Can’t ride? Won’t ride? Leading out in-hand is a great way to introduce young horses to the world, build confidence in anxious horses and enrich the lives of unridden equines.
Wild horses cover many miles each day over a wide variety of terrain, which naturally builds their fitness, body awareness and confidence to navigate any obstacle.
Leading out is an effective way to simulate this in our domestic horses. Come out for a walk with myself, Rachel and our herd and see how leading your horse out can build your communication, trust in each other and be enriching and fun for both of you.
As always, there is a LOT more info over in the CT Club. You can see how to start training your horse to lead out calmly and where to begin when starting to play with your horse in the environment around you.
➣ Want to know more? The #1 bestselling Connection Training BOOK is the place to start 📖 Get it on Amazon or download Chapter 1 free here for a preview 👀
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We have started Connection Training using your book. My horse needs confidence outside the arena and the ability to focus on me when other distractions are present. He often is on alert and very hesitant when he encounters anything new. We have had problems with spooking and bolting in the past and I wish he could relax. He is very herd bound so I am hoping he will develop trust in me to be the leader of our herd of two. I have tried other methods before that mostly involve lunging the horse and this has not helped his confidence at all. He is very food motivated so I am hoping this method will improve our relationship and allow us to trail ride away from the barn successfully every time.
Hi Lynn, I’m sorry to hear your horse is so anxious but it’s lovely that you’re determined to help him. Anxiety, spooking and bolting are some of the most common issues with horses because of their strong flight response, and I’ve worked with many horses and owners who have successfully overcome this issue, so I know you can, too! My advice in this situation is to take it slowly. Find places and exercises you can do together that help your horse to relax and connect first, then gradually move into more challenging situations. For example, work in the arena where he’s comfortable first, then when you’re both settled and working well, move just outside the arena gate. Work on something easier there in a more challenging area, and reward him for any attempt to calm down and stay connected with you. Then go back into the arena to get fully calm again before repeating. You’ll change the behaviour by changing the emotions he experiences in this situation, so it might feel like very slow progress at the start, but once he’s learned how to calm down and stay connected in a slightly challenging situation, you’ll have the tools to work together in more difficult ones. Hope that helps and stick with it -you’ll get there! 🙂
Thank you Hannah. Great advice.