Guest Author - Susan Hopf
Work in-hand is essentially working your horse from the ground with some sort of tether to your horse. This can be the reins, a lead rope or longe line attached to a halter or cavesson or as is popular with some of the “natural horsemanship” folks, a line around the neck. The benefits are many with this method of schooling. Anything you wish to accomplish under saddle can be achieved far more easily if started on the ground. Since horses rely on body language as their main form of communication work in-hand can create an extremely deep level of conversation between you and your horse.
As you begin to school your youngster it is necessary to work first on the ground until he is strong enough to carry a rider. The appropriate age to first mount a horse varies somewhat by breed but in general between 3-4 years old is best. Before that first mounted schooling session there is a great deal of work to be done. Your horse must first accept human intervention in his life and this is done from the moment he is born. Once he accepts that humans will be a strong presence in his life you must build on that every day.
Work in-hand accommodates those initial days of schooling but is often left by the wayside once the horse is started under saddle. Work in-hand continued throughout the horse’s life is an invaluable tool and should be utilized as an integral part of any training program. Coupled with work on the longe you will be creating a well-educated, well-balanced animal before you ever encumber him with a rider. Once under saddle making use of work in-hand and the longe will help prolong the health of his joints and muscular system. And if you pay close attention during this work you will develop a critical eye with which to assess your horse. This will allow you to spot small issues perhaps preventing or at least minimizing serious physical as well as communication set backs.
Once your horse can lead, back, and go around you on a small circle without too much fuss and has reached the age of two, at a minimum, it is time to start working on improving her strength and balance with specific lateral exercises. Lateral exercises are designed to selectively overload a weak leg, and/or off-load a strong side in order to help her use each side equally thereby creating a balanced horse. Lateral positioning is a common exercise in dressage but is beneficial to all disciplines of riding and essential for the health of all horses.
Shoulder-in, haunches-in or out and half-pass are all examples of lateral positions. Each exercise is designed to strengthen various weaknesses throughout the body. As you build on the lateral work you start the process of collection. This is a natural progression since a horse that is not using all four feet evenly cannot truly be collected. Then as you build on the level of collection you start engaging the top-line of the horse. This occurs through the action of the hindquarters and not as we have long believed by any action in the back. The back only allows or blocks what we are trying to accomplish in the hindquarters.
Through a series of upcoming articles we will explore each of the above lateral positions – how each can be utilized in your training programs, how to get started and the common pitfalls as you proceed. If you already know how to form these positions under saddle you will undoubtedly gain a more complete understanding of each when worked in-hand. If you are completely unfamiliar with them there is no better way to learn the proper aids than working from the ground up.
