Use the downtime of winter to reinforce basic ground manners in your horse.
When ice and snow make riding impractical, that doesn’t mean you can’t still be busy with your horse. In fact, winter is a great time to polish up your horse’s basic ground manners, skills that might otherwise get rusty when you’re not riding or working with him every day.
Here’s a list of expanded how-to help on teaching the skills from the “Wintertime? Tune-Up Time!” article in the February 2012 issue. Click on the links below for more training tips.
Stall manners: “Build Good Habits From the Start,” Clinton Anderson.
Personal space: “Teach Your Horse to Respect Your Personal Space,” Clinton Anderson.
Head-down cue: “Build the Bond,” John Lyons.
Proper leading: “Lead-Line Lightness,” Clinton Anderson (video).
Flex neck to the side: “Flex Your Horse’s Neck From the Ground,” Clinton Anderson.
Flex vertically at the poll: “Face Time,” Sandy Collier.
Tie safely: “Trouble-Free Tying,” Clinton Anderson.
Foot manners: “Help for Fussy Feet,” Clinton Anderson.
