To those who teach trick to their horses...

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PingPongPony

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Could someone tell me how to teach your horse to lie down? I have seen many videos on youtube but most use force, and that's the last thing i'd want to do, force my horse to lie down. So anyone has a nice way of teaching them to lie down? :)
 
I did by accident when doing carrot stretches, wheb u bring them underneath, he kept lifting his leg, and so had to go down. I then had to teach him not to go down as he is cheeky and would prob do it when I dont want him to!
 
Food is the key! Start with the bow, then combine it with a side stretch gradualy getting lower over a period of weeks.
Train it slowly and progressively and before feed times. Use a bum bag so that you don't run out of feed mid trick.
 
I'm in the process of teaching Fergs to lie down. I tried using ropes to make what I mean clear (not by force, but to give the right signal in the right place at the right time - lets be honest, I couldnt force him to! He's a lot stronger than I am!), but he didn't understand / I am too stupid to get the cues just right with multiple ropes. I'm working on it as an extension of a kneeling bow.

I know some people train by positive association when the horse starts to lie down, e.g. treat rewarding when pony is on a rope and it's hot, owner takes it somewhere it likes to roll (sand school etc) and rewards it for every time it starts to consider lying down.
 
From what I've read, lying down has a psychological effect on the horse. I assume that they have to trust the handler to do it voluntarily. It must be mildly traumatic. I don't say that is a bad sense. Trauma can lead to pleasure. Thinks kids or others who like to be scared by ghost stories and horror movies "because they are nice when they're over" as one viewer explained!:D

It certainly works with dogs. I teach lying down, or rather the flat Down, as a normal part of training and the relief or pleasure a dog gets when it is encouraged to get up again and play is quite apparent.

Maybe the animals is thinking, "I don't like this but I trust my handler", then, when it is over there is the tremendous feeling of relief. I suspect something similar might be going on in Join Up. "I am getting chased because I am a beta in the herd". Then the pressure comes off and horse rejoins "the herd" and gets the feeling of mild pleasure that the relief that the scary part is over brings.

Oh, and jftd, I use a length of baler twine to maintain contact when teaching a dog to lie down. I keep my hand behind my leg so the cues come from the cord and not the movement of my hand. It's just a tweak to remind the dog.

Just my thoughts on the matter and if you don't agree, it won't kill either of us, so play nice!:D
 
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