Danada Equestrian Center: Keeping a Horse at Pasture

Volunteer Team Talks

Yielding to Pressure

Yielding or "giving" to pressure is a basic response among horses.
But what does that mean?

Teaching your horse to yield to pressure should be a priority. It will translate into having an obedient, safe horse. When your horse learns to give to pressure on nearly every part of his body, you can use it as a tool to shape other behaviors in the horse. For example, you will always have something to keep him busy with if you need to:

Distract him from scary objects or situations,
Get a bored or inattentive horse's attention, or
Get a misbehaving horse to focus on what you are asking it to do instead of the bad behavior.

In addition, when horses interact with each other they use physical and non-physical pressure to indicate dominance. If horse "A" moves threateningly towards horse "B" and horse "B" moves away from the pressure, then horse "A" has successfully communicated to horse "B" that he is more dominant in the herd. Horse "B" then begins to respect the space and authority of horse "A", providing that horse "A" is consistent in his communication. We can use this horse-logical behavior in the same manner.

You can apply pressure in many different ways under many different circumstances, but it comes down to the same response, no matter if you are attempting to pick up a hoof, lower his head, or asking him to step sideways so that you can open a gate from his back. You want the horse to react to that pressure by moving a particular body part away from it.

Tips to remember:

Use the lightest pressure possible. Too much force DOES NOT WORK. He will either become upset, learn to ignore you, or resist you. In extreme cases, he will fight back if he feels that he needs to defend himself.
Reward the horse IMMEDIATELY when he responds. This is important when working with horses. They will associate the release of pressure as their reward.
DO NOT release the pressure until you get the desired response. If you remove the pressure before he responds, you're teaching your horse that if he waits long enough, you'll "go away". You've rewarded him for doing "nothing".
Be calm & deliberate in your cue. If you're distracted, impatient, or nervous, your horse will sense that. He may take advantage of the situation or become anxious himself.
Be consistent. Cue him the same way every time.
Work slowly. You are looking for a controlled response.
Remember, it's not how quickly he responds that is important. That will come with time & consistency. Give him time to figure out what he's supposed to do. The time & patience invested now will pay off down the road.
Reward him lavishly, especially when he's first learning something new. Keep your sessions short. You don't want your horse to be become bored or frustrated with too much repetition. Give him lots of breaks. Groom him or take him for a walk between sessions. Make it fun for both of you.
Some horses are already trained and understand perfectly what you are asking them to do, but they may test the boundaries. This is when you may need to do some tune-up work. The 3-step rule works well in these situations. This is the "Ask, Tell, Insist" application. For example, if Chance won't pick up his hoof, which is something he knows how to do already, you must be confident and be the authority figure to insure that he understands he cannot get away with ignoring your request to pick that foot up.
1. Start with the lightest possible pressure or scratch to cue him to pick up his hoof (or, you may not even have to touch the horse. A look, a step toward him or even bending over to pick up a hoof may be all that is needed for the horse to realize he should lift it for you).
2. If he does not respond, you may press a little harder or scratch a little more vigorously.
3. If he still doesn't respond, you become more insistent and make him uncomfortable, perhaps digging your nail in a little and keep it dug in until he lifts his foot for you.
YOU'RE NOT TRYING TO HURT HIM OR FRIGHTEN HIM! He'll get the idea & pick up his foot to get rid of the annoyance.

Yielding to pressure is a cue used in many different ways, both from the ground & under saddle. Here are just a few examples of using pressure:

Leading—your horse should give to the pressure of the halter when you give a gentle tug on the lead rope (or butt rope, if teaching a youngster to lead).
Haltering or bridling—your horse should respond to light pressure on his poll and lower his head for you.
Picking up hoof—your horse should lift his foot willingly from a light touch or squeeze.
Stepping sideways away from pressure—be it the shoulders, mid-section or hind end. He should step willingly away from slight pressure on that body part.
Just like giving to the pressure of the halter, a horse should comply to bit pressure. The lightest, softest pressure is all you should use. The more heavy-handed you are, the more your horse will resist or fight you & you could hurt his mouth.
One rein stop: Apply pressure to one rein only, hold that hand on your thigh or the pommel of the saddle, if necessary, to keep the pressure on until your horse stops.
Using leg aids, which is pressure created from your calves, is key in teaching a horse to go forward, sideways, backwards, to bend, to counter bend, for gait transitions & changes in speed within a gait. This light pressure from your leg can be adjusted to suit you & your horse.
You can also use your seat, merely by shifting your weight to create subtle pressure changes on your horse's back. This technique is ideal, along with proper rein & leg use, in teaching your horse movements like "turn on the forehand".
As you and your horse improve, you can use these "pressure" techniques combining hand, seat & leg aids to teach your horse more advanced movements, such as turn on the haunches, leg yields, counter bends, shoulder in, haunches in & many more!

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