Horse Training Questions

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.

Today’s horse training question comes from CD: “I have a horse that only lets kids ride him, about 50 lbs. He won’t let me ride him, but I can do anything else with him: groom, bathe, lead, halter, clean feet, saddle, back with little presure, etc. The only thing he doesn’t like is the bit, but he will take it with some fuss. He lowers his head for his halter, and comes when called in the pastue. A trainer told me to gradually put bigger kids on him, but I can’t do this. I wan’t to know how I can ride him without being thrown. I can’t ride out his bucking. He use to let an adult ride him, but he threw her a lot and then he switched hands and wasn’t messed with for a few years. I was told she had a real attitude with him. He was real skittish when we got him, and he didn’t like men. He has calmed down a hole lot. I have tried round pen work, and as I said, I can do anything with him but ride. How can I ride him without getting thrown, and without being rough with him. I mess with him every day, and as soon as he sees me he nickers/neighs and comes to me. I do not want to break his trust. I want to fix this problem, but I do not want to hurt him or me. Hiring a trainer is out for now. Anyway the trainer I talked to said I could do it. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks”

My guess is that your horse has some physical problem, maybe a chiropractic problem with his back or something else that is causing him pain when someone heavier than a child tries to ride him.  Reading your question, it sounds like your horse loves you and trusts you.  And since he doesn’t ever buck with kids on him, that makes me think he is dealing with some physical discomfort when a heavier rider gets on.  I would start with an exam by a veterinarian you trust to determine if the problem is physical.  Then, if the vet finds no problems, I would check the fit of your saddle (I assume you’re using a different saddle than the kids are) to see if it is pinching him and causing the bucking.  Let us know the results of these exams, and if there are no physical problems causing this we’ll address it from a training perspective.

Today’s horse training question comes from Chris.  He writes: “my two year old horse I just purchased has been started with basics I tried riding him but he won’t move.  He just stands trys to cow kick my boot.  Do you have any tips for me?”

Hi Chris, this is actually a very similar problem to the one Shiloh wrote in about a few days ago.

To correct this problem teach your horse to disengage the hindquarters.  This is what I teach each time I have a horse who won’t move forward off my leg, and I teach it on the ground before I get on a colt for the first time so they will have a way to understand what my leg pressure means the first time I get on them.

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 disingage 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.

Thank you for your horse training question!

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Hi Billie, You are right, it is effective to turn your horse in a tight circle if he tries to rear up.  In addition, I would teach your horse a cue to put his head down when you touch the rein, so that if you feel he is going to rear up you can ask him to lower his head, which should avoid the problem altogether.  To teach a head down cue from the rein, you can start either on the ground or in the saddle.  If your horse does tend to rear up you might be safer to start on the ground.  Put pressure on one rein (not both) and just hold it gently.  You are waiting for your horse to lower his head, even a fraction of an inch.  As soon as he does, release the rein and pet him.  Repeat this process (it will take many, many repetitions!), asking your horse to put his head down a little further each time.  I like to teach my horses this until I can get them to drop their nose all the way to the ground.  If you start teaching it on the ground, just use a hand position that will be similar to where you’ll be holding the reins when you are in the saddle, so you can transfer the exercise easily when you start to use it riding.  Thank you for your horse training question!

Today’s horse training question comes from Barbara.  She writes: “My horse doesn’t like to stand still for rainmaker application. Any suggestions?”

Hi Barbara, I’m assuming you are referring to the Rainmaker hoof dressing.  Start by just brushing your horse’s feet with a dry brush.  Ask him to stand still, brush his foot once, and then pet him and walk him off.  Gradually increase the amount of brushing time between rewards (petting and walking off) until he will stand for you to brush all four feet.  Now, use the actual brush with the hoof conditioner on it.  Repeat the process if he seems to get fidgity again now that there is something being applied to his feet.  Or, he may not notice the difference.  Basically you are teaching him that all you want is for him to stand still.  You are reinforcing this by rewarding him very frequently at first.  I like to use a dry brush because it means you are not wasting any of your product while you train, and if your horse is fidgeting because the dressing feels funny or smells funny a dry brush gives you an easier start as you get him used to the feeling of having something moving across his feet.  Thank you for your horse training question!

