Beginnings

I trained my first horse from scratch in the summer of 1964. I was 16 years old at the time.

For many years after I focused on all the things I did wrong training that colt, but now, forty-four years later, I can look back and see alot of things I did right.

One important thing I got right was training the colt to have good grooming and ground manners. At the time I was riding some good horses, including a California Spade Bit horse. For those of you who don’t know about this type of training this is the equivalent of an upper level dressage horse. The horse is started in a bosal hackamore at age four and finished at eight, finished meaning ready to carry a spade bit. The critical word here is carry. A properly trained spade bit horse has a mouth that is so sensitive and delicate that you can ride it using silk thread as reins. The real key is you use your seat and legs to give the signals.

Maybe it was being raised by people who raised dogs, but one thing I noticed at even that early age was the fact that many horses were excellent riding horses, but had terrible manners when handled from the ground. Some to the point of being dangerous. I saw one friend get her leg broken by one of these ill mannered horses and knew of a young woman who was killed when her horse lashed out and kicked her in the head. It seemed to me at the time it was just as important to teach good manners when you were handling the horse on the ground as it was for the horse to be well-mannered under saddle. I had no idea of just how right my idea was.

That almost perfect California Spade Bit horse was so bad about having his feet handled that there wasn’t a good farrier in San Antonio who wouldn’t charge extra to shoe him. I knew how much importance my mother, grandfather, and uncle placed on good manners while being groomed. I didn’t understand why horse trainers didn’t have the same standards.

When I found a book by Margaret Campbell Self I discovered someone who did place importance on good ground manners. In fact, when I trained my first horse I did so consulting her book every step of the way. That was one of the smartest things I ever did with horses. I still recommend that anyone just starting with horses find her books, read them, and take her words to heart.

I still didn’t realize just how critical good manners while being groomed were when I wrote an article for Horse and Horseman magazine in 1987. Side note here, this was Doc’s first official modeling job. He was two and I was just beginning his training. We used him as the demo horse in the pictures that accompanied my text. I got a lot of comments about his size.

It was another eight years before I finally realized the critical factor in grooming. Horses groom one another. Everyone is familiar with the picture of two horses standing nose to tail scratching one another.

What took me so long to realize was that grooming among horses isn’t just a mutual friendship thing. Grooming is a way of establishing rank. Only a higher ranked horse can start the grooming session. What Parelli likes to call the Friendly Game is actually a game of dominance. This dominance begins a few minutes after they are born when their dams (mothers) begin licking them and nipping at them to get up and get moving.

If your horse will not accept grooming with good manners it is because the horse thinks it has a higher rank than the person doing the grooming. Having to cross-tie a horse is a sign that the horse does not consider the human to be in charge.

When meeting a horse for the first time it is important to be quietly confident and to be the one to initiate the first physical contact. The act of reaching up and rubbing a horse’s neck is establishing your right to be in charge. In a horse that is absolutely convinced it is superior to all humans this simple gesture can provoke a reaction such as a lightening fast bite or kick. So don't assume "petting" is a safe thing to do to any horse you meet.

If the horse you are working with does not have impeccable grooming manners then you need to seriously work on this. You need to play that Friendly Game until the horse will accept your touch anywhere on its body with any object you choose. Anything less is not enough.

Lazy Trainer’s Tip

If there are any problems with grooming your horse then that is where you need to begin your work with your horse. Start by rubbing your horse with your hands and do not use anything else until it will accept you touching all part of its body. If you have problems please consult my book How to Have a Civilized Horse for detailed instructions about how to resolve these issues. There are links at the bottom of the page to my books.