Today, after the rain, I took Pandora down the lane and into the neighborhood. This neighborhood road gives the horses more exposure to everyday events such as cars, doors opening and closing, people emerging from behind buildings, barking dogs, sprinklers going on and off etc…. and it’s an essential part of my training.

1.) I do it first by leading the horse. If you started this with riding your green horse you might end up with a battle that you would lose whereas I know on the ground I can completely shape and control a spook or refusal.

Train on the ground – then the saddle. Leading on the ground builds the horse bond, especially if your horse learns to trust you in passing and moving around objects that he is initially leery of being close too.

The more faith and trust your horse has with you on the ground – the more he will have with you in the saddle. This directly translates to improved response when riding.

2.) Exposing the horse to an unpredictable environment helps him learn how to cope in acceptable ways. You will never de-spook a horse – that is a myth. What you can do is give your horse confidence to face his fears – and provide him training that he spooks in a specific manner (i.e. “spook in place”).

If you are working with a green horse or one new to you, learning how your horse handles new events can help you improve his training in the saddle. For example, some horses seem to always spook sideway and always in the same direction; others like to back up a step, turn and run; others’ bolt forward etc…

Knowing how they react, enables you to prevent a minor spook from erupting into an explosion.

3.) I believe that to a certain extent a horse needs stimulation in their environment. Just a nice walk down the lane gives your horse something different to look at and awakens their energy, improving their motivation and interest in you!

Obviously, people can too far with stimulation (i.e. shows every weekend, horses moving in and out of the barn, trailering all the time to off site location etc…). Your horse needs a safe, predictable life for the most part, but adding a bit of spice keeps your horse interested.

One thing I am noticing is that the more interesting things I do with my horses, the more willing they are to come to me and begin work. Pandora in particular has become quite the “come’on and let’s do something!” since I have been spending so much time with her. On this particular walk, she did excellent with no balks or stopping to eat! She was eager to go and stayed with me the whole way.