leading

[granniesboy]

No problems ever catching my horse and putting his head collar on, he will stand for a fuss and follow me round the field. But as soon as we head towards the gate to come in he plants himself and won,t budge. So we go round and round in circles getting control of his feet, then as we head towards the gate he plants himself again and we have to start all over again. Have done the headcollar on and not come in thing and giveing him a treat when we do finally reach the stable, but its taking ages. Any tips.

[r0450111]

try using a pressure halter on him. You'll have to train him to understand the halter but it does work. How wide is the gate? Has he ever caught his hips on either side? Does he do the same going through stable doors ect? What is the surface like around the gate? It could be that his feet hurt going through the gate, hence why he's reluctant.

[granniesboy]

don't think the gate is the problem as it's very wide. a bit muddy and he does't like getting his feet wet but he can walk round it. no problem with doors or gates at all really. he just doesn't want to come in. but how do i get him moving?

[Blonde Donkey]

qwhen you catch him could you givr him a bit of carrot and give him a small haynet or a small bucket of carrots when he comes in so he associates coming in with a nice experience and getting fed
i know it's cheating but the way to a geldings heart is through his stomach

[granniesboy]

he has all that.

[granniesboy]

may be he thinks that the grass is still a better option. and it's not as if he's coming in to do a lot of work. most of the time it's gentle hacks round the farm and some jumping that he enjoys. not that he's actualy said he enjoys but you know what i mean. some times its just a jolly good fuss and groom and back out again. the term" extracting the urine comes to mind."

[zara]

I have had huge problems in the past with leading my boy. I've had removing to move at all, bolting off, running around in circles, attacking my arms, you name it AJ has done it! My saviour was a rope "parelli" type halter (see any pics of AJ and there it is!). Got mine of ebay for about £8 but Libby's do a good one for £10 + p+p Zx

[joandlad]

I've recommended it before and will recommend it again, Perfect Manners by Kelly Marks. Excellent exercises in the back. You need to teach your horse about pressure and release and you need to get your timings exactly right. These exercises will help with both. If you have a safe enclosed area (ie school) do some work getting him walking over a tarpaulin. This should put you in a situation where he is reluctant to walk forward and you will be able to put into practice all you've learnt whilst working through the exercises.

Oonce he realises that you've got total control over where each of his feet go he probably won't even try the "not moving". If he still does, remember that horses are very stable from front to back and you'll be hard pushed to unbalance them by pulling straight forward. They are, however, rather unstable from side to side so if you go off at a 45 degree angle to his head with a fairly long rope you should be able to unbalance him. Just remember to release as a reward as soon as you get any movement in the right direction - even if it's just an ear moving.

[haffyfan]

The parelli style halters Zara suggests are excellent and the advice from joandlad is spot on!
One of my boys can go randomly on strike out hacking and will not shift whether you are mounted or not. The last time he did it I had left his halter on and taken a leadrope so towed him from this on the ground reasonably easily. Side to side usually gets some movement eventually and I release the pressure the second you feel he's going to give (usually flicks his back fractionally first). Prior to this I have also resorted to going backwards in order to get movement...both mounted and unmounted on odd occasions....If I can get him turned round that is....then I have backed him up in the direction in which I wish to travel until he has stopped being daft and continued normally. Although this only works with a horse who can rein back easily and some people feel teaching young horses to go backwards causes napping, however I use western principles rather than english with mine and it's a valuable early skill they are always taught.

[abi]

ditto joandlad-

Everybody should read perfect manners, it is my bible!

[brigadier]

I think you need to work out why the horse is doing it- he sounds clever to me- do you bring him in and work him straight away? Are you bringing him in to work in the school and its his least favourite thing etc etc. There must be a reason. Once you know the reason you can start to work on the cure.

Maybe he needs a short feed once out of the field- something to look forward to, even a couple of carrots.

If none of this makes sense then you could try giving him an option- if he wont come out of the field then work him right where he is, use the pressure point on his chest to make him walk backwards until he is ready to walk forwards nicely, as soon as he plants his feet then back him up again. This way the option to what you are asking is harder work and horses want to take the path of least resistance so he will soon get the idea. and do read the Kelly Marks book- half way through and its excellent. Also passive leadership by Mark Rashid- gives you a whole new perspective!

