In front of the leg...

Since arriving home for a short duration between travelling to events we've begun the process of getting the younger horses back into a program after their winter break.  This process is always a good time to reassess basic areas of training for each horse and to pinpoint where we need to focus.  A common theme whenever you run into difficulty in training a horse for any discipline tends to revolve around the lack of a horse being "in front of the leg".  So what does that mean... To me, success with a horse comes when they have a desire to take you somewhere.  It is as much, if not more, a mental state of being than a physical description as there are plenty of horses that are in a hurry but not really "in front of the leg".

I have found that this basic training principle is often ignored rather than addressed in many every day situations which can then lead to so many difficulties later in training.  In short, training a horse to be "in front of the leg" begins on the ground.  Here are some basic questions you can ask to see if you are on the right track (+) or falling into a trap (-):

• When leading are you beside the horses shoulder (+) or ahead of the shoulder (-)? 
• Can you lead from either side of the horse (+)?
• Does the horse pull on the lead when it walks (-)?

After asking those basic questions you can begin some basic training to test out your communication:

• Test out your forward aid by standing beside the shoulder while the horse is standing and ask it to walk forward with a cluck. If no response find a good additional aid to achieve forward movement without sacrificing your position (just like when you're riding!).
  
• Being able to "whoa" is equally as important as "go" since many horses trick you into thinking that they are "in front of the leg" when they are actually just running away.  Start by using a voice command and add in pressure from the lead or shank to communicate your "whoa".  If they are charging through the aids stay beside the shoulder and turn the horse away from you in order to stop.  Turning towards you allows them to spin their body away rather than teaching them to put their weight on their hind end to stop.  

If you can get good responses to "go" & "whoa" and can turn them away from you when leading from either side of their body than your on the right track.  Simple awareness goes a long way.  Obviously there are always special cases and you may need to modify your technique but the end goal is the same with all.  If you have to make modifications realize that will probably carry over to your work under saddle as well. Check back and I'll continue on with this theme again...