7 reasons why groundwork is so powerful in horsewomanship
Groundwork opens the door to a whole new and deeper experience with your horse. Not only is the best place to create connection, deepen your bond, establish a clear foundation for the relationship, it is also essential if you want to give your horse an education that will serve the best interest of both of you.
Being on the ground is actually the space we spend most of our time with our horses. They are constantly reading our state of mind, emotions, energy & actions, deciding if we are trustworthy and a pleasure to be with, or if we are to be wary of or simply not worth their attention. Developing your awareness and skills on the ground will improve absolutely everything with your horse.
I want to go into some depth with the 7 reasons I value groundwork so highly (there are more):
1. CONNEXION
Connexion is more easily created on the ground. Working at liberty on the ground is the best way to develop a true, powerful connexion with your horse because you get the truth from your horse. You get the truth of where their attention is and if they actually want to be with you or not. You wisdom as a horsewoman shows up here as well. Can you cultivate connexion without ropes or reins? Does your horse trust you and value you enough to walk with you in total freedom? At liberty, on the ground, this is where the truth of our relationship with our horse is seen AND it is the best place to cultivate a deeper bond & expand our awareness of our own leadership levels.
2. EDUCATION
Working on the ground helps us teach a horse good manners so we can both move together in harmony. Groundwork helps us set boundaries for our own safety, teach the horse how to respond to pressure and establishes our communication codes. There are many principles that the horse learns on the ground that are then replicated under saddle, helping the horse feel clear and confident when we are out of sight, yet even closer to them.
I work with the 7 games (Pat Parelli) to make sure my horse has the best foundational education to live harmoniously in this human world. However, groundwork is so much more.
3. COMMUNICATION
Communication goes two ways. Yes we are speaking to our horse (mostly in a non-verbal way) and our horse is listening (if not, work on creating connexion first), but are you listening to what your horse is saying to you?
On the ground your horse can see you clearly, so it’s easier for them to see, through our energy and body language, that we are listening to them and understand them. Our intentions, emotions, energy and body language are always telling something to our horse. Becoming intentional and skilled in these areas is key to developing a great relationship with our horses (I go deeper into activating your leadership skills in my program Lead with Love).
On the other hand, working with a rope, on the ground, is the best place to create clear communication with your horse. It’s easier for them to begin to understand what we are suggesting and the language of communication we are establishing for a healthy experience together in the modern world. If your horse doesn’t listen or understand you, you will be constantly in a fight to control this powerful animal for your and everyone’s wellbeing. This is exhausting, chaotic and dangerous. Establishing crystal clear communication with your horse is key to a beautiful experience with them. This starts by covering the principles of communication and being able to communicate with each body part of your horse (head, feet, shoulders, hindquarters, energy levels, mental focus & nervous system).
4. RAPPORT
Connexion is when 2 or more beings have their attention on each other. Rapport is when there is an understanding of each others feeling’s, thoughts & actions. It also includes the ability to clearly communicate together. Being with your horse on the ground, working through a particular issues or developing skills on the ground gives us a tremendous amount of opportunities to build our rapport.
Tuning into your horses thoughts, feelings and actions, understanding them & working with them is what makes a magnificent horsewoman in my eyes. It’s not about forcing our desires upon our horse, horsewomanship is about moving through life together - through the challenges and the awe that make up the ride of a lifetime.
Being able to see and undersdand your horse is more easily achieved from the ground because you can clearly observe the finest details that express your horse’s internal state (nostril twitches, eye expression, wrinkles, breathing, etc). When you understand what’s going on for your horse, you can step in as a true leader to guide your horse through any challenge.
5. MENTAL, EMOTIONAL, PHYSICAL HEALTH
While educating your horse on the ground you are developing their mental focus, their emotional intelligence and their physical wellbeing! Groundwork exercises help your horse become a “problem solver" as Pat Parelli would say. Each exercises has a solution, you are simply guiding your horse to figure out what to do with their energy and body to successfully engage with this particular situation. This develops their mental focus, their will to find the solution & if you are a good leader, deepens their trust in you.
Each exercises asks for your horse to move in a specific way, thus developing your horse’s awareness of their own body, plus increases their flexibility and strength. Groundwork is key to building up a horse’s strength and endurance to be able to carry you in a way that does not compromise their wellbeing.
Groundwork is also a safe way to work with your horse’s emotions. Bringing your horse to a situation that is challenging for them and working with them in a way that allows them to expand their comfort zone helps them develop the capacity to come back to a relaxed state ever so quickly - even after something sparked fear in them.
6. RELAXATION
There’s so many ways to develop your horse’s capacity to bring their energy up and then learn to instantly drop into relaxation. Asking for a canter and then a complete stand still requires your horse to manage their instincs that pulse through their nervous system. Groundwork helps you set up situations that challenge a horse physically, mentally or emotionally and simultaneously is the perfect space to then call your horse into deep relaxation.
Having a horse that can quickly find relaxation after getting stressed for whatever reason creates more safety for you and anyone around, but is also incredibly beneficial for the horse as they do not carry built up tension with them. Their ability to drop into relaxation helps them release any physical tensions, emotional stress or mental worry.
Working on the ground is the ideal place for you to begin guiding your horse to the edge of their comfort zone and back into relaxation. This is deeper work with the horse’s nervous system (that I go into detail about in Lead with Love) that is profoundly transformational for anxious horses. And all of it begins with you, feet planted on the ground.
7. LIBERTY WORK
Being able to play with your horse at liberty is so much fun! Plus you are left with one thing: the truth. Deep down, dancing with or riding a horse in total freedom is a deeply wild dream for many of us.
Developing the art of working/dancing at liberty with your horse is so beautiful. The Art of Liberty is a mix of subtle communication and body language, connexion and energetics, play and training. There are two ways to engage in liberty work. One is through preparing a horse on-line through exercises and training, refining the work until the horse is ready to do those exercises at liberty. Another way requires a more advanced horsewoman who can instantly play with connexion and energy through the wisdom of the horse’s language and their own body language to activate and engage the horse in a dance.
Either way, all these are skills that are developed and that play out on the ground!
THIS ALL LEADS TO…
Your horse trusts you more. You and your horse understand each other and can clearly communicate together.. Your horse has a great education and is easier to be with throughout the usual daily activities. The relationship can only get better as you embody more knowledge to constantly be the best leader for your horse.
Lastly, all this work can then be carried on into the saddle. The principles are the same when riding, only you can’t see each other so much, but rather feel for each other. Riding is in a way refining the art of horsewomanship - yet it is not required to have the most beautiful relationship with your horse.