Manners / Groundwork

KatieDM

KatieDM

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We talk about manners and groundwork a lot, but how do we “enforce” manners or work with our horses to instil good manners and desirable behaviour? How do we correct the undesirable behaviour?

I’m thinking out loud, as I’m struggling a little with my rising 5-year-old. We just moved yards a week ago so I am completely expecting unsettled and stressy behaviour at the moment, but it’s the bigger picture and has been kind of brewing in the background for a while.

For example, overall he is becoming very fidgety and bolshy on the ground, pulling his feet away from me when I’m picking them out, turning his body towards me, when he’s tied up he often starts pawing out with a front leg — he struck my shin the other day. I correct this with a “No!” but I admit I feel a bit out of my depth. Old yard owner would basically smack hers for this behaviour and that doesn’t sit right with me. I bought him from her Oct/Nov 2024 after riding him since May as a sharer. I came back to horses properly last year, I didn’t plan to buy a young horse but here we are!

I haven’t ridden yet at the new place. Kind of need to address that before the saddle fitter comes! He has been absolutely fine for me and others at turn out/bring in. Moves his bum for the gates etc. I’m letting him be a horse and adjust, but I tried to take him for a walk on a grass path behind the yard which, luckily, has a closed gate each side — I had to let go of the lead rope for safety. He was pulling me, calling out, neck arched and snorting then he cantered back towards the yard. Obviously will use bridle next time…

He’s generally a very gentle and placid boy and I don’t think he has a bad bone in his body. He can be a bit nervous and jumpy. Can be nappy alone. More so through winter and we did have some incidents riding on the road with inconsiderate drivers.

I just don’t want to be dreading spending time with him and am really hoping to have fun bringing him on this year. Low level leisure stuff — hacking, schooling, farm rides and some polework/little jumps.

He’s up to date with the usual, including teeth which were checked again last month. I have a saddle fitter and bodywork person coming also.

The new yard routine until May is in on a night — this sometimes isn’t until 7pm depending on who’s bringing in (we have a rota between us and you only need to do 1 x visit a day, seems to work well). The fields are great with actual grass and minimal mud. He’s with 6 other horses, mixed herd. He’s settled nicely with them after introductions over the fence in adjoining fields for a couple days. He is fed Pure Easy (which I feed at less than recommended rate) breakfast/tea, ad-lib hay in stable, oily herbs and Aloe Vera juice (which I started leading up to moving and have kept giving).

Apologies for the unstructured brain dump here! Like I said, I just feel out of my depth and unsure of where to start to get this back on the right tracks again.
 
I have a rising 2 year old and we are currently going through a stage where he will test the boundaries and see what he can get away with (more so with my non horsey Mum than me).

I use a rope halter and am a massive fan of natural horsemanship - if he does something that is undesirable (for example trying to run through me to get to his food bucket), what I will do, is say "Ah!" in a sharpish kind of tone and then ask him to stand and back up a few steps. Once he does that, I give him lots of praise for doing that and then we try walking nicely again. I repeat the steps if he tries the undesirable behaviour again. He can be a bit jumpy but is generally a bold and brave type of lad which is helpful when doing de-spooking sessions to prepare him for ridden life.

Regarding the walking out - is this something you did regularly before you moved? It could be that the new place and being asked to go out on his own was too much for him and he expressed this as the pulling, neck arching etc. Also it's a pretty big ask for him to walk out in an unfamiliar place on his own - maybe next time you try it, you can get someone to go with you for company and slowly work back to him going out with just you and him?

If you have an instructor I'd ask them for help for sure - my coach has proved invaluable since I got my rising 2 year old :)

Alternatively, if you are wanting to go down the Natural Horsemanship route perhaps doing a web search for one in your area would also be a good help as they'll be able to give you the confidence on the ground and your lad too :)
 
It’s only been a week. Take every single thing with a pinch of salt!!

Some horses take longer to settle - lower your expectations for a couple of weeks till hes relaxed and comfortable . Don’t over do it . Go right back to basics. Appreciate the little wins.

Some people say just crack straight on with them which is fine with older experienced horses but babies need more time.
 
As poster above has said allow time to settle but then have a look into doing some proper groundwork - I really like TRT method as his way of explaining really makes sense to me although there are other great courses out there.

Horses need to be taught how to be happy in their own space and to respect your space - not by dominating them but by clear teaching such as teaching them to back up from pressure and moving their hindquarters. IME telling them 'no' has no effect, all of mine are taught to effectively measure the distance between them and I and walk at said distance. If they display undesirable behaviour such as being bolshy etc. they are backed up out of my space. I know these 'natural horsemanship' methods have seemed a bit woo-woo in the past however, they really do work if you do it properly.
 
You haven’t owned him for that long and you are both on a new yard so I would continue firm and fair handling…think ahead and use a bridle if necessary when leading and try to relax and not over think things.
 
All very sound advice, thank you. I’m very interested in the more natural horsemanship approaches, it all makes a lot of sense to me.

Fully aware it’s only been a week at the new place and I’m expecting him to be unsettled, but we’ve been having some niggles beforehand and I want to start as we mean to go on, if that makes sense? He’s good at backing up and (mostly) yielding when I want to move his bum over. It’s just those moments of him being a bit of a turd or when he’s highly strung and worried that I often feel a bit lost on how best to correct… For example, chasing him around to pick up his feet isn’t fun for either of us. Seems like a lot of rinse and repeat is required until he gets the point.

It’s hard to not overthink and panic, but I am going to try my best and take a breath. Not owned him long, no, but have tended to his needs 3 x a week since May and then owned since the end of Oct, so I know him well.

Thanks again!
 
I think it's good to be aware that struggling to hold up feet can also be a sign of imbalance and lack of muscle, especially in youngsters. I definitely wouldn't see this as a vice, more something that will improve with time, relaxation and trust. If he is tense then he won't be able to balance his body correctly. I would hang a low hay net next to where you are picking out feet to encourage a relaxed neck posture and relaxation in general from chewing.

I do think it takes a long time for a horse to settle at a new yard, so wouldn't be surprised by stress behaviour. Sounds like you're doing well to me, just don't overthink it :)
 
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