use your horse to think

How to educate a horse to think?

by howdy9533
Published: Updated:

A practical drill to educate a horse to think, to search, to be active in your equestrian relationship.

We should always have these questions in mind when we educate a horse: How can I help my horse to think? How can I let him find out what I want? That is the reason why you may have read again and again in these pages that you should leave time to your horse to think, and to give you the good response.

Untracking the hindquarters

This drill is a practical exercise that is directly related to Untracking the Hindquarters. Based on the excellent work of Buck Brannaman, there are four methods to bring a horse to untrack the hind legs. The first three are described in another video:

  • Lateral flexion + leg cue.
  • Soft Feel + leg cue.
  • Leg only.

Educate a horse to think

I put the fourth aside as I think it is more designed to teach a horse to think than to move his hind end. The principle is quite simple: Get the lateral flexion and… wait! Wait until the horse tries something, and eventually finds out that you want him to cross his hind legs.

Tip:

Do not get into your horse’s way! Do not use your legs with this method, do not bump the rope or push with the outside leg or whatever. You do not want to get in his way, but to let him be the only one to find the solution.

You may also like

Leave a Comment

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Ok Privacy policy

Privacy & Cookies Policy