Ground work is essential when introducing your horse to the Garrocha pole.  I make the pole smaller (If you use a telescoping swimming pool sweep pole, you can make it much shorter than the traditional 13 feet).

On the ground, I walk next to my horse, carrying the pole – starting and stopping.  Allow my horse to become accustomed to the pole on both sides, out of both eyes.  I keep the pole up off the ground until my horse accepts it, then I slowly “drag” the pole next to my horse.  (Dragging the pole creates a sound as it drags across the footing and can scare horses).  If the horse is very concerned, I do this until my horse doesn’t care, maybe over the course of several days, a few minutes each day.  

If another person is available, I will have them carry the pole in front of my horse and me, and I will follow the pole, similar to a cow that you would trail.  This usually piques curiosity in the horses.  I do this until my horse is very calm and relaxed with the pole.  You can also back your horse and drag the pole with you while backing. 

I then allow the pole to gently touch my horse, until I can gently “bump” with the pole and the horse doesn’t care.  I “bump” on the neck and hindquarters as I want them to be accepting of my mistakes. (You do not want your horse to react if you make a mistake when riding and accidentally “bump” with the pole while doing various exercises).

My next exercise is to have someone carry the pole walking next to me while I ride forward in a walk on my horse.  I have them do this on both sides.  Again, I am looking for a calm horse with no reaction to the pole.  When my horse is calm, I will have my helper hand me the pole and I will hand it back to the helper, several times, on both sides while my horse is standing still.  If the horse is calm, I will walk forward carrying the pole, making sure my horse is OK with it, and my helper walking next to us, ready to take the pole, if needed. (I prefer to have a helper, as I don’t want to drop the pole if my horse gets nervous – it is much better to hand it off to someone).  I then make sure I can carry the pole on both sides, and my horse can see it out of both eyes, with no reaction.  

My next step is to be able to drag the pole while riding my horse forward at the walk.  I do this on both sides and periodically circle around the pole.  At this point, if my horse is calm, I usually am good to go and can begin introducing jog and, eventually, the lope.  I am never in a hurry to go faster – I want my horse to be confident and accepting.  It is a good idea to briefly do a ground work check each time you use the pole, just to make sure your horse is OK with it.  The Garrocha pole creates a nice change in your work routine and will really help you define your circles and straight lines, not to mention it is a lot of fun.