Successful rides with your horse start with groundwork. It’s that simple. I always do groundwork before getting in the saddle to make sure the horse is using the thinking side of his brain and is tuned in to me. When working with different horses, the only thing that changes about groundwork for me is deciding how much of it to do before getting in the saddle. With a colt, you’re going to do a lot more of it whereas with a well-trained horse you’re not going to have to do quite as much. Groundwork is your way of checking in with your horse and ensuring he’s tuned in to you. It lets you get a feel for where his mind is at and allows you to ease into the training session.
On average, during a routine training session, I’ll do 30 to 45 minutes of groundwork and then 45 minutes to an hour of riding. Once the horse knows all the exercises from the Fundamentals, Intermediate and Advanced Series of the Method, you don’t necessarily need to do a lot of groundwork before you get in the saddle. If a horse in training at the ranch is at that level in his training and is being ridden every day, we don’t do any groundwork at all. We back the horse from his pasture or stall to the saddling bay and then to the arena, but other than that we don’t focus on groundwork. Instead, once every couple of weeks, we’ll spend a few minutes before a ride brushing up on it and checking to make sure everything is in good order.
But, when you change environments or circumstances, like riding a horse outside of the arena for the first time, it’s wise to spend a good half hour on groundwork, checking that he’s tuned in to you and not fresh and full of beans. That goes for all horses, not just inexperienced ones. I can’t stress that enough.
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