Natural Horsemanship Horse Training and the Tools of the Trade

A rope halter (I prefer Parelli style) is important to natural horsemanship training. It is a form of pressure. A web or leather halter offers a more cushioned effect when you are sending messages to the horse down the lead rope line. A rope halter, being thinner, is not as comfortable when pressure is applied so they are more apt to react when you ask something of them.

Stiff vs Soft. Soft is the better choice when it comes to training. They allow for more ripples, if you will, when sending signals down through the lead rope. A stiff rope halter will just not have enough play in it to do a good job. Yachting type rope is ideal.

You will notice some rope halters have knots on them in various areas, depending on the style. These knots are strategically placed on pressure points for specific desired results. If you've chosen one with knots, educate yourself in why those knots are there. A better understanding of your tool will make you, and your horse, more successful.

The photo here demonstrates the differences between web halters and a rope halter.

A rope halter is a training halter. You can use it on them to turn them out when done with training but most owners do not. It is appropriate after training to replace the rope halter with the standard web or leather halter (or no halter at all) until the next training session.

Training sticks (aka 'carrot sticks' as they are known in Parelli circles) are a training aide that no horse owner should be without when natural horsemanship is your intention. Training sticks are short, thin sticks with a leather loop on the end that a rope is threaded onto (able to be removed as needed). Training sticks are not to be confused with whips. Training sticks are NOT whips! They are simply an extension of a horse trainers arm. They help point to give a more clear direction to the horse, to friendly a horse in a safer manner, to apply porcupine pressure when your arms don't reach to let your fingers do the talking and to make yourself appear bigger.

I will be going more in depth on the use of this valuable tool later. If you don't already own one, I suggest you get one, asap! I prefer the Parelli style sticks myself. They are lighter than the training sticks you can find in your local farm supply stores which make them much easier to use and juggle when you have other tools at hand at the same time. This is a tool that you should never enter your horses space without so invest in the best.

A lead rope is a direct line of communication between you and your horse, literally. While you can use the standard 9' lead ropes for everyday leading to move a horse from one area to another, a longer rope of 12-25' is desirable for natural horsemanship training. The more room your horse has, the more successful you will both be. Horses are claustrophobic animals by nature and the less 'trapped' they feel, the more open they will be to listening to you. This is about communication, not supreme control.

A horse can feel a fly on her back; she can certainly feel movement you place on a rope, even if it is the slightest wiggle. The two movements to first practice with your lead rope communication is STOP which is an up and down motion and BACK UP which is a side to side motion. Start off just moving your wrist and then if your horse hasn't responded yet, move on to movement up to the elbow, the shoulder and then as strong as necessary. Release pressure IMMEDIATELY upon proper movement from your horse. A horse who needs pressure beyond the gentle pressure of wrist or super soft elbow should only be asked to move one foot in the right direction. You need to IMMEDIATELY reward the 'correct answer' from your horse so they can learn what you are asking. Ask them to go too far without giving that release of pressure reward and they won't associate properly and will continue to struggle. As it starts to click with them what you are asking, you can ask for more movement with less pressure as time goes on. All horses are different in how long this will take to communicate. Always be patient with your horse as they are learning. If you feel yourself becoming at all frustrated, it is time to end the lesson (make sure to end on a positive note when at all possible).