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Come To Me... Move Away
Training
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Palm Partnership Training™ Building a Partnership with your Horse
Story and Photos By Lynn Palm
Horses need to respect four major ground training commands: “move away from me,” “come toward me,” “stop,” and “back”. In this article I will give you the steps to teach your horse the “come to me” command.
Before starting, make sure that your horse is properly equipped. He should be wearing a properly fitting halter, with a longe line, and leg protection. I prefer using a longe line over a lead rope for ground training, but will use both terms in these articles.
No matter what the horse’s age, I introduce these commands first in a confined, familiar location like stall, round pen, or small paddock. Remove any distractions such as buckets or hay. This will help him stay focused on you and relaxed. As the horse learns, you can then graduate to teaching him the same lessons in progressively bigger areas such as an aisleway, a round pen, and paddock.
I will give explanations of these maneuvers as if I was teaching them in a stall and from the horse’s near (left) side. Remember to teach the maneuver from both sides of your horse. Be patient when working on his off (right) side because the horse from the very beginning of his life is handled mostly on his left side. Teaching the “Come to Me” Command
The “come to me” or ‘follow me” command teaches your horse to trust and accept you. This command, together with the “move away from me” command, are essential for the horse to learn respect of the handler and for safety.
With your horse equipped with a properly fitting halter and lead or longe line, position him so his body is parallel to the wall of the stall. This will give you an advantage in keeping him straight as you start the maneuver. Keeping the lead line loose, move 2-3 feet away from him toward the middle of the stall. Stand facing him, slightly in front of his left shoulder. Don’t forget the Golden Rule to never stand directly in front of a horse.
For now, don’t worry about which hand is holding the longe. Always be organized with your longe so it is loosely coiled and the line is stacked in your hand. Never let the longe touch the ground. This could lead to an unsafe situation. If there is any tension in the line to your horse’s head, you will have a tendency to pull. One of the hardest things you must teach yourself is not to try to control the horse by pulling on the longe or lead. Start by addressing the horse, saying in a mellow tone “come to me” or “come”. Watch his ears and eyes for signs that he is listening and responding to you. If he starts to take a step toward you, you should back up as he continues to follow you. If the horse does not respond, give the voice command again to encourage him and add a light tension on the lead. Immediately release the tension if he steps towards you. As soon as he moves, praise him in a mellow, but different voice tone than used for the command. Stop your movement and stroke his forehead as he stops with you.
Your Next Step…
In teaching the “come to me” command and other ground training maneuvers, make your movements slow and soft. Be patient and reward any progress your horse makes. Your goal is to make each ground training lesson a positive experience for you and your horse. This will create a solid foundation for your partnership on the ground and under saddle.
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The ‘Move Away from Me’ Command
Horses need to respect four major ground training commands: “move away from me,” “come toward me,” stop, and back. In my last two articles, we covered the “come to me” and “whoa” commands. In this article I will give you the steps to teach your horse the “move away from me” command.
Before starting, make sure that your horse is properly equipped. He should be wearing a properly fitting halter, with a longe line, and leg protection. I prefer using a longe line over a lead rope for ground training, but will use both terms in these articles.
If you are following my recommendations from past articles, you will create a lesson plan for each of these training sessions. The objective is for the horse to be responsive to your commands on a loose lead, without any tugging or pulling on the longe or lead. When doing any ground training maneuver, move with the horse at all times.
No matter what the horse’s age, I introduce these commands first in a confined, familiar location like stall, round pen, or small paddock. Remove any distractions such as buckets or hay. This will help him stay focused on you and relaxed. As the horse learns you can then graduate to teaching him the same lessons in progressively bigger areas such as an aisleway, a round pen, and paddock.
I will give explanations of these maneuvers as if I was teaching them in a stall and from the horse’s near (left) side. Remember to teach the maneuver from both sides of your horse. Be patient when working on his off (right) side because the horse from the very beginning of his life is handled mostly on his left side.
The “move away from me” command teaches the horse to move away from pressure. It also gives you a tool that teaches your horse respect and helps keep a safe space between you. Moving away from pressure is a key concept for your horse to understand for all other ground work and under saddle training.
The first step I use to teach this command is to get the horse to move away from me by shaking or “throwing” the longe line towards him. Once he understands that this means to move away, you can minimize the shaking of the line as you do this gesture. This is an important tool to get the horse to move away from you for safety. He should be able to move away from you, at your command, without any tension being placed on the lead.
Teaching the “Move Away From Me” Command…
To introduce the next step, put your right hand on the point of the horse’s shoulder while your left hand gently guides keep head straight during the maneuver. Any excess line should be held in your right hand. Gently push, or use a vibrating touch, to move the horse’s shoulder away from you. Give a “cluck” to reinforce teaching him to “move” or “go forward”. Follow his motion with your body while your other hand maintains a light contact with his halter to guide his head straight. Do not put any more tension on the halter than you have on his shoulder. The instant that he responds by taking one step, stop and praise him with a soft mellow voice tone, and a pet.
Make sure you are looking at the horse’s topline during the “move away from me” maneuver and not his shoulder or his feet. Once the horse understands the maneuver, you can continue to ask him for more steps. Your contact on his shoulder will become lighter and lighter, if you keep him straight as he learns to move away. Add the “whoa” command when you want him to stop and don’t release your touch until after he stops.
Your Next Step…
Until then, follow your dreams, Lynn
For more informa�on or to schedule your own event, please call 1-800-503-2824 or visit www.lynnpalm.com
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