Question:
Hi I picked up two horses last week in bad health. The mare is awesome and very well behaved but the gelding has a bad problem. He is fine to catch but when I go to lead him anywhere he is either very pushy pulley or won't move. At first I thought it might have been due to the state I got him in. He is very under weight but I can put his food out and he will still stop and not move. The mare I got from the same place in the same condition. She is fine she will walk when asked stop when asked. I am not sure of his age but was wondering if there is anything I can do to help this horse trust me. When I try to pat him or give him a brush he strikes at me. I don't want anything bad to happen to him; he is a beautiful horse he's just been mistreated and is lacking trust in people. If you could please advise on anything it would be great- thanks for your time.
Answer:
First you will need to establish clear communication when using the lead rope from the ground. When you do something it must MEAN something. Most people work with horses and are hopeful that the horse will figure out what is being asked of them. Instead you will need to offer black and white clarity towards what behaviors your horse offers that work and those that do not.
The gelding's defensiveness towards you is his way of showing his lack of trust and insecurities. You will not be able to force yourself upon him. If right now patting and grooming him doesn't make him feel warm and fuzzy about life, then leave him alone. You first need him to just want to be near you without fear or worry.
Your goal should be to influence your horse's mental and emotionally availability in order to create a physical change. You will start to see how little of an action can create a positive change in how your horse as he begins to trust and respect you will. This will be the beginning of you working WITH your horse, rather than each of you tolerating one another. Timing, awareness, energy, sensitivity and clarity are all things you will need to establish in order to start seeing positive results with your horse.
There needs to be a clarity of physical communication (because when leading him you are using a lead rope, so this a physical way of influencing him,) he needs to understand your energy and literally match that, if you want to move out in a big walk, he needs to too, or if you would like to "creep" along, he needs to make that adjustment to remain "with you." When you stop he needs to respect your personal space and stop immediately, rather than to "fall" into a stop.
Your horse needs to understand when his thoughts work or if they do not. Most times when people catch a horse the horse goes "brainless" on the end of the lead and is literally drug around. The horse may be physically complying but is mentally resistant. The day will come that if there is enough stress presented, if the person working with the horse does not have enough "tools" in how they use their lead rope and a clarity of communication in how they use their rope, the horse will get just as "big" on the rope as if they are loose.
You should be able to ask your horse to think, look and then step in the designated direction (left, right, forward, backwards, sideways, etc.) You should be able to do all of this without having to lead your horse or "drive" him (with a whip, stick, etc.) in order to get an attentive, light, mental and physical response. Remember the goal is for your horse to ask "what would you like?" instead of tolerating being told what to do every step of the way. The more confident he feels that you are listening and helping him when he is having a problem the more he will turn to you rather than coming up with his own way of avoiding what you are presenting.
Once you can ask your horse to first look (to address what you are presenting) and then literally take one step at a time towards whatever you have presented you will then have the tools to help your horse address what you are asking.
For example let's say that you are presenting the gate in your arena. Before you ever get near the gate you need to see how focused (mentally) your horse is on you. If you ask him to stop, back up, step forward and so on is there a delay in his response, does he step into your personal space, and is he walking forward but looking somewhere else? These are all things you will need to address and clarify if there is any delay, lack of understanding or resistance from your horse before you present an obstacle.
Remember that the more you can break down crossing the gate into baby steps the more confidence he will gain in "trying" to address what you are asking. The more he believes he can "get it" (it being whatever you are asking of him) right, the more he will try when you present new things.
By the time you present the gate, grooming, standing tied, etc., you will have enough tools in just using your lead rope, if you can ask your horse to walk up to the gate and stop and address it (smell it, look at, etc.) Then you would imagine that you are presenting an imaginary line that you would like your horse to follow as he crosses the gate. First he has to be looking at this "line." In most cases if he is worried or insecure about the gate he'll try and avoid it by looking at everything EXCEPT the gate. So you'll need to address helping him focus using the aid of your lead rope by being able to establish looking specifically at the gate. He will not cross the gate with a "warm fuzzy feeling" until he decides to literally look at the gate.
Once he looks at the "line" you want him to walk on, you increase your energy (probably using the excess of your lead rope - but NOT driving him or chasing him) across the gate, literally one step at a time. You do not want your horse to "survive" crossing the gate, rather you want him to think and feel confident with each step he is taking as he crosses the gate. As he is on the gate you want to feel that you could stop his movement or pick a specific place that you would like to have go.
After you successfully help him address and cross the gate from both directions (with plenty of breaks and rests in between) you might ask him to focus on something else and then present the gate again later in the session. The slower you can have him think about what you are asking, the better the quality of his performance will be.
Remember, your safety is a number one priority, if you hear that little voice in the back of your head telling you not to do something, listen to it. Too many horse related accidents occur because people are "hopeful" that it will all work out.
Good Luck,
Sam
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