galloping_beauty456 asked:


i have a 9 year old Morab who hasn’t been worked very much over the past year and a half because of bad habits and disrespect.

this has put an halt to our riding. i asked her to canter while lunging and she bucked and bolted right at the cue. (is this normal?)

a problem i often have while lunging her is she gets very close to me while i’m standing in the middle. and she used to only do this at a walk but now at a trot she is making small circles around me. i want her to fill the round pen and ride on the fence. she never does.
how can i get her to get out of my space and onto the rail?

she also is very disrespectful when it comes to hoof picking. she won’t pick up her foot and always puts up a fight. when i get to her hind she usually kicks….

and in the saddle:

she is distracted and always is paying attention to the other horses who are grazing or in their paddocks. she always wants to ride the side closest to them. how can i get her to be more focused?
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side note: i also would love to take her on some trail rides but how she’s acting in the ring, on the ground, and in the round pen i’m afraid that that would be a mistake. whats a good way to introduce a horse to trails who has problems such as my mare’s?
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thank you for your two cents and advice. i will take everything into consideration to how to fix her problems.

When you have a wild horse or a newborn, they are not adept at all to your training techniques. In other words, they do not know you from Adam!

The very first step in training your horse is to develop a relationship between you and the horse. If you happen to have a new horse for yourself, you must take into consideration that he or she does not know you. The horse does not have the slightest idea of who you are.

So, the first step in horse training is to get to know the horse and let the horse get to know you. Regularly visit him or her, letting them get used to your presence, smell, and feel. You will have to start slow with a particularly wild horse, but patience really is a virtue.

For true success, the behavior of the horse has to come first in training it before anything else can follow. It is imperative for you to nip bad behavior in the bud well before you can begin anything else.

Some horses have natural bad habits. For example, balking is one bad habit but it is easily curable. This is when the horse will refuse to move forward at all. And in some cases, if you insist that he or she moves forward they may have a tendency to become violent.

This takes great patience as with all horse training techniques. There could be many several reasons for this behavior such as fatigue, hands are heavy, they are scared or even that they are just plain stubborn.

Bolting is another typical behavior of wild horses. This occurs when the halter is being removed and in a lot of cases, the horse will wheel away before it is even completely off. There are a few causes for this behavior which may include anxiousness, or even poor handling of the horse.

This is a behavior that you want to be careful of treating. The reason for this being is that horses tend to kick out as they are wheeling, so you must be careful. Treats can be very effective when put on the ground right before you being to take the halter off.

Other bad horse habits that you might need to watch for, including their definitions;

- Barn Sour: A horse that does not like to leave the barn or stable.

- Bucking: A movement whereby a horse lowers its head and raises its hindquarters into the air, usually while kicking out with its hind legs.

- Pulling The Halter: When a horse tries to break free from being tied up or lead by its trainer, oftentimes if the horse panics or is startled.

- Shyness: A horses learned response to a painful experience, usually one in which involved rough handling or abuse of some kind.

- Striking and Kicking: A horses means of defense when it is afraid, attacking to defend, in pain or just plain malicious.

- Jigging: When an anxious or unsettled horse prances in place, in most cases because he wants to go but he cannot.

- Rearing: When a horse stands on its hind legs with both forelegs in the air, usually trying to unsettle a rider.

With a new horse, particularly a wild horse, you will especially need to practice extreme care and patience. Training a wild horse does not happen overnight and before you can start with the actual training, both you and the horse together need to get past the old bad habits and poor behavior. Only then can you both move forward together.

By: Alan Largo

About the Author:

Have you ever taken a wild horse and tried to get it to do anything? It is not exactly the easiest thing in the world to do. In fact, it can be downright dangerous to you as a horse handler. The horse has instincts and these instincts serve to protect it from harms way.

If the horse is wild, you are of course foreign to it and that could very well pose a threat to you. Horses act on their basic instincts. It is not that they purposely try to hurt you. It is just that they are scared and need reassurance. As a horse handler, this is something that you will manage over a short bit of time. You will accomplish this through the means of groundwork.

Groundwork is an essential first step in horse training. Before anything else can be mastered, the groundwork must come first. Mastery of groundwork signals readiness to move onto the advanced training levels. This level of training allows you to establish and build a relationship with your horse. Only after this is accomplished, can you proceed onto the next level of training.

Grooming is a very important part of groundwork. Grooming allows you to stimulate your horse. It allows the horse to start trusting you and it creates boundaries. Established boundaries are crucial so this is a good time to start eliminating bad habits in a controlled and trusting manner.

Groundwork is also a stepping stone for advanced work with your horse. This is where you can teach the basics and it is already finished before you even saddle up to start riding. You have to think of training as laying the foundation for things yet to come. Once the foundation is set, you start to build up from there piece by piece.

Every person or place needs such a foundation and your horse is no different. Basics are great and really need to be taught as early as possible. Not only does this help in future training techniques, but it also gives you the opportunity to create a relationship with the horse and create a training system that is solid right from the start. When you establish a relationship with your horse, it will be much easier for it to trust you and follow your commands.

Finally, groundwork is not only vital to your safety but also to the safety of your horse as well. Without this type of training element, you might find it hazardous just getting the horse to leave its stall. This can be very dangerous to both you and the horse.

Therefore, it is important to start laying the foundation right from the beginning. Soon after that, you will be able to establish a trusting and calm relationship between you and your horse. Who says horses cant be mans best friend too?



By: Alan Largo

About the Author: