How to teach a horse to lay down naturally (without ropes) ~ Tutorial!
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- Опубликовано: 13 окт 2013
- Nadine Lindblom's Introduction to Trick Training EBOOK is now available on www.equillence.com.au/shop.html
For FAQs and extra tips see below!!
My first tutorial! Hope you all like it! In this video, I teach my 6yo rescue gelding to lay down. I do this by teaching him to lower his head, then walk with his head down, rewarding pawing and signs that he is thinking about laying down until he decides to offer the behaviour so I can reward it! This method involves no force, only release and reward for correct behaviour.
FAQs:
My horse will show all the signs but wont lie down… what do I do?
Your horse may need some extra encouragement! Do this exercise after a ride/workout or after you have hosed him down. Many horses want to roll at this time, so use it to your advantage! Does your horse feel safe enough in its environment to lay down? Don’t set him up to fail by asking him when he is worried about something. Work on getting him to feel safe and relaxed first.
What if you don’t have a sandy yard?
Sand does help but if you don’t have sand this can still work. It helps to observe your horse in the paddock. Most horses have a particular place they like to lay down so doing this exercise in this area can encourage your horse. If your horse feels comfortable laying down in his stable or yard, you could try there too! Don’t try on rocky or hard ground, that’s just silly ☺
What are you doing when you are ‘asking’ him?
I say in the video that I keep ‘asking’ him. I do this by just standing still and maybe cluck if he looks to me for direction. This is not the ‘ask’ I will have in the future but for now, I am just doing what works.
How do you get your horse to lie down on a particular cue?
Continue this process a few more times. As your horse learns what it is you want, it will take less time for him to lay down. When he lays down almost straight away you will find that you already have some sort of cue. Whether its just standing still and ignoring him until he lays down or clucking to ask him to move his feet, this is still a sort of ‘cue’. Now that your horse lays down with this cue, you can start transforming it into whatever you want, like a voice command, whip/pressure cue or body language. If you want to use a voice command or body language, just repeat it while you are asking him to lay down, you can then use less of your old cue and more of your new cue. If you want to use a whip/pressure cue you would do the same but tap him lightly wherever you want the cue to be, once he lays down, release the pressure and reward. Of course, make sure your horse has no fear of the whip or any other equipment you are using!
Extra tips:
Don’t worry if your horse doesn’t lie down in the first session! Ace was at the stage of training where he was really searching for the right answers which made it easier. Be patient and don’t be afraid to spread it out over many short sessions!
Always end on a good note! The best place to quit is when you and your horse are interested and want to keep trying. Make sure you quit before your horse gets bored or frustrated.
Feel and timing is incredibly important! The better you are with the timing of your reward, the quicker your horse will learn.
Don’t ask for too much too soon! Your horse may give up if it gets too hard.
Don’t be too serious; it doesn’t have to be perfect. If you are stressed or too ‘strict’ I guarantee you, your horse will not lie down. Just relax and have fun!
Just sit and be with your horse! Choose a quiet day when you are not stressed and just hang out. Don’t pat, talk or interact, just relax with him. Most of the time when I do this, the horse will stand close and hang out and, amazingly, they often decide to lay down! Hopefully I will get it on video one day! Of course, once they lie down, reward them or just allow them to snooze and build some trust! 
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What an absolutely perfect example of BACK AND FORTH communication between you and your horse. That was far, far more than just "here this is what I want". He was looking to you and I saw you listening to him as much as he was listening to you. Definitely admirable horsemanship.
At 4.10 she's got it! "If I lower my head, I get a treat! I have trained my human! Look, she does it every time!" 😁
That method is amazing! It's just perfect for me and my horse. I taught him to lay down peacefully in three days (ten minutes each day). THANK YOU!!!
Adopcje zwierzaków You're welcome! Im glad you like it! :)
Adopcje zwierzaków ż
Awesome!
This was really inspiring to see a horse lie down in 13 minutes with no force. I taught my horse to lie down some time ago with the assistance of a leg rope and she will go down now on command, but haven't been able to get her to stay down. After watching this and another one of your videos, I am excited to try some more.
KD Huff Im glad you like it! :)
+KD Huff I also taught my filly to lay down the same way. It took belly high snow for me to finally figure out the command for teaching her to lay without a leg rope.. Felt so bad, I was only trying to turn her around, haha.. Eventually we got to where now it's that cue whenever wherever.
