Horse Training Questions

Today’s horse training question comes from Ricky.  He writes: I saw a horse and a donkey tied together with a rope about 5 ft.long walking in a pasture why would they do that just curious.

Ricky, the reason I’ve heard for doing that is with a young horse to teach it to lead.  The donkey is so stubborn that it will never give in, and the horse figures out that he should just give to the pressure of the lead rope when he feels the donkey pulling.  Then when a person comes along the horse already knows how to lead.  It’s an old fashioned trick and I’m not sure if it actually works, but that’s the reason I’ve heard!  Thanks for your question!

This question just came in: Just starting a 2yr old quarterhorse gelding, his 5th ride. He is CONSTANTLY chewing the snaffle bit, pushing his nose out, extreme throwing of head up down I’ve tried 3 snaffles but no change I am using very little pressure on his mouth any ideas please.

First, try adjusting your bit up and down a little to see if that helps.  If it’s sitting too low in his mouth it might be banging his teeth, if it’s sitting too high it might be pinching.

Have you tried bits with different metals?  Some horses like a sweet iron or copper mouthpiece.

You could also try starting him in a bitless bridle like a hackamore and once he gets more comfortable having someone on his back, try the bit again.
Thanks for writing in!

Today’s horse training question comes from Teresa.  She writes: I have a Spanish Mustang raised as a pet. He’s broke but he does not like bits in his mouth, he throws his head when he has a bit in his mouth. But he like’s to run to much, does not want to just walk and be calm. I want to be able to just take a calm ride and not have to fight him to just walk.

Teresa, thank you for your horse training question!  Have you tried a bitless bridle like a hackamore?  Some horses prefer a bridle without a bit.  Of course if you are going to switch, you should make sure you try the new bridle in a safe environment and probably in an enclosed pen or arena.

If he doesn’t want to walk on the trail, try this:  let him walk on a loose rein as long as he will.  When he starts to speed up or jig, pick up the reins and trot him in a fast circle.  Then put him on a loose rein again and offer him the opportunity to walk again.   If he speeds up, trot him in another fast circle.  Basically you are teaching him that it is more work for him to jig than it is to walk calmly.  This will take a while to teach, and you will have some rides that are a bit of work while you do teach it!

Remember that your safety and his safety is always top priority.  If you feel unsafe, take a few steps back and either get off or return to an area where you can practice safely, then after more practice try again.

Today’s horse training question comes from Shelley.  She writes: My horse I just bought 1 month ago has been acting like she does not want to go on part of the trail in the beginning then she is fine the part she stopping at is crossing the street then there is a open field with this open concrete drain, then there’s some houses in the distance she has stopped and looked at heard people things like that there is now more noise due to wind and water She has gone on this trail 4 or 5 other times I even got off to lead her across and my mistake used crop whip and she broke loose from my hand and headed back home to the stall I don’t know if it is fear of being stubborn.

Hi Shelley, thanks for your horse training question!  It sounds to me like your horse is scared.  Here’s what I would try:  Choose an area where she is comfortable and relaxed.  Maybe this is in the arena, or in your yard.  Teach her a simple exercise until she knows it very well.  I like to teach the “circle s’s” exercise, but any one that you like will work.  To teach circle s’s, walk or trot your horse and pick up one rein.  Wait for her to flex her nose to the side.  Release the rein and ask for her to flex on the other side.  Keep alternating sides and making sure she softens and flexes each time.  The point here is not what specific exercise you pick, but that you have one exercise that she knows extremely well and that she associates with a safe, calm atmosphere.  Then, when you take her out to a new area and she starts to get nervous, just stay calm and start working the exercise you have practiced so much.  This will give her something to occupy her mind, and the familiarity of it will comfort her.  I did this with my barrel horse before I started taking her to the rodeos, and it helped a lot.

Remember your top priority is always the safety of you and your horse.  If anything is putting either of you in danger, go back to a place where you can be safe and practice some more!

Thank you for your horse training question!

Here’s today’s horse training question, which was submitted without a name:  I have a 4 1/2 yr old paint that has had 30 days of riding and about a year of ground work. he has been at the trainer for 45 days and did great the first 3 weeks and then every time the trainer would get on he would pin his ears back and buck or try to buck. the trainer would turn him in circles really quick then he would stop, then they get off of him and lunge him for a while then get on him and he would do great. the next day she would do the same thing but he wouldn’t buck. but, the next day he would do the same bucking scenario again and she would do the same lunging thing again. Now after 2 weeks of that routine she works him really good before getting on him and he blows up every time she gets on his back but she straightens him out and he’s good for a while. sometimes they run, gallop down the road and he will just start bucking and she whips him around in a circle and he does good after that. she says he’s trying to get one over on her but that she would not be able to rely on this horse for me if i didn’t want to have to be on guard all the time. what do you think his problem might be?

