Ground-Tying Test
skills. Ask him to pick up each foot while he's standing in a ground-tie command

After you teach your horse to ground-tie (see below), test his patience and his newfound “statue” skills. Ask him to pick up each foot while he’s standing in a ground-tie command. Pick up his left front foot, hold it for a count of 10, then put it down in the same spot. Then do the same thing with his left hind hoof, right hind hoof, and right front hoof.

If your horse starts to move or steps away at any point, pick up the lead line, and correct him, then move him back to his original spot. Continue to work with him until you can walk all the way around him, picking up and replacing each hoof.

Your training time will come in handy on the trail. You never know when you’ll need to stop and dismount to check a hoof. Plus, this skill is required during the trail division of National Versatility Ranch Horse Association (www.nvrha.com) shows. You might just be ready for a trail competition!

–Julie Goodnight;www.juliegoodnight.com. For Julie Goodnight’s step-by-step ground-tying method, see “Ground-Tied and Respectful,” Natural Horsemanship, Part I, The Trail Rider, January/February ’09.

CATEGORIES
TAGS
Related Articles
HR_25SPG_Tricky-Trail-Terrain_Ken-McNab_01b
Traverse Trail Terrain with Confidence
Techniques for the Trail
A profile view of a cowboy and his horse
7 Canons of Conditioning Your Trail Horse
Wyoming Cowgirl
Prep Now for Summer Riding
Do This Now for Stress-Free Summer Trail Rides
WolfHorse-Joe-Saenz
Horseback Rides Through History
Ride With Purpose Through the Gila Wilderness with WolfHorse Outfitters
Newsletter
Receive news and promotions for Horse & Rider and other Equine Network offers.

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Country*

Additional Offers

Additional Offers
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Horse and Rider
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.