It is almost unheard of that a horse has zero focus, but a lot of people are taught that a horse’s attention is either on or it’s off. There is a belief among some that a horse only has room for one thought in its head.
How do you help a horse not rush at the canter? How do you help a horse that bolt out of a trailer? How do you help a horse that spooks on a trail ride?
I explained that the purpose of the groundwork was to better prepare a horse to be ridden. Everything we do should be connected to developing a better riding horse.
The horse world is awash with training methods for every aspect of dealing with horses from handling foals to competing at the highest levels in any given sport.
A horse’s mind needs to become the other half of an alive and active conversation. When training, there is no point in lunging a horse if their feet and body are doing the work but their minds are on vacation.
