Partnership through Dancing
When people hear the word "groundwork", some assume we are talking about how to lead a horse or even lunging your horse, or perhaps even a series of exercises or games. From my perspective groundwork is much more any of this. Groundwork (or as I like to call it - dancing) is an integral part of communicating and working with horses on all levels and creating a partnership. To me ground work is everything we do on the ground with a horse and is taught every time we come into contact with our horse, even from afar. This dancing requires communication from both partners and each has an opportunity to lead the dance. It is teamwork at its best! Groundwork is also important to teach students in order to increase their confidence around a horse and help develop mutual communication and a better understanding.
I feel that understanding the release of pressure and timing is a very important piece to the dance. The release is the exact moment when the real learning happens. That release is attached to the “right” answer. The timing of the release is extremely important and sometimes difficult to determine. If you are asking a horse to back up, you might consider waiting until the horse is visibly thinking about backing up and release. Even the slightest change in the horse could initiate the release. The horse will sometimes quickly realize that backing up is what you were requesting. Sometimes it takes baby steps to get there but we are looking for progress, not necessarily perfection at this stage. If the release is timed incorrectly (when the horse turns away, tries to bite, or when your hand just gets tired) then the horse may think that is what you were asking. Once you understand the release, it is equally important to do it with feel, softness and good timing. Otherwise you might be confusing your horse or encouraging something you really don’t want…..
Feel with timing is also extremely important. If you are too rough, loud, and inconsistent in your releases it could cause real confusion and frustration for a horse. After some time the horse may stop trying and searching for the right answer because the right answer seems to be a moving target. Conflicting cues become harassing to the horse and the horse may move into survival (or flight) mode. Setting a target and allowing the horse to hit it helps the horse to be soft and understand your requests better.
I have learned that, with some horses, the real learning takes place at the height of their searching phase and just before their blocking phase. That is, some horses will run through their entire repertoire of choices searching for the right answer before offering the one you are looking for. Patience is the key here. Keep your eye on the target and offer a release for anything that works towards meeting that target, each time asking for more precision.
The more I dance with my partners at liberty using obstacles and agility courses, with clear communication, the stronger our partnership becomes!