Building a Partnership with Your Horse

"Training Outside the Box, Part 2"

By Lynn Palm

       Before we start training outside the box, meaning confined areas, such as arenas and paddocks, it is important to recognize and learn how to "read the horse."

   Any healthy, fit horse has some level of inner energy that must be released before he can concentrate on the task the rider will be asking him to do. The level of inner energy may vary between different horses and in the same horse at different times, but it is always there. It may be present in a larger dose in higher strung or sensitive horses.

   Another issue that riders might face when training outside the box is that their horse may be overly sensitive and more high-strung than usual when taken into new surroundings. A horse will nearly always be different in a new environment. This is especially true of horses that are not "seasoned," meaning those who have not experienced going to different places over many years.

   Probably one of the hardest, but most important, things to learn is how to read a horse to know if he has inner energy that should be released or if he is calm and ready for schooling. An obvious sign of inner energy is if his ears are moving very fast and his head is moving from side to side. Under saddle, the ears and head are an easy indicator to observe because they are right in front of the rider; but, when you are on the ground, you need to look closely for these signs of tension.