START FROM WHAT THEY KNOW

Just about every horse enjoys being groomed and knows how to lead in hand, and these abilities can be polished and shaped. Here Lauren Janesch competes in showmanship with her gelding Sharp Action.

Shelly Volkman and her gelding

Rose Run Luther in a costume that builds on the horse’s prior familiarity with harness tack. He is obviously not much bothered.

Any horse who is OK with pulling a cart will probably also be OK pulling a drag. Here Katie Jochems builds on what her gelding Buen Camino already knows.

Most STBs were line-driven as part of preparing them to pull the sulky. Owners who intend to ride the horse can use line-driving as a means of suppling to introduce lateral work, and a way to introduce the horse to longeing and other groundwork. Here Susan D’Ambrose line-drives her gelding Independent Act.

Chris Glover schooling his easy-gaited STB Silver Match in a rack. This is a great example of building training and competitive objectives around the abilities that the horse himself presents. Chris writes to say, “The photo does not do justice to the speed we were actually going.” The pair became quite successful in a whole range of activities, and we’ll see more of them in our next installment.