How to Teach a Horse to Lie Down
While many experts feel that teaching a horse to lie down may be against the animal's instincts and can be risky and possibly lead to injury, it can still be done with a little patience and care. Give yourself plenty of room to work with the horse, and be sure to reward its behavior with plenty of kind words and a few pleasurable scratches on its withers. Read on to learn how to train a horse to lie down.
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Instructions
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Choose an area with plenty of room when you teach a horse to lie down. This will help to reduce the chance on injury if the horse looses its footing on the way down or shifts too far backwards when completing the maneuver.
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Use a halter and lead to teach your horse to lie down. Grab the lead rope and bring it around to the side of the horse, behind its neck, to the spot where you are standing. Steady the horse and keep it still by placing your hands on the animal's shoulders.
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Lift the horse's front foot (the one that is the closest to you) while pulling the lead away from your body, causing the nose of the horse to point away from where you are standing. This will cause the horse to shift its entire weight backward, toward its rear quarters.
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Repeat this maneuver over and over until your horse sinks its body low enough to require putting its knee on the ground to steady itself. Ensure that you praise and reward the horse for executing this move successfully each time, using either a clicker or a brief scratch to the horse's favorite pleasure spot (such as on the withers). After completing this move, return the horse's foot to the ground, and continue the praise and stroking.
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Push the horse gently to the ground once you have gained its trust through the repeated training, ensuring that you heap additional praise on the animal for completing the task. This may take some time, since the horse's instinct will be to resist falling to the ground. Once you have succeeded in your efforts to train your horse to lie down, you will have deepened the bond between you and the horse.
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Tips & Warnings
Never teach a horse that is old or infirm to lie down. The risk of the animal falling down suddenly during the training increases with age or sickness and can easily lead to a life-threatening injury.
