GROUNDWORK PART 3

YIELD BACKWARDS WITH A DIRECT FEEL

Over the past few months, we’ve received lots of questions about getting started with groundwork. Whilst it’s best to work with an instructor to get started, there are a few basics you can teach at home that form the foundation of all groundwork activities. Over the next few issues, we will look at these basic building blocks of your groundwork toolbox and help you to set up a solid foundation for your in-hand work.

In our last two issues, we looked at asking your pony to yield forwards. In this issue, we will ask your pony to yield softly backwards from a direct feel on his nose.

NOTE

If your pony is truly soft, yielding and balanced, backwards will be a two-time gait as he will move his feet in diagonal pairs, just like in trot.

YIELD FORWARDS WITH A DIRECT FEEL

Equipment

A halter and long lead rope

Gloves

A helmet

A longer stick e.g. a dressage stick

How to do the exercise

Stand next to your pony’s head, facing him and place your hand on his nose with your fingers touching each side of the bridge of his nose about where the noseband sits (i.e. not obstructing his nostrils).

He may not enjoy you touching his nose or he might try to walk off but aim to keep your hand gently in place until he settles and accepts you touching him there. NOTE: If this proves a real challenge for your pony, just practice putting your hand on his nose for a few days before asking for the next steps. The face is a sensitive area, and we need to give our ponies time to adapt.

Once your pony is calm and not resisting or pushing, lift your energy, focus it behind him with clear intention and apply gentle pressure on the bridge of his nose. NOTE: There are very sensitive structures around the nose, so your pressure must be very light. You are NOT trying to push your pony backwards. The motion is more of a light squeeze on either side of the nose.

When your pony has given one step back or even shifted his energy back, reward him immediately by releasing the pressure, removing your hand and saying well done.

Once your pony gets the hang of this, you can ask him to take two or three steps before removing your hand. Over time, you can get your pony to back up a long way using this technique, but start slowly and build up to this.

Points to note

Try to focus your energy straight back behind your pony to encourage him to back up straight, but remember that your pony has one stronger side and one weaker side, so he is likely to tend to back up one way or the other. Do not be fussy about this initially; rather, work on it over time.

Troubleshooting

If your pony fights your hand on his nose, be patient. Some ponies can find having your hand on their nose extremely unpleasant, particularly those who have worn very badly fitted tack, such as tight nosebands or flash straps. For these ponies, it is best to just try and keep your hand there lightly or even to stroke him gently on his nose until he can accept it before asking for movement.

If your pony does not move backwards, use the halter gently to move his head over the front foot that needs to move back first and ask him to take a side step rather than a back-up step. This normally acts to free up the feet and help the pony to move back more easily.

If your pony still doesn’t go backwards, don’t increase the pressure on his nose, but rather rhythmically flick the end of the leadrope or stick towards his chest to encourage him back.

If he is still struggling to go backwards, it might be worth discussing this with your instructor or vet to ensure that there isn’t another issue that is making this movement difficult. Some health problems, such as stifle or sacroiliac issues, can make it difficult or painful for a pony to back-up, and these need to be looked for in ponies who are very resistant to backing up.

If your pony tries to evade your request by dropping his head down - wave your stick, or stamp your foot on the ground to discourage him.

If your pony tries to evade by throwing his head in the air, try to keep your hand in place (although this can be a challenge if you have a very tall pony) and spend time encouraging him to accept your hand on his nose, using the process described above.

ULTIMATE GOALS

The ultimate goals of this exercise are to:

Allow you to keep your pony at arm’s length when needed.

Start to teach the back-up so that the back-up under saddle is easier.

MAKING THE EXERCISE MORE DIFFICULT

Once your pony reliably follows your feel backwards, you can start to specify which foot your pony moves. To do this, ask whichever front foot looks ready to move first to take a step backwards by applying gentle pressure on whichever of your thumb or forefingers are on the same side of the nose as the chosen foot on the side of his nose. This will allow you to communicate with each individual foot. As mentioned above, make sure you release the pressure and praise him after each step back with the correct foot.

TOP TIP

As your pony goes backwards, move your feet in time with his so your body mirrors his body, and you practice being in rhythm with his stride.

NEXT TIME

In our next edition, we will examine how to ask our pony backwards using an indirect feel.