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Foundation Leadership™
Leadership: Groundwork From The Horse’s Perspective

“Leadership is much more an art, a belief, a condition of the heart, than a set of things to do. The visible signs of artful leadership are expressed, ultimately, in its practice.” - Max Dupree

Letting go of Common Beliefs

I have observed that many horsepeople believe that groundwork is only required for starting colts or for the restarting of troubled horses. Many skip groundwork due to time constraints. Many more do not know how to do it so they refrain. Whatever the circumstance, the on-going practice of honest groundwork helps a human become the leader a horse wants and needs.

The first time a horse meets a human, the human is on the ground. How we approach a horse from the ground sets the tone for everything that follows. An artful leader knows that if you continue to take care of a horse in a way that supports his wellbeing from the moment of that initial introduction, he will take care of ours.

“The animal (horse) shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the sense we have either lost or never attained, living by voices we choose not to hear.” - Harry Beston

Consider the Horse

I have noticed that there is a disparity between what horses would like us to know about what they need from us versus what we believe we know. They understand the nature and necessity of leadership that is lost to many humans. An experienced leader has been awakened to the fact that horses have a sensitivity and intelligence that most humans cannot even imagine, let alone comprehend. The first step toward taking on the role as leader begins with listening to and considering the horse instead of relying on information based on common beliefs. Awareness and observation from the ground is the safest and most effective way to begin sorting out the misconceptions.

Softness is fundamental to creating a solid foundation. The softness will transfer directly to the saddle. I am standing in the middle of the horse where the saddle would go and I positioned the rope approximated to where the rein might be. Always try to keep float in the rope. Do not pull the horse into shape.

Leadership from the ground is much more than teaching random exercises and tasks that have little meaning to the horse. Groundwork is not the running of a horse in endless circles in an arena, whip in hand. Interaction of that nature is stressful to the horse.

Clarity of Purpose

Horses need to be clear about what is being asked of them in order for them to perform to their highest potential. A leader that is aware and conscious about the specific needs of a horse formulates a deliberate set of exercises intent on calmly and quietly explaining to him how to use his body and mind to best fit the nature of his job. There is no judgment, punishment or undue pressure in effective ground handling. The idea is to support the horse. The leader checks his ego and negative emotions at the door.

Positive Emotion

Some will say the leader needs to be devoid of emotion during groundwork. I disagree. Horses respond to genuine love and positive reinforcement. Encourage him even if he responds to what you ask in a way that does not quite fit your picture of it. He is doing exactly what you asked, you just might not be aware of what you were asking.

Feel

The amount of effort spent on becoming skilled in groundwork goes hand and hand with discovering the art of feel. Feel is a term coined around the turn of the 20th century to describe the fundamental language in which communication between human and horse can occur in a dialect that both understand. Only after a human discovers the art of feel can one hope to be the leader that the horse can follow.

“….it boils down to the horse, his human and what goes on between them.” Walter Farley

Ground-Riding™

In order to lead effectively, we must begin by realizing the connection between working on the ground and working in the saddle. I prefer the term ground-riding to describe interacting with a horse from the ground because everything you do on the ground with a horse has a profound lasting effect and direct correlation to what happens in the saddle. If executed from this perspective, you are in effect riding from the ground. If a horse has weak ground preparation, his work in the saddle can be no better. A horse will learn to do those things that have the same feel and intention as his human teacher. So, a human with weak and inappropriate ground skills has little chance of teaching a horse anything you might want him to remember.

“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink,” could be better expressed by, “You can’t lead a horse to water if he doesn’t want to go”.

Here, Fable understands my feel. He is alert, willing and has his attention on the job at hand. Notice my body position: My hips are turned to a position slightly behind the horse and I am not looking him in the eye. The energy produced by my focus is enough to ask him to move forward.

Learning the Basics

Do not make assumptions. Fable, who has crossed rivers has trouble with water at times. There is something that bothers him here. Look at the first 2 photos. He has his front feet locked and a nervous facial expression. He is trying very hard.

The only way he could see to get across the stream is to leap, run and soak me. Notice I stayed in one eye and out of his way. I gave him plenty of rope, but not enough to loose feel. The key is to stay focused, clear and calm. Give a horse the time to sort things out. Then ask again with a slightly different feel. The last photo shows a better result.

Take the opportunity to watch the interaction between horses and their people. Make note of examples of those qualities you would value in a leader and those you would not. Attempt to clear your mind of judgement; try instead to view everything you see as information. For the sake of argument, imagine you are seeing things through the eyes of the horse.

For instance: if a person has difficulty leading a horse quietly and uneventfully on a lead rope, look for clues as to why there is little connection, in the horses mind, between what he needs in a leader and who he has as one. From the horse’s point of view with no leader in sight, he will do whatever his hard-wired horse instincts show him to do in that moment.

How does the person react if a horse does something other than what he, (the person) wanted? Does he blame the horse or adjust his feel to something the horse understands. Considering that horses recognize the unjustness of punishment, will in most cases yield under fear of more punishment if they don’t. Punishing a horse can erode trust and serves no good purpose, save soothing the human ego. Yet how many times have you witnessed people punishing their horses? If a horse cannot place trust in a person leading him with a rope, how do you think the ride is going to go?

"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Points to Remember

Our ‘staying in the moment’ and being conscious of our thoughts, emotions, judgement and movements is vitally important to horses. When conducting ourselves in this manner we are building and strengthening a solid foundation. It helps insure the safety and wellbeing of both horse and human when we step into the saddle. Harmony comes before performance.

Goundwork/ Ground-Riding is the place to start to feel for the horse. It is a place where both horse and human can explore one another. It is the place for both to make mistakes, forgive, and discover new opportunities for improvement. It is the place to begin growing and cultivating a bond that will last a lifetime.

“Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it”. Marian Anderson

From the horse

• We want to know who you are. Do not forget to politely introduce yourself. • Be sure about what you want us to learn.
• We will not likely forget a bad experience, but you can replace the memory with the suggestion of something more helpful to us.
• Keep our lessons short and introduce them to us in small pieces so we can better understand.
• Give us plenty of rest-time to think and digest information.
• Do not lie to us. It disrespects our nature.
• Be conscious of our primary needs. We cannot learn if we are sick, injured, hungry, or overly anxious.
• Treat us with kindness and respect.

Let a horse whisper in your ear and breathe on your heart. You will never regret it.