HORSIN' AROUND WITH VAN HARGIS
"Ground Manners"

It is important that your horse shows she has respect for you and your space. We've all had dogs that, if we reach down and pet them, they'll want to come back and beg for more attention. Horses have a tendency to do that, too, but there's a big difference between a 20 pound dog and a 1200 pound animal.

In working on ground manners, you want your horse to be respectful of your space and not get too nosey with you. When you lead her, you want her to come with you willingly, but when you stop and take a step toward her, you want her to yield to you and back away just a little bit to give you space. You don't want her stopping with her head right up against you.

To teach your horse to give you space, lead her as you walk a few steps. When you stop, she should stop. If you take a step toward her, she should take a step away. An inexperienced horse will not instinctively understand this, but can be taught quickly by gently prodding her neck with one hand to teach her to maintain the correct distance -- her head should be within reaching distance, but not touching you.

If you step away from the horse without asking her to follow you, she should stand her ground until you let her know you want her to come toward you. If she doesn't understand at first, just gently push her back into place, and step away from her again. She will begin to understand that you are telling her you will let her know when you want her to come toward you.

To get the horse to come to you, let her know what you want by lightly pulling the lead toward you. You're inviting her to come visit with you. You don't want to have to pull the horse to you or make her come to you with force. Just teach her that she comes to you on your terms, not her terms. She will learn quickly to respect your space, and visit with you on your terms.

Having a good horse that is well-behaved is a luxury. Having a horse that's not -- having a horse that thinks she can walk all over you -- is something you just don't want to deal with. Good ground manners, basic control of your animal, teaching her to be light on her nose (not requiring heavy-handed control tactics), and teaching her to respect your space are paramount to good horsemanship.