One thing that is often forgotten by people is that you can enjoy horses without riding them. This was really reinforced when my horse injured himself and was unable to be worked for an extended period of time. I found by introducing liberty and clicker training, I was able to keep him mentally engaged during that time so that when riding was permitted he was ready to listen to what I asked.

Liberty training is a way of handling your horse to ensure you have their attention and can communicate with them with little effort. It starts simply with a leading exercise that is suitable for everyone. From there you can build upon the basics to things like mark training and coming to a cue.

Clicker training is another method that can be very fun for you especially if you like to give your horse treats. Imagine your horse is like a giant puppy ready to learn whatever you wish to teach them in exchanged for something as simple as a carrot or some chaff.

Teach your horse target training, to back up, turn, bow, spanish walk, even fetch. The possibilities are endless. All you need is patience while they work out the skills.

If all this seems a bit much you can even just start off with some basic lunging skills to get your confidence up, however in no time you will be wanting to explore the various skills of groundwork.

C.H. Horsemanship runs a bi-monthly group liberty training program. For more information see the event page.