Hooking On in the Round Pen: What Join-Up Really Looks Like Oct 6, 2026 Zachary Leyden There is a particular moment in the round pen that people remember for years. A loose horse that has been moving around you slows, bends its ribs toward the middle, and when you soften and step back, ... Groundwork The Leyden Method Read more
Teaching a Horse to Stand Tied With Patience: A Step-by-Step Progression Sep 22, 2026 Zachary Leyden The horse paws, swings its hindquarters as far as the rope allows, paws again, and glares down the barn aisle as if the hitching rail had personally offended it. Somebody watching says the horse is im... Groundwork The Leyden Method Read more
The Bowline: The Knot That Will Not Slip Sep 6, 2026 Zachary Leyden There is a family of situations around horses where a knot tightening under load could hurt or kill an animal, and for those situations you want a knot that forms a fixed loop and refuses to close dow... Groundwork The Leyden Method Read more
The Quick Release Knot for Horses: Tie It Until It's Boring Aug 22, 2026 Zachary Leyden One pull on the tail of the rope and the whole knot falls out. That is the entire job description of the quick release knot for horses: hold a patient horse all afternoon, free a panicking one in unde... Groundwork The Leyden Method Read more
How to Lead a Horse Correctly: Position, Pace, and Personal Space Aug 7, 2026 Zachary Leyden Twenty yards of barn aisle will tell you nearly everything about a partnership. One pair drifts along, rope tight, horse’s shoulder crowding the human’s elbow, both of them steering each other by acci... Groundwork The Leyden Method Read more
The Draw: Teaching Your Horse to Come to You Jul 24, 2026 Zachary Leyden Most people learn to send a horse away long before they learn to bring it back. They can move the hindquarters, drive the horse around the pen, ask it to yield and go. Then they wonder why the horse f... Groundwork The Leyden Method Read more
How to Catch a Horse in the Pasture: The Catch as a Conversation Jul 8, 2026 Zachary Leyden You come through the gate with a halter over your shoulder, and out in the far corner a head comes up. Ears swing your way. Weight shifts. Nothing has happened yet, and everything has. The horse is al... Groundwork The Leyden Method Read more
