The Ladder Drill

Teach your horse to move laterally with this low-intensity drill from futurity trainer Hallie Hanssen.

Sometimes when I’m asking a horse to move off my rein and leg pressure in between barrels, it wants to curl around my hand. A drill I call the ladder drill, or stair step, teaches the horse to instead move off of the leg and rein pressure while continuing its forward motion.

How It Helps

If your horse isn’t going in straight lines from the first to second to third barrel, and when you pick up the inside rein, it folds around it or leans into it instead of moving off of it, this drill will help.

This drill teaches a horse to move in a straight line while concurrently moving away from rein pressure, so that when I’m teaching a horse to go in a straight line between the barrels, when I move my inside rein or use any sort of leg pressure, they move off of it but also continue to move forward.

A lot of horses, when you pick up an inside rein, want to quit moving their feet. But barrel racing is all about forward momentum. This teaches a horse to just move away from those cues but keep moving forward.

Equipment

I use an O-ring snaffle, but really you can use any bit, because it’s about your leg pressure and getting the horse to move off the slightest amount of movement from your hand and your legs. It’s just teaching the horse to respond to body cues.

“A lot of horses, when you pick up an inside rein, they will want to quit moving their feet. But barrel racing is all about your forward momentum.”

When To Do This Exercise

I don’t usually do this drill at a barrel race, because I need the length of the arena to do it. I do it a lot at home, if I have a horse that is getting sticky with its feet or not wanting to move forward when I ask them to with my inside rein. I might do it mid-ride, depending on how the horse is doing throughout my training that day.

The Drill

I’ll start on one side of the long side of the arena, in the middle of the pen. I’m going to go across the short side of the arena, so I’ll pick out a fence post on the other long side of the arena. I start out at a walk, because it’s easier for most horses to catch on to the concept, then I will do it at a trot, then a lope.

I’ll start walking toward that post, and I’ll pick up my rein — let’s say my right rein — and apply my right leg, and I’ll ask the horse to move over to the left. I keep my hand in the middle of my rein, and I’ll move it to the middle of my horse’s neck, straight up. My leg will be right behind the front cinch, and I’ll mostly use my calf and seat to move the horse forward into my hand. I’ll pick another fence post that’s about 10 feet to the left of the first one, and I want my horse to now move toward that one, and keep forward motion, all the way across the arena.

When I get to the other side of the arena, if the horse was good moving over to the left, I will turn around and do it again, this time moving to the right.

I call it a ladder, or stair-stepping, because as you’re going straight, the horse’s body should continue to be straight. A lot of times when you pick up the inside rein, their shoulders and neck will come into you and curve. But I want that horse very straight on the line, moving laterally.

I keep going at this speed, because if the horse is really sticky with its feet and shoulders, you need to do it at a walk for a while until it really understands because horses can get frustrated easily with it. You want to make sure you’re at a slower speed so your horse can think things through.

If your horse has picked it up pretty easily at a walk, then I’ll do it at a trot. Rarely do I do it at a lope.

My arena in South Dakota is really wide, so I feel like it’s easier to do at a lope there. But some horses get a little hot if we’re loping and it’s a short distance across. I don’t want this drill to make them hot, so I pick a speed that’s appropriate.

How Long To Do This Exercise

I might just go across the arena working on the left side once, and if the horse was really good the first time, then I go once working on the right side. I might have to do it three or four times until it builds confidence in the drill and the horse isn’t getting frustrated.

Cautions

Make sure you’re doing the drill correctly, with the horse in a straight line and its legs moving forward. I do it one-handed, because I don’t want my outside rein holding the horse on the line. It’s about body weight for me. If you use two hands and hold the outside rein your horse could fade away that direction. Riding with one hand teaches you to ride with your body to keep driving the horse forward.

Final Thoughts

This drill takes a bit of practice. Don’t get discouraged if your horse isn’t moving in a straight line right away. Move toward the smallest things, even if it’s just a step or two, because the next day you can build on that, and it’ll keep getting better.

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This article was originally published in the May 2023 issue of Barrel Horse News.