From Jim: Those of us that have time around horses have occasions when we need to lead them. Halter breaking is an important skill for the horse person and to be well mannered on the lead should be part of a horse's skill set. Donna and I differ on preferred halters. She likes the flat nylon halters with buckles and won't use a lead rope with at bull snap. She likes the harness snaps with the little slide bolt. I prefer a tied rope halter. If it has a lead that's part of the rig, even better. Leads should be soft. I like cotton or really soft lay braided nylon or dacron. They should be around 3/4" around, 8' long or so, not flat, not skinny, not stiff, and never ever have a dog lead type wrist loop. When leading the coils should be folded together and held in the middle, not looped and held with the hand passing through them. The idea is that when the day comes that a horse bolts, and that day will come, you don't want to caught up in the lead and get pulled off your feet, dragged, and really hurt or worse. Horses need to learn to lead from either side. They should respect your space and pace. Waiting and turning about at gates is part of the deal. Standing and waiting, without a lot of fuss is too. At Home At Last, we want the critters to understand that they're being led and what's expected from them. Like all the rest of their schooling, it takes time and patience to get that done. We have a number of our animals that will lead on command, at liberty. They step up to your shoulder, attend, and follow. It's pretty cool. Most will lead with a piece of baling twine around their neck. A few, like good old Levi, are just a hand full. Leading a 1000 to 1400 pound animal is a serious matter. You need to pay attention. Your quiet confidence will reassure the horse. That's not the same as complacency and inattentiveness. About the time you get arrogant, the critter will return you to humility. I love the quote that says,"Your horse can only be as brave as you are". I also try not to impress them with how foolish I can be. I think they can easily be as foolish as I am. Respect for the immense power and quickness of these animals should always be included in any contact with them. They are hard wired to take to their heels without a second's hesitation. At the lead, they can overcome some, but not all, of their flight instincts. When, and again, not if, a critter blows up on the lead, Your demeanor will play a big part in the outcome. Yelling and being angry and aggressive will most likely just make things worse. Tugging and jerking on the lead rope in an attempt to overpower a frightened horse and "teach it a lesson" is a recipe for disaster. Restoring focus and attention, reassurance and confident leadership will get the animal back in hand and, then, you can reinforce want you want. I've seen folks back critters excessively, or lash out with the lead rope, as a punishment, or use lip chains and nose wires and skinny little cords to train by using pain. That is not acceptable here, shouldn't be anywhere. We want our animals thinking about us and what we want, not how much they're hurting. Using operant conditioning, pain aversion, and abusive tactics are sorry excuses for effective training. A gentle shake of the lead rope, a verbal cue, repetition of a skill behavior, patience and time, and more patience, that's the trick. Taking the time to "teach" your horse will make it a lot more fun to be around them. Know what you want and expect and teach to that outcome.
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