It’s hard to tell without seeing the horse when the problem is intermittent as you have described.  However, here are my thoughts:  It’s strange that he was fine for three weeks and then started this behavior.  What did the trainer ask him to do that was new right before the behavior started?  Was he asked to lope under saddle for the first time?  Did she start riding him with spurs?  Try to think of anything that might have changed in what she was doing right before the problem started.

The other thing I would look in to is if something is hurting him and causing him to buck.  I wonder, since it started after he had been under saddle for a little while, if his back is sore, he’s got a chiropractic issue, or if the saddle is pinching him.  Does he buck on the line when she’s longeing him, or just when she gets on his back?  If he only bucks when there is weight in the saddle that would make me think it’s pain in his back that is causing the issue.

Watch the trainer work with him and see if you can see anything different she is doing right before he blows up.

I hope these suggestions are helpful, let me know what you find out and from there we can try to do some more troubleshooting!

Today’s horse training question comes from Ann.  She writes:

I have a beautiful Reg Clydesdale that I show at halter. He stands at home here nice and still for fifteen minutes or so but when we bring him to the fair in the ring he wont stand still. He disrespects me by standing on my feet etc. and prances around. Last time the Judge just walked by my horse because he was so misbehaving. The Judge later told me to hobble him at home for an hour a day. Somehow that doesn’t seem right to me. Any suggestions?

Ann, I agree with you that hobbling is unlikely to solve your problem.  While it may teach your horse that he HAS to stand still, my goal would be to teach him to WANT to stand still out of respect for you and a desire to please.  It sounds like your horse stands when he’s comfortable in his surroundings, but when he gets to a show there is too much going on and he gets excited and nervous.  I would recommend adding as many distractions as you can at home to simulate a show environment.  Hang some flags, invite some kids over and ask them to play loudly next to the pen, turn up the radio, etc.  I don’t know specifically what kinds of distractions crop up at the shows you attend, but you get the idea.  Then, work with your horse.  Put him on a longe line or in a round pen.  If he gets nervous and won’t stand, that’s okay.  Just send him out, and ask him to trot fast circles for a few minutes.  Then, give him the opportunity to come back to you and stand quietly.  If he takes it, that’s great.  If not, that’s his choice.  Send him out and have him trot fast circles again.  What you are doing here is giving your horse choices, but making it very clear what the easier choice for him is.  Soon, he’ll decide that he would rather stand next to you and rest than he would trot circles.  You could also try getting to the shows early and practicing this exercise until he is calm and focused on you.  Let us know how this works and if you have any other questions!

Thank you for your horse training question!

Today’s horse training question comes from Amina.  She writes:

I have a coming 4yr old Tennesee Walking Mare she is so spooky and she was supposed to be a dead broke mare when i bought her what can i do to start her to behaving a nice horse she got so scared she pulled away and stepped on me.

Amina, I would go back to foundation exercises for your mare, specifically a horse training exercise called sacking out. 

Sacking out is getting your horse used to having all kinds of things around him and touching him. I use it when I am starting a colt for the first time, and it’s a very valuable exercise to refresh if you have an older horse that you don’t know the background on, or a horse that seems to be getting nervous and jumpy like your mare.

To me, sacking out is not about de-sensitizing the horse. I want my horse to be sensitive; that is what makes him very responsive. Sacking out is about teaching my horse to control his emotions and make the right choices when he gets nervous or scared.

Put your mare in a pen, preferably a round pen but anything that is not too big and is safe will work.  You want your horse to stand still and calm while you rub her all over, starting at her head and covering her neck, back, legs, hips,  and belly.  Start with just your hands and work up to scarier objects, like a saddle blanket (start with it folded small and gradually unfold it) and I like to work all the up till my horse will let me drape them in a tarp.

Remember to release the pressure regularly by taking the scary object away and stepping back from your horse. This is the real key to this exercise.  Try to time it so you step back BEFORE your horse moves away of his own accord.  Reward him when he does well, and if he moves away at any point just send him around the pen to work for a little while, and then offer him the choice to come back to you.

Thank you for your horse training question, and please let us know how you are doing and if you have any questions about this exercise.

Remember, top priority is always your and your horse’s safety, so if you are feeling unsafe try to think of another way to do things!

