Teaching Your Horse to Drag Objects, Part 2

When preparing a horse to pull a wagon or other objects, go step by step
by Raye Lochert

Last month, we covered the steps to get your horse used to having ropes across his body while moving. Once you've accomplished this and your horse is comfortable with the ropes, continue to work your horse in the round pen with your horsemen's rope as you progress to working with ropes and objects.

Not so Scary
Once your horse is desensitized to the rope across his hocks from both sides, you can teach him how to drag it. Take the honda (also known as hondo) off the saddle horn and lay your rope around the front of the horn so the honda end hangs on the opposite side of the horse and trails back about 25' behind him. Keep the rest of the rope in your hand.

Send your horse off at a walk, letting the rope drag in the dirt behind him. If things get out of control, just pull your end until the rope slides off. Work this lesson until your horse can drag the rope comfortably from both sides.

Once this is accomplished you can start dragging objects. Attach the least scary thing you can find to the rope and repeat the lesson above. This time if anything goes wrong, let go of the rope and it will slide off by itself. Keep attaching objects of increasing scariness and weight until your horse reacts calmly to all levels of pull.

Driving from the Ground
Now is the time for ground driving. The way I do it is by taking a couple of cotton lunge lines and running them through the stirrups up to the horse’s bit. At this point, if you have done all your work, the horse should not have any problems with the ropes running around his rump. Practice ground driving for a few sessions until you can walk, turn, stop and back up easily. Once you accomplish this, move to the next step.

Take a thirty-foot lariat and attach it to the saddle horn. Ground drive your horse until he is comfortable with the rope dragging off his rump. If you have done all your prep work up until now, this should not take very long. Once he is comfortable dragging the rope, occasionally step on it to create a pull on the saddle. Once he is comfortable with that, employ a friend to pull on the rope. Slowly increase the pull over a series of pulls and releases until your horse is dragging your friend through the dirt on his or her feet, kind of like skiing.

Letting Go
When your horse is comfortable with this, have your friend run the rope through a tire, but do not tie it off. Allow the horse to drag the tire. If he becomes frightened, have your friend let go of the rope. The rope will slide through and the tire will stop. Never tie anything off on your horse until you are 100% sure he can handle it. Having your friend hold the rope with the ability to let go gives you a quick release in case of emergency.

After the tire, try other objects such as timbers, sleds, and wagons. Again - never tie off until you are sure your horse can handle it. If your horse does react and the object is tied off, you are in for a wreck. It is a good idea to stay in a confined area during this training.

With plenty of time you will be able to climb into the saddle and drag objects easily. If things start to go wrong, just let go of the rope. Sometimes it is a good idea to back your horse away from the object while dragging it. This allows him to keep an eye on it. It also offers a little more control since a horse can run faster with his rump toward the object rather than his eye toward it.

Once all this is done, find a reputable driving trainer and show him or her what your horse can already do!