Need some handling help pls

Supertrooper

Supertrooper

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The big lad is lovely to ride and generally good to handle but two things need sorting. One is that occasionally when you're leading him either to or from field he'll break away from you and gallop off, he's so fast and strong that I can rarely hang on! He's very easy to catch again and will then go wherever you want him to go, he just has to try it on.

The other is when you're leading him he is dreadful at pulling his head down to eat, again he is so big and strong I have prob a 5sec window to stop him, sometimes if I say no he'll listen but more often than not he ignores me.

Pls any advice, he's a 16.3hh shire x and it's starting to get me down a bit, I'm not sure of the best way to deal with it and need some advice xx
 
My lovely now departed 17hh ID mare used to do this. I too lead in a bridle with a lunge line as my lead rope. When ever she started to pull one short sharp pull on the lead rope and a firm "NO" got through in the end! Good luck
 
I have a lot of sympathy because my pony was exactly like this when I got her but she is lovely now, so don't worry, it can be fixed!

I lead my horse in a rope halter and a 12' line. I believe that leather headcollars and short leadropes are great for tying horses up (less rope to get in the way and leather breaks in an emergency) but not much good for leading (flat headcollars encourage horses to pull and lean - try leaning on a leather headcollar compared to leaning on a rope halter and see how comfortable it is, and the ropes are too short to be much good if your horse is less than cooperative).

Secondly, it sounds like you need to do some groundwork exercises with your horse to make sure you are communicating properly and that you are the leader in your relationship. In the school, when you lead him make sure he stays next to you not behind you or in front of you. I like to lead on a loose rope. I would also practise backing and turning. You want to be able to back your horse from being stood in front of him and being stood next to him (makes opening gates and things like that a lot easier, plus it helps you keep them out of your space which is important for safety). When you have this good in the school, practise it around the yard.

Good luck, and get some help if you need it.
 
We've got a 17.3hh Oldenburg thug on our yard that used to do that, we did initially start with a Monty Roberts controller head collar, however he soon got wise to that and started rearing when you tried to put it on him out in the field (already too bloody tall to get the head collar on when he stuck his head up), we now have one of the eskadron stallion head collars on him and it's left on out in the field, it has a chain over the nose and the lead rope can be attached to the chain or like a normal head collar.
Would have to say that we don't need to use it in the winter as it's a fight to get him to go to the field in winter as he doesn't do dirty (his NZ rugs are alway imaculate as he won't roll and very rarely needs his legs hosed as he minces his way in from the field to avoid all contact with mud).
http://www.equiporium.co.uk/eskadron-headcollar-control/prod_550.html
 
Thanks for your replies, he did come with a bridle to lead him with so I will go back to using that again plus a lunge line. I've spoken to my instructor and he's going to do some ground work stuff with us also as on the ground he definately doesn't respect me!!

Any tips on what to do re the snatching his head down to get grass, I forgot to say that when you pull him up (not easy) he will then fling his head around in a strop!! Xx
 
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