Ask the Horse Trainer: Aggressive Horse Round pen resistance

Ask the Horse Trainer: Aggressive Horse Round pen resistance
Question:
I have a 3 y/o quarter horse who does not work well in the round pen. When you put her in the round pen and ask her to move she doesn't. All the articles I have read talk about working the horse in both directions and I have had a trainer come to my house and show me how with my other horse. However, what do you do when the horse will not run the pen so you can establish dominance over that horse? She paws the ground and challenges the fence. If you put pressure on her rear to move she bucks and kicks. A time or two she has charged me and ran me out of the pen. This is the same horse that is the first to meet you at the fence when I walk up. She is not timid or shy but she seems scared of the round pen. You can halter this horse without any problem and lead this horse but with some resistance when leading at times, but overall she is a sweet horse until you try to work her in the round pen. She is very buddy-sour but so is my older horse but she does well once she gets her attention on me in the round pen and off the other horses. I have been kicked once and I do not want to be hurt trying to train my horse. Her kicks are incredibly powerful, much more powerful than my older horse. How can I safely approach this problem with her and not be trampled or kicked in the process?
Answer:

Thank you for writing and I am sorry to hear about your situation. First I am glad that you are searching for help. Second, there are many variables that could affect what you are seeing/experiencing, what your horse is seeing/experiencing, and what may actually be happening so my answers will be more to offer you ideas and perspective rather than a "fix it" solution.

I'd like to address your initial statement of working the horse in both directions and having the pen be a controlled setting for "dominance." If you ask a million trainers you will get a variety of answers. When I work with horses, I'm looking for mental availability, rather than accomplishing physical responses. If the horse's mind is "open" to "hearing" what you are asking or suggesting, you then will see your horse offer physically softer responses. 

A common thought when working with horses is to physically control them, direct or micromanage them, in order to get a change in their brain. In people's terms, if you are physically resistant to doing a task because that task causes you emotional or mental stress until you change how you mentally FEEL about the task, you will never accomplish the task willingly. The same goes for horses. 

So I will disagree that the round is a place to create dominance. I believe the round pen is a controlled and "safe" environment to work with your horse. As for working both directions, well yes ideally we would like to accomplish that. But you are jumping "ahead" in the desires of your horse. You mentioned that when you ask her to move she bucks and kicks. You need to first get her "thinking" forward, then her body will physically move forward, THEN you can become more specific as to where you would like her to move to. It would be the same as turning your steering wheel as hard as you can, but if you don't have the car engine on and are not using gas, the wheel does you no good. Until she can be soft in how she thinks and moves forward, the direction she is traveling does not matter.

As for bucking, kicking, or charging, she is trying her options. These are signs of defensive behavior, meaning there is fear, worry, or concern about traveling forward.  The best prevention is to act big enough to make the human quit, therefore alleviating the pressure of the person asking her to go forward.

But if you attempt to "drive" her with enough pressure, her alternative is to eliminate what is causing the pressure and discomfort, in this case, you. So therefore she will charge you.  If that gets you literally out of the round pen, then the act of charging has accomplished eliminating a source of discomfort. The more that behavior works, the more she will resort to it.

Not knowing your horse's full history, she may really have traumatic experiences associated with the round pen, or because of a lack of clear communication from a person, things asked of her in the round pen cause fear. Either way, her physical actions, and resistance are a reflection of her mental and emotional state.

As for the haltering and leading her with "some resistance," this is the beginning stages of a LOT of resistance towards physical pressure. Horses do not randomly take drastic measures towards a person. Her resistance in leading if she is a buddy sour mare most likely has to do with the fact that her buddy horse is offering her more support than the human, therefore she'll try to stay with him.

There needs to be a clarity of physical communication (because when leading her you are using a lead rope, so this is using physical pressure,) that when you do something with the rope, it needs to mean something to your horse. If she is defensive towards the physical use of the lead rope, then you have no "tool" to communicate with, and before you ask any more of her, this first must be addressed.  She should be able to think left, right, forward, backward, sideways, etc. all by how you use your rope to first direct her brain, then her body. She needs to understand your energy and literally match that, if you want to move out in a big walk, she needs to too, or if you would like to "creep" along, she needs to make that adjustment to remain "with you." When you stop she needs to respect your personal space and stop immediately, rather than to "fall" into a stop. 

Then you'll need to help your mare understand how to let go of different thoughts and address what you are presenting. 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.

So it sounds like you may need to seek the help of a trainer who can appreciate and respect working with the horse's brain in order to get a change in mental and emotional availability. The more you are able to see and experience just how little action can create a positive change in how your horse trusts and respects you 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 mare.

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.