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The bubble concept in horse riding refers to teaching a horse to respect the rider's space and leadership. Teach a horse to get away with helpful advice from a reining horse trainer in this video on the bubble concept in horse groundwork.
Now, that just is teaching the horse to respect space. If I can get him to get back away from me, and stay back there until I go get him, that way he's learning respect for who I am, and basically creating a pecking order. In nature, these horses in the pasture, they are going to develop a pecking order. Somebody is going to be the boss, and the rest of them are going to get whipped around. Now I need to be the leader, of this union between this horse and me, there is going to be a leader. Just make sure it is me. Make sure it is you. Don't let him be the leader, that is one of the things I do to create that. In nature, in the pasture, they back each other off when it came feed time, somebody is going to get more food than the other guy. And that is how they do it, they'll just chase them backwards. The other thing they will do, horses understand the bubble concept like we talked about. They make sure that they know how to push each other around and get the spot they want. Now I'm going to do that with him. I am going to teach him to get away from me. Now I don't want him coming toward me, but if I walk toward him, and I push on that bubble, he is supposed to get away. So I am going to take my rope just like this, now this hand is going to stay up here by his face, and about that level. Right up about where his eye is, where his nose is. And then my other hand is going to be about where his shoulder is. Now this is my space, and as I start to walk toward him, he is supposed to go away from me. I want him to stay away from me. Now I will lead him back up here again. Now as I walk toward that bubble, remember that beach ball thing I was talking about. As I walk toward that beach ball, and push on the front of it, he is just supposed to lead me. I am not touching him anywhere, but I am putting pressure on that bubble. And I do that both directions.
