[stormymay25]

Can anyone help me get my horse across the street to the round pen. Our round pen is across the street from our 4-H pens. A month ago, once I got him across the street He started pulling back and I was not strong enough to hold on to him. We ran back across the street to his pen. I don't know what started this but I sure need help in fixing this.

[StarfireArizona]

You should get some exceptional advice on this from the more experienced posters...... But just a thought....

What I would do in your situation is start leading him & the second you sense ANY body language indication that he is about to act up, start him yielding those hindquarters.....and keep them going until YOU want to stop.

Once you start leading again & he makes ANY attempt again, do the same thing & longer !! Keep doing this until you can lead him without incident.

This won't cure your buddy/barn sour situation.....but it might get you across the street so you can find out where things stand. Make it pleasurable for him to work in the round pen. Give him treats for a job well done & praise him lavishly. If you can keep his attention on you then you have made some progress.

If when going back across the street he starts to rush, do the same HQ yielding. Hopefully it will not happen unless you are on one side of the street or the other All that extra leg work is going to get tiresome for him and he should get the idea

Good luck........

[Arrow]

Most important--never head anywhere without getting there, or the horse wins. You choose when to go back to the barn. If it took 2 hours to get him across that street, that's what I would have done. Turn him circles around you so he can't run off. Also--clip the leadrope to the side of his face instead of under his chin--this makes turning his head and circling him easier. Just outwait him--he'll get bored when he knows you mean it and you're not giving up and he'll cross the street. The most important thing is don't be in a hurry, have more time than he has.

[Bruce Wiley]

Originally Posted by StarfireArizona

What I would do in your situation is start leading him & the second you sense ANY body language indication that he is about to act up, start him yielding those hindquarters.....and keep them going until YOU want to stop.
Once you start leading again & he makes ANY attempt again, do the same thing & longer !! Keep doing this until you can lead him without incident.

Yes, I agree with StarfireArizona.
You want to establish your request, leadership & leaving no stone unturn.
Its about getting, controlling the horse's feet to move.
Changing his direction of movement often.
Your direction of actions will have an effect, convincing the horse that kind of behavior isn't acceptable, and for him to seek the correct respond.

In time the horse will discover your release of pressure, which translate to him that, he got it, thats it.
You will only need to be patience, consistent and firm.

I hope this helps.

[ChevyGurl]

This is what worked with the horse I used to have. Use a lead rope with a chain and use the chain part over his nose. You don't need to use it roughly but the pressure there usually slowed my horse down big time and stopped dragging me cuz he didnt like the feel of it when he did pull. Another way, is to pull his head to the left and then to the right as your walking. Any type of distraction. Horses are simple, you can also try walking him in tight circles if he starts to act up. I dunno, could try these. Some horses respond to it, some dont.

[loosie]

Originally Posted by Arrow

Most important--never head anywhere without getting there, or the horse wins. You choose when to go back to the barn. If it took 2 hours to get him across that street, that's what I would have done.

I disagree with this tactic, or using chains or other punative methods. Yes, it may eventually get the horse across the street, so that you can feel like you've 'won', but what have you won? You've battled for 2 hours or however long, with a horse who was afraid, in order to eventually wear it down enough to force it into a bad situation. Once you're there, what are you going to do? Spend the next 2 hrs trying to convince it that you're trustworthy after all? Without trust, there can be no respect, so whether or not you can MAKE a horse do something, you're not earning any leadership points for the future. Depends what you want out of the relationship I suppose.

I want a horse to be my friend & partner, so I prefer to do all I can to work considerately & respectfully with a horse to *earn* the leadership role & keep it. I would be using approach & retreat along with positive reinforcement(reward) to get the horse over his fear of leaving the yard without creating a confrontation.

[stormymay25]

Originally Posted by StarfireArizona

You should get some exceptional advice on this from the more experienced posters...... But just a thought....

What I would do in your situation is start leading him & the second you sense ANY body language indication that he is about to act up, start him yielding those hindquarters.....and keep them going until YOU want to stop.

Once you start leading again & he makes ANY attempt again, do the same thing & longer !! Keep doing this until you can lead him without incident.

This won't cure your buddy/barn sour situation.....but it might get you across the street so you can find out where things stand. Make it pleasurable for him to work in the round pen. Give him treats for a job well done & praise him lavishly. If you can keep his attention on you then you have made some progress.

If when going back across the street he starts to rush, do the same HQ yielding. Hopefully it will not happen unless you are on one side of the street or the other All that extra leg work is going to get tiresome for him and he should get the idea

Good luck........

I am sorry I guess I am going to be ignorant here, can you tell me what you mean about yielding his hindquarters. Unfortunately I am not as horse smart as a lot. But I am willing to listen and try everything. Thanks a whole lot for your response.

[FincaPerlitas]

Teaching a horse to yield to pressure is one of the most basic, important stages of ground training your horse. Yielding the hindquarters means teaching the horse to move his hindquarters away from you, with the inside rear foot crossing in front of the outside foot, without moving forward of backward.

There are several other yields he needs to learn as well. Here's a good explanation of what they are and how to train for them: http://www.naturalhorsesupply.com/yielding.shtml

Since you're a beginner, I have an important question for you. What are you planning to do in the round pen? Round penning a horse can do more harm than good if you don't know what you're doing.

[Arrow]

Originally Posted by loosie

I disagree with this tactic, or using chains or other punative methods. Yes, it may eventually get the horse across the street, so that you can feel like you've 'won', but what have you won? You've battled for 2 hours or however long, with a horse who was afraid, in order to eventually wear it down enough to force it into a bad situation. Once you're there, what are you going to do? Spend the next 2 hrs trying to convince it that you're trustworthy after all? Without trust, there can be no respect, so whether or not you can MAKE a horse do something, you're not earning any leadership points for the future. Depends what you want out of the relationship I suppose.

I want a horse to be my friend & partner, so I prefer to do all I can to work considerately & respectfully with a horse to *earn* the leadership role & keep it. I would be using approach & retreat along with positive reinforcement(reward) to get the horse over his fear of leaving the yard without creating a confrontation.

Sorry--answered too quickly. I wouldn't battle for two hours. I'd make the horse stand still at the side of the rode, ask him to cross, and only circle him if he pulls away. I don't believe in working horses up or getting them excited--no round pens for me, no lunging, and darn little move their feet. For me, it's make them stand still, calm them down, wait for them to get bored and they'll do what I want. Works every time. I almost never battle a horse, because I don't let battles develop. I ask calmly, patiently, and I have no doubt in my mind that the horse will do what I want that day. When he does it, the day's done.

[Arrow]

Originally Posted by loosie

I disagree with this tactic, or using chains or other punative methods. Yes, it may eventually get the horse across the street, so that you can feel like you've 'won', but what have you won? You've battled for 2 hours or however long, with a horse who was afraid, in order to eventually wear it down enough to force it into a bad situation. Once you're there, what are you going to do? Spend the next 2 hrs trying to convince it that you're trustworthy after all? Without trust, there can be no respect, so whether or not you can MAKE a horse do something, you're not earning any leadership points for the future. Depends what you want out of the relationship I suppose.

I want a horse to be my friend & partner, so I prefer to do all I can to work considerately & respectfully with a horse to *earn* the leadership role & keep it. I would be using approach & retreat along with positive reinforcement(reward) to get the horse over his fear of leaving the yard without creating a confrontation.

I notice that you didn't quote the last part of my post--most important, don't hurry, be patient, have more time than he has. Doesn't sound like a battle to me...