# Ground Driving Instructions and Help



## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

I taught my mare by first teaching her to lunge w-t-c and turn on command, then gradually transitioning that to long lining (lunging with a bit, two lines, and a surcingle/saddle/harness) after teaching her to disengage her hind, follow her nose, and give to pressure with the bit in-hand. From long linging I gradually moved behind her until she was used to ground driving. I had a harness but you can use any of the three. With a harness, thread the reins through the tubs before trying it through the rings, to keep the horse from getting confused. So it goes something like this.

1. Give to pressure, 'follow nose' with a bit
2. lunge, voice cue. Turn either way without you stopping and redirecting.
3. long line w-t-c
4. gradually get to where they'll send off with you behind them confidently
5. ground drive all over kingdom come! LOL

my little gal was slightly confused the first time I asked her to move out in front of me, but I just blocked her solidly with my rein and reinforced her with my voice. The moment she took even a tiny step in the right direction I praised her. I didn't try to take up contact at all at first, just let her meander until she was more confident. There may be a better way to do that but it worked for us. I ground drove her so much that the first time I hooked her up she acted like she'd been doing it for years.

(those are the traces over her rump)


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## EmilyJoy (Dec 30, 2011)

Thanks for your input. Can you break down exactly how you teach walk trot and canter? How do you transition down? 

When I use round penning I do whoa, walk, trot, and canter, but not exactly using the voice commands except clucking. To stop the horse I would draw back and the horse would stop and turn in(When lunging I would yield the hindquarters) . But I don't think you let the horse turn it, it should stop on the circle, correct?

I have and would use his harness for ground-driving. I was just trying to point out that people have different ways of getting the same job done. I'm trying to find a down to earth one. So many are written by the British (long lining, long reining) and some times the terms they use are kind of hard to understand.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

I would get a book on ground driving by a professional, that way you can read it several times and refer back to it regularly


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## EmilyJoy (Dec 30, 2011)

Do you have any books in mind? Any written by a non-British person?


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## EmilyJoy (Dec 30, 2011)

Bumping up.


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## EmilyJoy (Dec 30, 2011)

Anybody else out there? Any other inputs would be nice.


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## anndankev (Aug 9, 2010)

I am quite a novice at it. Started ground driving my gelding late last summer. Barely started and have a lot of work to go. 

The purpose was for starting to ride rather than putting in harness, though I would love to do that.

Biggest issue at first was his turning around and around winding up the lines.

My suggestion would be to do a lot more than you think necessary of getting your horse accustomed to lines low along his side and around hocks. Especially both sides at the same time.

And to respond instantly to a verbal whoa, stopping in his tracks rather than turning toward you.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

https://www.carriagedrivingessentials.com/shop2/The-Essential-Guide-to-Carriage-Driving.html
This one is good and easy to read.


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## EmilyJoy (Dec 30, 2011)

Thanks for responding. 

Anndankev, how did you correct this, "Biggest issue at first was his turning around and around winding up the lines." As before I had similar issues. 
How did you train "And to respond instantly to a verbal whoa, stopping in his tracks rather than turning toward you." Because most all the training I've done on Red with groundwork has been always to face me. He is good with ropes and such, pretty laid back guy.


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## EmilyJoy (Dec 30, 2011)

churumbeque, does the book actually have anything to do with ground driving? The reviewers indicate the whole book is about harness, choosing a horse, proper cart, safety, and all that jazz, is there actually training in it? Have you read it before, what did you think of it? There wasn't a "look inside this book" option, sadly. Have you ever heard of "Long Reining to Break Horses to Harness"? I'm thinking maybe that might be closer, except I don't know how deep it goes. I was really hoping to see a western trainer teaching it, they seem to have more down to earth "get er done" type of training. Thanks for finding it though, maybe I'll check it out first at the library.


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## anndankev (Aug 9, 2010)

EmilyJoy said:


> Thanks for responding.
> 
> Anndankev, how did you correct this, "Biggest issue at first was his turning around and around winding up the lines." As before I had similar issues.
> How did you train "And to respond instantly to a verbal whoa, stopping in his tracks rather than turning toward you." Because most all the training I've done on Red with groundwork has been always to face me. He is good with ropes and such, pretty laid back guy.


1. winding up in the lines: hobble training; working on moving HQ toward me with pressure from standing to the side with a line over his butt, around tail and back to me. Then with a line all around him, back by his flank.

2. whoa: by really meaning WHOA. I've always been big on Whoa (no Ho-Ho-Ho's from me). I too, expect a turn toward me when circling on a single line with him. And he still will turn toward me when moving on a single line. This is another Whoa, done any time, while leading, while standing to be groomed, maybe more like a predecessor to ground tying.

Note that with Dewey, when moving on-line I can signal him with a very slight up-down wiggle of the line and he will stop straight, whereas if I signal him by looking at his HQ he will turn and face me. I intend to teach Chief that as time goes on, it is very handy.

So, I stop his nose to stop straight, stop his HQ to face me. But WHOA is WHOA whether he is half way across the arena winding himself up like a top, or I am behind him with the driving lines.

Nothing is anywhere near to good yet, ground driving wise. I was just starting to figure eight around cones and not even out of the arena yet when had to stop for the season. Will start again asap, but I don't like walking in deep mud.


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

I taught verbal cues immediately. Use a lunge whip. Keep it trained right behind their butt when you want them to speed up. If they don't transition immediately, I give the whip a snap (don't hit). Lower it + let it trail further behind him when he is moving at the speed you want- effectively taking off pressure. After some repetition they associate the gait with the word and will move up with verbal cues- very helpful for when they can't read your body language from behind them! At the same time, state the cue you want. Always keep them the same. I taught " walk, trot, canter, woah, easy." Easy means I want them to keep the gait they're in, but slow it down. Woah means I don't care what speed they're at, they better slam on the brakes! 

Honestly this isn't stuff I can really teach you online, and it would be best to have someone with experience teach you. There is too much nonverbal communication involved that you have to know, and I'm not sure how to explain it all. It doesn't have to be a trainer, just someone who can be watching and correcting you as you go.


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## anndankev (Aug 9, 2010)

Endiku,
I'm soaking this all up. Thanks.
Greentree and some others gave me some advice, too.


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## EmilyJoy (Dec 30, 2011)

anndankev I too can just look at his (Red's) hindquarters and he'll face me. I just have never tried stopping him straight, of which I am excited to try with him. 
He does back from several different ways, gentle pressure on his nose, me shaking his lead rope under his chin, and if I am in front of him I can kind of stiffen my body(give him the "eye") and make him move back. He also backs with the bit. 

Endiku thanks for the tips I am going to try to use them when I work him. I have watched a few clips on long lining, and I have a concept floating in my mind on how I am going to teach him. Reading what others have done is helping me get ideas, and now I am going to flesh it out on a piece of paper so I have goals and a method. Obviously that changes with the horse to what suits him.


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## EmilyJoy (Dec 30, 2011)

This DvD looks promising, I watched a short part of it on YouTube and it looks like it teaches long lining very well.

Jonathan Field Horsemanship


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

In my book, the key to long lining and ground driving is CONTACT with the horse's mouth. That is the main teaching principle for that exercise..... Second is turning from the bit, with my voice command to turn( I say git for left and come for right), then proceeding in my desired gait with contact. Somewhere in this exercise, the horse learns to step under with the inside leg, and into the outside rein. 

If a horse has been taught to drop its nose to the lightest pressure, it is is not going to be a safe driving horse. There are no quick one rein circles in driving. A horse's nose on its chest is a recipe for disaster.


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