Leading a yearling

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bmd

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My yearling gelding is becoming a pig to lead, it’s about 100m from his stable to the paddock and because I don’t let him stick his head down and eat the grass on the way he gets really silly and I end up being squished or he ends up being lunged on the end of the lead rope where he is all worked up.

I’ve thought about a dually headcollar but they seem a lot as he is still growing. Every time he is silly I stop and back him up with my hand but even that is hard work. I need to nip this in the bud quickly
HELP!
 
A rope halter will give you some more control. I would also not stable him. He needs to be out 24/7 with other like minded horses, ie other youngsters.
 
Does he need stabled? Is he gelded yet? He needs some manners put in him, which a good instructor used to youngstock should be able to teach you how to do. Don't get into the mind set that harsher aids are needed yet although i do agree a rope halter is better, just start from the ground manners and see what happens.
 
equi said:
Does he need stabled? Is he gelded yet? He needs some manners put in him, which a good instructor used to youngstock should be able to teach you how to do. Don't get into the mind set that harsher aids are needed yet although i do agree a rope halter is better, just start from the ground manners and see what happens.
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He probably doesn’t, but with this really hot weather I have zero shade in my field and he’s black and I just feel bad really.
Apart from leading to and from the field he is perfect, he ties up, he lets me pick all of his feet up, loads well, leads on the road well.. it’s literally just him wanting grass, so maybe I should just leave him out and let him be a baby and bring him in every now and again, I just don’t want him to go feral as I’ve done so much with him!
 
I would carry a short stick. Any misbehaviour would result in a tap. If he is dragging you, then a halter with a chin chain & short, sharp jerks should remind him of manners.
 
Just get control. Stop faffing about how you get control, and get control. Pressure halter, bit, whatever. You will only need to be tough for a very short time, then you can go back to being nice. But for right now, safety is more important and safety means control, and if that means you hoik him in the teeth once or twice, then so be it.

There are more horses being spoiled by owners who want them to like them all the time than were ever spoiled by owners who beat them. Find a middle ground, and insist he behaves.
 
ycbm said:
Just get control. Stop faffing about how you get control, and get control. Pressure halter, bit, whatever. You will only need to be tough for a very short time, then you can go back to being nice. But for right now, safety is more important and safety means control, and if that means you hoik him in the teeth once or twice, then so be it.

There are more horses being spoiled by owners who want them to like them all the time than were ever spoiled by owners who beat them. Find a middle ground, and insist he behaves.
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Definitely sound advice here! Sometimes you need to come down on them like the hand of god, sure it might not feel nice at the time, but as ycbm says, safety is paramount.
 
Agree with the quick, hard approach. Set your boundaries and stick to them because if you relent, even once, that'll be the new rule. Love him to bits but have rules. Oh... and they get worse at two, sorry. By three he'll be a darling.
 
ycbm said:
Just get control. Stop faffing about how you get control, and get control. Pressure halter, bit, whatever. You will only need to be tough for a very short time, then you can go back to being nice. But for right now, safety is more important and safety means control, and if that means you hoik him in the teeth once or twice, then so be it.

There are more horses being spoiled by owners who want them to like them all the time than were ever spoiled by owners who beat them. Find a middle ground, and insist he behaves.
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This I'm afraid, if you let him get grass/drag you about now it will only get worse
Do you have anyone who can follow you (safely) behind and keep shoo ing him along?
 
bmd said:
Every time he is silly I stop and back him up with my hand but even that is hard work. I need to nip this in the bud quickly
HELP!
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Don't wait till he is silly to stop him, stop him (with a very sharp "Ho") when he has walked a couple of strides well and then do a back using whatever force needed. Keep doing this. No reason why a yearling cannot walk nicely in hand. I would do around 15 stops in your 100m. No reason why he cannot stop and stand for a minute and wait till you want him to move on. When you get to the field gate turn round and go back to the stable with him. Don't always do it in a straight line, choose a different route around the yard to the paddock. Don't always put him in the field but stable him again for a while.
Allow plenty of time for the first few times. The first time will take as long as it takes until he learns. As someone said he doesn't have to like you he has to listen and do as he is told for everyone's safety.

I wouldn't just turn him away as if he cannot walk nicely to his field as a yearling he is not going to do it any better as an untrained 2yo. He will just be a lot stronger when he mucks around. At some stage you will have to get on top of this behaviour.
 
AdorableAlice said:
Now where is my trusty blue pipe and rope halter, oh and my tin hat............
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Haha, you say that but I turned him out with blue pipe the other day and everytime he messed around I stopped him and backed him up, but he isn’t scared of anything so basically shrugged the blue pipe off, it was only when I hit him (what felt like really hard) he reacted and lunged for me and I felt awful and said to my partner I couldn’t use it anymore :(
 
bmd said:
Haha, you say that but I turned him out with blue pipe the other day and everytime he messed around I stopped him and backed him up, but he isn’t scared of anything so basically shrugged the blue pipe off, it was only when I hit him (what felt like really hard) he reacted and lunged for me and I felt awful and said to my partner I couldn’t use it anymore :(
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You hit him and he went for you? What did you do then?
 
bmd said:
Probably growled at him and made him walk on, I can’t remember really
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WEll, if I can borrow AA's tin hat if I hit a horse and it goes for me I hit it a damn sight harder. If he is attacking you then you have lost control, he is in charge, and will end up dangerous (If attacking you is not dangerous enough already). Put a chain over his nose, a dogs choke chain can be adapted, you can use cable ties to hold it in place, carry the blue pipe, wear a hard hat and gloves and make sure you win the battle. He doesn't like you now - he despises you. Think back to 'wet' teachers at school - were they popular?
 
