Much has been written & demonstrated on teaching a horse to lead but like any other training, it should not be hard work on trainer or horse,there are many different ways of teaching this very important lesson .

First off, I will start with a foal.This is carried out in a stall or small pen.

To begin, it is best to catch & halter your newly born foal the first day,I prefer to wait 4-5 hrs. after birth , I will catch the foal around the chest with my left arm & around the rear with my right now just hold on until he settles down then let him go, repeat this a number of times before introducing the halter,I will do the same thing with the halter on & off, on & off , you will know when he is comfortable with it, now this is the time to quit. This should take no longer than 10 minutes or so.Many short lessons are better than one long lesson. It maybe 2 to 3 days later that I introduce the lead, I work alone (hard to find good help) so when I clip on the lead I also slip a harness over the foal (see picture below) this just makes it easier to control him, because he will pull back as soon as he feel pressure on the lead, now if you have help this is a good time to have them close behind the foal, they can give him a little push as you turn his head toward you there by starting him off. Remember short lessons. Within a day or two have your helper lead the mare while you lead the foal,it will not be long before you can lead him with out any help.

When using this harness the lead is attached to a D on the chest strap & then threaded through the halter ring.

After a week or two of leading with the harness you can try without if at any time he hangs back all you have to do is reach your hand back to his rump & he will move forward.

For me the real leading lessons start after weaning, one time I would never handle a foal until this time. I would let mother teach the foal what she had to first, I found that at weaning when mother was out of the picture whether done gradually or dramatically (mother or baby instantly removed from site of each other) the young weanling would then look to me for security & would tend to learn quickly.

Now if your horse has had the basic leading, that is you can halter & lead him from stall to pasture or some place he doesn't mind going, many people think that because they can do this with their horse then their horse is trained to lead , NOT SO.

A horse is trained to lead when he walks beside you over water puddles, tarps , poles on the ground & even low jumps, walk between cars,trucks , tractors or any obstacles that you may encounter.

To bring a horse up to this level he has to respect you & have trust in you so you must be confident at all times.

You would have found you gained his respect upon completion of Hobble training, when you removed the hobbles he followed you around the pen , his head was at your shoulder.

To start this lesson you will need to have a long whip (dressage or buggy whip ) standing on the horses left side position the horse between you & a fence (best done in round pen or small enclosed area ) facing strait ahead & being half way between his head & shoulder so as you can use your elbow into his shoulder as a partial break, also to stop him from walking over you. At this point I need to mention that you can use a rope halter (cowboy halter ) a rope as shown in hobble breaking,or if an older horse that has been bitted then you can use a bridle. You must have control of the horses head.

Now to get forward movement using the whip in the left hand reach behind you & lightly touch or tap him on the upper back leg at the same time taking a step forward & telling him to walk, the voice cue should be one word.

It is possible that he will jump forward, depending on his disposition, so you need to be ready with your right hand , elbow & voice using all three to keep him in check. Once you have the forward movement down then it is time to teach the horse that when you stop he stops, when you move backward he moves back, at all times keeping you between his head & shoulder.

This time the whip is used in front , it is quickly brought from rear to front & across infront of the horses cannon bone when asked for a stop, tap him if you have to, now when he is standing still tap him with the whip on the shin & apply a little backward pressure to lead or rein, as he steps back step back as well, keep looking forward though.

To tell if you have this lesson down, take off the lead or reins & the horse should work as if they were still on. This is the first step toward liberty training.