What Makes Horse Training Games So Effective?

Horse training games have caught fire in recent years as a way to not only teach your horse how to do something, but as a way of connecting with your horse. The problem is good horsemanship should have a goal in mind, not just hanging out in the arena trying to entertain your horse. That goal is to establish leadership and prepare your horse for riding.


There are four basic horse training games you can incorporate into your training routine to do this.

1. Round-pen Training
Take your horse to the round-pen and take everything off. The horse that is! Take the lead rope and halter completely off the horse. Then send him out to your left. Have him canter around about 5 times. Then send him to the right and repeat. Finally let him come to a rest and approach him. It may not work perfectly the first time, but you'll find this exercise leads the animal to follow you around like a puppy. Why? Its because we've tapped into his natural instinct for recognizing a leader. In the wild, alpha horses move the other horses around. This exercise mimics that and builds leadership.

2. Leading a Horse
When you've put the rope and halter on, don't just drag your horse from point A to B. Use leading as a training opportunity. In fact, its one of the most important exercises to do on the ground. Don't let your horse blow past you or drag on the rope. If he is, walk backwards away from the horse. For equines, whose in front is the boss.

3. Lunging a Horse
Most people lunge just to burn off energy. You can turn lunging into an exercise to build communication and get the horse to pay attention. Mix things up. Don't just have him canter around, switch between walk-trot-canter. Instead of just sending him out left and then right mix it up with backing up, flexing, and other exercises.

4. Basic Yields
One of the most important horse training games that prepares the pony for the saddle is teaching basic yields. Teach the horse to come off of pressure on the forehand, the mid-section, and the hindquarter. Remember-timing is everything. The instant he does what you want, release. Horses learn from the release.