Thank you for making this. I have a cow who I train tricks and things for fun and to show people cows are not daft plus it helps bond with her even more though I am not sure how much more I can do... She calls for me when I leave to go home. Anyway! They are in fact smart and it's proven they remember things much longer then Horses. I love horses don't get me wrong though! I have to modify it slightly and I'm combining it with another video but it seems to be working wonders. I don't believe in using ropes and forcing an animal to do something like that if they don't want to do it. Laying down for them makes them Vulnerable and they should never be forced to do something like that... it's just mean. Anyway thank you for making this!
Cowtastic Mayberry I know it's late, but that is so sweet!
Your average cow is definitely not as smart as your average horse. A Horse's memory can be infallible, it's probably why the part of our brain that's related to memory is named after them; hippocampus. Cows can be smart too, but they live half as long as horses. The average horse is about as smart as a 13year old human. Look up beautiful Jim key.
I’m so late but, this is great! The way you get him to do it naturally and the exact way they do it in the paddock is mind-blowing 😍
Never too late to learn something new ❤
Great tutorial! I like how you do the narration and would love to see more! I also tried this with my mare and she didn't quite lay down but was doing all the other behaviors and was very close. Will keep working on it, thanks!
This is really good! My horse knows that when she rolls she gets a treat, but she doesn't know a command, I'm going to try this method when I'm going to her again, I'll keep you updated on our progress!
What a brilliant video! We use the same tactics with parrot training... learn body-language, then cue it and shape it.
Thanks for another awesome video! ❤❤❤
out of all the methods i've seen of laying a horse down i definitely like yours the most. so calm and just nicely asking the horse to lie down on his own without any force whatsoever, that was really nice to watch. i've been trying to teach my horse to lie down by first teaching him to bow but we're sort of stuck in the bow phase and don't really get anywhere from there, so i think i'll try this instead.
Really enjoyed this tutorial. I liked your technique - you have a very calm voice and showed great patience; I can't wait to go and try this with my own horse.
How lovely! I so miss being with horses all day since a drunken teen knocked me into a different life, although I feel I might some day be able to do groundwork, which I thoroughly enjoy!! Good to see your quiet approach.
Thank you for this impressing and inspiring tutorial. It shows perfectly how to stimulate the natural behavior to reach a certain goal.
Really love this. What also went straight thru my head was that if you lunge a horse and it offers to lower the head you will accomplish another very valuable part of training... the engagement of their back, the rounding of the back which especially for me as a dressage rider is very important. 2 thumbs up from me.
So good! I would love to see more tutorials from you! Thanks so much for this.
I really love your natural method. Making it his idea. I always let my horse know she has an option. Never and I mean never will I force her do something she doesn't want to do. :)
The way you work with your horse is really amazing. I love your vids
I'm so glad you uploaded this tutorial. I've been looking for a video on how to lay down your horse and this is the best one I've seen. This will be the method I'll use. By the way, I love your horse I think he's GORGEOUS! :)
So impressive! can’t wait to try this out!! Thankyou so much. Such an easy video to follow.
Thank you so much for this! I think this will help me so much with teaching laying down.
Well done, it's great to see such patience and a demo with a nervous horse, I would bet his training goes in leaps and boungs after he has mastered this. great vid ta.
I'm going to try this with my horse. Thank you very much for this tutorial!
I have the same type of horse as u (very nervous and sensitive) so in summer time I think this method will work excellent for me and my horse !!! thank you this is amazing !
This is great! I love how you don't use ropes and force your horse down, I love how its natural! Thanks so much for making this video! I'm definitely going to try this method with my horse! :)
I watched this video this morning and gave it a go with my Friesian cross mare this evening. Have to say I was dubious about how much success I was going to have, despite the fact that my mare is very intelligent and loves to learn. Pleased to say it worked a treat and after about 15 patient minutes she went down and had a good old roll :)
Oh wauw! following you on ig, and I love your work! It's so inspiring! Today is gonna be a day to watch lots of your video's, to learn things for later. I love the natural way you do with your horses! thank you😊❤
Great communication with the horse!
Thank you for this! This is the first video I've seen that has not forced the behavior. I'm going to try this with my mini in his favorite rolling spot :)
This was great!!! It helped me so much!! Thankyou! I hope you do more tutorials in the future!! Thanks so much!
Thank you for demonstrating this wonderful method. 😊😊👍
Thank you! Glad you liked it!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I've done a lot of work with my horse but when it came to "shaping" him to lie down, I made the same mistake that you mentioned that you made which was rushing toward him. When my horse was younger he would come up to me and roll to show his pleasure but that still didn't mean that I could walk up to him when he was lying down.
