Ground Driving My Horse: The Why

My saddle no longer fits my horse. My friend joked I need to rename this blog “Horse Seeks Saddle.” While I’ve been trying out a few different models as I await my saddle fitting appointment which has been rescheduled twice, I have been ground driving my horse Knight, and it’s really got me hooked. By the way, this saddle in the picture fits well enough for ground driving purposes, but once I’m in it, it’s too close to Knight’s withers.

This post contains affiliate links.

My Personal Ground Driving History

I have no history with ground driving, unless you count seeing it in books, and a few times in person at the Lippizzan performances at Tempel Farms. When I first learned Knight had kissing spines several years ago, I read everything I could about the condition and joined a Facebook Group. Long story short, I read a lot about how ground driving is good to help strengthen a horse’s back. It didn’t occur to me then I could/should try that. My trainer in Temecula would lunge Knight using the Pessoa rig. I thought about getting one, but it looked super complicated. Then I ended up moving back to Illinois and flying Knight from LA to Chicago. Knight has adapted so well to all-day turnout and annual injections, so I forgot about these unmounted, back-strengthening practices.

Two years ago, I saw ground driving lines (I don’t even know if that’s the proper term) at my local tack shop. I decided to buy them as they were not expensive and it seemed like something I should have in my tack trunk as a responsible horse owner. Like the blind leading the blind, around this time in 2021, I threw Knight’s bridle on and grabbed the lines. They remind me of a nylon lunge line except they are skinnier for about the first three feet from the snap and they have a fastener which will allow them to snap together at the end you hold, just like a buckle on the end of your reins.

Psst!!! Did you hear, my next book about Misty of Chincoteague is available for pre-order? Check out Marguerite, Misty, and Me: a Horse Lover’s Hunt for the Hidden History of Marguerite Henry and her Chincoteague Pony here.

On a bright summer day, I led Knight to the outdoor arena (no one was riding) and attached the lines to his snaffle. I’m pretty sure he looked at me out of the corner of his eye thinking, “What is she up to now?” I told him to “walk on” and tried not to get tangled in the lines. I stood very far from his rear and kept trying to keep the lines taut enough so they didn’t drag on the ground. Did I mention I don’t own a surcingle?

The way Knight walked around can best be described as “drunken sailor.” He was in super slow-mo, I’m sure, very confused by his incompetent owner. I think I tried this painfully awkward activity two times before I placed the lines in my tack trunk where they eventually made their way to the bottom with old brushes and that extra halter I might need in case of an emergency.

Learning How to Ground Drive

When I was in Ireland on a horse girl riding holiday this time last year, one of my friends asked our instructor if we could spend an afternoon session learning how to ground drive (she already knew how because her horses drive). I was excited as I had never had the opportunity to learn this skill and trying to figure it out on my own clearly was not successful.

A lightbulb went off for me, watching the instructor drive. First off, the horse was saddled. The lines went through the stirrups, thus preventing that too-low danger zone I had encountered with Knight on my own! Genius. I didn’t need a surcingle.

Next, she explained how the lines act as the rider’s leg aid. We watched some of the young trainers at the farm working young horses on ground driving. It was like they did a trail ride (from the ground), navigating various terrain with the horses on the lines: they went up a short, steep hill, down a wooded path, through a parking lot with puddles, going through the puddles. It was cool.

When I had the chance to try ground driving, it was surprisingly hard. It helped having the instructor give me verbal commands on what to be doing. It dawned on me then this is a skill, just as riding is a skill. It was humbling, in a good way, to feel like a total beginner again.

My sister, also on the trip, attempted ground driving too. She seemed like a natural. My friend tried next. I learned from watching them too. Without realizing it, that experience horse riding in Ireland (and driving) planted a seed that sprouted this spring.

It’s a long story, but I do not have a saddle that fits Knight properly. I decided to give him a month off around March, and I’ve struggled trying different saddles. It occurred to me that my trainer knows how to ground drive because she actually used to drive a four-in-hand! I asked if I could take ground driving lessons and she was game. I will admit I felt a little sheepish asking for a lesson on this, because I don’t know of anyone who takes ground driving lessons in place of their riding lessons. But knowing what I now know about the saddle not working on him, I don’t feel right riding him.

The first lesson ground driving my horse, my trainer worked with him to see how it would go. Her assessment was that he had already done this before. Early in her career she helped start race horses and so her thought was that Knight was probably trained this way as a youngster. She began lunging him and then introduced the second line, the one that is basically the outside rein that wraps lightly around his lower bum/above his hocks. When he started to trot I could not get over how long and low he trucked around! She did changes of rein and then said it was my turn.

That first experience I wished I were an octopus, because I felt the need for more arms to organize, gather up, and release the lines. I’m sure it was hilarious to see. I started out all in the wrong position. I felt he was walking to slow, so my default (like when I lead him and he’s poky) was to get ahead of him. My trainer made the correction by telling me to move in line with his hip. If he’s too forward, go more to the front, and if he’s too laggy, go more toward the back. I had no idea that my body position from the ground was an effective aid.

Also, I learned that my “good boy” praise had too low of a sound. That it sounded too much like “whoa.” My trainer wanted both my “walk on” to be more commanding and my “good boy” higher pitched and happy. It’s not often I think of the nuance of my tone of voice and how it affects Knight. Although, when I attended the Breathing for Equestrians workshop by my local dressage club, the presenter did talk about our breath and voice. You can read what I learned from that excellent training here.

The other thing that concerned me as I attempted ground driving, which I’m getting better at, but it’s still a challenge, is holding the lines in such a way that they are not wrapped around my hands. There’s a lot of length and so as I am figuring out the correct length for my inside and outside rein (and remembering to move them with my horse’s mouth, just like I would if I were mounted) I wind up holding what can best be described as a large clump of reins (inside hand). When I hold them in longer sections, I then worry I will step on one or trip if it hits the ground at my feet. lol

For more awkwardness, the act of getting the lines attached properly to the bit was also a feat at the beginning. I could not figure out how to run the line on the left through the stirrup–what was I supposed to do with the line on the left as I went around to attach the right? My trainer showed me to take the looped left line and drape it over the saddle and then go over to the right and slide the line through the stirrup and place that loop on the saddle, then walk around and grab the left line and then unfurl (gently) the right line and let it drop below Knight’s rear. And at the end, when I’m done ground driving my horse, it is kind of a backward process, to unsnap and take the lines off.

I honestly don’t know how I would have figured that part all out without taking a lesson.

What I Like About Ground Driving My Horse

I planned to write a listicle blog post with all the reason I like ground driving, but this has gotten so long, so I think I’ll do another post. But for now, I’ll say two things. 1. I really like seeing Knight move from the ground. I can notice how he is using himself in a different way, as opposed to only feeling it when I’m mounted. 2. My daily step count has been very high from ground driving. During about lesson number 4 ground driving my horse, I attained 2 miles! And finally, I love seeing Knight’s beautiful bay dapples!

Stay tuned for another blog post about ground driving. I will share my list of reasons it’s been awesome for Knight and me.

Your turn: Do you know how to ground drive? If so, what inspired you to learn? If not, do you have a desire to learn?

Join my email list for horse-centric peeps like us. Click here for product reviews and equestrian inspo via 2x a month emails. No spam.

Follow my adorable TB Knight and me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.