Bolshy 4yo - advice please

FestiveFuzz

FestiveFuzz

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Hi there,

I have just taken on a 4 year old cob on full loan and whilst he is a dream to ride he seems to drag me everywhere when being led and only stops at the nearest available patch of grass and I was just looking for some advice on how to prevent this.

I've spoken to his owner and she seems to think it's because he was hand reared. How do I make him have some respect as I know having a tug of war with him isn't going to do much good.
 
there are alot of pressure type halters on the market, so maybe you could spend some time on the ground only, getting him to listen to you and try to gain his respect for commands and personal space, they can be so cheeky, but try remain calm and assertive and i hope he responds for you, good luck
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A woman on my yard has just bought a 5 year old VERY green cob that has just been broken in and was hand reared, and she is having exactly the same problem. I would also suggest trying a pressure halter and being very assertive with him.
 
QR- in my experience a pressure halter may not be enough in the beginning, i would lead with a bridle.

Alot of groudword is the only answer IMO, teaching the horse to move back out of your space and respond to commands.
 
I would go for the bridle myself and commit yourself to 5 mins ground work every day until it is drummed in. It does not take much, just leading forward and asking for immediate halt when asked, backing up without having to be pushed around, moving sideways (always handy for the stable), not jogging when walking, that sort of thing. Focus on one exercise per night and give lot's of praise when you get the desired effect.
I would focus on getting him to respond to simple voice commands too - halt, back, over, trot, walk on...that type of thing.
My Welshie was the same when I got him and he soon learn't although mine sadly knew his weight and would get away very easily even in a bridle! So I opted for the chifney and have never looked back since, rarely have to use it so it hangs in his mouth,,,but HE knows it is there and that is all that matters! Good luck, these things take time and patience and a strong will!
 
Have had two or three bolshy strong cobs.. One would drag you until you had no choice but to let the beast go, whereon he would (depending where we were) run for home to get food, or run to grass to get food.He was awful (he came with the stables) but after perseverance, bridle leading only and generally learning who was boss, he became quite good when leading (he was 6 and 15 hands, heavy type) Used to put leadrope round his nose which helped.

Definitely groundwork, establishing who is the boss in and out of the stable, leading etc. Perhaps do it in confined space of yard. Leading, halting, standing etc. Wear gloves!!
 
Go buy a book called Perfect Manners by Kelly Marks (she worked with Monty Roberts), I bought it when I got my 4yr old and it was invaluable. I also bought a Dually pressure halter as it can be used as a normal headcollar too so they never know when they are going to hit pressure if they drag you.

As per the above do plenty of groundwork and also if you can, get a couple of lessons on long reining. My horse is quite difficult at times and this really helped him to be much more aware of my voice and helped him learn a bit of self control.

Hope it helps and good luck
 
My Welsh Cob 3yo did exactly the same when he arrived. I bought a thin string pressure type halter which has been brilliant. It worked a treat, he pulls then it pulls on him! He soon learnt that if he didnt pull then it wasnt uncomfortable and I had total control after that! After a while, he went back into a normal headcollar and is fine now.
 
Hi,

Thanks so much for all your suggestions. I had begun looking into the dually halter however I want to avoid using a pressure halter if possible and try going down the route of getting him to respect me and my space. I think plenty of groundwork is the key and I might try leading him in a bridle for now. I guess the main thing is to spend plenty of time with him and just work on this every day. This has definately given me hope that I can get him listening to me and being a bit more respectful.

Thanks again
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Ditto Dually halter and kelly marks book! Tons of groundwork, rewarding good behaviour and having fun!! I don't use my Dually halter anymore, but it was fab and I can just go back to using it if I feel i need it.
 
I would also carry a stick - if he doesn't respond 1st time, I would tap him across the chest - more of an 'oi' than a smack - you need to sharpen him up & it's ideal if you can do that without tugging on his mouth too much. This is ideal weather for this sort of approach as if you can do it when he's got a rug on, you get the effect just from the noise of the whip against the rug without him actually having to feel it.

You need to try to forget he's a 'baby' - it's far kinder to be really black & white firm now so it gets nipped in the bud, as opposed to being subtle & having to battle with him for years. You should find you have it sorted very, very quickly if your approach is right.
 
Yeah I think a lot of the time I defend his behaviour with the line of ".....but he's only a baby" but then I also think this is the ideal time to stop this sort of behaviour before it becomes too well practised!

I shall definately be trying out all these suggestions as soon as I can leave the house
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Its def time to stop it while hes young as imagine if he dragged you off across a road to get at the lovely grass. Would recommend the Dually halter, would say thats more humane than the bridle as will give clearer signals and reward. And the important thing is to win the first grass battle of any session, once they get a bit then the battle is so hard for the rest of the session (same with horses out hacking - I knew my friend had been letting my horse eat because next time I got on him he was a nightmare from the first minute trying to eat, yet I never let him and he doesnt even try). So once you get the message across the problem will melt away. groundowrk exercises also v good...we have a feisty 3yo Welsh D at our yard so similar issues - but they have been sorted with groundwork and dually...good luck!
 
He's not a baby, he's a teenager. Yes, he needs understanding but he also needs you to teach him and to keep him safe, part of which is making sure he's safe to be around, won't escape or end up where he shouldn't be, or otherwise get in trouble. Good training is health insurance for horses.

Personally, I don't do ground work/leading work in a bridle. Horse's mouths are sacrosanct for me and anything that pulls of them or otherwise affects how they might feel about the action of the hand needs to be approached VERY carefully. I've seen so many horses end up "bad mouthed" through being shown on the line in bridles (badly, of course) it's grown to be a pet peeve. Bits are for communication and the mouth has no place involved with force.

It's all very well you want him to respect you but you need to have a plan to get that done. And part of that plan needs to be NEVER losing control of him again - easier said than done when a horse already knows it has the upper hand. Personally I rarely use pressure halters but I can't really see why they would be "worse" than using a bridle. With a properly fitted, correctly used halter I would think there would be far less possibility for confusion or even injury than with a bridle, which is not designed for leading anyway. Not to mention that it is more like the eventual "normal" situation will be, and therefor an easier mental link for the horse.

I'm always going to recommend a session or two with an experienced trainer over anything anyone can tell you on the internet - an hour or two of personal attention, in the actual situation, can give you an immense amount of information for this and any future situations. Many things that are very difficult to pick up in description are incredibly easy to demonstrate in person and seeing how the horse reacts etc. can make all the difference to success.
 
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