Pushy Draft Horses
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.
