Table of Contents
Acknowlegements 7
The Horses 8
Introduction 9
A brief history of groundwork 13
The importance of groundwork today 15
1 Equipment 22
For the horse 22
For the handler 29
2 The Unbacked Horse 36
Basic handling - manners and obedience 36
In the school 41
In the field 42
Building a relationship 45
3 Groundwork Training for the Rider/Handler 48
In-hand work 48
Lungeing 52
Long-reining 55
4 In-hand Work 59
Basic in-hand work 59
More advanced in-hand work 67
In-hand exercises to try 77
Common in-hand problems and solutions 79
5 Lungeing 82
Stretching work 84
Establishing a correct outline with side-reins 90
Working in walk, trot and canter 96
Free-schooling 99
Lungeing exercises to try 102
Common lungeing problems and solutions 103
Remedial work 105
6 Long-reining 109
Long-reining on a circle (double-lungeing) 109
Double-lungeing exercises to try 114
Common double-lungeing problems and solutions 115
Remedial work 115
Long-reining on straight lines 116
Long-reining exercises to try 122
Common long-reining problems and solutions 125
7 Ground Poles and Cavalletti 127
Ground poles 127
Cavalletti 131
Pole and cavalletti exercises to try 137
Problem-solving and remedial work 138
8 Jumping 139
Introducing jumping in hand 140
Common jumping problems and solutions 147
9 Lungeing the Rider 149
Suitability of the horse 149
The instructor 150
Equipment and preparation 152
The rider's perspective 154
Conclusion 166