Also wear a hard hat and gloves and boots when getting him from the field- if he does decide to be naughty you at least have some protection.

[haffyfan]

Aug 15, 2008 15:02:50 GMT brigadier said:

Also passive leadership by Mark Rashid- gives you a whole new perspective!

ooh...did you read the book/s then? What did you think?

[granniesboy]

brig, oh yes he's clever. But ever so cute. Had this problem for only a few weeks and i do win in the end. This evening went out for him, he came to me as usual, head coller on, no problem. I am then expecting the same trouble with him planting and refusing to move. I expect you know whats coming next, walked beautifully to the gate through the yard and into his stable. Then im sure he winked at me to say he'd got bored with that game. Don't you just love them when they make complete numpties out of us.

[brigadier]

Ha its their job- its why we love them so much! Mine did that a few times but I worked out he wasnt enjoying the hacking/work- he was napping a lot and I was in a muddle about it all, got a bit of help and he's good as gold again and comes in from the field great so I deffo think he had worked out that work wasnt much fun so he wanted to stay where he was then as soon as work improved he wanted to come in again- in a way two problems solved!

Proves that all horses are different and all need understanding and respect!

Haffy- Im totally and absolutely in awe of Rashid- its weird really as for the last two/three years Ive changed in my attitude to horses- once I believed that we were the bosses and horses had to obey when we asked, I wasnt cruel, just strict- that said Ive had some wonderful partnerships with horses that really trusted me- however there were always one or two that I simply didnt gel with and struggled to work well. So I decided to totally review my approach and work towards a true partnership. Reading Rashid has made me feel so much better about the decision, the recent problem I had with Basil was sorted by using 'softer' techniques where at one time I would simply have rough rode him! I returned from hol on Friday- got him out of the field and hacked him for an hour and he was fantastic- didnt turn a hair. Was all snuffly and loving afterwards too!
Im not sure yet whether it would work for all horses- but I do think its far preferable to start soft and up the game if needed (which in the majority of cases wont be necessary). so yes- thanks for the recommendation and I thoroughly enjoyed and learned from it!

[suzii]

My boy had a very breif phase of not going into his stable. I found sending him backwards and away when he plants his feet, then when he decides hes had enough of going backwards and stops, walk foward. Don't look at him and don't pull on the leadrope. This takes one hell of alot of patience sometimes but really does work.

Now if Sprite doesn't want to go somewhere, the minute i ask him to go back he knows whats coming and decides its much easier to do as i want!

[duckles]

Granniesboy, don't know if this will work with you but its what I did with a horse who was getting seriously difficult about coming it.
1. NEVER go into the field to collect him.
2. have a basket of nuts or carrots or something and shake them, chances are all the horses will come to gate so much easier to get yours.
3. If doesn't work, bring in one of the other horses, the lead one if possibe, he will follow it.
4. Always have a nice treat and loads of praise at the gate once the head collar is on. Loads to begin with, you can ease off.
5. If he's messing coming in, start by bringing the other horse in also.
6. practise your position with him once you have him out of the field. Ie never let him overtake you while leading (just change direction and he's behind you again) make him stop when you do, walk and trot when you do etc. all very calm and quiet. Practise leading for a while until he follows you easily and obediently.
7. when leaving him back, give him treats etc again at the gate.

Work on the leading and he should get really good and all the barging will go. BUt always make him come to gate, takes a while but he will start coming up to you when you call. May need the rattle of nuts for some time

[granniesboy]

duckles, thanks but not sure i really agree with what you are saying. 1. I have no problems catching him and him following me around the field. Just when we head to the gate. 1. To go into his field just for a cuddle is one of lifes pleasures and not one i want to give up. 2. i really do not want 6 other horses charging down the field to the gate. 3. He is the lead horse and i don't mess with other peoples horses. 4. He always has treats and fuss. getting the head collar on is not a problem it's the planting afterwards. and he never barges me. Thanks any way and I don't want to sound ungrateful.