The three quick groundwork exercises WILL relax and focus your horse!
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- Опубліковано 24 лип 2024
- When your horse is relaxed and focused on the ground, it will transfer over into the riding. I am a huge believer in groundwork, and adding just a few simple exercises to your routine will make a huge difference in your ride!
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00:00 Introduction to video
00:55 Why Groundwork is Important
01:35 First Exercise
04:40 Second Exercise
06:03 Bend and Yield
In this week's video I’m going to give you three exercises that you should do with your horse every single time you take them out! These will establish boundaries, reinforce connection, and make sure that your horse is always listening to you for the next move, NOT making that decision themselves!
Transitions on the ground
This is simply just making sure that your horse walks when you walk, and stops when you stop. If you back up your horse should back up too. Practice this and see does your horse comply? They should be following your energy and watching for what you are doing. Practice this around the farm and try keeping yourself between your horse’s head and shoulders. Lead your horse forward with your right hand and when you want to stop, raise your left hand. Eventually, they will associate the hand movements with the commands.
Poll Release
This is important for bridling, and helping your horse relax. When your horse lowers their head they relax. You start with your hand on the poll and also on the bit. Place downward pressure and as soon as their head comes down, reward them by releasing the pressure. Over time you continuously practice this until all you have to do is place your hand on the poll and the horse will drop their head down. Any time I feel my horses get externalized , I practice this to calm them down.
Bend and Yield
This is where we ask the horse with the inside rein to bend their body to the inside and get the inside hindleg to cross over the front of the outside hindleg. This creates suppleness and relaxation throughout their body and if you have the horse’s body relaxed, their mind will be more relaxed.
Have a look at this video where I demonstrate these. These are crucial exercises for helping you be more connected and in control of your horse and your relationship will benefit from implementing them daily. If you like this video please share it.
Thanks for watching
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Bonding with your horse is so important. When I first got mine I could barely walk him off our property because he didn't wanna follow me alone. It took alot of convincing. Now just a few days ago we were walking together through the forest running around and just hanging out, having a good time. It made me so happy to see him so relaxed and to see he trusts me now!
In addition to these exercises before I mount, I do a poll release after I dismount and thank my horse for the ride. I like stretching my back after I ride and my horses seem to as well.
I’ve recently purchased a new horse and have decided to do more ground work. This will be a great start. I won’t be able to do the webinar live because of the time difference between California and Western Australia (I have to go work 😅), but am looking forward to watching the recording.
Great to follow these three groundwork exercises with adding contact with the outside rein to support the outside shoulder, shoulder four with inside rein control and inside aids to move the haunches over, crossing of the inside hide leg over the outside hind leg. Yes!! The 1/4 turn on the fotehand. So amazing and you don't have to be under saddle to enjoy being with your horse. Thanks Amelia
Had to rewind to listen because I was so distracted by how cute he was trying to eat the handle of your whip 🤣
I dthese every day I go to the barn! I find that even if I skip a few days, or just do groundwork for a while instead of riding my guy does better the next time we finally do ride.
Great exercises!👍
Thankyou for these Excerises Amelia, I do do a lot of ground work but I don't do these so I will be trying these tomorrow 🤗🐴💕
Really nice video. Many riders always ignore these details and , just ride ride and ride and then say : why horses can not respect me?
I live These.Nothing new but so good and nicely presented
Very useful advise
Glad to #support yr work 👏👏👏
These three exercises are super, very useful. I only used how to release the neck on one horse, with soft pressures of my hand. It was easy to do with her . She seemed to enjoy it a lot and stayed relaxed all the lesson.☺️🐴I 'll try to do the whole exercises ! Thank you dear Amelia. Your horse is beautiful !
I just wanted to say a couple things … first your horse is absolutely gorgeous.he looks like a live painting! Second, this video is exactly what I was looking for. I love your philosophy and wish that more coaches/trainers were teaching what you are. Thank you for doing what you do
That is so kind of you to say, thank you! And I'm glad you're enjoying the videos.
Very important is to have right body language and using youre hands, body and rains/ leadrope correctly. Then the horse learns first time correctly everything 😊 basic groundwork is really important for me .
So true!
Good job❤🎉😊 I will try it with my horse
Let me know how it goes!
My ex race horse I can’t ride so I’m doing groundwork with him and bonding I’m hoping this will help him a lot because I need to build a bond with him.
That's awesome, groundwork is great.
I actually like to keep my horses on my side but slightly behind me. Especially if you have a horse that likes to plow over you. I had a crazy Arab back in my youth like that. In my experience listening on the ground is much easier than in saddle! So if they don't respect you on the ground just imagine how bad they can be in the saddle!
