101 Ground Training Exercises For Every Horse Handler

Ground training is the key to a safe and pleasurable riding experience. Designed for easy reference while working with your horse, this guide can be hung on a post. Riders of all disciplines and skill levels will benefit from these exercises that reinforce good habits and help develop a strong bond between horse and rider.

Presents ground training exercises for every horse and handler, including catching, yielding, turning, sacking out, backing, long lining, doing obstacle work, and more.

If you are like most people, you know what you want your horse to do and how you want him to behave. You want your training experiences to be safe and enjoyable for both you and your horse. But maybe you aren't sure what to do and when. In 101 Longeing and Long Lining Exercises you'll find complete ground training lesson plans from square 1 to square 101. Cherry Hill starts with basic in-hand and free longeing lessons, then takes you through the addition of a longe line, cavesson, bridle, surcingle, side reins, saddle, and long lines. You'll learn a wide variety of ground training exercises suitable for both English and Western horses. In-hand section: * Fancy footwork * Whip works * Pitching a wave * Turn on the forehand * Sidepass * Longeing section: * Stop, look, and listen * Outside turns * Inside turns * Whip talk Spirals * Wagon wheels * Bending tune-up * Contact and collection * Long lining section: * Long line lingo * Yin y ang * Figure-8 * Serpentines * Backing * Cavalletti work * Trail obstacles Each of the exercises is laid out with a diagram, step-by-step instructions, and an explanation of its benefits. The exercises progress from the basic skills to more advanced ones, such as counter-canter and flying changes of lead. This book and its companion volume, Longeing and Long Lining the English and Western Horse: A Total Program, give you a solid foundation for helping your horse work in productive form.

Get jumping! This collection presents a logical series of fun and rewarding exercises that are designed to develop your horse-jumping skills. With straightforward instructions and clear arena maps, this guide can be hung on a pole and easily referenced from the saddle. In addition to clearly articulated goals and progressively difficult variations, each exercise also includes encouraging advice on what the rider should keep in mind while jumping. Saddle up and get ready to fly through the air with grace and confidence.

Dressage is the ultimate achievement of oneness between horse and rider. Featuring a full arena diagram and step-by-step instructions for each exercise, this sturdy book is designed to allow the rider to hang it on a hook and refer to it from the saddle. You’ll learn how to improve your riding position; master looseness, balance, and suspension; and perfect flying changes as you work toward dressage success.

Handling your horse correctly on the ground is paramount in achieving a calm, willing horse, both in-hand and under saddle, regardless of his age or ability. Groundwork Training for Your Horse takes an in-depth look at the modern and traditional techniques of training from the ground, allowing the reader to select a method that will work for them. Everything from equipment needed to the handler's body language is explained, so the reader is fully briefed before introducing their new skills to their horse.

A new book especially written for the time-starved 21st-century horse owner! Do you day after day make a promise to train yourself and your horse to be better at something, but when you get to the barn there just doesn’t seem to be enough time? Don’t worry, what really matters is the quality of the training you do manage to fit in. It really is possible to carry out good quality, progressive training with a horse in only three minutes a day. Educator and horse trainer Vanessa Bee’s “light bulb moment” was when she realized that if a training session had a realistic goal, every horse achieved the goal in under three minutes. This led her to create techniques appropriate for use in brief digestible lessons that ultimately produce significant gains in short sessions. This refreshing new method offers 35 ground exercises, 24 ridden exercises, and 25 “real world” exercises that will get you out and about with a safe, sane, well-trained horse.

Horse trainer Jonathan Field has made a name for himself with his unique ability to give people simple, understandable, doable steps that lead to working with a horse “at liberty” in a safe and progressive manner. True engagement with a horse at liberty isn’t just about removing tack and stepping outside the arena—it’s about connection, trust, and communication through movement. Enrich your relationship with your horse, improve your “feel,” and teach your horse to respond to the subtlest of cues; no matter your discipline, whether you compete or ride for pleasure, liberty training can change the way you interact with horses forever.