties have to form new nerve pathways/habits.

Working with mats as destinations makes it easy to develop the horse’s interest and willingness to walk along with us. See the training plans at Number 9 in my Blog Contents List (at the top of the page).

#29 and #30 HorseGym with Boots illustrate of a variety of approaches to teaching LP3.

The end-of-video comment about ‘notes’ have now been superceded by my book, Walking wiht Horses.

It is a great exercise to play with this task at libery if you have a safe enclosed area. Have fun with it.

Let me know which leading positions you use the most and which might be a new challenge for you.