Leading problems on a unbroken three year old

[JANANI]

My three year old is a nightmare to lead when she is excited. When she is relaxed she is a wee dote and I have me known to call her mums name by accident. She was a nightmare as a foal and it took a long time to get her to lead. Her sister took to it in a third of the time and is so much easier.

The problem is when she is excited she will be one second at your shoulder and the next second at your back pushing you or throwing her head towards you (which is really scary as I don't fancy a broken nose). I am having real problems trying to stop her doing this. She walks forward and doesn't try to run past you nor does she rear (We used to have real issues with that when she was younger but got her out of it).

If I do training in the field she is quiet as a lamb (she is out 24/7), however if she is moving fields this is when I am getting the problems. I am also worried that she will do this when she is being broken and completely embarrass me!

Any ideas on what to do?

 

[AmyMay]

Start getting her to see more things - so life's not quite as exciting when she's taken out of her field. And stick a bridle on her.

 

[RSL]

I would take her out every day, 2/3 times a day to get her used to being out and about, seeing new things, this way a lot of things won't get her excited, also take another quieter horse with you to keep her company.

If shes strong I would use a dually halter, they are a god send for my little but powerful lad.

 

[JANANI]

I know I need to get her out and about. However I tend to be on my own and I suppose that is why I have done it in the field.

I would like to know if any one has sorted the problem I am encountering as I would like to get that sorted before I got her out and about. It is just so annoying when she does it and it actually scares me. I don't really have any experience of that sort of behaviour as my other horses are really good to lead and I have only dealt with barging horses before.

I might try the dually halter as I don't really like the idea of sticking a bit into an unbroken horse (maybe I am being a bit stupid on that one).

 

[Kub]

I'd try a bridle first if it were me, and I did with my boy. He's rising 3 so don't worry about putting a bit in the mouth of an unbroken 3 year old, she'll need to get use to it at some point If she's been bitted, you could try this. If she hasn't and don't want to wait whilst you get her use to it, give the dually a go.

 

[eggs]

The best advice I was given with a two year old who was very difficult to lead especially when his mates were still out in the field was to bring him into a stable EVERY day, give him a feed and turn him out again. This made a huge difference to him very quickly. I also used a cheapo Parelli copy halter on another bargy youngster.

Good luck. Mind you, my nine year old still finds it very exciting when he changes fields!

 

[Kub]

Ditto eggs, I did this with my boy as he was very bargy and bolshy and this defo calmed him down. Routine really makes a difference.

 

[Kelpie]

personally I wouldn't use a bridle to solve the problem ..... it may well work but it may cause you problems further up the line when you want to actually then teach her that the bit is a communication tool that you wish to use for what will hopefully be some nice light sensitive schooling work, rather than just as a blunt instrument to get your point across. I'd actually rather swing the rope around/ make a noise with a whip on your boot, or just really anything to back her back out of your space but without having to yank on her gob with a bit in.

I would, tho, go with the advice above about getting her out and about a bit more so that things start to be less scary for her genearlly. Maybe if you can and you have a safe area to do so, teach her to lead her off of a nanny horse? I find that really helpful to then get the other horse out and about a bit, with a sensible friend.

 

[AmyMay]

personally I wouldn't use a bridle to solve the problem ..... it may well work but it may cause you problems further up the line

Shouldn't make any difference at all - and is by far the safest thing to use to keep control.

 

[Kelpie]

Shouldn't make any difference at all - and is by far the safest thing to use to keep control.

I'm not going to get into an argment on that one - horses for courses and all that - I just hate seeing the bit used as anything other than a proper means of communication and think that there are generally other options. To each their own tho.

 

[Spot_the_Risk]

On the bit theme, I bitted our homebred when she was a year old, she was always very nosy, and took, and still takes, the bit happily into her mouth. She was awkward to lead at times, and I found putting the bridle on, then headcollar over the top and leading from that as usual helped - the bit just gave her something else to concentrate her mind on.

 

[AmyMay]

I'm not going to get into an argment on that one - horses for courses and all that - I just hate seeing the bit used as anything other than a proper means of communication and think that there are generally other options. To each their own tho.

Using a bit in this manner is not using it as an improper form of communication. And for someone who has zero experience of dealing with a youngster finding the world an exciting place, is by far the safest thing to use - for the handler and the horse.

No good having it swinging around on the end of a lead rope or dually when a bridle will have it undercontrol from the get go.

Once it has the idea what is expected, you just drop back down to a headcoller.

OP will probably only have to use it a couple of times - and the confidence it gives them will help the situation 100%.

 

[ITPersonnage]

I agree with amymay, get a bridle on her then when you are not feeling threatened you might enjoy taking her out & about.

My 7 year old was like this as a 2 year old and she has no issues with her mouth at all now but she was very bolshy back in those days and soon learnt how to get the upper hand. Putting her in a bridle solved that, they only need to get a feel of the bit once and they quickly earn that it's not a very clever thing to do ! As long as you are not rough with them and the bit only comes into play when they're naughty she will soon get the idea.

Best of luck with her!

