I'm sure you all have heard the way everyone tells you to teach ground tying. They say to make it simple for yourself and less time consuming by teaching while you're grooming your horse.... That is the dumbest idea ever. You have the lead rope in your left hand (and your lead rope's probably too short), a brush or two in your right so you're brushing is kinda awkward, and you are in a bad position. Your horse won't wait to move until it's convenient for you. More likely he'll do it when you're standing by his hip or going behind him to get to his other side. It'll make you frustrated like no other.
Solution: Don't teach ground tying while you groom!
It's actually much simpler to teach it when you're leading your horse from one place to another.
All you have to do is drop the lead rope, say woah, and stand by him for a little while. If he moves you can easily grab the lead rope and put him back. At first don't make the standing time too long. Make it so that your horse succeeds. Then you can drop the lead rope and say woah, and walk away a few steps. When your horse moves to try and follow you just put him back where he belongs, say woah and walk away again. Repeat.Repeat and increase how far away you are. This should not take 3 months to teach. It should take you one or two days. Just so that they understand the concept. After that you can do the grooming and saddling with ground tying. With continued use you will be able to walk away and even disappear from sight and your horse will still stay in that spot.
Do you have any idea how nice and handy it is to have a horse that you can brush, saddle, and bridle in the middle of nowhere? It makes everything nice and simple. It's nice to know that you can get off your horse to do something, drop the rein on the ground and say woah, and your horse will stay there until you are done.
If you have any questions... ask. If you want a video I can definitely provide that.
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