One of the first things I do when a horse comes in for training is check his teeth,before I go any further I must say that in these writings a horse will be referred to in the male gender, unless there is a pacific question that has to be answered otherwise. So his teeth are floated if needed,the next part of training that I put a horse through is HOBBLE breaking this is a very simple process and has many benefits ,infact so many that it amazes me that there are not more trainers using this wonderful aid.

Hobble Training:

The tools we need for hobble training are , a set of hobbles, a 30' soft cotton rope, a bridle (headstall) with a jointed snaffle bit and long reins. On a wild horse( or untouched ) ,I use a blindfold as well as a stockwhip handle

Note that the straps are passed through the rings closest to the swivel , for the front legs on all size horses.

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Hobble Chain

Stockwhip Handle

Now that we have our equipment together it is time to start , this training can be done almost anywhere but I prefer to work in a round pen , the whole idea of hobble breaking is to teach the horse to stand whenever told or in the early stages of training whenever he has hobbles on his front legs. So we don't just put on the hobbles and let him go,that will not work a horse can quickly learn to gallop in hobbles,what we have to do is stop him from moving as soon as he tests the hobbles if he moves and stumbles you must quickly turn his head toward you either using the long reins or the soft cotton rope, so with that in mind we proceed as follows , take the horse to the work area,with bridle fitted (with horse that has been bitted up) for untrained horses the rope is used.Working from the near side (left side) place strap around his right leg first,the reason for this is very simple, if he moves away with a rush,the chain will not hit you in the face by putting it on the left leg first you are leaving yourself open to receive a nasty hit. If he is standing a little spread out you will have to lean on his shoulder to move his left leg closer now the strap is done up on the left leg, now if you have trouble with him moving off or constantly lifting his foot you can apply the straps above the knees leave the straps loose enough so as they will drop over the knee though.

Quickly stand up and move back holding the reins (rope) at this point some horses do not move,we want them to move this is how they learn by feeling the resistance sometimes we have to encourage them to move but as soon as he does then we must stop him and at the same time say "stand" you will find that most often a horse will only test the hobbles two or three times at the most,remove the hobbles (left first) that is all you need to do the first lesson , in the next lesson maybe he will not move once the hobbles are on that does not mean that you are finished you will have to enforce this by using the hobbles each day for a week or two after which he should stand for anything.Below is a short video clip

Ok now you may ask what do you do with the whip handle ? On a horse that has not been handled it is not so easy to put on the hobbles, you have to desensitize the horses legs, to do this I use the whip handle, starting on his shoulder and working down the leg gently rubbing as I go working on both front legs from the left side,when he is used to the whip I then use the back of my hand in the same way soon you will be able to put on the hobbles.

The rope is used on horses that have not been bitted up in other words never had a bit in their mouth and taught to give to it. The noose is fitted high around the neck just behind the ears and brought up snug under the throat, then a half hitch is placed over the horses nose, (see picture below ) it is a good idea to get your horse used to this by applying light pressure to the rope turning his head one way and then the other, do not pull hard on the rope and hold on because he will rear up and is likely to flip over you must be very gentle with this rope to start, once he has learned to give to the rope you will find this a very handy tool with many uses. Notice that I do not use a halter the reason being is that you do not have the same low contact on the horses head with a halter as you do with a bridle or rope a horse can pull away from you with a halter on,you can turn his head much easier with bridle or rope.