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Horse Behavior and Training

Are there horses who hate groundwork?

By:

MamaBear

Date:

2023-Jun-30 at 07:05AM

I've heard this a few times from people- "My horse is wonderful under saddle, they just hate groundwork".
Is it possible some horses dislike being worked on the ground, just like some horses prefer jumping to dressage? Or is it more likely that the horse experienced something bad in groundwork that caused them to behave adversely?
Whichever option it is- should a horse with bad ground manners be restarted by a professional for safety of horse and rider?

Miriam (Holland&Germany) 2023-Jul-05 at 07:57PM

Hi MamaBear,

In my opinion groundwork is the basic to all communication with any horse.
Bodylanguage, breathing, direction- and speed of travel, all these things are fundamental, the foal needs to learn these basics to become part of the herd, Working with your horse starts when you come into his awareness zone, not just when you start your daily routine. Should your horse have had a bad experience when worked from the ground, this is more reason to get it right with him.
Get all help you need, your safety and the horse's depend on trust and cooperation.
Hope this helps!

Miriam