Teaching Proper Equine Ground Manners

One of the most basic skills one must possess to be able to break or interact with horses is teaching a horse ground manners. Because most horses outweigh the handler by 4 or 5 times a rude horse can be a very dangerous thing. Having ground manners means that the horse respects your personal area and vice versa. Without mutual respect you will not have a pleasant experience with horses.

Because horses are naturally fleeing animals it is not an intelligent idea to be loud and obnoxious around them. Making fast movements around a horse's head will most definitely spook it, as well as slapping them or sudden loud noises will also have that same affect. For a horse to develop good ground manners you must start working with them soon after they are born. Rubbing all over their bodies and leading them around by a halter and lead rope are good ways to start the desensitizing process.

Once a foal has reached the weaning age the lessons become a little more direct. Teaching the horse to back up, stop, turn and lead on your command should be begun at that age. For a horse to have respect of your space it should walk on your right side, slightly behind you. When you began to walk the horse should walk at the same pace. When you come to a stop the horse should also stop at the same time, keeping that certain distance between themselves and you. An even better skill to teach a horse is for it to back up when you simply stop and start walking backwards. All of this reinforces the idea of keeping a certain amount of space in between yourself and the horse.

The second behavior to be aware of in young horses is their mouthy tendencies. They are fresh from nursing and very often will not distinguish your finger from their mother. Feeding a young horse treats by hand is a very big no no. Once it becomes a habit the horse will always assume you have a treat form them when you bring your hand around their face. This is how missing fingers can occur. If you would like to give them a treat simply place the items in their feed bucket or feed them out of a bucket in general. Also remember that horse's eyes are on the sides of their head so they have several blind spots to the front of their nose and face. Be aware of these areas and try to avoid spooking the horse by disappearing and reappearing from them.

All in all horses are very peaceful and gentle creatures. They usually do not have aggressive tendencies and will not bite or kick a person without cause. By following a few of the simple ground manner rules you can develop a relationship of mutual respect between yourself and the horse. Young horses are like young children and only know what they learn. Repetition of any event or situation is how horses learn what is right and wrong. So remember, the best way to raise a good horse is to teach it the right way, the first time. Bad manners on a young horse lead it to become an older, bigger, more dangerous horse.