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Ground driving is the basis for many things, probably most importantly to you is trailer loading. Before you can effectively teach a horse to ground drive they must be able to work on a 12 foot longe line. If you have an arena wall or fence you can save yourself a lot of time.  The fence acts as a barrier which you can use to your advantage.


As with longeing, you have a direction hand and a power hand. With the horse on the wall, ask for direction with one hand and raise your power hand. Your horse should move off in the direction you ask. Ideally, you should be able to drive your horse from either side. You should also be able to work from the shoulder to directly behind the horses rear. It’s easier to start up by the shoulder and gradually work your way back.

To get your horse to stop, all you have to do is ask with the lead rope with an up/down energy motion in the rope. You also need to be able to ask your horse to change direction when driving. You do this the same way that you do longeing. Change hands with the lead rope, you now have new direction and power hands and ask the horse to move. It is important that the horse yield and make adjustments to it’s body to move around you.

A good exercise to practice for ground driving is to be able to drive a horse all of the way around an arena, round pen, or pasture. When you get good at this you can move off the barrier and drive the horse to objects, like a gate. Then your ready to move to trailer loading, this will be simple if you have ground driving working for you.

Next Concept: Lateral Movement

There is some risk involved in horse training for both you and the horse. Horses can cause serious injury. Be sensible and don’t attempt anything that is outside your comfort level. This information is intended to illustrate how we apply our training techniques, you are responsible for using this information wisely. If you don’t feel comfortable with your abilities or an exercise, don’t do it! Seek advice or assistance from a professional horse trainer. Stay on the "high side of trouble".

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Last updated: July 17, 2003