Anyway, this was perfect. It is how I like to train, but I needed help. I've had too many suggestions from people with horses that aren't like mine. This will work great.
This is awesome Thankyou! I'm going to try this soon!
Wonderful! So gentle!
I can't wait to try this!
First: I like your intro "whom I rescued ..." (proves to people that "even rescues" are great horses). He obviously trusts you - great job!
Great approach to teaching your horse! You really listen to the horse. This method is great, might not work with every horse, but it provides a GREAT method (we have 2 rescued Mustangs, one rescued OT TB, they are all three totally different in character etc.).
THANKS for rescuing him, being such a good horse person, and posting this great video!
Omg! Thank you so much for uploading this. I've been looking for a video that I could teach my horse to lay down without using ropes. Gonna try this soon :)
Glad you liked it!
so nice, I hope to try this soon
this makes me want a horse -- he's smart but so chill!
Beautiful tutorial!
You are welcome!! Glad you liked it :)
this is absolutely amazing! all of that and all they had to learn was to put their head down! mind= blown
I absolutely love this!
After just getting done watching a video of a professional training a horse to lie down using a hobble and moving it around the round pen .... I have to say I'm so very glad to see there are alternative method videos out there! Both get the same result but one is based out of forced obedience or "breaking" and fear. The other is based out of trust and asking. If they horse isn't ready to lay down its just not going to. It's telling you something is missing in its training or its relationship with you or it could possibly be in pain. People argue that horses started "naturally" more like this are disrespectful and need "leadership". I argue your horse sees you as another being worth working rather than fearing and feeling trapped by. Besides, wouldn't you rather have a fair and kind master over a dictator ? Anyway, just my opinion. Keep up the good work!
Really love this technique! Can't wait to try it with my pony!!! :-D
Thank you so much 😊 now it is so much easier for me to get on my mares
Great video. I have always wanted to teach my horse to lie down but I never liked using the rope method. I know Alexander Nevzorov gets his horses to lay down and I can bet he uses no ropes on the legs. The man is amazing. You are using the natural tenancies of the horse to lay down on his own. You can also do this in the saddle. Train the horse to drop his head at the walk and keep it down and he will lay down on you. I will have to play with this. Thank you
A thank to you for putting this up i will try this with my horse Chubb:)))
Amazing!!!! Thanks for sharing ❤️
I have a 10 year old 11 hand mini named ace. he is very sensitive and spooky and I do believe this method will help a lot!!! thanks!
I absolutely love this!! best tutorial by far! Just wondering what kind of treats you use :)
Awesome stuff! I like the way of patience there. And by the footage, it took only 13 minutes to make him lay down :)
wow awesome and amazing teaching and horse! Well done :)
Lovely!!! I so much prefer working with the horses mind first, then the feet. So many yahoos out there using ropes and bridles to get the horse to give (or give up ) Super way to work with an unconfident horse. Wonderful, wonderful job on your video. Hope you do more.
wow! I never thought of teaching my girls to lay down this way! I've already taught both my girls to lay down but I think I might give this method a try as well XD
Thank you so much I got mine to go in ten min! This method is awesome!!!! Thankyou so much -
brilliant idea.
Thank you so much. This was in depth and i enjoyed it prob just as much as you when he kicked up his feet lol. I'll remember this.
I have added this video to my favorites
Very nice! I hurt my back and can't ride for awhile. I thought it would be fun to teach him to lie down, but I've only seen I done by picking up a front leg. This looks a lot safer. I've done clicker training, and I'm thinking my challenge is going to be keeping my horse out on the line. But I'll figure it out.
I tried on my horse today and it worked! it took about 15 -20 minutes. 😀
I've seen a lot of methods for lying horses down, including my own which I actually don't particularly like(because it Ted's to panic my horse :/) but I love this method as it goes through the natural cues, cues I've taught myself to watch for and recognise. I don't usually use treats but it looks like an excellent way to teach tricks, while sticking to standard "release rewards when doing standard training.
Thanks for sharing ur method, I look forward to testing it on my own horse :)
Thank you so much! It works!😍
That’s amazing.
This is perfect!
My horse like this way :D
lovely horse
great video thanks
Thank so much for this! I've always been told to use the rolling method but I feel the horses do not learn from that.They just roll and think the treat does not correspond with laying down. When my horse is off stall recovery we're going to go for it!
Wow he’s smart!
