A couple of days ago I talked about preparing your horse for a lesson. There are many ways to do this but I think it's important to remember one thing - always work on something your horse wants to do.
OK, so how do I know what my horse wants to do?
Let's use the example of a horse in a new environment. Most horses will want to look around, some might even want to run around with their tail in the air but I don't think that will help prepare for learning, haha!
In this situation, I would choose any exercise that didn't involve standing still or moving backwards.
Your horse wants to go forward, great, use that energy for something useful, such as 'give to the bit' or shoulder control. Even long-reining would be great if you have a LOT of energy.
If you use this time to teach stop, halt, back-up or standing still, then you will inevitably have a conflict on your hands. Teach that later, when the horse is already in the Engagement Zone, it'll be so much easier for both of you.
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