another question about another leading problem!

I

inthehills

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 November 2015
Messages
123
Visit site
Hi

I came on here a bit ago and asked for some advice on getting my 4yo highland to respect my space when leading. There were some really good suggestions and having followed them I now have him walking happily beside me at a respectable distance and not gravitating into my space.

All's been going fine until this afternoon when he got excited by someone being silly on a bike! we were coming down a muddy, slippery hill which wasn't helping and he tried to rev up a gear. I kept giving him a firm pull back on his headcollar to steady him (along with voice commands) but this only served to make him turn in front of me each time and so then I'd have to bring him round in a circle.

I thought I must be pulling his head slightly round when asking him to slow down so making him think he should turn, but I moved closer to him (so I was pretty much leaning into his shoulder) to try and get even pressure but he still did the same thing.

Coming to think about it, years ago my last horse used to do the same thing when I was leading her and she got excited about something.

where am I going wrong?!
 
Not sure where you may be going wrong but have you thought about using a monty roberts style head collar. I find it really helpful with mine in situations where he may become anxious or excited - just gives a little more control than a standard head collar.
 
Adding pain to fear is not a good formula for control. If you are using a control head collar (rope, 'be nice', monty roverts, etc), it is designed to cause discomfort when pressure is applied, so I'd say the pony was uncomfortable and trying to avoid that at the same time as trying to evade the bicycle. Going round in a circle may be one way of dealing with the problem as he is moving and not going anywhere particularly dangerous!

But what I'd be doing is some desensitisation to bicycles! Other than that, I can't see that either of you did much wrong. The pony was panicking and you were doing your best to control the situation. Maybe more ground work so he trusts you and is reassured by you? Oh, and more controlled exposure to bikes.:)
 
A friend of mine threads her rope through about 12" length of Elkathene pipe, ties a knot at the end to stop it slipping and uses it to form a rigid barrier between her and the horse - Works really well as a bit of pressure pushes the head away.

I think though that given the situation you were in today moving around you is what the majority of horses would do when so excited. When I was a teenager and had young ponies/horses I had a second rope attached to the far side of the headcollar and tied around the neck - if they then got too much in my space I just reached under the neck and pulled the rope and straightening the neck.
 
my 4yo does this if the horses kick off int he fields next to the path whilst he is coming in as he want to curl round and watch them-lean in to him, jab in shoulder/neck with pointy elbow and take leading hand hand under neck out the other side and give a sharp tug on leap rope to straighten neck before he can swing round and circle you.
then walk on straight and praise for no turning, you just have to be determined not to let him curl round in to your space. If Goof is being very determined i will hold my other hand up(with the spare end of rope in) to direct his head back straight.
The key is not to step away/back and let him take even 1/4 step across you.
 
Minor point, but was he on the side of you closest to the bike? I know H (another Highland) is always a lot more sensible if the person leading is between him and the 'scary' thing, and he's rising 20 (he's not stupid if he's closer to the 'scary' thing, but he will circle to try to hide behind his human sometimes).
 
Many thanks for all your replies :-)
lots of good ideas to help us keep going straight!
he's an interesting character as even if something scares him, he wants to get right in and take a look at it (unlike my last horse who I used to joke would bolt if a mouse farted). We were in the field and the bike with noisy rider was on the road next to the field and he wanted to make a beeline to it!
It doesn't help that it's very quiet where we are and there's usually not a lot going on. I'm looking forward to getting a trailer so I can get him out and about into the big wide world :-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top