Teach a horse to stop grazing while leading (step by step)

Playing ‘Follow the Leader’ shouldn’t be so hard. With our easy clicker training plan, it won’t be.

Does your horse sometimes pull you towards the nearest juicy patch of grass when you’re still closing the pasture gate? Does your horse stop to take a nibble while you’re leading her across a grassy area? Does your horse want to taste every leaf in the in the forest?

You might have pulled her away, told her to stop or tried to avoid the situation (i.e. walking on grass) altogether. You may have even tried to train her to stop grazing.

That’s what I did, and I tried every method in the book.

I thought my horse would learn by keeping the lead rope very short. I used a rope halter so she would ‘punish herself’ if she tugged. I tried to “teach” my horse by wiggling the lead rope, or even jerking on the rope.

No matter what I tried, nothing really worked for more than a few seconds.

I started to avoid grass along the road, making sure I walked in the middle where she couldn’t easily reach it or pull me towards it. (She won every time!)

It started to annoy me because I felt like a failure.

Here I was, with 30+ years of experience horse training, and my own mare made a fool out of me whenever grass was involved!

That is, until I discovered that I could apply the principles of learning and motivation to this exact situation.

The result was a horse friendly way (no jerking, shouting, or kicking involved) that yielded long-lasting results. How long?

More than a year after training, my horse still lifts her head on grass when I say her name.

In this article, I tell you how I did it — step by step.

Want to learn more about clicker training? Check out Jessica Gonzales’ Equine Empowerment book, which uses 100% positive reinforcement.

How to teach your horse to stop grazing while leading

What you’ll need:

Clicker
High-value treats like carrots or something else your horse really values
Watch or stopwatch
Place where your horse can graze

Why teach it:

Simply put, to avoid frustration for the horse and handler. After all, grass is everywhere!

It’s also a fun exercise to bond over because all horses love grass training. As if you need another reason, this trick will really impress your friends.

Prerequisites:

Your horse needs to know what the ‘click’ means.

Read my article about how you teach your horse the HippoLogic Key Lessons, which are the foundation of training success.

Your horse must also know how to lower his head.

How to train it:

Lead your horse to grass.
Let him graze.
Keep your horse’s lead rope in one hand the clicker in the other.
Keep an eye on your stopwatch or watch. You’re going to time how long he eats without lifting his head. This will help you stay patient and keep track of your progress. Even two minutes can feel like an hour when you’re waiting, but knowing it’s only a few minutes it will make it easier.
The moment your horse stops eating, click! Timing is super important.

Be prepared: it can take up to 10 minutes before your horse takes his first one-second break from grazing. Keep an eye on your watch.

Grazing training is only the beginning of what’s possible with positive reinforcement. Read my article about 6 Easy Clicker Training Exercises for Horses.

When your horse stops grazing the first time:

Option 1

Immediately click and feed him high-value treats when he stops grazing. (‘Stop grazing’ means ‘not biting grass,’ even if his head still hovers over the grass. Be very generous!) He must learn that only good things will happen: either grass or something else he wants in that moment, like a big juicy apple cut into quarters or a crunchy carrot. This is when your horse learns to love grass training.
Then — and here is the secret to this training — even before he has eaten all the treats, you ask him to lower his head so he can graze again.
Click again for following your lead on ‘Head lowering,’ and let him graze as reinforcement for listening to you.
Repeat.
If you keep timing his grazing behaviour, you’ll notice that it will take the longest before your first click. But soon he will lift his head up more frequently. Then you’ll click more often, and he’ll get more rewards!

Option 2

Immediately click the moment he stops grazing.
Skip the part where you feed a treat and ask him to lower his head. Some horses are not (yet) interested in a treat because they don’t expect treats during grazing.
Instead of offering treats from your hand, the reward will be to graze as long as he wants.
Click again for listening to your cue ‘start grazing.’
Now, he might become interested in a treat. After all, he knows what a click means, and he thinks you forgot! He will ask you ‘Where is my treat’ by looking at you. Be quick when delivering treats. Be generous, and use high-value treats.
Before he has eaten all the treats, ask him to lower his head and give the cue ‘start grazing.’
Click.
Let him graze as reward for listening. If he keeps his head up, give a treat because the purpose of this training is to train him to keep his head off of the grass.
Repeat.

Where to Learn More

These are just the first steps for grass training. You might want to train your horse to stop nibbling trees on a trail ride or train your pony to ignore grass when a child is riding. It can be challenging to start this training on your own, but I’m here to help

Join me for the free online Transform Your Horse with Grass Training program just for Horse Rookies!

About Sandra Poppema

Sandra Poppema, BSc, started her career as a riding instructor 30+ years ago. She noticed many riders needed to improve their communication skills. She became a horse trainer and began teaching equestrians how they could improve their relationships with their horses through intentional training and riding. Sandra became the go-to person for online positive reinforcement training after taming and training a wild horse with her innovative HippoLogic Key Lessons. She created this home-study program so horse people around the world can become autonomous equine clicker trainers.

Learn more on the HippoLogic Horse Training website, and request your free 5-Step Clicker Training Plan!

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