Training Tips 101: Ground Manners

Have you ever been to a horse show and watched a perfectly behaved horse walking calmly next to their owner? Their head is down. They are precisely eighteen inches to the side. If their owner slows down or speeds up, they are right there with them. Chances you are watching this perfect duo while clinging to the end of a lead rope which is attached to a rearing/bucking rodeo clown which used to resemble your horse but now is closer to a fire breathing dragon.

Yeah, been there. Done that.

You want to beat your horse over the head with a two by four until they behave, but of course you can’t do that. Not with everyone else looking on, and besides, beating your lovable turned demon child horse with a blunt object really isn’t considered great horse training. So what do you do?

What do you do when your horse tries to nip you when you feed him?

What do you do when they whirl their butt and kick at you when you try to catch them?

What do you do when they drag you willy nilly down the barn aisle, while you smile and try not to look panicked?

What do you do when instead of getting on like they have a million times before, your horse suddenly decides the trailer is an eeeeeevil torture device and rears straight up in the air?

I have had my fair share of ill behaved horses. There was Lori the dragger. Jiffy the rearer. Birdie the bucker. Zaz the nipper. Echo the bolter/bitch horse from hell. Darwin the spooker and finally, Poppy the pusher.

All of these horses made me realize the importance of good ground manners. When you are riding, you can only do so much, especially if you just weren’t born to be an amazing rider (aka me). But on the ground, you have no excuses. I don’t care what breed your horse is, what discipline you ride, or their age… your horse needs to have good ground manners. Period. What do I mean by good ground manners?


- Absolutely no biting or kicking.
- No rearing, charging, or airs above the ground.
- Leads politely
- Is respectful of space
- Clips, trailers, cross ties, single ties
- Handles well for other people
- (add your own here in the comments)


I like to think that my two horses have good ground manners. They both have their quirks (Poppy still won’t lift up her feet, but you try teaching a 1300lb draft that their hooves are better off the ground than on… and Darwin has this weird head lift thing whenever you try to put the bridle on) but for the most part they are quiet, sensible, and well behaved whenever they are being handled. They were not always this way. Let me share a few tips/tricks that helped me, and feel free to share yours.

1) HEAD DOWN: I believe this is the first thing any horse should ever learn. I read about it on a website when I first got Darwin. I had just brought home an off the track thoroughbred and had NO idea how to begin his training. Darwin wasn’t bad, persay… he just wasn’t good. He didn’t always listen when you led him. He was unpredictable. He danced on the end of the lead rope and had no concept of personal space. Enter the “head down” trick. It is fairly easy. You need a halter and a lead rope and lots of patience. Out of the stall, get your horse fairly squared up and straight. Then gently apply pressure to the lead rope directly under the halter and say ‘head down’. HOLD THE PRESSURE (not increasing, not decreasing, but steady) until the horse lowers their head. To begin with, if they dip their head a fraction of an inch release all pressure immediately and praise. Then ask again. This is a particularly good exercise for high headed horses or horses who spook on the ground easily to know. At the end of one lesson you should be able to apply pressure to the lead rope, say ‘head down’, and your horse should drop their head to waist level and (hopefully) hold it there. This is something you can practice every day. When you put on their halter to lead them out to the field, do head down. When you put on the bridle, do head down. Before you turn out, do head down. Eventually this should lead (no pun intended… OK, yes there was) into your horse naturally carrying their head low and level. It is also a good “reality check” when they start to act high strung, pop their head, or get uppity. Any time Darwin begins to have a panic attack at the sight of something white, I tell him ‘head down’ and he instantly relaxes.

