Teaching a horse to ground tie.

I'm of the opinion one of the best things you can do for you and your horse is to teach them to ground tie. Two reasons I like to teach horses to ground tie is for convenience and safety. We have all been there, we are up on our horses and realize we dropped something or we forgot something in the barn or trailer. It may be you need to tend to another rider or adjust someone’s tack, whatever the situation it may require two hands and be in a location where there isn't enough room or be safe to have a horse around.

I should clarify what I mean by ground tying. For me ground tying is having your horse stand in one spot when a lead rope, or rein is on the ground or they have been told to stand. They should respond by not moving whether you are in the saddle, 10 feet away or out of sight. I include being in the saddle because sometimes you may drop a rein or lead and believe me stepping on a rein can be hard on your tack, your horses mouth and your body. Ground tying can also save you from a long walk back to the barn. If you accidentally come off your horse hopefully they will stop when he sees the reins on the ground.

Teaching them to ground tie is easy but requires persistence and commitment on your part.

Here's how I do it; I take a horse into a safe relatively confined area where they cannot run away, (a paddock or sand ring will work) with a lead and halter on. I drop the lead on the ground and say "stand" I then let go of the lead and take a step back. Your horse will usually follow you at this point this is when you grab the lead and back them up to where you asked them to stand and say "stand". Keep repeating if they take a step. When they do stand for a few seconds walk over and tell them what a good horse they are. Gradually increase the distance and time but make sure to correct them the second they take a step. Eventually you should be able to walk around them, pick up their feet and even walk out of their site.

Another easy way to teach them to ground tie in combination with the method I mentioned earlier is to have a lead rope attached to the halter while they are in the cross ties. They associate standing still in the cross ties with having a lead on the ground.

This is a very simple thing to teach but the convenience of not having to constantly hold or tie a horse is well worth it.

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Comment by Steve Wawryk on January 24, 2010 at 4:42pm: Geoffrey
good idea... this is what I like about these websites you can always learn new things and pick up some great training tips. Those are some serious jumps your flying over, looks like fun.

Comment by Geoffrey Pannell on January 23, 2010 at 4:01pm: I do agree Steve ,ground tying is a useful tool. What I've found in the training is instead of walking away from the horse from the front , as you would when you lead them, in the begining if you walk to the back of the horse or the side of the horse they seem to get the idea a little faster and don't get confused with thinking they must follow you . Cheers Geoffrey

Comment by Steve Wawryk on January 22, 2010 at 4:40pm: Good question Tiffany; you are right it is always best to correct right away, by the time you have worked up to being across the arena your horse will no they were not suppose to walk off. You still can correct them right away as long as you can see them and they can hear you. The correction happens when you tell them to "stand". Think of it like teaching them to stop first you say whoa then follow up with seat and hands. Soon your horse will be stopping on "whoa" the same holds true when you say "stand". I would still move them back to where you left them but a stern "stand" command can be very affective.
When the horses start to learn this you can see them become more and more tenative to take a step, sometimes you can just say "hey" or some kind of gesture and they will stop. Once you start working at it you and your horse will get the idea and feel for it.

Comment by Tiffany on January 22, 2010 at 3:29pm: I need to teach my 1 and half year old paint to ground tie because she gets very fidgety when I leave the area or when there is no other horse in sight. Thanks for this info. =)

One thing, though, some people suggest you correct it 'right away' like within a split second... But if you are several feet away and they take a step, it takes more then a second to walk over and push them back into place. Do you think this will be a problem in the progress when teaching the horse or do you think the horse understands that they need to stand in the spot you designated for them regardless of how late your reply is? I do understand, however, that it should not take more then 2 minutes to correct their mistakes lol. I'm just talking within... at least 30 seconds or so.

For an example... Me and my horse are on opposite sides of the arena. She takes a step forward. I have to get to the other side of the arena to put her back in place but will she connect the dots, so to say?