Leading a Horse for InspectionWhen leading a horse from a field or its stall to where ever it is important that it is lead correctly. For example, putting a halter on is a good place to start, a halter is a type of "collar" for horse it goes around the head so the person controlling the horse has control over the head. Normally if you have control of the head the body should follow. The halter should have a lead rope attached to it, this is what hold on to when actually leading the horse. Using the lead rope, you always want to use both hands to have the most control possible. The left hand should be the one closest to the horse and the right hand hold the excess rope. You never want to coil the rope around your hand in case the horse may spook. The correct way to do it is to fold it, so it can be dropped easily. Also, some lead ropes may have chain on them, do not put your hand on the chain.
If you are leading horse with a bridle on, you would use the reins as the "lead rope." It is important that you remember with a bridle there is a bit in the horse’s mouth, if you pull too hard on the reins it can hurt the horse. The best way to avoid this is staying level with the level and not pulling the reins up above their nose. Finally, when leading any kind of horse just like with the saddle, you should lead from the left. Any time you are leading a horse you are training it, so letting it get away with bad behavior lets the horse know it is okay to act that way. The horse will learn what it can and cannot do base on its trainers. |