Leading suggestions for strong horses

Its one of those things which is difficult to answer online, as some prance about like sillybeggars but they respect your space and are really still under control, I am not advocating allowing this, just saying he may know his halter control but is just too excited. It may be a combination of sugars in grass, plus fitness, but if he is out 24/7 there should be none of this.
You need to train him in ground handling, so we don't know how much he knows or how much you know about this technique, so you may need an instructor who has experience of natural methods as it is known.
Either way a control halter which uses pressure and release should be used to teach him.
Before he learns he is stronger than you, you absolutely must get this behaviour under control.
Meanwhile, keep yourself safe, use a long lead rope or a lunge line, wear a hat and gloves and a body protector if turning out or if in any doubt.
You can bring him in using a bridle for control, but not for turnout as he might not let you take it off, and can become frightened if the bit should catch in his teeth.
Check feed for sugars, molasses, moglo and starchy feed or just too much feed will make him hyper. no molasses licks or treats, one carrot per week! Soak hay and haylage, feed ad lib but cut back his hard feed. What feed does he get
 
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Thanks bonkers2, he is not out 24/7, he is stabled overnight and turned out for 5/6 hours a day. I will certainly be doing groundwork with him, the difficulty is that at all other times he is a complete darling, it is only when being turned out in the morning and when he arrives at competitions that I have the problem
 
I wonder if you could try him in a Dually head collar? If you can find an Intelligent Horsemanship Associate to demonstrate it's uses, it might be a help in ensuring calm handling. Good luck!
 
Mine are all taught to respect my space in a way I saw Mark Rashid do at a clinic, which transformed a nightmare of a horse into a follower in less than 10 minutes. It needs timing though, and a few consistent reps.
Have a good long rope on his halter/headcollar and have the surplus length doubled between your two hands so that when you spread your hands wide it is taut. Decide on your space, for me is what I can reach with outstretched hands, it has to be consistent for ponio to know where the line is he must not cross.
Set up a quiet training session, not the one where he is stressed, and walk away from him, invite him to follow and keep those eyes in the back of your head on where he is. The INSTANT he gets too close, turn to him with the rope forming a barrier between your outstretched hands and if he is too close when he stops, back him up to outside your "bubble". Do it a few more times, and be ready to do it each time you lead him to and from for a few days. If you have got it right and your timing is good, you will have not only defined your space for him but also established in his mind that you are the leader and he the follower, and it hopefully will only have taken half a dozen reps, if that. It has worked here on many and various over the years.
Give it a try before you begin to get into chifneys and the like
 
OK, well I would prefer to have more turnout, a lot more, ideally 24/7, as he is building up energy, and is pretty excitable, does he need more work?
The first thing I would do is stop turning him out first thing in the morning, I would tack up and boot up and get him working, maybe lungeing if he does this quietly. Once he is a bit tired you should be able to take him back to his stable, a quick groom, and then he can go out ....... yes, I realise you may need to get up an hour earlier, but thats life with a pony.
He might need a magnesium calmer, try a month on Steady up by Feedmark, build up to a full dose over a week. A lot of UK areas are magnesium deficient and the grass is very low in magnesium in the spring and in the autumn.
 
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My little horse can be very strong when being led out first thing in the morning, but a darling at all other times! I have an ordinary head collar but make sure I hold the lead rope close to the clip, with my hand horizontal and my thumb pointing towards me, as I find this gives me a firmer grip. I can also use my shoulder in his chest if needs be. If he's being particularly naughty then I will wrap the leadrope over his nose (being careful to keep it at the same height or slightly higher than the head collar noseband). I also give him a sharp vocal reprimand if he messes about, which he does listen to. Finally, I always have a treat in my pocket to give him after I've taken his headcollar off, which discourages whipping round and galloping off! Just waiting for the spring grass surge to subside so we go back to being a dope on a rope in the mornings!
 
Oh why can't I send you a private message? I'm trying to send you a blog post I think might be helpful but apparently I can't?
 
Just a thought on something I have recently learned - all the lunging in the world will not change a horse if it is not done correctly. I have started to study Phillipe Karl and after 11 years of NH (35 of BHS)! In about 5 minutes (at a WALK) my horse was calm and concentrating and listening to me! ......................
 
I've found halter training with a richard Maxwell controller halter worked very well with one horse that could be strong to turn out. I've also found that a treat given when the halter has been taken off and the horse is still facing you, stops them whipping round and taking off before you're ready. Really we should all be wearing gloves, hats and proper boots with toe tectors but I know we all take short cuts!
 
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