Teaching yearling to lead sensibly

[GrassChop]

I know I am pretty much out of my depth here but I want to learn and I'd be really grateful for some friendly advice please.

I've had my boy since he was 6 months old, he is now 2. I've never had a youngster before. He was completely feral, straight off the forest so I've done everything with him myself so far. He'd never had any human contact and I taught him to have a headcollar on, be brushed/touched all over, lead, tie up, pick his feet up, farrier/vet visits etc.

In the field, I've taught him to stand sensibly away from me when I put his feed down. He comes over and stands for me to put his headcollar on and stands for me to do gates, backs up when asked, moves over when asked. I can pick his feet out in the field and he'll just stand for me to do it. Generally, he is very good with all the normal things.

I am very conscious not to do loads with him, he just gets the very basics.

However, the problem is leading him anywhere that isn't to and from the yard or his field. I haven't led him out very much, I think about 3 or 4 times only in the last 6 months and very short walks, about 10 minutes. Other times it's just leading round the fields. It's very hit and miss with him, he can be brilliant for some of it and then have baby moments of wanting to just push me over by trying to turn himself to the left or constantly trying to nip me or chew the leadrope. He doesn't bite or nip at any other time, only when leading and he's getting excited and seems to just want to play rather than respect my space and listen. He actually stops trying to push me when he's chewing the leadrope!

Every time he misbehaves, I firmly tell him no, make him stop and stand or back up. Sometimes I'll walk him back the way we came a few steps to come back and do it nicely and keep doing it until he does it. He likes to throw his front legs out as well when he gets excited but again, he is told off and we start again and this has reduced quite a lot now. Eventually he gets it but I have to tell him so many times and it's a complete pain having him trying to lean into my arm all the time. I have to keep stopping him to move him away to give me space but I feel like I'm just not doing the right thing and he's not getting it though he does eventually so maybe I am? I do everything with pressure/release as soon as he does it.

Even when he's out and about and excited, leaning into me or not, he will still stand when I stop walking and he will still change direction when I do so he does know that he's on the end of the rope that I'm in control of! He has had moments when he spooks and shoots off a little bit but only to the end of any slack rope and will stop. I appreciate a lot of it will be time, repetition and patience but I worry that I'm not doing the right thing because it takes him so many reminders!

I'd be very grateful for some tips please. Thank you if you got this far!

 

[FitzyFitz]

If he's cutting in front of you or trying to you can try holding the looped end of the rope up in front of you at his nose height so if he tries to cut across he bonks himself on the nose. Don't smack him of course just let him run himself into it and he'll soon figure out he'd better stay on one side. Often worth leading from both sides too just to make your life easier in the future. Other than that? Repeat until boring, in very short, calm, frequent lessons. No other way to get there.

 

[scruffyponies]

What you're describing is very normal youngster behaviour. He is a little excited, but seeking comfort from you at the same time.
I generally work on a 'less is more' principle with youngsters. The less you react to things, the more he will settle. This includes his various minor sillies.
On lead-rope chewing, my experience is that it can help them to focus and satisfies the comfort-seeking. I have raised a number of colts, and one of the ways I use of getting them to lead nicely (and most are inclined towards bargy and bitey) is to hold a loop of rope in front of their mouth and allow them to mouth it a little in gentle play as we go along. This puts them in the right place, and discourages leaning. It also encourages lips rather than teath and sets the expectation of them following your hand without active leading from the lead rope... something which my stallion still does.

 

[Landcruiser]

I've found it to be a matter of calm persistence. My youngster was terribly mouthy and not beyond nipping me as well as chewing ropes etc. She's much better now, a combination of just growing out of it and patient training. I always use a rope halter and long (12 ft) rope, and all leading is done with a "smile" in the rope. Try watching some Steve Young videos OP - he deals with a lot of similar issues to the ones you describe.

 

[TheMule]

You say he’s fine going in and out to the field? That’s enough IMO- what you’re asking of a 2 year old is beyond what I would, they don’t have the maturity to do more than that. My youngsters walk down the road to move fields a couple of times a year, following an older horse, and that’s enough. They grow up into nice easy leaders!

 

[AmyMay]

You say he’s fine going in and out to the field? That’s enough IMO- what you’re asking of a 2 year old is beyond what I would, they don’t have the maturity to do more than that. My youngsters walk down the road to move fields a couple of times a year, following an older horse, and that’s enough. They grow up into nice easy leaders!

This.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I don't know, you always get this debate or input on these threads re young horses on how much to do with them. I do more with my 2 year old than many on here. I've seen both ways work out alright, tbh. I don't think what you're doing, OP, is too much or an unreasonable request.

