Step 18 – Leading With Energy
Step 18 - Leading with energy
Now that your horse has established a foundation of standing still and being present, remember that this is an ongoing practice, not a one-time event. You’ll consistently return to this exercise every time you handle your horse, especially in new environments. This will build both you and your horse’s confidence, as it becomes a familiar routine, and you know that you’ve already achieved success together.
In the previous exercises, the emphasis was on responding to your horse’s behavior without asking anything of them. With a solid foundation in place, it’s now time to begin asking your horse to do things (things that have a purpose and are building a foundation for the future).
If your horse exhibits more drive than draw, your initial focus will be on “Leading With Energy.” Step 18
On the other hand, if your horse leans more towards draw than drive, you’ll begin your journey by working on “Focus & Bend.” Step 21
For the purposes of our guidance, let’s assume you are starting with “Leading with Energy.” However, remember that if your horse leans more towards draw, you should start with “Focus & Bend” instead. This tailored approach will ensure the most effective development of your horse’s skills and abilities. You will do both, but by choosing which exercise according to your horse, we are working on balancing them up.
Before embarking on these exercises, it’s crucial to acknowledge that you cannot proceed unless you have already established the starting point of your horse “Standing Still & Being Present.” You should only initiate these exercises when both you and your horse are in a state of mental and physical presence, with your nervous systems regulated, and you are both feeling good. This ensures that you’re setting the stage for a productive and successful training session, where both you and your horse are ready to fully engage in the process. You will take the tool of the Standing Still & Present Flowchart with you and address anything that comes up with your tools.
Remember how to navigate this course? Just click on the topics below under Lesson Content. Then at the bottom of each topic, there will be a button to move you to the next topic. If you click on Next Lesson at the bottom of this page without going through all the topics, you will feel lost! LESSONS = STEPS and the TOPICS = What we want you to learn about during that step.
If when doing leading with energy your horse doesn’t stop with you what fo you do. My horse walks passed me and faces me. Then I’m out of position to scratch on him or start again. Do I just place myself back behind his eye and start again?
You pivot on the spot so that you stay at the sma eplace on their nack when you were moving, and just keep pivotng until they stop. This is the groundwork version of bending to a stop under saddle.
What do you do if your horse is moving when you are leading but lags behind and isn’t keeping up to your pace?
In the process of teaching this, you never get that far ahead of them
The steps are;
Energy up
Lean slightly forward
Pivot 1/8 of a turn
Look back at their flank
Use the flag to get them to catch up to you (you wont have moved yet)
When they catch up, give them a good scratching and start again.
The whole point of this exercise is to get them to read you change in energy and posture, and for them to start moving before you do.
I’ve been working on this exercise and no longer have this issue. But my horse is now rushy and tries to walk slightly ahead and when bending to a stop, stops slightly ahead of me. What should I do in this situation?
Just keep pivoting on the spot until your horse ends up in the right location
I just completed the 7th practice day of Leading with Energy with my horse. He moved his feet before I moved my feet 80%+ of the time. The other 20% was when I pivoted. When he moves his feet first, I keep walking, and he stays with me but if I speed up, he maintains his same pace and I have to back off or I would be pulling him. Is it just a matter of repetition/practice of Leading with Energy that the horse learns to keep you at the same spot just behind his head on a loose lead or is there a step I missed? Thanks Bob
If he doesnt catch up when you go slightly faster, use your flag behind you the same as you would have earlier teaching him the beginning.
Hi I’m wondering why the horse needs to move before I do? I know there’s a reason behind everything you do. I’m just curious about what the reason is? Also my horse tends to get spooked coming in from the field as if somethings chasing him. He shoots forward then turns to face where he thinks the monster is. Thankfully his collision avoidance is much much better now as he previously broke my foot standing on me when he got a fright. He had a fright from behind him a couple of years ago but this issue has only started recently
“Hi I’m wondering why the horse needs to move before I do?”
Because you are teaching the horse to read your change in posture and energy. If they dont walk before you do, they didnt notice it
Thank you for your reply. I get it now. Is there any way to help with the spooking. Do i need To go back to creating connection through change in focus or maybe work on the flow chart if he spooks.?
” but this issue has only started recently
”
the first step is to figure out what changed.
Hi Warwick
Is it a good idea to use a verbal que and in what order schould it go then? Before or after raising your energy?
Have a wonderful day!
I don’t use one, but if you were going to, Id use it first
I find that using a verbal cue just helps me more accurately raise my energy. Without it the raising energy and leaning forward feels forced. I know that I have had problems clearly changing energy and this helps me (I’m good at the relaxed let down part lol)
Warwick my horse has zero energy when LWE. It’s like he has one speed, meander. He’s a rescue from a group of feral horses, gelded a year ago. He’s a love bug curious and introverted. Four months and he does all the jumpstart steps well, but LWE not so much. He’ll just stop when leading him if he doesn’t want to go that way. I just look at his hind qtrs or sometimes slow flag raise and he’ll pivot or scooch his hips over a little then continue plodding along. At least when I pick up energy/lean forward he picks up his feet to start moving but again, one speed. Any thoughts?
How is he at the previous 3 exercises?
Hi! (I think you mean the focus and bend and the stand still and present?) he does pretty good – when he goes internal or looks for the mares if they leave the area I wait or back up and he comes back to me and present. it has gotten a lot better with time. focus and bend seems good, he does better with liberty but does it on the halter/lead. his walk is slow in there too. we’re still working on his whoa and going back to stand still and present, he tends to slowly anticipate the next step instead of waiting for my que. all of this is in round pen. when I take him out through the pasture to the barn area where we groom (round pen is mid pasture) is where I’ve had to really work with him to get him to walk with me. and with energy which he doesn’t. before I thought he just didn’t want to leave the herd so we did the separation anxiety training a lot. but even if he knows the mares are there he has a one speed walk…or just stops, then we do the pivot thing and start all over. separately, even though he is so mellow/downtempo he does get bored, and the animal communicator session we had this week confirmed it. he said he wants more things to do haha. but it’s like donkey kong I tell him ;)
“his walk is slow in there too. ”
Your question was “Warwick my horse has zero energy when LWE.”, but it has nothing do with LWE, it has to do with having energy. Solve this in the Focus and Bend first, especially the first step
Ok got it thank you. When we walk I walk in little circles and say “with energy” and walk faster to get him to walk faster, plus a little flag pressure- too much and he goes into a trot. is that good or is there something else I should do. I really appreciate you answering these you are the best!
Thats great, he gave you more energy
You can cancel that last question I was referring to liberty not in halter and lead. Carry on. We will work on that. And thanks again for your prompt replies and wisdom! 🙏😄
Warwick, when you pivot due to your horse walking too too fast in front of you is it just a pivot or is it important he goes up and around you like in the collision avoidance exercises?
He has to bend around me