Tied To The Ground: The Easy Way And Riding A Yearling Foal
Tied to the ground:
I find that throwing a horse in a line or round pen before riding or working with him can go a long way in keeping his energy at the desired level for work. If you have treated your horse fairly, then it will not run away from you, it will most likely follow you. This makes for a good base for tying down the soil.
When I really want to work on the ground tie, I like to use a 20′ lead rope with a thin rope halter so I can step away from the horse and check the leash, quickly pulling and releasing, if the horse moves towards me. When I don’t want a horse walking towards me, I check the lead line with my left hand while raising my right hand above my head as a signal to stay put. I use the word whoa when checking the line so that when I don’t have a main line they will listen to me and stop.
When I catch my horse to brush, ride or work, I don’t tie him up. This way every time I take them out I am teaching them to tie to the ground. I’m always ready to check the main rope if it starts to move while I’m planing or saddling. When I’m brushing or saddling, there’s always some eye contact so I’m not late if the horse moves. One must think faster than the horse. You should be able to see the horse move before it does and if you are paying attention you can see it coming.
On putting a year old on a pony:
If a person is rearing a baby and his mare is pretty ruined; or, if you have a very tame saddle horse and don’t plan to go far, it may be a good idea.
The one thing you don’t want to do is take your baby for a walk on the trails. I think it’s too much to force a yearling to travel long distances. Also, when you put your yearling out there is a risk that the pony will want to kick your yearling. Often pony horses don’t like foals…so always be careful.
If you’re riding your yearling, you should be prepared to let the lead rope slip if it stalls if it gets spooked or wants to back off. This will prevent your one year old from injuring his neck or back from a sudden impact. You can simply hold the rope on your horse’s back, but you can’t prevent your yearling from being in danger if he runs away or is spooked. On the plus side, a foal can learn a lot from another horse, especially if her dam is out of her own control and can gain confidence fairly quickly.