There may be two types of britching or breeching ropes commonly recognised with regards to working with horses. The first kind is often used in harness to help with loads the horse has to pull. The second kind is a rope that is particularly beneficial in encouraging the horse to move forward.
Teaching a Horse to Lead with a Breeching Rope
Simply put, a breeching rope lightly resembles a lasso in shape, having a loop that fits around the horse’s rump, with a line of rope that is attached to it. When placed correctly on the horse, the loop should rest above the horse’s hock and over the entirety of the rump. The single piece of rope that comes from the loop can rest over the horse’s back and off to one side, being threaded through the ring of the halter so that it can be held alongside the lead rope.
Issues may arise if the loop of rope sits below the horse’s hocks and dangles about its legs. It should be noted that horses may not initially be happy with an item that rests over their rump and back. The result may be to hump their back, kick out or pigroot. Introducing them to this idea at a younger age can make handling with the breeching rope that much easier.
The end of the breeching rope is held onto with the lead rope that is commonly attached to the horse’s head collar or halter for leading. The idea is to then apply pressure to the breeching rope, rather than the lead rope. This puts pressure on the horse’s rump, encouraging them to move forward from behind, even though the handler is at the horse’s shoulder.
Pressure and Release Effectively Teaches Horses
To best take advantage of using this rope and implement good leading habits in the horse, as soon as the horse moves forward in response to the pressure of the breeching rope, the handler should stop applying pressure. This needs to be done immediately so that the horse associates the stop of pressure with the fact that they have moved forward.
Breeching ropes can be highly effective and useful when there is no one around to assist with regards to leading a horse somewhere that it doesn’t want to go. Breeching ropes can be utilised to assist the handler in:
- Leading a difficult horse for the first time
- Loading onto a float or truck
- Encouraging the horse into areas it is unfamiliar with, such as into a stall or wash bay
Easily able to be made from a piece of long rope, the breeching rope can be a cheap and effective addition to one’s horse gear collection. It is an especially useful tool when working alone.
Source
- Horse Sense, Huntington, P., Myers, J., and Owens, E. Second Edition, Landlinks 2008. ISBN 0 643 06598 9.
Chris Thomas - C. Thomas has studied and worked with horses since 2001. She teaches horse studies part time and is undertaking an Equine Science ...