Today’s horse training question comes from Leanne.  She writes:

I have an 11 year old gelding that is very smart and gentle. He is great for just walking and trotting. Once you ask for him to canter, he starts bucking. He will also buck when lunging. What can I do to stop the bucking?

I recommend that you teach your horse to disengage the hindquarters. This will give you a tool toimmediately stop him when he bucks or spooks. Begin teaching this exercise from the ground with either a halter and lead rope or your bridle. Stand to one side of him, and ask him to move his hips over by walking towards him, swinging your rope, etc. You are looking for his inside hind foot to step across in front of his outside hind foot. It is very important that the inside hind foot actually crosses in front of the outside hind. His front feet should stop all forward motion when he crosses over with his hind end. By asking your horse to step under himself in this way, you are taking away his ability to brace against you. Once your horse will disengage the hindquarters on both sides on the ground, teach it from the saddle. Once you are on his back, take your rein on one side, walk him forward, and pick up on the rein, bending his head to the side and asking him to step under with the inside hind foot. If he bends his neck but keeps walking a straight line, bump him with your inside leg until he steps over with his hindquarters. If you are in a situation where you think your horse is going to buck, you can bend his nose right around to your knee in the saddle and kick with the inside leg to get him to disengage the hindquarters. Once he will do this exercise easily and consistently at the walk, teach it at a slow trot. As you are comfortable, increase the speed of your trot till the horse is almost going in to a lope. Just when he is about to lope, disengage the hindquarters. When you can get him to disengage his hindquarters at a fast trot and you are ready, ask him to lope. If he bucks, immediately disengage the hindquarters, kick him in a tight circle 2 or 3 times around, and ask for the lope again. Repeat this until he will lope off without bucking.

Thank you for your horse training question, and please let us know how you are doing.

Today’s horse training question comes from Tia.  She writes: “I have a 3 year old gelding I am working with and he is just getting over his head shyness. It used to be near impossible to get a bridle on because he didn’t want you touching his ears and face. However, he is finally getting over that problem, but now when I go to take the bridle off he wants to rub his head on me in the process. This makes it hard to get the bridle off easily and smoothly. I usually hit him with the heel of my hand on his neck when he does and then try and proceed to get the bridle off, but I am afraid he might start to become head shy again. Do you have any suggestions on how to stop his annoying behavior and get the bridle off smoothly? Thanks.”

Tia, first off, nice job getting as far as you have in helping your gelding get over his head shyness.  When he tries to rub his head on you when you are taking the bridle off, I think he is trying to hurry the process.  What I’d like you to try is every time he starts throwing his head around, hold the bridle exactly where it was when he started moving his head.  Don’t continue taking it off until his head is quiet.  You don’t have to punish him, just stick with him and try not to let him get away from the bridle until he holds his head still.  You can even slip it back on over his ears if you are having trouble holding it in place part way.  What you are trying to communicate to him is that the bridle only comes off when his head is quiet.  He will eventually learn that he actually gets rid of the bridle faster when he holds his head still.

Thank you for your horse training question, and please let us know how you are doing!

Today’s horse training question asks:  “I have a Percheron mare that I just got about a month ago after losing my mare in foaling. This new mare is about 7 years old and has a 3 month old foal at her side. She is saddle broke and has a very pleasant personality. The problem I am having with her is that she is used to using her weight and size to push people around. Her prior owner was afraid of his large hoses, though he had several; his attitude was “don’t make them do what they don’t want to”. I want and need respect from this large horse. I have contemplated using a stud lead to sharpen her up but I don’t know if this is the best way or not. She has responded somewhat to a rope halter but is still willing to ignore requests especially if food is near by. Any ideas what is the best training solution as I suspect this will prove to be a tendency in all areas of her work.

You are absolutely right to want control over this horse, and I agree that her pushy tendency will probably carry over to other areas of her work.  Draft horses are interesting to work with… they have been bred, in many cases, to push (into a harness and collar) so I think that pushyness is more common than with saddle horses.  That doesn’t mean that you can’t teach them to lead lightly and respectfully, though.  You can’t pull on her hard enough to stop her when she wants to go somewhere.  However, what you can do is direct her energy.  Instead of adding more pressure to her head with a stud chain, I would get a lead rope that is 10-12′ long, preferably with a popper on the end.  When she starts to pull you somewhere, ask her to respond to the lead rope and if she does not, drive her hind end rather than pulling on her front end.  So drive her hind end towards whatever she was going for, which will automatically point her head away from it.  Also, remember to give her a chance to do things on a little pressure before moving to a lot of pressure.  This will make her lighter over time.

Keep us posted on how she is doing and thank you for your horse training question.