A lot of it is meaning what you say, saying what you mean, timing, and consistency. I put mine in a bit of boot camp recently because he decided to p off in a field the other week while being led. Nothing major, just me making sure that my boundaries and expectations are firm. Usually one sharp and clear correction works vs a series of more subtle/lesser corrections, IME.

Some of it is just time though. They build confidence over time. There are some good exercises on how to get a young horse leading well and out of your space that are very simple and short, but they work. I think it was Warwick Schiller who had some good young horse videos re attention, space, leading, etc. Sometimes we have to choose our battles, but I do think even a 2 year old can get a firm grasp on leading properly.

Some of it is basic and not all that invasive, nor is it harsh, but it works. I'm fastinated at how smart my 2 year old is... Sometimes!

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

He sounds pretty good to be honest my Arab's still chew on the rope being led and they are 18 and 19 it's sometimes just a stress relief some horses do, I think at that age a quick few minutes of ground work is enough I use touch and voice to get them to move where I want them to, then eventually I find just a hand gesture is enough for them to understand what you want.

 

[Carlosmum]

My first question if he came straight off the forest ( I assume New forest? ) is have you had him gelded yet? It would go a long way to settle those challenging behaviours. I wouldn't try taking him out and about until you have established correct behaviour in the field. He needs to learn respect you. If you haven't had experience with youngsters before it would be worth getting some help, you can do a lot to spoil them at this stage, however unintentional.

 

[GrassChop]

My first question if he came straight off the forest ( I assume New forest? ) is have you had him gelded yet? It would go a long way to settle those challenging behaviours. I wouldn't try taking him out and about until you have established correct behaviour in the field. He needs to learn respect you. If you haven't had experience with youngsters before it would be worth getting some help, you can do a lot to spoil them at this stage, however unintentional.

Thank you.
Yes, New Forest. Gelded at around 7/8 months old. I've realised that I believe he is doing it because he's napping at that one spot as I've turned around there previously which I'm no longer going to do or napping because he's lost confidence. His behaviour in the field and on the yard is really faultless other than the odd baby moments. I did most of his basic training for the first 6-12 months of having him and since then, he only really comes out for the odd brush and reminders every couple of weeks as I want him to spend as much time to be a horse as possible without overloading him. He's grasped the basic manners in the field now too so he knows to give me space unless I invite him in and I can move him out of the way with just a light touch or pick his feet out without the need for a headcollar or holding on to him. So pretty much, the respect and the basics are there in every other aspect. I have done such a small amount of leading out and with large gaps in between which probably hasn't helped.

However, I took him out yesterday, 3rd day in a row, first two times were terrible, but decided to try him with a bit this time since he loves to chew the rope which seems to make him concentrate. He took it easily and accepted it really well. He walked out brilliantly and we got to the sticky spot, he went to spin round over me so I told him no and backed him up, and instead I just walked him on in a different direction to change things up and he was foot perfect. Even when I turned back and got back to the sticky spot heading home where I'd still normally have an issue again, he didn't bat an eyelid. He kept his space and just walked with me, stopping when I did.

As we are in an area on the forest with lots going on, I wanted to get him experiencing everything early before I'm dealing with a 400kg+ animal reacting how he is now instead.

 

[GrassChop]

What you're describing is very normal youngster behaviour. He is a little excited, but seeking comfort from you at the same time.
I generally work on a 'less is more' principle with youngsters. The less you react to things, the more he will settle. This includes his various minor sillies.
On lead-rope chewing, my experience is that it can help them to focus and satisfies the comfort-seeking. I have raised a number of colts, and one of the ways I use of getting them to lead nicely (and most are inclined towards bargy and bitey) is to hold a loop of rope in front of their mouth and allow them to mouth it a little in gentle play as we go along. This puts them in the right place, and discourages leaning. It also encourages lips rather than teath and sets the expectation of them following your hand without active leading from the lead rope... something which my stallion still does.

Thank you. That's a good idea with the rope, I will try that so it's easier for him to get to.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Yeah, sometimes they have the training, but still get ideas or ask questions. Especially at this age. Mine is so easy to handle and has a decent education for his age, but still decided to "ask questions" the other week when I thought that staying out with the herd was a better option.

Sometimes they're also just not confident or don't have enough trust in us. Some do trust easier/faster than others, and some might be compliant initially, but then challenge later on as they grow into themselves. You see the same thing within a herd of horses, so it's not entirely unnatural behavior and part of development.

I also realize in some respects, that if I can't trust them, how can they trust me? It's not that I need to leave things up to them, but I also can't be too defensive in handling or riding either. It's a really interesting journey, this horsemanship stuff.