Action Plan for Building a Foundation of Leadership
-Rebuilding your confidence-
In these stages, you are not just working on the horse; you are working on yourself. Your job is to become the clearest, most concise, and consistent communicator possible.
-P1
Don’t crowd me
Insist that he stands away from you on your long leadline. Using a training flag in one hand and the end of the lead in the other, have him stand at a distance of 10 to 12 ft. Stand calmly in a passive stance, with passive body language. Point a shoulder at the horse rather than squared shoulders. Pay close attention to his feet. If he begins to leak toward you, begin lifting your flag arm and line arm in an alternating up-down motion, as if beating on a drum. Remain calm, but apply whatever level of pressure necessary to repel him back to his spot. As soon as he stops and steps back, stop the motion immediately. Be very calm and peaceful when you give release. Once he finds it more convenient to give respectful space, love on him for a moment and repeat the process a few times.
Pay attention
Insist that he remains focused on you. Create an environment that makes him want to keep an eye on you to avoid surprises. Lead him with random and quick turns, sudden stops, and changes. Keep him on his toes. Walk briskly and suddenly turn and stop him with a light wave in the lead line. This will be a little startling at first, which will encourage him to focus on you to avoid such surprises. If he begins to look away or send his attention elsewhere, move him briskly, bringing his mind back to you. Once he remains focused on you, reward him, then reclaim your personal space.
Let me lead
Lead him calmly. Demand that he waits for you and does not try to walk ahead of you or cut corners when you turn, but that he waits for you to pass through and follows you through whatever direction you decide.
-P2
Wait on me
Hone his ability to trust you enough to wait patiently on you while you walk away, and help him be very light to the back up cue. This utilizes and builds off of P1.
Establish a solid mastery of the back up
Ask him to back up with a side-to-side wiggle of the line. Focus on his front feet; any movement backward should be met with an immediate release of all pressure. If he does not yield to the back cue, greatly widen your side-to-side swing of the line to make the cue bigger and release at the slightest rearward movement of the front hooves. Do not release for side-to-side movement of his feet, only backing, regardless of how minimal. REWARD THE TRY.
Do not let him leak (Move toward you)
Next, be very specific on this demand. Put his feet right back where you originally put them in the first place. If he leaked 2 steps, back up 2 steps. Be very consistent in this demand. Help him get good at staying put.
Focus on me, trust me, and wait on me
Next, demand that he allow you to walk out to the end of the lead line and stop without moving. Back him into a spot. Expect him to remain there until you ask otherwise. If he tries to follow or leak, apply pressure and put him back exactly where you set him to begin with. This is a good opportunity to be consistent. Make it more comfortable for him to remain in place and thereby see the reward of respecting and trusting you. When he will stand and wait, reward him. Reward the small victories. Encourage success by not tempting failure too much at first.
-P3
Focus, Follow, Respect
Using a long leadline, lead him from the end of your line. Make him stay 8 to 10 feet behind you as you walk out at the end of the lead line. If he shortens the gap between you, quickly turn and give the back up cue, putting him back in the position you requested, and continue.
Pay close attention to the leadline as you walk. If it touches the ground because he has narrowed the space between you, quickly back him up before he gets closer. Be watchful and proactive, correcting before the issue becomes worse. Expect and demand that he follow you at a distance. This exercise supports and is supported by P1 and P2.
Practice P1 and P2 building blocks
Revisit, improve, and reward the previous foundational blocks.
-P4
Build the skill of yielding
Practice all forms of yielding. Make it a game that brings reward and pleasure.
Disengage the hind quarters
Lateral flexion
Verticle flexion
Back up
Any others you can think up.
Make it a point to help your horse become well-practiced and light-weighted in yielding to your pressure and cues.
You might even consider this a play period at some point. Offer treats for good, willing, and light responses. Make him want to spend time with you. Make it a game.
-P5
Turn the yield into a connection
This exercise focuses on yielding the front shoulder and the true connection between you and your horse. Ask for a yield of the front shoulder using the lead line offer supported by the flag if needed to get him moving around you. The correct answer here is to yield the front shoulder away in the correct direction. Reward at the yield. Do this in both directions.
Short lounge-The magic is in the transition
After he is good at the shoulder yield, ask for full circles and discover how to change direction on the fly. This will require you both to get on the same page and read each other's body cues. Think of it as a dance between you. You need each other to make this happen.
Remember that you are not just working on the horse in these five stages; you are working on yourself. Your job is to become the clearest, most concise, and consistent communicator possible.
-P6
Taking the relationship to the next level
In this stage, we build your confidence and reset your horse’s expectation of what saddle time means.
Do not set demands on yourself or your horse. This is social and connection time. Saddle your horse and engage it with pleasure, maybe treats, light-yielding requests, and playful and rewarding interaction (with the saddle on).
Sit on and with your horse. Find shade, sit still, and enjoy each other's company. It might be best to have someone else do the same or similar with you so that you can relax and socialize with both your four-legged and two-legged companions.
Do not pressure yourself or your horse to perform or accomplish anything. If you feel like asking for movement, great. If not, fine. This is about relaxing together, making you both more comfortable in this setting, and building your relationship.
This step will build confidence in yourself and your horse. As you do this, you will likely want to move a little more each session. Take a season of redefining what being ridden means to your horse and what riding means to you. We can have a lot of anxiety when it comes to riding. This is how I lost mine and enhanced my horse's experience, too.
