Horse Care & Groundwork

Caring for a horse means being able to take it from stall to stall, and being able to tack and ride the horse correctly. Find out how to catch a horse before preparing it for a ride with helpful advice from a reining horse trainer in this video on horse care and groundwork.

Make this Community Strong:

Be the first to add a comment!

Hi! I'm Craig Johnson. I'm head reining horse trainer, Western horse rider from Kimball Hill, New York. I work at up this beautiful facilities, Santa Hill Ranch, just north of New York City. We're going to show you today how to take a horse from start to finish, from stall the stall. We're going to go catch a horse, we're going to put the halter on, show you how to do that correctly. Actually, we're even going to show you to go let the horse catch you. Then we're going to take him to the tack up area. We're going to saddle him up, we're going to a little bit of ground work and we're also going to go ahead and show you some exercises that you can do as you're riding your horse. And then, we're going to put him away. So, we've got quite a plan for you. We're going to take this horse and actually go catch him. He's going to be the one we'll use and I'm going to take this halter. There's several different versions of halters, this is the kind that we like to use. We also like the rope halters that are very, very inexpensive, very nice, easy to use as well. But this is a standard halter that you can get at most any tack shop. Now, we also use a nice, long lead rope and I like the long lead ropes because it gives me the opportunity to tie the horse long if I want to, tie him high, tie him wherever I want to. It's also a nice safety feature because it allows me to get out of the horse's way, if he's getting in trouble. I can stay clear back at the end of the lead rope and not get in any, any dilemmas with him. So, I'm going to make my way over to this stall and I'll show you how to actually let the horse catch you. This gives us an opportunity also to check out the surroundings in the stall or the paddock, wherever your horse would be. Always check the surroundings. Make sure the stall's still in good shape, if there's, you know, if he's gotten in trouble, watch for any kick marks on the wall, looks like he's had a problem. Also, when I go in stall, I'm going to check to make sure that the ground is okay in there. If it looks like the horse has been pulling, he's possibly been sick or he's in trouble or he's angry or anxious, something like that. I'm going to check the waters, make sure the waters are clean. I'm going to check to make sure he's eating his feed, eating his hay, because I want to be always conscious of what this horse is and what he's doing, and all the things about him. So, if the water needs cleaning, this is a good chance to check that, see if that needs done. Make sure he's also drinking as well. And again, make sure that you always check out your stall, make sure that there is nothing that can protrude out and catch the horse like a nail.