Does your horse respect you??

We adore our horses, but they are big animals and it's crucial for our safety that they respect us and know not to cross certain lines. This week’s video takes you through some simple exercises you can do with your horse to test and improve their respect for you.
#horselove #horserespect #training #equestrian
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One of the first things you can do to test if your horse is respectful is to move them out of your way before you groom them. To test this:
Stand at their shoulder.
Gently bring their head towards you.
Gently push them away with pressure to their side.
If your horse respects you, they will yield to your pressure and move away
Does your horse pick up all four feet with ease for you? Here’s some troubleshooting for horses reluctant to do this:
If all your horse’s weight is placed on the foot you want to pick up, you need to stand at their shoulder and push them gently until they’re bearing most of the weight on the opposite leg.
Then you slide your hand down the required leg, give a gentle pinch as you’re going down below the knee and they should pick it up for you.
A third test of respect is the ability to get your horse to lower their head. This is a real sign of trust, as when a horse is frightened, the first thing they will do is raise their head to open up their field of vision. I tend to practice head lowering as regularly as I can. For example when they’re being caught, when they’re getting a bridle on, or during hand walking. The best way to do this is:
Place one hand on the horse’s poll.
Place another hand on the front of their halter.
Apply gentle downward pressure.
Release as soon as they drop their head.
Respect starts on the ground and carries over into saddle. I like to use a rope halter for groundwork. They’re thinner, more effective, and have specific knots that work on the pressure points.
Personal space is another key marker of respect with your horse.
Practice asking your horse to move out of your personal space by making yourself bigger.
Puff out your chest and wave your arms sending energy towards them until they respond by moving back.
They should stay in that space until you allow them to move again.
One more pattern you can use to practice respect with your horse is getting them to move their hindquarters away from you.
Ask your horse to move in a small circle.
As you step towards them, they should move their hindquarters away from you.
They should cross the inside hind leg in front of the other one to show they are soft in their body.
Have a look at the video I made with Kensington demonstrating all these tips in detail and let me know if you find them helpful.
Thanks for watching and happy riding!

[@pkchateau8654]

Thank you so much for this video and information. I LOVE the way you demonstrated that a big athletic sport horse can also be so patient and attentive to you on the ground. Yesterday a horse I was working with stomped on my foot while I was tightening the girth and now I have to take several days off riding to heal. I can understand the balance between respect and trust - because my horse didn’t trust me that I wasn’t going to do anything that would hurt him and he hurt me. I am going to do your ground exercises and more with my horse every day!

[@barbstrona1]

I love this. The school horse I ride is really good about all of this. I like her to pick her foot up for me cause I’m old. She does. I do ask her to push me if I’m tired. If I am really dragging, she puts her nose in the middle of my back and gives me a tiny bit of a push. If I’m not really tired, she won’t do it! She is an angel about lowering her head and moving out of the way. She backs up on command (She stole a couple of bunches of hay. I made her back up and she dropped the hay ( on the ground; she didn’t put it back on the truck!) she knew she’d been naughty. If she is justmm teasing and I stop her, she tosses my thermos to the ground and then catches my eye as if to say “gotmcha!” BTW, when I’m riding, she doesn’t toss my thermos. She moves so I can reach it easily. And I’ve taught her where to go by the mounting block so I can get off easily. She does it for mounting which I don’t need, but dismounting it is so important that I praise her every time. She is a great lesson horse and we do kid around, but we both are respectful of each other. Thank you for the demos. Kensington is sweet and patient as a model!

[@amywelcher7117]

You made a lot of great points in this video that you don’t hear a lot of people talk about. Really good video! Thanks Amelia!

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

You're so welcome! Please consider subscribing for more videos.

[@amandaboffey1090]

Hi Amelia thank you so much for reminding us of how important respect is and for explaining your siimple things that can re-inforce this message. I will certainly make sure these are added to Molly and I daily routine - Amanda

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

Glad you enjoyed the video, please consider subscribing for more!

[@fitzpat3]

So helpful thanks! My new horse crowds me when I take her on in-hand walks. I'm going to use the making myself big, establishing myself as the dominant horse, and getting hind quarters over tomorrow.