Clodagh said:
WEll, if I can borrow AA's tin hat if I hit a horse and it goes for me I hit it a damn sight harder. If he is attacking you then you have lost control, he is in charge, and will end up dangerous (If attacking you is not dangerous enough already). Put a chain over his nose, a dogs choke chain can be adapted, you can use cable ties to hold it in place, carry the blue pipe, wear a hard hat and gloves and make sure you win the battle. He doesn't like you now - he despises you. Think back to 'wet' teachers at school - were they popular?
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This. OP please get some help with this youngster before you turn it into a monster.
 
if he was mine and had lunged at me he would be going backwards so quickly. I would not only be growing but slamming a whip or pipe very noisily at him. Probably making more noise than beating him but there would be no doubt who was the leader and in his mind that he had done something unforgivable.

Think if he was in a field of older horses and lunged at one of them what would happen? He would be severely bitten/kicked and sent away very quickly. They would not care if they hurt him they would be demanding his respect which is what you need to be doing before he gets any older and stronger.
 
bmd said:
If you haven’t got any advice to offer don’t bother commenting, you’ve wasted your time
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How do you know EKW is talking about you and not about the advice we have given?

As a new member to the forum, I'd hold off being snipey until you know who people are if I were you.
 
ycbm said:
How do you know EKW is talking about you and not about the advice we have given?

As a new member to the forum, I'd hold off being snipey until you know who people are if I were you.
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Oh I’m sorry. I’m sure this forum is for advice and encouragement, I am asking for advice. His comment has offered me no advice, and neither have I gained anything from his comment. Regardless of who it was aimed at.
 
Look, to be blunt, at the moment you are making an unholy mess of managing your yearling. So far, you've managed to teach him that he can attack you with impunity. Have you taken on board any of the advice you've been given so far, or is your only response that you don't like EKW's comment? By the by, SHE looks after last year's Grand National winner for the racing stable which employs her.
 
ycbm said:
Look, to be blunt, at the moment you are making an unholy mess of managing your yearling. So far, you've managed to teach him that he can attack you with impunity. Have you taken on board any of the advice you've been given so far, or is your only response that you don't like EKW's comment? By the by, SHE looks after last year's Grand National winner for the racing stable which employs her.
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I pet, clip and feed Arthur occasionally ;) But come 2020 then I will have a National/Gold Cup that I can say I rode out everyday since he was 3yo! I'm just biding my time ...
 
EKW said:
*walks in, looks about, shakes head at all the nonsense and walks back out again*
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I don't understand your comments. This yearling may be this posters first youngster or at least the first to misbehave, who knows. Surely it would be better to advise either what to do or to get help as many of us know exactly how these yearlings then turn out if the problem is not nipped in the bud immediately. Whilst you may know how to deal with this sort of horse not everyone does. Everyone has to learn.
 
ycbm said:
Look, to be blunt, at the moment you are making an unholy mess of managing your yearling. So far, you've managed to teach him that he can attack you with impunity. Have you taken on board any of the advice you've been given so far, or is your only response that you don't like EKW's comment? By the by, SHE looks after last year's Grand National winner for the racing stable which employs her.
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As I stated earlier, I was asking for advice writing this post and yes I have taken on all of the advice people have given me, however EKW had no reason to comment on this post if SHE has no advice to give, which she clearly didn’t, but I’m sorry it makes it okay that because she looks after last years grand national winner she can post irrelevant comments.
I thought this forum was a friendly advice giving and receiving forum, clearly I was wrong. Whether her comment was directed at me or the comments that other people have posted, it has added nothing to this thread bar causing an argument. If she has nothing to say about this post or advice to give, she needn’t comment the comment she did!
 
Look, you are on an open unmoderated forum. Anyone can post whatever nonsense they like as long as it doesn't break forum rules. You either need to get used to that, or you won't be happy on this forum.
 
Aside from the to and fro bickering about who is right and who is wrong in their approach to commenting...OP you need to get on top of your yearling now before he gets much bigger and stronger.

My new addition arrived Saturday, a 4 year old 17hh TB mare...who has about all the manners of a bullock at the moment. She has been in a racing yard for training and I can only assume they forgot that she needed basic manners! She will walk straight through you if she wants to and I am adopting the zero tolerance approach from the word go - who on earth wants a horse that size smashing through you whenever it chooses?!
 
Someone has failed to instill basic manners in this yearling as it was growing up. It has obviously never been halter trained and taught to respect its handler so I would suggest a session with an expert in dealing with youngsters to teach you hands on how to teach him manners. I like Richard Maxwell as a trainer or a recommended assocaite IH trainer but please get kind, firm and fair training in place.
 
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