Leading Your Horse II:

Once we have our horse’s attention during the simple act of leading, (as well as established our leadership position through ground work exercises), we should not only expect, but demand that our horse maintain that attention when we stop for more than a few seconds.

My friend wrote: “I expect my Western horse to respect me and not graze while being led. I also expect him to stand quietly and not graze if I happen to stop to chat with some friends while I am leading him. (Do you agree with the latter?) However, there may be times when I want to give him the "green light" to graze, such as if I have led him to a special treat at the end of a lesson. I guess that he will understand when he is permitted to graze or not by my body language. But wouldn't it also be confusing to him that i am being inconsistent - disallowing the behavior sometimes but allowing it at others?

This is a fairly common issue, and while it may seem small, all horse behaviors have a foundation in training and us having their respect. The preference of whether they graze when you stop to chat or not is your own; however, if we ask our horse to stand quietly, they should, and when we ask them to step off with us, they should.

I suspect a part of this question relates to the horse grazing, then walking and pulling at the lead line to reach “greener grass” a few feet away, or refusing to stop grazing when we ask them to lead off. Too often, we see an owner pulling on the lead line trying to get their horse to stop grazing and to walk with us.

I like to consider the lead line to be my “reins” when I am on the ground. When I lift gently on the “reins” my horse should give to that request not pull against me.

I’ll try to briefly address the two aspects of this question: We can teach our horse to patiently stand still, or to stop and graze without confusing them. The important thing is that our cues must be clear and that we remain consistent.

When leading our horse, as discussed previously, and I choose to stop and chat with a friend, if we want them to stand quietly, we must be prepared to maintain their attention. If we stop without facing our horse, they should maintain their attention on us.

The first few times, as soon as they loose focus on me, I may back them up, then bring them back in then back them again to where they were when I stopped. If they turn to eat, I may yield the hindquarters, back them up, and bring them back to where they were. Since I am past the teaching stage, these directions are done firmly, but without frustration. As soon as the horse is standing quietly, relax and go back to chatting.

When taking our horse to graze and relax, we can stop slowly, turn and bring the horse forward next to us. Then stroke their neck and withers and cue them to lower their head. As they graze we can either stand with them or sit and let them relax. When we are ready to move, we gently lift the lead line (reins) and ask them to step with us. If they do not, don’t pull on the lead line; rather, maintain a light consistent pressure, and cue them to yield the hindquarters. If we have done our ground work, their response should be immediate. When we have their attention, we can then return to leading them.

With soft but firm consistency, our horses will learn the difference, and we will maintain the respect they freely give their leader.

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Leading Your Horse II: