Do you own a horse for the first time? Whether you have a horse to drive, ride or own it just like a pasture decor, he should be well-mannered. And, why not? A well-mannered horse makes you feel happy and safe. These manners are also essential for their safety.
Can’t wait to hold your horse? Here are some ground manners to train your horse right away:
Allow Body Parts to be Touched
Your horse should let you touch his body parts. Muzzle, udder, ears, sheath, chest, between legs, are sensitive horse spots, which he may cause objection to handling. But, these are the areas you need to dress or clean in case of injury. Thereby, it is essential to teach your horse to stay calm, especially when touching or grooming him.
Be Caught
If you’re chasing a horse, you’re indirectly teaching it to run away.
Even if you use your horse as a pasture decoration, it still needs to practice some good manners and needs to be caught at some point or the other. After all, what’s more, frustrating than planning an hour of riding and utilizing that time in pursuing your horse.
Know that the process can get pretty costly if you have a veterinarian or farrier waiting. You might never want to hear this, but things can get complex and pretty dangerous if your horse feels cornered and sees topping over you as its only way to escape.
Teaching your horse to get caught is very important, especially when you want it.
Lead Quitely
Always teach your horse to behave well while being led. Train your horse so that he pays attention to you and pads while you lead your horse. Your horse should float away from the cue like a rubber ducky when you ask him to back up or maybe step aside. Know that it should not be like you’re pushing a brick away from the sand.
Also, note that your horse should never pull you, push into you or hang back. A bucking horse is also dangerous as it may unseat you or any other rider. Teaching your horse to lead correctly is the basis of good ground manners. After all, a bucking horse depicts that you need to hone your riding skills. Now that you’re leading your horse, also teach your horse to get on the trailer with ease.
Stand Quietly While Having Feet Handled
Horses often need hoof care, and veterinarians suggest owners trimming their hooves every six to eight weeks. However, horses generally don’t have a preference for this grooming ritual.
But, now that it holds significance, it is vital to teaching your horses to stand while the farrier works with them or clean their hooves. This good habit cuts short the trimming and cleaning time tremendously and makes the process less stressful.
Accept Paste Wormers
Deworming your horse is the first step in maintaining optimal horse health. The sooner your horse accepts paste wormers, the easier will the parasite control be. You’ll be delighted to know that dental exams and oral medications will also be more accessible with paste wormers.
Related Reading
- Toys for Your Horse
- Horse Care Guide
- Red Light Therapy for Horses
- Equine Assisted Therapy
- Deworming a Horse
- Miniature Horse Care
Wait
Standing and leading are two essential horse manners. Pro horse owners use commands like ‘wait’ and ‘stop’ to signal horses to wait while they open the stall door. Or while they stand and wait to put a feed into their buckets.
This is one of the essential manners because horses with poor ground habits barge through the gates. By doing so, the horse puts his life and his handler’s life in danger. Also, this makes feeding time a hassle, especially when the horse is pushing in to get food.
Stand Tied
One of the essential ground manners involves standing tied to a post, railer, or tree. You’ll want to tie your horse to clean hoofs, groom or safely get him out of the way.
Teach your horse to stand up quietly without pulling or fussing while tied. The manner holds significance because the horses that don’t stand quietly generally don’t lead quietly either.
The Bottom Line- Keep Calm and Start Training
Once you gain an animal, create a leader/herd-mate bond as your horse will be more pleasant to work with and feel safe when he’s around you. In addition, bonding makes the horse realize that you expect him to respond in the manner you’ve taught him.
Hope you had fun knowing about these basic horse ground manners. Apply these whenever you can for a way to your happy times.