 

[siennamum]

I am trying to envisage what you are describing. When your horse jumps behind you it sounds like she may be hiding behind you, shoving you is also something they do to get a bit of confidence. If she is just learning to be brave then really you just have to give her time.
In your place I would get her bitted, and use a longer leadrope, I would also get her used to a whip so you can push her away if she is in danger of treading on you.
I will 'lunge' a youngster around me on a leadrope, using the whip to push their shoulders/quarters away if they are being bolshy and then ask them to stand and respect my space - if that makes any sense.
You have to take the upper hand, without getting too stressed about babyish behaviour, which can be a fine line to tread.

 

[Tempi]

You need to be handling her 2-3 times a week - as in bringing her in to a stable, tying her up, grooming her, lunging her. This will soon sort out the excited behaviour once she gets used to things. i would also bit her, but do this once she is in a stable, dont just stick a bit in her mouth in the field in case she objects to it. I have a Dually Halter for my horses and they are excellent.

I also have a 2yr old. He is caught in and handled twice a week by myself (i am on my own also). I lunge him for 20mins once a week (lots of walking with a bit of trotting) in a happy mouth snaffle with cavesson and a roller on with very loose side reins. The other day i do in hand work in the arena in his bridle so he learns to respect my space. Hes also been bathed/had his teeth looked at/feet done regularly/been over coloured poles/ties up in the stable and on the yard/loads etc. All these things are vital to give a youngster a good start in life.

 

[KingCharles]

What i find works with most horses of any age is to teach them to respect your personal space.

It’s a shame that so many people only ever seem to handle there horses when they need to do something with them. This means that many field kept horses are hardly ever handled. So when it comes to simple things such as leading in/to fields ect, it can be a huge task.

Some people do end up with submissive, easy going type horses that they can get away with the minimal handling with. However when you get horses that are more dominant by nature with more of a “spark”, it is usually then that you find problems arise.

I see it all the time on my yard, people with there horses or all ages/types used in all sorts of disciplines. The horses play up in hand and to an extent under saddle to. I do firmly believe that if you have no control or respect on the ground, then you are not going to get it mounted either.

I would go back to basics, find a controlled environment to work with your horse away from the herd. Work on getting them to respect your body language, to listen to you, and to move away from you when asked. You will never be strong enough to force your horse to do anything they don’t want to do. However if you gain there trust and work as a team they will do what you ask because they want to. Find something your horse responds to positively, it may be a treat or a scratch and use that as an incentive to work with you. Once you have your horses attention and you are able to work with them, you can then start to introduce other situations.

Its all very well introducing a bridle, but if the horse is not introduced to it properly, then it isn’t going to provide you with any more control and can make the situation worse.

It does appear that your horse totally ignores you when something exciting happens. However it could also be they become insecure and don’t trust you enough to see you as a leader. It takes time and patience and unfortunately there are no quick fix methods.

At the age of 3 your horse is also now stronger and has stronger instincts. So it is best to crack on with handling now, before this becomes more of a problem.

I know when a horse is more challenging it is easier to back off a bit and let them get on with it, but in the long run this just makes things harder.

Be firm but fair and consistent, and good luck

 

[AmyMay]

and use a longer leadrope

Please don't, it's so dangerous.

 

[Kub]

Agree with amymay also, bridle made a hhhuuugggeee difference to my boy. This is the horse that I would make sure all the 4 gates were shut when I got him out the field, so that if he tanked off (which he did a lot at first) he couldn't go far. I'd hold on to him so tightly just waiting for an explosion... A bridle sorted that. I wasn't rough with him or anything, but a quick pull and release was enough to get him listening. Now I lead him around like a dope on a rope, though still use a bridle when out with him on the roads just in case. He's no worse for it, quite happily takes the bit and very relaxed with it, I just needed it to give me the upperhand on him, because once he'd locked his head to tank, there was no way I was strong enough to pull him back round in just a head collar.

 

[siennamum]

Please don't, it's so dangerous.

Why?
I would use a longer leadrope to push the horse away and around me. I appreciate that you want to be close to avoid getting kicked in the head but would want a long enough rope to actually work the horse off the ground a bit and get it's attention.

 

[JANANI]

Thanks so far.

I am certainly not inexperienced in handling horses that are a handful and have sorted out barging and rearing in the past. It is just I cannot get to grips with the current problem as I have never experienced it before.

The two issues are she will throw the head about which may mean she doesn't respect my space. However how should I react when she does this? All I seem to do at the moment when she is like this is to tell her off (by growling) and it doesn't seem to work. Although at feeding time if she is out of line and I do it she reacts. I have been making her move backwords from me from since she was a foal. And I am certainly no push over as far as horses are concerned.

The other issue is the shoving of the back. I do try and make her stay to my shoulder and not get ahead of her however she still seems to get behind and gives me a good push which nearly throws me off balance.

She is quite sharp, unfortunately and is certainly not scared as she is as bold as brass. Anything scary the other horses dart down the field and she stands and looks at it. I would certainly call her a little madam. Me thinks she is an eventer in the making if I could get the cr*p above sorted out!

Or will shoving a bit in gub stop her doing the above but I was wondering what handling I can do to stop her doing this so I would feel more confident in handling knowing what I can do to prevent her doing it.

Many thanks