Walking with your horse is such a fundamental part of training and interacting with your horse. Walking together is all about keeping that connection with your horse in movement and is so beneficial because:
- Movement helps horses to relax. They are physical animals designed to move a lot and incorporating plenty of movement right from the start with your horse helps them to soften and stay focused.
- It’s a great way to bond with your horse. Herds really build their relationships through synchrony (moving in time with each other) as they graze,play and run. Walking with your horse taps into this and helps you to establish a great connection with your horse through movement.
- It teaches soft, polite leading. Leading is necessary for handling your horse as well as being the foundation of so many other exercises such as lunging, in-hand work and riding. This exercise teaches horses how to lead welland improves the communication between both of you as you do so.
Walking Together is the second behavior we teach with Connection Training,though in practice it is taught alongside the first behavior, Stand Together,as you will naturally switch between moving and stillness with your horse. Find Out more about teaching Stand Together in Part 2 of this series and make sure you’ve also watched Part 1 - Relaxation and the Marker, too.
The equine stars of this video are rescues at Hope Pastures rescue centre. This Charity does vital work rescuing, rehabilitating and re-homing horses and ponies in need.
To see this training in full, with complete unabridged training sessions, check out the Connection Training Club. There are also complete training sessions with 3 different case studies from Hope Pastures rescue centre, including the equine stars in this video. These are invaluable for seeing the training in real-life speed and how I deal with the different personalities and issues that arise.
Want to know more? The bestselling Connection Training BOOK is the place to start 📖
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More info on us, our training approach and the CT Club can be found at: connectiontraining.com/