What groundwork to do?

[Fjord]

What sort of groundwork can you do with an anxious horse when you have no arena, only a small area that can be sectioned off, and it's all a bit muddy? I'm struggling with what I can do with Angel at the moment, being short of time, and she gets very worried if she's taken away from the others. We have a little grassy (muddy) corral that I can close off, and I can put hay for the other two outside so they hang around and she's not alone. I just don't really know what to do next. We need to work on everything to be honest, although she's been a ridden pony before, she was a bit messed up in a previous home and really needs work on her confidence. So I'm looking for little exercises I can do while we wait for the weather to improve and I can rope my husband in to lead Bobbi so we can walk out together.

I sort of have ideas in my head, but when it comes to actually doing anything I go blank.

 

[Lois Lame]

I think the first thing you would need to do is to make sure you have good footing where you are planning to work. If it's muddy and slippery, or muddy and deep, you'll come unstuck, or get stuck. It will not work. So figure out how you can get a good footing.

Having the other two nearby so your mare is not alone is imo a good idea (being a sucker for an upset horse). What will she think if they are having hay and she wouldn't mind some? Perhaps it might be better for everyone to have hay first, then your mare can do a little work while the other two fiddle about, having finished, and are enjoying the aftertaste.

Really I think any sort of groundwork would be fine to start off with. But first, start the routine, set your mind on clear and calm, patient and kind, and just go with the flow.

 

[GypsGal1718]

I would say the more vocal she is the better. Work on her following you off voice on a very loose leadrope or no rope and stopping when you stop

 

[blitznbobs]

An anxious horse is exactly the horse you should be doing ground work with . Tbh the methods are all very similar all though they purport to be very different choose one (Portuguese, Spanish , French, or trt type thing ) and try it . You don’t need a lot of space you can start off in a stable but you must have good footing

 

[planete]

Plenty you can do just leading down a track. Teach her to be wih you on a loose rope or reins, walking faster then slower, stopping when you do by watching you instead of being pulled to a stop, reining back dito. Bear in mind unwillingness to rein back can simply be a result of tension so do not expect it unless the horse is relaxed. It is simply teaching the horse to be attentive to you and respond to your body language. If she is very sharp start in the stable or wherever she is most relaxed, five minutes at a time is enough to start with but do it every day until she responds to the smallest signal.

 

[Highmileagecob]

And reward when you are pleased with her! A scratch on the neck or behind the ear and a 'Hey! Good girl! will all help to reinforce what she got right. If you are having problems getting her to walk away from the others, try putting a small handful of treats in an empty crisp pack, in your pocket. It can be used as a distraction to get her to focus on you, with the promise of a small treat for walking away from the others.

 

[cauda equina]

Do anything at all really, as long as you are clear about what you want her to do, and it's something you're capable of teaching her and she is capable of learning - eg walk on, stand still, step back, lift a foot when asked
Then break it down into tiny steps, lots of praise and reward (Mark Rashid - 'Reward the try') and always finish on a good note

 

[ihatework]

I would do nothing until she will go in your pen and relax. So I’d tie up, groom, maybe give token feed.
Until an anxious horse can relax mentally they just arent going to learn. The actual act of leaving the others even if they are in sight is priority

 

[SantaVera]

Im in the same boat,mud sloppy ground which slopes and no arena. With mine I got him used to inhand walking along the lane adjacent to the field. Two minutes to start with if the horse gets upset, I built up from this and can now lead him on an inhand hack of an hour or so.i practiced teaching him turn on the forehand turn on the haunches backing up,all inhand.i recommended Vanessa Bee's books, lots of ideas to try taking only a few minutes each and some can be done in a stable. It's worked well for me.

 

[expanding_horizon]

I would do nothing until she will go in your pen and relax. So I’d tie up, groom, maybe give token feed.
Until an anxious horse can relax mentally they just arent going to learn. The actual act of leaving the others even if they are in sight is priority

Do you not find doing groundwork patterns can relax a horse? e.g. if I am about to get on, and there are horses messing about in nearby fields (arena surround by fields) and my horse is tense observing them, I might spend five minutes on groundwork asking horse to alternate backing / yielding quarters / stepping over / moving forwards. I find the horse will relax and concentrate on me through the exercise. Is then safe to mount.

That said groundwork might not work on a very upset horse e.g. the hunt coming through the yard. But I find it a pretty useful tool to ask horse to concentrate on moving it's body to a changing pattern versus worrying about other things.

 

[expanding_horizon]

What sort of groundwork can you do with an anxious horse when you have no arena, only a small area that can be sectioned off, and it's all a bit muddy? I'm struggling with what I can do with Angel at the moment, being short of time, and she gets very worried if she's taken away from the others. We have a little grassy (muddy) corral that I can close off, and I can put hay for the other two outside so they hang around and she's not alone. I just don't really know what to do next. We need to work on everything to be honest, although she's been a ridden pony before, she was a bit messed up in a previous home and really needs work on her confidence. So I'm looking for little exercises I can do while we wait for the weather to improve and I can rope my husband in to lead Bobbi so we can walk out together.

I sort of have ideas in my head, but when it comes to actually doing anything I go blank.

