scruffyponies
Well-Known Member
An interesting question from my soon-to-be 15 year old yesterday.
What she meant was, why don't we lunge our ponies, but I don't feel that the two things are the same at all.
I asked her to think about the way she interacts with her pony. Does he catch, stand, lead, back up and turn nicely when asked, even if distracted? If he doesn't, what does she do? (clue: he gets to practice, and will do it right next time). Does he understand what is required of him, and respond to verbal and non-verbal instructions? When she dismounts and asks him to stand completely still whilst she walks 50yds away to do something (her pony is a saint), isn't that groundwork?
She is only young, so it was a fair question, but how many of us don't realise that we are educating our horse with each little every-day interaction?
What little things do you do (on the ground) which 'train' your horse to make your life easier?
What she meant was, why don't we lunge our ponies, but I don't feel that the two things are the same at all.
I asked her to think about the way she interacts with her pony. Does he catch, stand, lead, back up and turn nicely when asked, even if distracted? If he doesn't, what does she do? (clue: he gets to practice, and will do it right next time). Does he understand what is required of him, and respond to verbal and non-verbal instructions? When she dismounts and asks him to stand completely still whilst she walks 50yds away to do something (her pony is a saint), isn't that groundwork?
She is only young, so it was a fair question, but how many of us don't realise that we are educating our horse with each little every-day interaction?
What little things do you do (on the ground) which 'train' your horse to make your life easier?