I've been doing more groundwork with my 5 year old horse
awesome! Are you coming to the webinar?
@@AmeliaNewcombDressage no I wish I could
I love the fact that ground work is being finally considered in dressage work. I'm a little concerned however, that once again the horse's anatomy is not being considered and the statement "if you CONTROL his body, you CONTROL his mind" seems to imply that an equine mind needs to be controlled rather than communicated with. Horses are intelligent creatures capable of learning, not just conditioning. They can think and reason. Each of these exercises requires reaction from the horse rather than reflection. Still, at least dressage seems on the right track...just think about allowing him to think.
Hey there, thanks for sharing your thoughts. Yes, I totally understand where you're coming from. In my experience, using this more definitive language allows students to better understand the end goal and actually be clearer in their communication to their horses and lowers stress and frustration from the horses (and let the partnership be safer overall!).
IN A HERD, THE LEAD MARE LEADS THE HERD, THE STALLION "CONTROLS" HIS HERD BY MOVING THEM ALONG. LIKE DRIVING A CAR WE HAVE TO CONTROL IT FOR OUR SAFETY. WHEN YOU ARE ON TOP A 1200 LBS, ANIMAL YOU WANT TO HAVE CONTROL. HORSES WANT A LEADER. IF YOU CAN MOVE HIS FEET AND CONTROL THEM THE HORSES MIND IS ON US NOT OUT IN THE PASTURE. DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE WORD CONTROL, IT JUST MEANS GIVING CUES AND YOUR HORSE FOLLOWS THEM, THAT IS CONTROL OF HIS MIND.
Could it also be when you get the horses mind, then you can get their body?
Yes, because you're going through a repetition of aids that they know and understand, so when they start to react and respond with their physical body, their mind starts to relax since they understand and know the answers to the questions being asked of them.
Perhaps someone here can help with some advice because I'm at a loss at to what my next step should be. I bought my first horse (5 at the time, a Paso Fino, gelding) 18 months ago. 6 weeks after my first lesson. I knew nothing about horses other than I always loved them. I now realize that the training and my instructions were pretty much backwards. When I had a lesson, my horse would be ready for me. After, I would help bathe him and then bring him back to his stall. We never did groundwork together. I would go see him every day and take him out to graze or for a walk - and this is where my biggest challenge is with him - I cannot control him when walking him. He wants to lead, refuses to go where I want, and he insists on bending down to eat before I get him to where I want to be. He won't listen to me!! I have since moved him to another farm but all they tell me "pull on his halter and show him who's boss". Not working. I've taken online courses which have helped a bit but after 18 months my biggest fear with him is that I can't control him on a simple walk. OTHERS have better luck tho, so I know he's picking up on signals I'm sending. Any help I can get will be greatly appreciated.
I think groundwork exercises will be really helpful!
I agree with ground work 100%, people do not do enough. However ! people say they Love there horse and yet use a bit to Great PAIN!! What a contradiction!! Use a rope halter, and achive a better connection and feel with the hosre. Timming, understanding and the correct use of pressure and release, will work wonders for you and the horse.
Hey there! Some bits are designed to be harsher (I prefer just a simple French link myself), but it’s important to remember that with practice and education, a bit can be a useful resource and way of communicating more subtle aids to our horses :)
Would these exercises be worth doing with a horse you only ride 1, sometimes 2-3 times a week? (shared horse, with a few other sharers that don't do a lot of groundwork, besides bringing in from the field) Do you think it would make a difference between our relationship, and when I ride him? (he is known to be quite stubborn and require alot of pressure to get going sometimes)
Yes, absolutely. It increases YOUR education (and his) and will help you learn how to do these things. which will improve your relationship with any horse you ride
@@AmeliaNewcombDressage thank you for replying! I did try it a few times a while back, but wasn’t sure how much difference it would make if I was the only one doing it, but I’m going to start doing it again definitely!
@@amyrobinson2792 horses will behave dependent on the person handling them as well so even if the others don’t do it, they’ll easily learn it’s expected from you. How a horse behaves can tell more about the handler than the horse 😉
@@mariahlarson92 thank you! Yes I’m quite an anxious and tense person, and as soon as this horse feels any tension he just stops (which I’m really grateful he just stops, and doesn’t freak out!) so he’s definitely helping with my own mental health! And we’re definitely getting better and he’s becoming much more responsive with me compared to others, slowly but surely 🥰 he’s a very good teacher/therapist 💕xxx