Things You'll Need
- round pen or small paddock
Instructions
Start with your horse in a round pen or small paddock. Send him off at a trot around the pen, focusing your pressure on his inside hip to keep him moving forward. If your horse does not want to move forward, you may need a dressage whip or long stick with a plastic bag tied securely to the end. Wave it in the air back near his hip, making a small commotion that he will want to move away from, but do not acutally hit him with the bag or whip.
As you get comfortable moving your horse around the pen, make sure that you are dictating which direction he's moving in. Stay back near his inside hip, putting pressure on him when he wants to slow down to a walk or change directions, and releasing the pressure (by stepping back toward the middle of the pen) when he is moving forward at a trot in the direction you want.
Keep your horse moving until you see him lower his head, lick his lips, and begin to look toward you. This may take as little as 10 minutes or as long as 30 minutes; every horse is different.
Your goals here are two-fold: 1) to establish that you are the one that dictates when and where the horse moves, and 2) to allow the horse to realize that when he is with you he can relax; when he is away from you he has to work. Both of these goals will be very important in leading him without a halter.
When your horse is relaxed (but still trotting) and showing the signs above of wanting to come to you, take the pressure off of him (by standing still in the middle of the pen). You want him to turn in towards you and stop. If he does, walk up to him and give him lots of pats and praise - "good boy!" If he does not stop, looks away, or otherwise does not respond to your cues, put the pressure back on him to keep him trotting.
When your horse consistently turns towards you and stops when you take the pressure off, you can now being teaching him to come. With him at a standstill on the rail and you in the middle, simply say "Come" and hold out your hand, palm up (as if you had a treat). In the beginning, if he takes one or two steps toward you, go ahead and walk to him and give him praise. I do not use any treats whatsoever, just lots of verbal praise and a good rub on the forehead. Continue this until your horse will take a good 10 steps or so to you when you give the command; soon he'll realize that when he comes and touches your hand, he gets to relax and get a headrub. If he does not come, looks away, or moves away from you, send him off at a trot. Keep him trotting for a few minutes, then back off and give the command to come. If he obeys, great - lots of praise! If not, send him off again until he does come and stand still next to you.
To progress with your horse from coming to you to following you is not difficult - it's basically just a series of "come" commands. Your horse is already walking up to come to you. When he has come and is standing next to you, simply give the "come" command again and begin to walk, near his shoulder. If he walks with you, praise him. If he walks off away from you, give the command to come. If he comes, continue on with the following session. If not, send him off again (as in Step 5). Then ask him to come and repeat Step 6.
Your horse will soon follow you around the paddock or pasture when he realizes what you are asking. You can teach him to stop when you stop walking. Simply stop your footsteps and put slight pressure on his chest if he tries to keep walking ahead of you. Then give the "come" command and being walking again. Every time you stop, he should stop even with you; if he keeps walking simply put pressure on his chest until he stops, then give him lots of praise.