Horse won’t stand at shows
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!