Today’s horse training question comes from Shiloh:  “I just bought a 3 year old gelding.  He will not move forward in any direction away from the other horse. When I kick harder or tap his hind end he starts to buck and frightens me.  How do I correct this behavior?”

Shiloh, to correct this problem teach your horse to disengage the hindquarters.  This is what I teach each time I have a horse who won’t move forward off my leg, and I teach it on the ground before I get on a colt for the first time so they will have a way to understand what my leg pressure means the first time I get on them.

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 disingage 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.  When your horse won’t leave the other horses, bending him will keep him from bracing and this will also make it very hard for him to buck.

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

Today’s horse training question comes from Scot.  He writes: “I have two QH geldings.  The 10 year old likes to bite the 16 year old on the hindquarters.  How do I stop that?”

Hi Scot, if your horses are just doing this in the pasture when they are turned out together, there is really nothing you can do to stop it.  It is normal herd behavior, and the 10 year old is just asserting his dominance over the other horse.  If he is hurting the other horse, you may need to separate them.  But if he’s not hurting him, just allow this natural behavior to occur.  If he is doing this when you are trying to work with the other horse, or when they are both being ridden, then drive him away forcefully.  When you are working around the horses, this behavior is potentially dangerous to you, so make sure he knows that he can not mess with the other horse when you are nearby.  If needed, carry a longe whip or an extra lead rope to wave at him to get him to move away.

Today’s horse training question comes from Kelly.  She writes: “My daughter is 9 yrs. old with very little confidence when dealing with horse problems. Her horse has lately been “going after” other horses while riding. He swings around and puts his ears back. This terrifies my daughter to the point of hyperventilation. She cries and begs to get off. He’s a big bully but she loves him dearly. How can I help increase her confidence so that she understands SHE has to be the one to correct him?”

Hi Kelly, First I would warn you that having such a young rider on a horse acting agressive is potentially dangerous for both her and the riders around her.  I would consider getting on the horse yourself or having an older, confident rider get on him to tune him up a little and really get after him for this unacceptable behavior.   Then, to build your daughter’s confidence, teach her exactly what she needs to do when he acts this way.  Then have her practice doing it in situations where she is comfortable until she knows the exercise well.  I would teach her to disengage his hindquarters, which will get him stopped and back under her control.  Begin teaching this exercise from the ground with either a halter and lead rope or
your bridle.  Stand to one side of her, and ask her to move her hips over by walking towards her, swinging your rope, etc.  You are looking for her inside hind foot to step across in front of her outside hind foot.  It is very important that the inside hind foot actually crosses in front of the outside hind.  Her front feet should
stop all forward motion when she crosses over with her hind end.  Byasking your horse to step under herself in this way, you are taking away her ability to brace against you.  Once your horse will disingage the hindquarters on both sides on the ground, teach it from the saddle.  Once you are on her back, take your rein on one side, walk her forward, and pick up on the rein, bending her head to the
side and asking her to step under with the inside hind foot.  If she bends her neck but keeps walking a straight line, bump her with your inside leg until she steps over with her hindquarters. I would teach the horse this yourself, then when the horse knows it teach it to your daughter.  Walk her calmly through what she will do if her horse goes after another horse.  She will pick up on one rein (with both hands if needed), kick with her inside leg, and get her horse’s hindquarters to step over.  She’ll pull his head away from the horse he is trying bite.  If he’s trying to kick, then she’ll pull his head towards the other horse, getting his hind end away.  If she has practiced and knows what she needs to do in a scary situation, it will build her confidence.  Thank you for your question, and let me know how your daughter is doing.