Horse Leaning on me!

S

srobinson23

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Hi

My very lovely 17.2 gelding has started to lean on me when I am in his horsebox with him. He is a real softie in the stable and when riding but he has tried to squish me a few times now and it is really scary! does anyone know why he might be doing this?

Many thanks

Sam!
 
he loves you!!

Mine do this, give them a good poke with your finger, try gently touching them first of course, but poke if it doesnt work.

With my oldie who does it for fun I am sure, I have to pinch him and he soon moves. They should have respect for your space tho...
 
Can't really answer why based on what you've said - is he just ignoring the fact you're there?

My first approach would be to carry a metal curry comb & turn it towards him, in front of you - let him lean into that rather than you. Obviously don't smack him with it, but let him learn that you are rather uncomfortable to lean against!

That said, before he gets that close, you should be teaching him to respond to the word 'over' - initially you may need to be a little sharp with him, pssibly evenly tapping him with a whip on his shoulder/side (that is assuming he's not the sort of horse who would be terribly upset by that...)
 
He loves you....rubbish, he may do but he's not doing this out of love. He needs his manners sorting out, he's invading your space & needs to learn he cannot do this. As has been said, give him a good prod & say NO. If he does it again prod abit stronger & reinforce it with NO. Hopefully he'll get the message. You cannot afford to let them get away with this behavior, they weigh around half a ton & could cause you considerable injury.
 
thanks for this

i have to say i dont think it was out of love as it was getting to the point where i couldnt breathe and poking him did not work and i am sorry to say a very hard smack was needed to prevent broken ribs - he is a gent at all other times and i am pretty soft with him but this was worrying as he weighs a lot!!

i dont like to smack but this was self-preservation - any other hints on how to train him out of this without having to thump him would be great!

sam
 
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