What are the different types of groundwork?

2.2. Horsemanship

Horsemanship should be understood less as a training method and more as a way of thinking about interacting with the horse. Basically, it refers to interacting with the horse in a way that is gentle to the horse and based on trust. A horseman is a horse person who orients themselves to the needs of the horse and takes these into account at all times in their daily handling and work – both from the ground and in the saddle. In order to establish this trusting connection, work from the ground has become established. The term „horsemanship“ originates from the USA and has also made a name for itself worldwide through some famous „horsemen“ such as Ray Hunt, Monty Roberts or Pat Parelli. Many of the great personalities of horsemanship come from western riding, as their riding origins go back to ranch work. The harmonious cooperation of horse and rider is actually the ideal in every equestrian discipline. Followers of English riding are now also interested in horsemanship and consciously use such training as a change in the training schedule and as a broadening of the rider’s horizons.

2.4. Monty Roberts

Monty Roberts is one of the best-known horse whisperers in the world. He grew up as the son of a horse trainer in California on a ranch with wild mustangs. His father behaved violently towards him and also towards the horses. These circumstances and his gift for observing the instinctive behaviour and language of horses inspired him to find a non-violent and natural way of dealing with horses. His Join-Up method captures the natural behaviours of horses and teaches humans to adopt the horses‘ vision and language. Join-Up is classically performed in a roundpen. „Join-Up“, according to Monty Roberts, can be loosely translated as „to volunteer“. Since the horse, as a herd animal, has a natural need to join a community, this should also be possible between humans and horses.

2.6. Composure training

Horses have a strong instinct to flee and for this reason they react very nervously to danger. The horse’s sensory organs are an ideal early warning system – the eyes, for example, are located on the side of the head so that the horse has an almost all-round view. The sense of smell and the sense of hearing are also highly developed. The sharper the senses of a living creature, the more sensitive they are in their behaviour. A loud bang, a falling branch, the smell of something burning… these are all sensory stimuli that can put the horse into emergency mode. The result: the flight instinct and the instinct for self-preservation kick in, the horse spooks, runs away or starts to rear or kick.

Through regular calmness training – also called spook training or anti-spook training – horses can be gently introduced to unfamiliar situations. An important prerequisite here is that the rider himself „stays calm“, investigates the objects together with the horse and allows the horse the time it needs to deal calmly with the new situation.