Groundwork

The majority of the groundwork exercises (see links on sidebar) have been gathered from Clinton Anderson's "Gaining Respect and Control On the Ground: Series I & II" and "Gaited Horsemanship" videos, as well as from Stacy Westfall, personal experience, various clinics etc. Watching the videos (or someone actually doing the exercises) is still recommended for full understanding.

Groundwork exercises fall into two basic categories: sensitizing or desensitizing. The side column lists the exercises that are explained on this site and which category they fall into, some exercises can be used in both ways. The exercises in bold are essential exercises, the other exercises are still highly recommended but are not quite as crucial. You can use any of the exercises to target any areas that your horse may have particular problems with. However, in order to keep your training process the smoothest and allow your horse to build a solid foundation it is recommended that you complete the exercises in the following order:

Desensitize with the Rope, Desensitize with Stick & String, Yielding the Hindquarters, Backing Up, Yielding the Forequarters, Lungeing Stage 1, Flexing Stage 1, Sending, Changing Sides, Run Up and Rub, Slap and Tap, Helicopter, Changing Eyes, Slap and Walk, Touch and Rub (Nose, Poll, Hindquarters, Forequarters), Head Shy, Flexing Stage 2, Circle Driving Stage 1 & 2, Lungeing Stage 2, Throwing the Rope and Stopping, Seesawing the Rope, Desensitize with Plastic Bag, Sidepassing Stage 1, Leading Behind, Leading Beside, and Turn & Go.

Please click on each exercise to view the explanations and instructions.

It is helpful to start your groundwork program by working in the round pen. Click HERE to see notes for how to round pen your horse.

Click HERE to learn how to handle and care for your horse's hooves.

Basic tips to keep in mind for ground training:

Establish Touch and Rub: Touching and applying pressure to make horse move away and rubbing or scratching to stop horse and allow them to relax.
When teaching an exercise on both sides of the horse, don't switch sides until the horse responds correctly four times in a row on the first side.
Work in baby steps. Reward for effort and quality, not quantity. When first teaching a concept remember to reward the horse for any effort in the right direction and continue to build from there until he understands what you are asking and is responding correctly all the way.
Always try to start and end soft. Build pressure until you get the right response but then reward immediately. Generally you will begin by asking the horse to move by waving the stick (or hand or lead rope, etc.) in the air next to him, then gently tapping his body in the correct area, then building pressure. Immediate release is key. Use your own energy and body language to urge the horse on. Start gentle then do more, more, most!
Everything you do on one side, make sure you do it on the other side too.
It can be beneficial to tie the horse up 2-3 hours after every training session to give them to think things through, and get used to being tied up!
Remember: Transitions train the horse. This is true for under saddle exercises too.
When working with a horse make sure you have the nose knots on the halter as low down as possible without interfering with the horse's breathing (just above the soft part). When tying the horse up have the knots as high up as possible, just under the eyes, for in case the horse pulls back.
Don't coil or wad up your lead rope. Lay it over your arm or loop it once and then lay it over your arm.

Basic tips to keep in mind for desensitizing:

Keep everything as rhythmical as possible.
Always try to stand at a 45 degree angle in front of the horse and keep the horse's eyes focused on you for safety. Keep your rope hand up at the horse's jaw level as a safety precaution to keep him from trying to run over you. If he starts pushing wave the rope at his head or use your hand or elbow (or stick if he gets really bad) to whack his jaw away. If the horse rears up in his attempt to push you around you can whack him in the ribcage to move their body away.
Keep the horse's head tipped towards you for safety.
When training a horse try to always begin and end the session with desensitizing. You never want the horse to be afraid of you or your tools.
It can be better to work on desensitizing the horse after it understands how to yield and lunge so it already has developed a relationship with you and is using its "thinking" side of the brain instead of the "reacting" side. Especially important for flighty horses.
Don't release pressure or movement until the horse stands still and relaxes (licks his lips, drops his head, breathes out heavily, cocks his hind leg) or stands still for longer than 15 seconds. Always reward by rubbing the horse with the stick or your hand. Always work on both sides.
It can be beneficial to practice some desensitizing exercises with a stock whip, that pops loudly, to get the horse used to guns firing etc.

Trouble shooting:

If a horse won't stand still for you on a lead line - but keeps dancing around, acting crazy and distracted - the first thing to do is to tap on the rope with your stick until he is out of your "hula hoop" safety circle. Then bump on his head (by tugging on the lead rope) until he faces you and looks at you with both eyes. The tighter you hold a horse the more trapped he will feel and the more frantic he will get.
If a horse tries to run away from you while on the lead line use the rope to jerk him off balance and redirect his energy to run around you instead of away.
If you are dealing with a biting horse don't respond just by whacking him, make him move his feet. Dominance in horses is controlling when they move their feet.

Exercises to be added to this site in the future:

C-Pattern, Poke and Flex, Line Driving Stage 1 & 2, Stirrup Driving, Lungeing Stage 3, Outback Exercise, Backing Angles, Changing Eyes Stage 2, Picking You Up Off the Fence,Backing Circles, Leading Rollbacks, Crossing and Jumping Over Obstacles, Backing Serpentines, Circle Driving on the Long Line, Lungeing Stage 3 on the Long Line, Changing Directions on the Long Line, Circle Driving Transitions

DESENSITIZING

Desensitize with the Rope
Desensitize with Stick & String
Run Up and Rub
Slap and Tap
Helicopter
Changing Eyes
Slap and Walk
Head Shy
Throwing Rope and Stopping
Seesawing the Rope
Desensitize with Plastic Bag
Turn & Go

SENSITIZING

Yielding the Hindquarters
Backing Up
Yielding the Forequarters
Lungeing Stage 1& 2
Flexing Stage 1& 2
Sending
Changing Sides
Changing Eyes
Touch and Rub – Nose, Poll, Hindquarters, Forequarters
Circle Driving Stage 1 & 2
Sidepassing
Leading Behind
Leading Beside
Turn & Go

Ground Driving

GROUNDWORK EXTRAS

​

SENSITIZING​

​GROUNDWORK EXTRAS

SENSITIZING

GROUNDWORK EXTRAS