You have a very beautiful horse! So sweet :)
I'm very exited to teach my horse to lay down using this method and i really think it will work well for us, thank you so much for sharing your technique!
i just wanted to ask what cue you introduced once he was doing it comfortably?
wow! That was amazing! :D
Amazing!
I can't give my horse treats as she barges into me once she knows I have them, so I'm trying to get her out or that x
Awesome Nadine:)
This is amazing! I'm thinking of doing this with my mare, but she will forget right after I give her a reward(if that makes sense), she is also very spooky
may i ask what you have as a cue for him to lay down?❤️
idk what she says but you can say *down* as it is simple to remember.
hi! i love your method, i started this morning with my horse and i could only get to the point when he walks around me with his head down and scratch the floor with no rope in about 10 min i was amazed how fast he get that^^ but he doesn't want to lay down. I haven't got a round pen so i do it in a close area but it's grass :/ i think that's my problem. (sorry i'm french, hope you understand) can't wait to see more tutorial.
Omg this is incredible and inspiringly am going to try this with my new horse and I think it will really help us bond!!!! I'm supper excited
Very good demonstration! love it :) what is the words you use for the horse same time so the horse knows what you want later as you ask different tricks?
Great video! Thanks! I have a horse I want to teach to lie down and kneel. I have another horse who is 23 months old that I am trying to trach
Thankyou so much for this video. I am going to try this with my mare. How do u get the horse to lay down on cue?
Gorgeous.Beautiful demonstration of reading your subject and successive approximation! Have you tried adding a clicker or some other clear 'event marker' or 'bridge'?
Diana Hilliard My event marker is 'good' or 'good boy/girl'. They very quickly learn that it comes with a treat or a release of pressure :)
amazing, thanks so much for this :) x
We had an Appy that needed lessons on how to remain standing. She learned (before we got her) that she could get out of being ridden by laying down after she was saddled. The seller said that she "was raised with kids" and I think that was how she got her bad habits. She was sweet but apparently over worked at some point. A real drama queen. :)
this is so awesome that you did not use ropes a lot more kind way for asking to lay down☺☺😊😊😀😁😀😃😄
amazing! I have a 2 months old foal and will try this with him. What treat did you give your horse? what do you recomend for my baby foal?
Hello! I tried this at my horse and it worked. I really like the way you work aroud and with your horses! But I wonder about one thing, how do you learn your hors by comand when he nows what to do?:)
how do you stop them rolling when they're down?
hey there, love your videos first of all... i was just wondering, have you ever tried using dogs to show the horse what to do, to connect the behaviour or act you want from him, the specific words your using for your command .i.e getting a dog to lay down infront of the horse a lot, so he picks it up a bit quicker?...
Thats such an easy and stressless way to teach a horse laying down! Wonderfull! :) I think its a good way for me and my horse too! Thank you :) Does every horse lay down at the first time oft training it? Sorry for my bad english...
Alina Donau I never expect a horse to lay down the first time doing this, but yes, some do. Others take a few more sessions :)
Really helpful but didn't understand how do we get him to understand the command? and which command should I use? should I tell him the command before trying to get his head down?
Thank you so much for this! I've been looking for MONTHS for a way to teach my horse to lay down without using ropes/force! This is perfect! I actually started teaching my horse using this method right after I saw this video about a week ago. After about five minutes, I was able to get him to lower his head by lightly touching his neck around his ears. He was also pawing and sniffing the ground quite a bit!!! I have a question though. Finn is incredibly stubborn and just doesn't lunge. We've tried to get him to lunge a lot, but he just won't. So, is there a substitute for taking him around in a circle? Could I just continue standing in the same place until he offers to move around on his own? Thanks so much!
Hello :) Im glad you enjoyed the tutorial. Thats great that you have made progress already!! You can definitely just continue until he offers to move on his own. Good luck!!
At the end of the video where you were saying that you kept asking him, what signals did you use to ask?
Ohh Thanks
Patience is The Key
I used my feet and mimic the horse pawing. It didn't take long before, down she went.
Great video! How do you add the cue in so that eventually he'll lie down when asked?
It's like a dog u say down or what ever and do the command and repeat
Hi Nadine, may I ask how Ace is coming along with the progress of this training?
grande classe
I watched just before this a clip in which a horse was "made" to lie down with ropes. Lots of anxiety, lots of heavy breathing, wrangling and assertions by the "maker" as to how dangerous it is. You actually accomplish it much faster, and without any kind of anxiety or drama. Thanks for posting. Awesome!