2) BACKING UP: This will help with some, but not all, horses. It has worked miracles with Darwin. Not so much with Poppy. For a horse, backing up is an act of submission. It is not something they would do under normal circumstances. When they back away from you they begin to put 2 and 2 together and realize ‘oh yeah, YOU’RE the person I should be listening to’. With Darwin, all I have to do is face him and start walking towards him. He instantly will back up as long as I keep walking forward, and stop when I stop. This is because he respects my space, and is submissive to me. Now I only use backing up as a form of punishment for him. You’re going to crowd my space? Back up five steps. You’re going to try to push me when I feed you? Back up ten steps. You won’t stand when I try to get on? Back up again. I say this doesn’t work with Poppy because she just isn’t as sensitive as Darwin, and ultimately it ends up being a pushing war which I don’t want to get into, because I know Poppy is stronger than me and when push comes to shove, I don’t want her to figure it out too. Darwin flinches at a raised hand, so backing up instead of hitting or yelling, backing up is a great alternative for him. So how do you get your horse to back up quietly and respectfully? You do it very similar to the ‘head down’. In fact, start from the ‘head down’ position and take a step towards your horse (make sure you are facing them). As you step towards them pull back on the lead rope (so you are pulling it towards their chest) and say ‘BACK’ in a firm voice. If they don’t back up immediately or try to crowd you, pop them in the chest with the end of the lead rope. You need to be very firm and have excellent timing with this, because if done incorrectly it can lead to the opposite effect and your horse will try to walk all over you. When I did this exercise with Poppy I carried a dressage whip, because a lead rope on her chest didn’t faze her in the least. Ask them to back again (start with one step at a time and build up gradually). 1) Take a step towards them 2) Say back, 3) exert pressure on the lead rope, and 4) pop their chest. Note that every step is upping the degree of ‘pressure’. After a few lessons your horse should begin backing up at step 3. Then step 2, and finally, like Darwin, you should be able to walk towards them and they will back up.

3) LEADING MANNERS: Any horse can be led around. Surprisingly, quite a lot have bad manners while they are led to their field, or in to their stall, or around at a horse show. Bad manners = any type of pushing, walking ahead of you, walking behind you, not stopping when you stop, crowding, high head carriage, pulling, etc. Theoretically you should be able to walk your horse on the end of the lead rope and they should stay at your shoulder, respecting approx. an 18” distance at all times, and never pull/push/speed up/slow down unless you tell them. A test for you: go out, get your horse, hold onto the very end of the lead, and see if they will stay with you and behave. Harder than it seems, isn’t it? If your horse didn’t listen all that well, it is because they respect the LEAD ROPE, not YOU. When the lead rope pulls on their face they know to turn, instead of watching you and turning when you turn. So how do you get your horse listening to you? BE CONSISTANT. There is not magic answer to this. No wand waving or carrot sticks or games that will work. It seems silly, but the best way to get your horse to lead well is to lead them. Instead of riding, take that spare hour and work with them in the ring with a halter and lead rope. If you have a horse that tends to rush, swing the lead rope in front of their face in big circles as you walk. Stop, and if they don’t stop make them back up until they are behind you. If you have a horse that lags behind carry a long dressage whip. Speed up your walk. If they don’t immediately speed up with you, give them a firm tap on their side where you leg would go if you were riding. Face your horse’s side and step towards them. They should swing their hindquarters away from you. If they don’t, swirl your lead rope in big circles and walk towards the point of their hip. When they shift their weight away, stop swirling (this is also a great way to teach a turn on the forehand; when you’re ready to try something harder put the pressure on their shoulder and see if you can get a turn on the haunches). Eventually your horse will begin to watch your shoulders for little cues. They will pay attention to your legs. They will focus on your hands. And you will have a well behaved horse that leads beautifully.

The trick with all of this stuff is adhering to the P Equation.

Patience + Persistence = Payoff.

You can’t let your horse pull you to the field when you just corrected that behavior in the ring. When we ride, we tend to only focus on where we are riding, whether that be a ring, a trail, or a field. Once the horse is out of that area we put them on a loose rein and let them dawdle and walk out. Well, when you’re leading a horse EVERYWHERE is that ring, that trail, that field. Horses are smart. If you let them get away with pushing you just a little bit in their stall, they will remember that and build on it the next time. Little things turn into big things real quick. I always think of a girl I knew at a barn I used to board. She had a young horse and thought it was just soooooo cute when that horse nibbled at her jacket collar and played with her hair. She didn’t think it was so cute when he tried to take a chunk out of the side of her face. Who is to blame? Certainly not the horse. All those times she allowed him to nudge and nibble, she was saying SURE! YOU CAN BITE ME! IT’S OK. I THINK IT’S FUNNY! Uh, no. Not funny and certainly not cute.

So the next time you’re out in the barn, try a few of these things I mentioned. If you think your horse already has amazing ground manners, test him. Do they put their head down and yield to pressure quietly and quickly? Do they back up easily? Do they cross tie without flipping their head or moving around or shuffling their feet? Do they stay by your side when you lead them, no matter what distraction may come their way? I know ground manners don’t seem all that important in the grand scheme of things, but think of it this way: if your horse doesn’t respect you on the ground, why the hell would they respect you in the saddle?