[@jessparish8165]

I think it goes up and down between me and blue .. when he’s excited he is a bit of a pain and does not listen to me .. than we have to do ground work then we are good for a bit then we get a bit stupid again need to work every day

[@christysteinert1088]

Thank you for the video!! I thought my mare respected me but this video proves it!!! Keep up the good work and Happy Thanksgiving!!

[@cordywitt6400]

Very good point starting on the ground and asking for respect!💯👍

[@Gabby.equestrain]

This helped a lot my mare us now picking up her hooves and being more respectable

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

That's great!!!

[@dawnmcmenamin6192]

New, helpful information. I'll try these. Thank you!

[@jordanwhite5470]

Excellent; thank you !

[@brettkreider18]

Loved this

[@lyndaburch9381]

I really like how you explain these tips. Since I have been doing these my big Lusitano has been much more respectful! Thank you. I do these before each ride. I also practice walking with him to and from his paddock. We stop and go and back up when I ask. He is so good at it now! Thank you again!

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

You're so welcome! Glad you enjoyed it- please consider subscribing for more.

[@lyndaburch9381]

I am subscribed…I really enjoy all of your helpful suggestions!!!

[@hellilak]

Thank you for explaining in such great details! I always learn something new from you.😊

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

That makes me so happy to hear! Please consider subscribing as that helps me out a lot.

[@hellilak]

@@AmeliaNewcombDressage Yes, I already subscribed. 😊

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

Are you struggling with confidence??? I've got a free mini course for you: Https://ameliasdressageacademy.com/confidence/

[@readwriteteach]

Terrific information. You clearly have worked with Kensington and his rope halter. One of the stumbling blocks I experienced when I first used rope halters is that not all rope halters are created equal. Though I'm sure there is more than one good brand, and maybe you don't want to name yours, the ones I've seen in most tack shops are too flimsy to have much effect. A skilled trainer helped me feel the difference between a useful, extra-firm halter and the laundry line versions available at my local feed store. I ended up ordering one online, and it changed my, shall we say, overly-friendly horse's channel in a big hurry.

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

I totally get you! Finding a good rope halter is hard!

[@terriwallace5188]

Good Video and respectful horse. I have trouble at times with my horse dropping to eat green grass while leading him back to paddock.

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

Did this video help? Let me know!

[@jennifermead5876]

Wonderful session Amelia & so helpful. Do you have advice on how to handle a horse that can bite, usually the hand holding the rope/rein when being walked?

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

Bitting is hard, you have to stop it before it starts. I have a groundwork masterclass starting in the new year where we go over a whole bunch of points in depth (including bitting)

[@distinctive_equestrians]

So I have been working with a rescue Tennessee walking horse for almost 6 months now. I have done a ton of ground work exercises consistently. When I lung him, he stops when I tell him to and goes when I tell him to. But there is one problem, he will not stop in the saddle. I tried one rein stop, different bits, and more training but he still doesn’t respond to my cues when I tell him to whoa. This is a real problem because he has taken off with me several times at a full gallop, it’s a really frightening experience. Is there something specific I can do to train him to listen?

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

I can only imagine how frightening! Everything has to be a little bit better. This will help, www.amelianewcombdressage.com/30-days-to-round/

[@distinctive_equestrians]

@@AmeliaNewcombDressage Thankyou so much!

[@judithbauerjohnson2817]

With the “poll pressure” exercise, do you apply pressure with both of your hands (at the same time) or just one of them?

[@AmeliaNewcombDressage]

When I first start out, I just do on the poll (but I might have to go side to side a little with the nose/rope hand), and then when he is responding off of light pressure there, then I add in the slight downward of the nose/rope hand so that I can transfer that to bit cues. Important that you're always using the least amount of pressure and that you release! Good question

[@judithbauerjohnson2817]

@@AmeliaNewcombDressage great! Thank you!

[@elizabethgrayson530]

Another big thing is do not let your horse rub his head on you. This is very disrespectful. I see so many girls think this is cute, it is not.

[@amandafrench8047]

yup... they aint lap dawgs!