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This website is owned and created by Nancy Kerson, a private citizen - I am not the givernment Information about BLM adoptions is offered as a service, to help mustangs find homes and to promote public appreciation of wild horses and burros. And I sure as heck am not a Mustang car dealership! I have NO horses or burros for sale and not interested in buying or listing your sale animals! |
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LEADING & STANDING STILL
Leading and standing still are possibly the most essential of all skills in handling horses.
Your goal is to develop a horse who can both stand and lead calmly and willingly, on a soft, slack lead line - no need to hold onto the face.
1. LEADING
The goal in teaching a horse to lead is to have the horse follow willingly, on a slack leadline, and at a safe distance. You want the horse to know never to push you out of the way, never to step on your feet, never to come up from behind, never to toss his head at you, or threaten to bite, or crowd you on the path. You want to be able to call upon the horse's ability to be led, in a soft, relaxed, comfortable manner, at any time, without even having to think about it.
How do you get these things? Practice, practice, practice, with attention and awareness - redirect undesirable behaviors as soon as you notice them - or better yet, learn to anticipate and prevent! If you know the horse is likely to balk when it goes by a certain spot, pick up the energy and grab the horse's attention BEFORE you get to that spot.
If the horse shoulders in on you, immediately redirect the shoulder in the opposite direction, by applying pressure to the shoulder with your rope or crop.
Teaching a Wild Horse To Lead:
 A wild horse is very sensitive and will often follow the feel of a rope that is loose over its neck. |  1. Ask for a forward step by increasing the pressure, or "pull" You have to be careful here, not to panic the horse into fight mode. Just exert enough "pull" for the horse to feel it, but not too much. |
 2. Reward for the slightest forward movement. Maybe the horse will just lean, or maybe it will take one small step. Reward anything that looks like the horse may be thinking "forward." |  3. Repeat. It may take many days before the horse begins to offer to lead without going through this process. But so long as you always offer a positive response, the day will come when the horse will lead easily. |
2. STANDING STILL
Standing still, also, should be relaxed and available to you at all times.
If the horse does not want to stand still, ask for movement. The horse will soon decide that it's easier to stand still.
On the one hand, horses are inherently "lazy." The lazy side makes them hard to catch sometimes. On the other hand, they really like AND NEED a purpose in life, a job.
If you are always fair and kind in your handling of them - rewarding correct responses and being firm and clear about what you want, and sticking with it until they understand - they will be usually happy to work with you.
You can use the inherent "laziness" of a horse by giving him/her a choice: stand still for me, or you get to do lots of running."
An important point here is to allow the horse to stand freely. Don't hold his face tightly. When he is good, give him release!
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since 4-28-2006
