Dragging Skill Development

Developing the skill of dragging needs to be approached carefully.  The essential goal in building this skill is to help the horse overcome the fear of being chased by something that scares them.

When developing this skill, it’s essential that you begin with something that the horse is not afraid of.  This will be something that the horse has seen many times and has accepted its smell, physical characteristics and the sound that it makes when being dragged.

As always, test your horse’s acceptance level to the object.  To prevent causing a traumatic experience for your horse, you need to determine the horse’s fear index.  Once you determine her fear index, start at a level below it (a level of less fear).

Tie your horse or have someone hold her for you.  The first step is to show the horse what you intend to drag and let her smell it.  If your horse does not accept it within one minute you should find an object that your horse will better accept.  A rope is a good choice for the initial test.  Once you have decided on an object that your horse does not fear, you can move on to exposing your horse to the task – dragging the object.

Stand at a distance from your horse and move the object around you.  The horse needs to see that no matter what the object is doing it’s not dangerous.  It may be slapping the ground, lifting off of the ground, touching your legs, etc.

Now walk away from your horse, and let the object follow.  Note your horse’s reaction.  If your horse doesn’t mind what you are doing, continue, but closer to your horse.  Stop what you are doing often and reassure and/or praise your horse.

Continue in this manner until you are able to move the object around right closer to your horse, at the front, sides and back.  Each time, use pressure and release, as well as ignore/correct/praise to set your horse’s emotional state.

If your horse has completely accepted the object, lead her around the space while you drag it.  Turn, wiggle the rope, and change sides often.  For some horses this may be enough stimulation for this session. You should never scare your horse to the point where they are traumatized.  In that case you are doing more harm than good.  You will then have to spend time “undoing,” because you caused fear to the point of trauma.

Simply giving the horse something to think about is a very effective baby step (a way of encouraging acceptance and building confidence). Baby steps are experiences that develop skills that are stepping stones to future objectives.  For example, this baby step (you dragging the object) reduces fear of the object and can be used to develop the skill of dragging an object while on your horse.  This dragging skill can then be used as a stepping stone for the future goal of pulling a cart.