[gsdhunter]

I taught my shepherd to run next to my horses on a 6 foot lead ! I guess we are freaks lol

I would not use longer than a 6 foot lead, because you don't want them to wrap around the horse ! With a six foot lead you can keep th from going under them or even just under the neck. I used lots of treats and taught a command that means come to my left side. I started inside on lead and then off. Followed by outside on lead and then off. I also taught sit from a distance, which imo is the most useful command for an off lead dog.

In your case I don't think its a good idea with out having done lots of practice first.

Ps- you have to teach the dog to not stop and sniff ! I can't tell you how many times I almost fell off the back of my horse (when we were bareback of course) while cantering !
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[gsdhunter]

Idk. Personally I would feel better about it if you could train with the horse you would be riding !

I would love to make a training video, but I am unable to ride right now ! It was a very interesting process with some trial and error
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[gsdhunter]

I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier, but I did go through a period of training outside where I did hook his leash to the horn of the saddle just in case. I always had the leash in my hand, but the handle was over the horn so I wasn't jerked if he tried to stop while we were cantering.
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[gsdhunter]

Honestly, I don't think people give the dog enough credit ! They are incredibly good at body language. If the horse is halfway trained they can read if it's getting scared and worse comes to worse you can always drop the leash.
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