Palm, Lynn: Move Away

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The ‘Move Away’ Command

By Lynn Palm | http://www.lynnpalm.com/

Horses need to respect four major ground training commands: “move away from me,” “come toward me,” stop, and back. In my last two articles, we covered the “come to me” and “whoa” commands. In this article, I will give you the steps to teach your horse the “move away from me” command.

To introduce the next step, put your right hand on the point of the horse's shoulder while your left hand gently guides to keep his head straight during the maneuver. Any excess line should be held in your right hand. Gently push, or use a vibrating touch, to move the horse's shoulder away from you. Give a “cluck” to reinforce teaching him to “move” or “ go forward.” Follow his motion with your body while your other hand maintains a light contact with his halter to guide his head straight. Do not put any more tension on the halter than you have on his shoulder. The instant that he responds by taking one step, stop and praise him with a soft mellow voice tone and a pet.

Before starting, make sure that your horse is properly equipped. He should be wearing a properly fitting halter with a longe line, and leg protection. I prefer using a longe line over a lead rope for ground training, but will use both terms in this article. If you are following my recommendations from past articles, you will create a lesson plan for each of these training sessions. The objective is for the horse to be responsive to your commands on a loose lead, without any tugging or pulling on the longe or lead. When doing any ground training maneuver, move with the horse at all times.

I will give explanations of these maneuvers as if I was teaching them in a stall and from the horse's near (left) side. Remember to teach the maneuver from both sides of your horse. Be patient when working on his off (right) side because the horse from the very beginning of his life is handled mostly on his left side.

No matter what the horse's age, I introduce these commands first in a confined, familiar location like stall, round pen, or small paddock. Remove any distractions such as buckets or hay. This will help him stay focused on you and relaxed. As the horse learns, you can then graduate to teaching him the same lessons in progressively bigger areas such as an aisleway, a round pen, or a larger paddock.

Teaching the “Move Away From Me” Command

The “move away from me” command teaches the horse to move away from pressure. It also gives you a tool that teaches your horse respect and helps keep a safe space between you. Moving away from pressure is a key concept for your horse to understand for all other ground work and under saddle training.

The first step I use to teach this command is to get the horse to move away from me by shaking or “throwing” the longe line towards him. Once he understands that this means to move away, you can minimize the shaking of the line as you do this gesture. This is an important tool to get the horse to move away from you for safety. He should be able to move away from you, at your command, without any tension being placed on the lead.

Your Next Step: Make sure you are looking at the horse's topline during the “move away from me” maneuver and not his shoulder or his feet. Once the horse understands the maneuver, you can continue to ask him for more steps. Your contact on his shoulder will become lighter and lighter, if you keep him straight as he learns to move away. Add the “whoa” command when you want him to stop and don't release your touch until after he stops.

Until then, follow your dreams. To learn more about Lynn’s educational programs at Palm Equestrian Academy in Ocala, Florida, her Ride Well clinics across the United States, saddles, DVDs, books, as well as trail and Western dressage competitions, and more, please visit her website at: http://www.lynnpalm.com/ or call 800-503-2824. Lynn can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.