| Some of Shea's work comes
from people who are having difficulties on the ground. She finds that most of it comes
from people not quite understanding how to relate to a horse on the ground in a way that
makes sense to the horse. Some of these problems can be dangerous behaviors on the ground,
and some people just want to teach their horse how to trailer load, stand for the farrier,
lead safely, tie, etc. |
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| Shea uses round pen work
to show people how to connect to their horse on a deeper level. Working in a round pen is
a way to build a focused relationship with the horse in an environment where the horse has
the freedom to move. For Shea, round penning is not about chasing the horse around to
punish the wrong behavior. She teaches a style of round penning that allows the horse
freedom to search for the right answer. |
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| It's easy to draw a horse in at
liberty. The challenge comes in letting the horse take his time to feel good enough inside
himself to willingly approach the person with softness. Here, this young colt is learning
to focus on what is being asked from him and Shea gives him the time to work out his
options. He came in to training very distracted; before Shea starts him under saddle, she
will help him find his focus. |
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| Our presence alone can
be a lot of pressure to a horse. We can learn a lot about the soul of a horse when he has
the freedom to express how he feels about what we are asking. |
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| Shea and Suds demonstrate a
trailer loading exercise to help people understand when a horse is searching and trying.
Suds tries different options in an effort to figure out his job. Here, Suds backs up to
Shea since coming forward didn't work and she asked him to search and try something else.
Liberty work exercises show just how creative horses can be when they are allowed to
express themselves. |
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| Shea also uses the round
pen to get the horse in tune with moving with our rhythm through the transitions, just
like we do on his back. There is a big difference in driving the horse and offering that
the horse move with us. In all aspects of ground work, Shea teaches people how to offer
that their horse move with them, not from them. This can take place in leading, lunging,
and liberty work. |
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| Shea re-trains this Arab who was
from the halter show world. Mouse learns to move through his transitions as Shea speeds up
and slows down her own feet. The ground poles help him to keep his mind and his feet
together, and helps his carriage without using force of side reins. |
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| Ground work is also
useful in helping people understand where their horse is thinking, and to teach them how
to direct their horse's thoughts. Where a horse is looking is where he is thinking. |
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| This young 3 year old has never
had her hooves trimmed. She was very troubled about people touching her and picking up her
feet. Here Shea helps her to yield her leg as Shea lowers it and rests her toe to the
ground. The mare has to mentally let go of her trouble in order to yield her hoof all the
way to the ground. |
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| Shea does not advocate
traditional lunging where the person stands in the middle and cracks a lunge whip while
voicing commands. Instead, Shea uses lunging to encourage the horse to respond off her
feel, breath and rhythm, which is the same way she works in the saddle as well. |
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| Shea goes through
transitions while warming up this horse to help him to think about what rhythm she wants
to be on. They change gaits, and speeds within each gait, which will transfer right up to
the saddle. |
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Shea has
helped many people with loading their horses in the trailer. There are a few different
techniques out there that Shea finds a problem with. One is forcing the horse in with butt
ropes and stud chains. The other is to trot the horse in circles outside of the trailer
then point the horse in, making the outside of the trailer difficult which can put the
horse in-between a rock and a hard place. These may work temporarily, but in the long run
there can be some problems. What Shea focuses on is helping the horse feel involved in the
process. She does this by allowing the horse time to feel better about the situation, and
helping to not only direct his thought into the trailer, but by also staying soft.
Other aspects of groundwork, or lack thereof, can make or break a trailer loading
experience. For instance, coming forward softly off the feel from the halter can help a
horse go into the trailer. Or getting him used to being in small spaces or going through
small areas, or even stepping on strange things on the ground. Many times Shea will work
on trailer loading when there is no trailer in sight, just by helping the horse lead
better |
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| This mare had
previously been forced in trailers with stud chains and whips. She still has anxiety about
loading since it was never a good deal for her in the past. Here she is worried about
going in, but Shea takes her time to help the mare make the decision on her own that it
can be okay. |
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RETURN TO
MAIN TRAINING PAGE
Ground Work |
Colt Starting & Re-Educating | Troubled Horses |
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P.O. Box 1283, Boulder Creek, CA 95006
located in Ben Lomond
831. 336-3252
Email the
Ranch |
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