Youngster refusing to move advice ?

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Shannenm99

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Ok I have one very cheeky cob with a lot of attitude at the moment.

He is 5 and currently being broken on to ride ! We have been lunging long reining for over two months and he is very happy with all of this !

He is happy with rider on board and happy to be ridden when on the lunge , as soon as he is off the lunge he freezes and strops , he will listen to let on the lunge but not off ! Off the lunge we have to use a stick to encourage him to catch him before he takes a tantrum and he will walk forward !

Any advice guys ?

Any advice on what to do
 
It sounds as if he does not really understand what is required when he is off the lunge, not having a strop but purely not knowing what to do.
Go back to lunging with the rider taking control, make sure he really is listening and responding to the rider not the person on the ground, do loads of transitions, praise when he gets it right but this must all be by the rider, the person lunging must only intervene if absolutely essential. Once he is really listening take the lunge rein off but continue to do the circles around the person gradually going further away.
As soon as possible get him out with another horse to give him confidence, learning to go forward and enjoying himself.
 
be positive said:
It sounds as if he does not really understand what is required when he is off the lunge, not having a strop but purely not knowing what to do.
Go back to lunging with the rider taking control, make sure he really is listening and responding to the rider not the person on the ground, do loads of transitions, praise when he gets it right but this must all be by the rider, the person lunging must only intervene if absolutely essential. Once he is really listening take the lunge rein off but continue to do the circles around the person gradually going further away.
As soon as possible get him out with another horse to give him confidence, learning to go forward and enjoying himself.
Click to expand...
This he needs to understand the rider not the lunger so they keep quiet and all commands come from on top, voice aids only then with the leg then remove the lunge and do as above
It is possible for the person on the end of the lunge to drop out of sight and loosen the lunge until it has no effect then remove it and the horse is going it alone
 
Agree with the above, he's not a welsh sec d by any chance as mine would
do anything on the lunge, but for a year wouldn't trot with you on his back, till his brain clicked into place, be patient with him.:)
 
We 'backed' a horse many years back by just hacking him out really. However, he couldn't just do it on his own with rider giving the aids so we started by having someone leading him, the rider giving aids and eventually the leader stopped leading and we gradually stepped then back, behind his shoulder and then to being behind him and getting further behind him, probably a very slow way but it worked very well for him. I have since learned another few techniques whilst backing my own youngster but it starts with them having to understand the commands on the ground and then you incorporate it into when being ridden. It would take too long to type an explanation though! Have you tried reading Richard Maxwell's book about backing? It's quite helpful
 
As others have said - it sounds like he doesn't know how to respond to the pressure of your legs. Not all horses do naturally respond to having their sides squeezed by moving forwards - you have to teach them to move away from pressure. How you do that depends on what you have done with your horse previously and what it does naturally respond to. :)
 
When you long rein him do you always have someone walk by his head? It sounds like he's confused by having two people working with him all the time.

If he's long reining away independently then he just needs to make the connection between that and a rider. Does he respond to voice aids? Voice aids will help. He needs to be able to walk and trot out in long reins, and stop and stand without anyone leading him. If he can already do that then just keep encouraging him and make sure he knows when he gets it right. If not then you need to take a step backwards with the groundwork.

There is a lot of nappy horses about because so many people don't get the point of long reining, lunging and mouthing before trying to ride their horses.
 
As others have said, the poor boy doesn't understand. The last thing you want him to learn, is that he is able to plant his feet and refuse to budge.
Make it easy so he learns that being ridden is fun. Until he is fitter and happy to move forwards, leave the ménage and riding circles alone.
He needs to hack as much as possible, particularly in his first year. He'll build up strength and become confident over different surfaces and terrain.

Ride with a babysitter horse as company, or if that's not possible, a friend walking or on a bike. He'll follow and learn the connection between the riders aids and moving, turning, stopping.
If you're a confident rider, once he's introduced to a couple of routes, take him out alone but if he's too nappy, go back to escorted rides. Basically, avoid letting him learn diversion tactics, keep it easy and don't worry about how long everything takes in his education. He has many years ahead and the foundation of his early training will last him a lifetime.

Agree with the suggestion of reading a couple of books about early training, R. Maxwell, Michael Peace, Kelly Marks etc. All very readable.
 
He doesn't understand as others have said. Where are you driving? Arena or out and about where the horse needs to be independant and go forward? When we have the groundwork sorted I'm then led around by my husband for a few days while I do the aids. Then ground person lets off and I continue on. I do this outside the arena. I ride them all over the place. You must be definite too. Giving half hearted attempts at what you want doesn't help. I've been doing this awhile now and so if I know the horse is clued up but a little sticky, that horse is going to go forward. FWIW I don't use a stick. I have a very strong seat and leg. And I do not worry about what I look like. Forward is the most important factor. Very rarely will I get stuck on a sticky one. If this is the case my husband goes behind as if driving and I'm gettting them going. No if ands or buts. If one day you let them away with it, you're heading down a bad road. Forward is the most important thing to instill. Without it most things are difficult.

Terri
 
Should add this is another one of those timing moments. Over time you'll know they will be that 1/4 of a stride hesitant. Leave them no option but forward. No waiting for them to figure it out. You're the rider for a reason. I'd never start a horse without proper groundwork but sometimes there are horses that get that fine but are just a bit sticky when on. Be definite and positive. If you've been led around doing aids you'll know if they want to have a buck. Don't be sitting in the saddle thinking about reactions from the horse. Get er done.

Terri
 
Have you tried teaching him laterally with a stick to teach him an aid akin to the leg ..

I use a pressure halter and teach mine to go forwards and backwards then circle so the halter is understood.
Then standing diagonally to the wall ask for head bend towards me but using stick tap where my leg would be to encourage the sideways movement. When any movement is achieved then I stop to give the horse time to think.

Not tried it in a normal headcollar but I'm sure it would work.
 
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