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Halter/Lead Training
  Samantha - see page to know who to contact directly!December 24th, 2012 1:11:16am 4,333 Posts |
As most of you know, I've adopted a two year old :). Being a rescue, he was never worked with and when he came to me I was told he was "barely halter broke". Well, he halters just fine for me, sometimes he's stubborn, but not bad, and we've done all of the exercises to get him to move the way I'm leading him. He backs up, moves side to side, moves his head up and down, etc. We are having issues with forward though. He will follow me out of his stall most of the time, and if we get stuck I just put some pressure on the lead and eventually when he decides he's safe he starts moving again. But he seems to have this hate for the arena and it's getting increasingly difficult to get him in (even though once he's through the gates he loves it - and he never, ever has problems coming OUT of the arena). We've tried putting a soft lead over his hocks, no luck. We've tried carrying treats with some luck. Following another horse in works great, but that's not always an option. And he's figured out that jumping around and being stubborn makes it hard for me to apply constant pressure on the lead for more than like 5 minutes. What else can I try? He seems to worry about the rope, if I pull, he tosses his head and cross-ties are the worst. But not using a rope is out of the question because there are kids and tractors and stuff around that he could hurt/could hurt him if he got away from me. He's good tempered. He's a colt so he's excitable and a little pushy, but he's in no way "mean" or "bad". Mostly he wants treats and isn't sure what to do yet. |
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 Z.exious December 24th, 2012 6:50:06pm 400 Posts |
This situation is particularly difficult because your horsie is on the older side (in terms of learning to stand patiently/tie/lead/etcetera), so naturally he's got a little more force than if you were teaching a weanling or a baby-baby. xDMy first suggestion would be to look at the type of halter you're using. A rope halter can be a good solution (though not conducive to crossties...) because it works off of pressure points. It better communicates what you're asking, particularly when its a young horse. Another option is a stud chain--particularly if his actions escalate from "a little pushy".The caveat to these, of course, is that you have to be cautious. He is still young, and being too harsh with either of these training tools would be more destructive than beneficial. But, since you've got yourself a two year old, I'm sure you know how to properly use both and not abuse them :)The other thing I want to stress is patience. There are days with young'uns you take one step forward and two steps back. It can be frustrating, but just keep a level head. It sounds like you're doing a great job of that, based on your post.From there, I would continue to do the things you're doing. Rewarding him when he's good, making it clear when he's doing something you don't want/invading your space/being too pushy. It's alright to use treats/other positive reinforcement now, so long as he eventually graduates from it. xDSounds like you've got a good little guy on your hands, I can't wait to hear about the progress you guys make!/this post was no help at all x.x |
| Samantha - see page to know who to contact directly! December 27th, 2012 1:20:42am 4,333 Posts |
He seems to be doing a bit better with understanding that it's going to be okay if he goes in, that he just has to move FORWARD. And today I had to put bedding down so i moved him from one stall to another and back and he was a very good boy (AFTER he tried to run me over, but that was before I realized there was no option NOT to move him while I put bedding down). |
| Samantha - see page to know who to contact directly! December 28th, 2012 12:25:28am 4,333 Posts |
Today I got a stud chain -sigh-, I know it takes patience to train a horse, but it's hard to not get frustrated. Hopefully this helps a little. |
Z.exious December 29th, 2012 1:02:25am 400 Posts |
I feel your pain. I trained my Paint filly from the time she was 8 months old. It is very frustrating! |
 Simplicity [AQH] January 9th, 2013 8:35:37am 18 Posts |
It's really late so I apologize in advance if I don't make sense or misread something. When you said that you put pressure on the lead, is that pressure straight on or is it off to the left or right? I've unfortunately had to deal with too many "older" horses that have either developed very bad leading habits or simply weren't worked with enough. We stand 3 studs and train. I can't tell you how many 2yr old horses come in for training and don't know how to lead. It really depends on what exactly your boy is doing. If he is simply locking up and not wanting to move forward, put a little pressure angled to the left or right. It makes it a lot less appealing for him to hold pressure against you as it slightly puts him "off balance" (for lack of a better term). This was the best way that I came across if the horse wasn't being dangerous or I didn't want to use the stud chain. A lot of times you can feel them start to get stiff before they stop. If you put a little left or right pressure on the lead when you feel them do this it makes them focus on that instead of then wanting to stop. Eventually the majority of the horses I dealt with got past the issue within 4 or 5 times of doing this. I wish you 2 the best of luck. It can be a very frustrating situation. |
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