Groundwork is an important part of the Fair to Horses approach.
Working from the ground gives us the opportunity to communicate with the horse without the added challenge of carrying a rider. It allows us to explore movement, balance, body awareness, confidence and communication in many different ways.
Groundwork is not about simply making the horse follow instructions. It is about creating a conversation.
Building a strong foundation
Depending on the horse and its goals, groundwork may include:
- leading and following
- halt and transitions
- changes of direction
- backing up
- yielding
- lateral movements
- straightness
- balance
- responsiveness to body language
- relaxation and focus
- in-hand work
- preparation for ridden work
Adapted to the individual horse
The exercises are adapted to the individual horse. Some horses need more confidence. Others may need more balance, focus or clarity in their communication.
The important thing is not how many exercises the horse can perform, but how well horse and human understand each other.
Groundwork for every horse
Groundwork can be valuable for young horses, experienced horses and everything in between.
It can also be useful when a horse is struggling with balance, tension, focus or a particular movement. Working from the ground can allow us to break things down into smaller steps and find a way of communicating that makes sense to the individual horse.
Different ways of learning
Groundwork can include many different forms of training, such as liberty, trick training and ground jumping.
Each can give us different tools to help the horse develop confidence, body awareness, communication and willingness to learn.
The aim is not to use as many exercises as possible. The aim is to choose what is useful for the horse in front of us.
The horse comes first
We want the horse to understand what is being asked, feel safe enough to learn and have the opportunity to communicate back.
There is no need to rush. There is no need to perform an exercise simply because we can.
Fair training is not about asking less. It is about asking in a way the horse can understand.