Horsemanship 411

Horsemanship is when you try to gain respect from your horse and do a lot of  groundwork. Groundwork includes anything done with your horse while not riding it, such as longeing, round penning, desensitizing, etc. It is important to spend three days in a row for about an hour during each week with your horse. After 40 days of this schedule, you can then begin working with it every other day.

Longeing is when you have your horse on a long lead rope which is connected to the halter. You stand between its flank and ribs and train it to obey your voice commands. The horse will learn to walk, trot, lope, stop, yield its hindquarters, and come to you.

Round-penning is very similar to longeing, but the horse is not on a lead rope. The purpose of this exercise is to keep the horse’s feet moving.

Desensitizing is a method used to find a horse’s spooky spots. Then you keep doing it until it is not bothered by it anymore. It is very important to do this exercise on both sides of the horse. What spooks them on the left side might not bother them on the right. The goal is to make a horse who is not sensitive or jumpy. Look for any sign of relaxation to signal that the horse is not sensitive.

Five Signs of Relaxation:
1. Licking its lips
2. Cocking its back hoof
3. Lowering its head
4. Blinking its eyes, and
5. Shaking its head.

As I use more horsemanship terminology, I will continue to add an explanation on this page.