Controlling Horse Feet

Insert from Eric Bravo - advice from a Horse Expert

The other day I was watching a lady working with her horse. She was asking the horse to backup. So she is standing there shaking the rope, and the horse was taking a couple of steps backwards. But at the same time, the lady was walking toward the horse. Basically, the distance between the lady and the horse was always the same.

First we remind ourselves that the dominant members of the herd move the other horses around. So in order to attain our objective of establishing leadership with a horse, something we have to pay attention to is getting him to move his feet. As I’ve mentioned before, working a horse in a round-pen or using backing-up exercises are good horse training techniques we can use to do this.

But we also have to pay attention to our own feet. That lady I saw was not getting all she could out of her groundwork. Sure the horse was backing up, but she was moving around too. That may not communicate leadership to the horse very effectively. Also its a missed opportunity. One part of using backing up in horse training is to get your horse used to the idea that you can put some space between you and her if necessary. You might need to do this for personal safety someday, but if your horse is a problem because he’s one foot away and you back him up while walking towards him, and you’re still one foot away, you haven’t solved the problem.

Another example. Something I see all the time is how horses subtly get their handlers to move their feet. People are not paying attention to this and are barely, if at all, aware its happening. Maybe two people will be standing there talking, one of them holding a horse on the lead rope. The horse will start nudging at the person, maybe looking for a treat in their pocket or something.

Then what happens next, is instinctively feeling some discomfort because the horse is too close, they step out of the way.

What people often don’t realize is that by taking that step out of the way of the horse, the horse has got one up on you. He’s gotten you to move your feet-making him, not you, the leader. He may take this to heart and give you problems later with “bad horse behavior”. Later on, that horse might run off when he feels like it (when you’re on his back), crowd you in the barn, kick at your, or do who knows what else. Part of horse training is being aware of subtle cues in body language that horses recognize instantly.

The correct thing to do when a horse gets too close is to back them up out of your space without you giving an inch. Unless your safety is in immediate danger, like a horse is reared up and about to stomp on you, don’t give an inch. Stand your ground and make the horse move his feet, without you moving yours.

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