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LEARN MORE ABOUT

Pink Level

LEARN MORE ABOUT

Pink Level

Pink Level is the first HorseCentered Level

Pink Level is a beginner level, designed to introduce basic horse training principles and hands-on ground training skills.

Students in unmounted Pink Level lessons will gain familiarity with basic equine behavior and training theory while practicing a variety of foundational groundwork exercises.

See learning objectives for PINK LEVEL

Scroll down to learn more about teaching Pink Level lessons.

young student petting horse for HorseCentered Levels lesson

What you can teach in Pink Level?

Pink Level Hcl Emma Zahtar

Better horsemanship starts with partnership!

Pink Level students are encouraged to prioritize the horse’s enjoyment and develop awareness of the horse’s posture and mental state.

Pink Level introduces concepts and exercises designed to give students confident ground handling skills, an understanding of the training process, increased awareness of equine body language and empathy for their nonverbal partners.

See our helpful introduction to HorseCentered Levels in this Boss Mares post: Teach Ground Training Skills – and Connection – with HorseCentered Levels

Pink Level is appropriate for students who...

  • have completed Red Level HorseSense.
  • demonstrate awareness of the prey/predator dynamic and equine senses, including the influence of their behavior and body language in the presence of a horse.
  • have experience and confidence in safe horse handling skills, including approaching, leading, and grooming.
  • understand the potential dangers in hand feeding horses and can demonstrate safe delivery from a flat hand.

LEVELS TOPICS include unmounted safety, ground handling, equine behavior, training theory.

Lessons for Pink Level students will include basic theory and hands-on skills practice:

  • Students discuss different approaches to training, including positive and negative reinforcement and appropriate use of food rewards.
  • They learn to identify stress signals in the horse, and develop strategies for helping a horse overcome fear.
  • They practice basic groundwork skills, including leading, yielding, sending, circling, and targeting.
  • They understand how to approach everyday horse handling tasks with partnership, including catching and grooming, and can create an enrichment activity for a horse’s enjoyment.

Ready to start teaching Pink Level?

VIDEO
PLAYLISTS

We’ll have
curated YouTube videos soon!

QUIZLET
STUDY SETS

We’re working on flashcards
and games for Quizlet.com

PINK LEVEL
RIBBONS

Celebrate students’
HorseCentered Levels progress

Find Pink Level downloads in the RESOURCE CENTER

Or learn about another Level...

See TEAL LEVEL
See WHITE LEVEL

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PINK LEVEL OBJECTIVES

THE HORSECENTERED CURRICULUM

Overview of Pink Level: Students will gain familiarity with basic equine behavior and training principles while practicing a variety of foundational groundwork exercises. Students are encouraged to prioritize the horse’s enjoyment and develop awareness of the horse’s posture and mental state.

  • Discuss approaches to training, to include the difference between positive and negative reinforcement.
  • Discuss benefits and cautions to using food rewards with horses, to include appropriate timing, reinforcing only desired behavior, and safe methods of food delivery.
  • Identify major and minor stress signals in the horse.
  • Demonstrate leading skills from near and off side:
    -- Transitions between the walk, trot and halt
    -- Turns and changes of direction
    -- Backing up
  • Demonstrate basic yields:
    -- Yield hindquarters on both sides
    -- Yield shoulders on both sides
    -- Back up for a minimum of 10’
    -- Lower horse’s head
  • Send horse:
    -- Through gate or stall door
    -- In a figure-eight pattern around two cones, at the walk
  • Circle at walk and trot, with safe technique, showing awareness of horse’s balance and relaxation.
  • Target a stationary object.
  • Discuss strategies for helping a horse overcome fear.
  • Discuss how to approach everyday horse handling tasks with partnership, including catching and grooming.
  • Create an enrichment activity for horse’s enjoyment.
  • Identify a training goal and create a written plan showing step by step progression.
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We’ve been blessed with many talented photographers over the years: students who voluntarily stood in sweltering/ freezing arenas, capturing lifelong memories of lessons, camps and shows. We’re grateful to all of them!

One former student, Delaney Witbrod, is now a professional photographer with a gift for animal portraits – see more of her fine work here. We’re also grateful for photos of Western riding donated by LLPro instructors – particularly Bit of Pleasure Horse School and Joyful Hearts Photography!

You’ll find illustrations throughout our online courses and printed materials graciously donated by our friend Rhonda Hagy. Evan Surrusco contributes additional illustrations and handles most of our photo processing. Contact us for information about their work.

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