Teaching your horse to ground drive offers many benefits and is just plain fun and can be done with almost any horse. Some of the uses include: Teaching a young horse how to steer and stop before being ridden. Improving steering on childrens horses that are too small for an adult to ride. Building a horses confidence by having him taking the lead. Doing an enriching activity for horses that are unable to be ridden. Introducing a horse to obstacles or pulling a cart.Ground driving is a great way to improve a horses steering and stopping before he is ridden. Photo by Jason IrwinGetting Started in Teaching Your Horse to Ground DriveI use a saddle, a bridle with a snaffle bit, and two long driving lines. A surcingle may also be used in place of a saddle, and you may want to carry a buggy whip to encourage forward motion. Note: When ground driving, I run the driving lines from the bridle through the stirrups and then back to me. I tie the stirrups beneath the belly using a piece of rope to prevent them from flapping.Before running driving lines through the stirrups, tie the stirrups beneath the horses belly. This prevents the stirrups from flopping around. Photo by Jason IrwinBefore putting the bridle on the horse and hooking the lines up to the bit, its best to get the horse used to the feel of the lines around his hind end. Sometimes when a horse first feels a line touch his hindquarters, he might be tempted to bolt, turn quickly, or even kick at it. To train him to get used to the feeling of the lines, begin with your horse wearing a halter and lead rope and saddled up. Its best to use a halter for this part so you dont accidentally pull too hard on the bit in the horses mouth.Assuming youre starting on the left side of the horse, connect one line to the right D-ring on the right side of the saddle and run it behind the horses haunches (be careful not to get kicked). Hold the line in your right hand, leaving slack in it for now, and hold the lead rope that runs to the halter in your left hand.Start by having the horse circle around you at a walk, and then put slight tension on the line so that it makes contact with his haunches. Have the horse circle once with a small amount of tension, and then release the pressure and then repeat this several times.Once the horse seems to be accepting of the line, youre ready to move on to the next part.Ready to Ground DriveWhen a horse learns to ground drive, its a good idea to have a second person help you for the first few sessions. Put a halter under the bridle and have the second person lead the horse while you drive him. This helps the horse figure out what hes supposed to do and keeps him from suddenly turning and getting wrapped up in the lines.It can be done with one person, but its easier with two. Its also better to drive in a small area in the beginning, if possible, so the horse doesnt have too big of a space to pick up speed.To start driving, hook up the right driving line to the right bit ring and run the line through the right stirrup. Do the same on the left. Keep one driving line in each hand and dont tie them together. You can either let the remainder trail on the ground behind you or gather up the ends and hold them.Now stand behind the horse a safe distance away from his hind end. Here is where you can either use a voice cue, such as walk on, or create a little flapping motion with the lines to get the horse to walk forward. This might feel strange to the horse because hes used to you leading him most places. This is why a second person is good to have in the beginning to give the horse confidence to move forward.Dont make any turns or stops in the beginning, just get forward motion and follow the perimeter of the area that you are in.Turning, Stopping & BackingOnce the horse is moving forward nicely, try to change directions by steering through the center of the pen and heading out the other way. This gives the horse a lot of space to make the initial turns. Again, keep following the perimeter in the new direction.Once the forward motion and change of direction is going well, you can work on stopping. Its best to not work on stopping at the beginning of the session because the horse will have more energy and might not be content to stand still.To stop, just pick up on the lines until he comes to a stop, then release the pressure. You can use the voice cue whoa as well. The first few times you practice stopping, only stay stopped for 10 or 20 seconds, then get the horse moving forward again.He might be a bit confused as to what to do when hes standing by himself and might start to fidget. Try to get forward motion before the horse starts losing focus. Your helper can assist with keeping the horse calm for this part.Begin with a helper if possible to keep the horse moving forward while teaching the new cues from the lines. Photo by Jason IrwinIf the horse seems like he needs some reassurance, carefully walk up to his hip and stroke him with your hand to help him remain relaxed. Eventually, you can add in a few back-up steps by pulling on the lines and releasing as he backs up. Once all these steps are going well, you wont need the helper anymore.To advance the horses turns, you can practice rollback-type turns toward the fence or arena wall. Drive him 3 or 4 feet out from the fence and then have him turn sharply toward the fence and continue forward in the new direction. Turning toward the fence causes him to turn more sharply, which makes for better turns. Even though the turns will likely be faster, remember to keep your hands soft and light on the lines.In early training, following the fence helps to keep to keep the horse straight. Photo by Jason IrwinAdding SpeedTo pick up speed, stand to one side of the horse and have him circle around you like youre longeing him. Ask for a trot by using a voice cue, or flap lightly with the lines. Once your horse is trotting, keep him circling around you so you dont have to run behind him.To go faster than a walk, have the horse move in a circle around you, similar to longeing. Photo by Jason IrwinIf youre moving straight, youll have to go as fast as your horse to keep up. By having him on a circle, you wont have to chase behind him. Also, if your horse picks up too much speed and you find him hard to stop, just put him on a smaller circle, which will help slow him down.Once your horse is ground driving well, you can add some obstacle work or even start cart training. Ground driving is a fun way to spend time with your horse and even has lots of benefits that transfer to under saddle work.This article about teaching a horse to ground drive appeared in the May/June 2025 issue of Horse Illustratedmagazine.Click here to subscribe!The post Teach Your Horse to Ground Drive appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.