Maybe have a look at Jec Ballou 55 Corrective exercises book - I love it. Not all the exercises will suit your set up, but some will. There is free youtube channel with lots of exercises demonstrated. And an informal facebook group spin off for discussing the exercises.

 

[Landcruiser]

Maybe have a look at Jec Ballou 55 Corrective exercises book - I love it. Not all the exercises will suit your set up, but some will. There is free youtube channel with lots of exercises demonstrated. And an informal facebook group spin off for discussing the exercises.

Thanks for this e_h, hijacked to say I've just hit "buy now" Jec Ballou book, the sample I read on Amazon looks really useful.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I'm going for a ground work lesson this morning. Is there any where locally to you you could try that maybe? Its not something I will be doing regularly but gives me things to work with at home.

 

[sbloom]

Jec Ballous is good, I could direct you to a few others but the most critical thing is HOW the exercises are done, and are you making progress in the right direction. Poles especially often lead to horses moving LESS correctly, or beyond the point at which they tire (often earlier than we think, and you need a keen eye to spot it).

If an exercise helps a horse move straighter, with equal adduction and abduction (ability to step to the side both to the outside AND crossing, horses so often are better at the crossing especially on one rein), helps them stay in relative relaxation in the neck or helps them visibly push up in front (watch the muscles at the base of the wither) then it's useful to the horse's physiology and way of going. There is also loads of stuff out there now about connection and mirroring which will be useful.

If you wanted online help or were nearby (Suffolk) then Encompass Equine Solutions is very good.

 

[Jambarissa]

I think I'd be starting on her anxiety.

You could put her in your corralled bit and take her back to her friends when she calms down. Repeat many times!

You could have her on a rope and aim to have her stand calmly away from you - so do small disengaging circles until she's fed up of moving then allow to stand still, repeat as soon as she moves again. Get this to a point where she'll stand quietly at the end of the rope.

Or desensitisation work? Flags, bags, sticks, whatever. Start small and at a distance and 'the thing' doesn't retreat until she is quiet and still.

 

[Dasher66]

Teach her to touch stuff on command. It will increase her confidence in you. Start by leading her to everyday stuff (fence post, stable door,) you point, and when she touches it with her nose you treat/praise/scratch. Work up to wheelie bins, fillers, running JCBs).
I was initially dubious, but my horse caught on quickly. Then we transferred it to riding. I had a way to ask her to approach scary stuff out hacking and she trusted me to try.

 

[maya2008]

I like ‘The Natural Horseman’ and his winter groundwork series on YouTube. My previously feral, v reactive mare likes it too. Makes her think but totally unscary. Builds trust. It is designed to be done in small spaces in the winter.

 

[Hackback]

My horse is as yet unbacked so all I have been doing in my lessons is groundwork. We started off very simply asking him to flex his head round to each side and to flex down, and progressed from there, eg backing up with head lowered and neck relaxed, turn on the forehand and so on. Now when he's anxious about something new he offers his favourite exercise (currently side pass) which is a bit odd, but I can only guess he must find comfort in doing a routine that he understands. So yes I can see that doing patterns could lower anxiety.

 

[Fjord]

Thank you for all the replies, I'm going to look ip some exercises on YouTube based on these recommendations. Yesterday I took her into the corral with the other two hanging around outside (after some feed and hay). We just did some walking forward, hslting, backing up and turning, and she did seem to relax a bit and listen to me. I think the key is going to be consistency, I really need to make this a habit. Which is half of my battle!

 

[cauda equina]

Although not really groundwork, carrot stretches can be useful for relaxation and focus on the handler too
If you do them in a consistent pattern the horse soon knows what is expected of them, making it easy for them to get it right and get the reward

 

[Lois Lame]

Teach her to touch stuff on command. It will increase her confidence in you. Start by leading her to everyday stuff (fence post, stable door,) you point, and when she touches it with her nose you treat/praise/scratch. Work up to wheelie bins, fillers, running JCBs).
I was initially dubious, but my horse caught on quickly. Then we transferred it to riding. I had a way to ask her to approach scary stuff out hacking and she trusted me to try.

That's really interesting.

 

[Fjord]

Teach her to touch stuff on command. It will increase her confidence in you. Start by leading her to everyday stuff (fence post, stable door,) you point, and when she touches it with her nose you treat/praise/scratch. Work up to wheelie bins, fillers, running JCBs).
I was initially dubious, but my horse caught on quickly. Then we transferred it to riding. I had a way to ask her to approach scary stuff out hacking and she trusted me to try.

I'll definitely try this!

 

[Landcruiser]

My horse is as yet unbacked so all I have been doing in my lessons is groundwork. We started off very simply asking him to flex his head round to each side and to flex down, and progressed from there, eg backing up with head lowered and neck relaxed, turn on the forehand and so on. Now when he's anxious about something new he offers his favourite exercise (currently side pass) which is a bit odd, but I can only guess he must find comfort in doing a routine that he understands. So yes I can see that doing patterns could lower anxiety.

LOL, my youngster does this too. She picked up sidepass ridiculously easily when I introduced it - she could just "do" it, both in an open space and along a pole, and will often offer it first when she's not sure what I'm asking her to do.