Teaching your horse the Squeeze Game
Start the Squeeze Game by standing with your horse about six to eight feet away from a fence. This should give your horse plenty of space, but if he shows some fear, then just widen the space or send him between you and a barrel or tree in an open area. As your horse gains confidence, you will be able to go back to the fence and make the space smaller and smaller.
Send your horse through the narrow space between you and the fence or object by leading his nose and driving him forward from his hindquarters with the lead rope or training stick. Once your horse is moving into the space, just Allow him to go through. Turn with him and once he is on the other side ask him to disengage his hind quarters and come to a stop facing you.
Once you have both of his eyes focused on you, Send him back through the other way. Continue to ask your horse to go back and forth through the narrow area, with a short rest on either end to give him incentive, until he can walk through without a care in the world.
At first for your horse could turn and run around you instead of going through the space. The last place he wants to go is into a narrow space, so make it wider and have some patience. Keep asking while you walk backwards making the space bigger as you go.
Once your horse becomes confident with the current space make the space narrower. Allow your horse to get comfortable with the new width, then make it narrower again and so on. Remember to end each session on a good note so you can pick up where you left off the next time you play together.
You can use the skills learned in the Squeeze Game to teach your horse go into trailers, wash bays, racing barriers, roping boxes, crossing obstacles, and so much more.
Happy Trails!
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