Respect. These seven letters are absolutely essential to a happy, healthy and enjoyable relationship with your horse. Whether your vision with your horse is of precise dressage circles, long ambling trail rides or eventing, if you don't have respect on the ground you won't have it in the saddle. Gaining your horse's respect is a simple and essential part of horse ownership that helps you build a strong relationship with him, and it starts with understanding why your horse is the way he is.

Understanding Your Horse's Needs

Horses belong in a herd; evolutionarily speaking, horses are prey animals that benefit from numbers. In a running herd, predators have trouble focusing on and bringing down a single animal in a group of 20. An essential part of this herd is its hierarchy. If you spend a day watching your horse in the pasture with other horses you will see constant movement; at first this movement may seem random and aimless, but if you look closely you will see that all movement begins with one horse that sets off a chain reaction among the others. Horses will move and shift constantly, from patch of grass to piles of hay to watering trough, moved around by the boss of the pasture; while your horse may favor one section of grass or area of the pasture, the boss can move him off at will, pinning her ears and lowering her head, perhaps with a snaky, swaying movement or teeth bared, moving towards what she wants with very pointed energy. If your horse does not move when presented with these obvious physical signs, the boss will proceed with more physical interventions, biting or kicking to get the reaction she is looking for. If there are horses lower in the hierarchy than the horse that was moved off, that horse will proceed to move another horse, and then another, and so on until they have all moved to a different patch of grass or pile of hay.

The hierarchy of the dominant horse is fairly stable but can change; even something as simple as putting on a fly mask or a turnout blanket can shake up the herd and result in squeals, kicks and challenges until things settle down again with a (sometimes) new boss. As uncomfortable Groundworks near me  as it may look from the outside, horses feel safer when they understand who is in charge and where they fall in the ranks of the herd. A lead horse not only says who eats what, when and where but also keeps an eye out for predators and keeps track of new foals; this horse also controls the speed and direction of movement in the event that the herd needs to run from a predator.

A Herd of Two

A horse's need to feel safe as part of a herd's hierarchy does not diminish when it is just you and your horse, and there is only one safe way for you two to form your own herd: you must be the boss. If you do not assert yourself, gaining (and keeping) your horse's respect, you will become the owner of a horse who is (or becomes over time) pushy during feeding time, pushy when being led, pushy under saddle and pushy in general. Eventually you will have a dangerous horse that cannot be trusted on the ground and certainly should not be trusted under saddle. Your horse needs direction and guidance, and if he does not get it from you he will assume he is the one in charge and act accordingly.

Where to Start

When we think of getting our first horse, most of us have images of saddling up and riding, galloping across an open field on a sunny day, or completing a lightening-fast barrel run or dressage pattern or meandering along sun-dappled trails through the woods. Reality is something quite different. If your goal is to build a relationship with your horse that will last their lifetime, the first step is building respect, and respect begins on the ground. For the purposes of this article, we will assume that your horse's most basic needs are being met so that he is receptive to this type of basic training. Your horse should be on a sound and regular feeding schedule designed to keep him at optimum health, and even if you have adopted or purchased a horse that is weak from hunger or illness, you can still address some basic respect issues without harming your horse. If you are unsure, check first with your vet to get the go-ahead, and then proceed slowly, being mindful of your horse's comfort and building from there.

For all exercises that follow, remember to repeat them from both sides of your horse's head, and make sure to practice them regularly and consistently; stay calm and firm when you ask you horse to do something, and reward even his smallest try. A horse that lowers his head and begins to lick his mouth or make chewing motions is a horse who is thinking about what you are asking him to do, and this is what you want: a thoughtful horse. If this is your first time doing groundwork, remember that you are training yourself, too; as you work with your horse, your body language and cues will become clearer and easier to understand, and your horse will relax and follow your lead.