Groundwork is the foundation for everything you’ll do with your horse. From riding to grooming, your horse will need good manners. They need to be respectful and obedient. These exercises are a great way to test your horse’s skills and see how well they listen to you.
Try These Groundwork Exercises
- Yield hindquarters
- Ground tie
- Turn on the forehand
- Walk over a tarp
- Line up with the mounting block
- Lower head
- Come when called
- Pick up all four hooves
- Side pass
- Backup with light pressure
- Step onto a pedestal
- Load into a trailer
- Go through water
- Walk over ground poles
- Weave through cones
- Follow at liberty
- Lunge with verbal cues
- Be touched all over
- Desensitize to whip
- Stand for spray bottle
These are just the start of groundwork exercises. There are so many more fun things you can do with your horse. And you don’t even need to be in the saddle! What are you favorite exercises to try? Can your horse do any tricks?
And before you teach your horse new exercises, head over to 7 Ways To Help Your Horse Learn Effectively!
