[hemigirl]

Saturday morning before it got too hot (I'm in south Texas) I went out to ride. I groomed him and he was very relaxed and even reached around to nuzzle me as I wash brushing him. I though I would do a little refresher on some ground work before I rode. I lead him into the arena on a halter and lead only. Right when I stopped in the arena, he swung his butt around and tried to bite me! Blackie has NEVER tried to bite before. I immediately popped him on the nose with an open hand. He put his head down like he was sorry. I went to practice some backing, leading and halting, yielding hind and fore, etc. It didn't matter what I did he would try to run over me or into me and kept throwing his head up like I had spooked him. He kept grabbing the lead rope with his teeth and would try to pull it away from me. I finally had to go get the crop and he immediately let go of the rope but he just would not behave any better even with the crop in my hand. I tried to lounge him but he freaked out and blasted by me pulling the lounge line from my hand and stopped over in a corner looking at me. I was mad by then so I saddled him (after he stood tied for about 20 minutes) and then trotted him until he had a good sweat rolling then i cooled him down and washed him and turned him out. I don't understand, was he testing me? What can I do to get this type of behavior in check on the ground? When I rode him he was acting like a real pain and kept snorting and throwing his head. HE HAS NEVER ACTED UP LIKE THIS. EVER! I am totally blown away. Any suggestions?

[PoochtheMighty]

Yes, I think he may have been testing you.

It's always better to rule out any pain or health issues, though, especially since this is 'all of a sudden'. How old is the horse?

If you have a roundpen, or even a small paddock or arena, I'd use it to your advantage. A roundpen is better, since the horse can't stop or hide in any corners, like he did before, but if not available, just keep the corners in mind when you're working with him. I would set aside a day to free longe him, and even do a little 'join up' with him to get him respecting you and focused on you. The backing and yielding is very good to do with him since he's on a disrespectful streak. But you've got to get even more mare-like and direct his every movement. Have him stop, and change directions at all gaits when you are free-longing him, and watch for signs of submission- chewing, lowering the head, cocking the inner ear and keeping it on you- although not all horses will show you all or any of these signs, they're good to look for.

When he has had enough, let him approach you and give him a good pat. THen start working on your backing, yielding, and pivoting.

I went to a Parelli clinic one time (I'm not a PNH person, by any means) and I saw one excercise I really liked and I continue to use it on my horse, who can be a bit pushy from time to time. It's called the 'yo-yo' game- basically you are asking the horse to back away from you and come back, but not with pressure on the poll.

Stand about 4 feet in front of your horse, leadrope (or longeline) in hand. To get him to back away from you, crouch down glare at him, and move your arm side to side so that you send undulations through the leadline. (It's better to do this with a rope halter, so he can better feel the waves) If he doesn't move back, increase the strength of the waves, and even lift the rope so it touches his nose when it waves. As soon as he takes a step back, reward him by stopping the waves and standing up straight, talking to him, whatever.

Then ask him to come forward, by looking down, dropping your shoulder, and running your hands toward you on the rope as if you were pulling a heavy box toward you. Don't actually pull him to you, just run your hands along the rope in a "come here" fashion. As soon as he takes a step forward, reward him verbally and release pressure.

Eventually, you can get him to back and approach several steps.

This really helped out when my guy was being pushy or grumpy or even invading my space a little bit.

Good luck and be careful.