Ground driving teaches an animal to be steered and stopped from behind using two lines 5-7 m long attached to the halter, before it wears harness or pulls anything. Once it walks, turns, stops and backs on the lines, introduce harness and traces gradually, starting with a harness draped over it, then dragging traces, then a light drag of 10-15 minutes.
Part of Draft Animal Training
The stage between ground work and pulling: steering a halter-trained animal from behind, then fitting it with harness and light traces.
Ground Driving Rehearses The Cart Without The Cart
When an animal is hitched, the handler is behind or beside it, out of reach of the head, and steers with lines. Ground driving lets the animal learn that arrangement while there is nothing attached to it, so the first sensation of a cart is not also the first sensation of lines, voice from behind and harness at once.
Two articles cover the two halves:
- Long-Line Driving — control of direction and speed from behind.
- Introducing Harness & Traces — gradual pressure and the first drag.
What You Need
- A halter-trained animal that stops on “whoa” — see Ground Training Fundamentals.
- Two lines of 5-7 m — soft and without frayed spots.
- A fenced area — big enough to turn in.
- A harness that fits — see Harness & Yoke Making.
- For oxen: a goad — a light stick about 2 m long.
Method: Order Of Work
Step 1: Lines on the halter. Attach one line to each side. Stand behind and slightly to the side of the animal.
Step 2: Walk, whoa, turns, backing. Pair voice with line pressure: the left line gives “haw” (left), the right “gee” (right).
Step 3: Obstacles. Drive between posts, around barrels and through a gateway.
Step 4: Harness over the animal. Drape it, then buckle it on, then walk around the paddock wearing it.
Step 5: Traces and a light drag. Attach light traces to drag on the ground, then a small log or a bundle of brush for 10-15 minutes.
Oxen. You walk beside the team, not behind. Tap the near ox’s shoulder with the goad for direction and use voice for commands.
Worked Example
How much ground does a first 10-15 minute drag session cover, and so how big must the paddock be? Using the carrier’s walking paces:
- Ox at 2-3 km/h: 2 km/h x 10 min = 2,000 m/h x (10/60) h = 333 m; 3 km/h x 15 min = 3,000 m/h x (15/60) h = 750 m.
- Horse at 5-6 km/h: 5 km/h x 10 min = 833 m; 6 km/h x 15 min = 1,500 m.
A session therefore covers about 333-750 m for an ox and 833-1,500 m for a horse, so a small paddock means many laps and many turns. Plan turns into the session rather than treating them as interruptions.
Common Mistakes
- Starting in the open — begin in a fenced area.
- Pulling steadily on both lines — the animal braces on the bit or halter; use pressure and release.
- Skipping the drag — an animal that has never felt resistance at the shoulders meets a cart with its first surprise.
Safety
Lines, kicks and the first drag
Never wrap a line around a hand or wrist. If a line is pulled out of your grip, let it go; do not hold on. Stand to the side and behind, but at the distance of the lines, not within reach of the hind legs. The first dragged object should be light and attached so that the animal can leave it behind, not so that it is tied on.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Long-Line Driving — the steering detail
- Combine with: Pulling Loads — from the first drag to the cart