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Lesson horse behaviour

4K views 34 replies 19 participants last post by  vergo97 
#1 ·
I ride once a week on a horse called Charlie, and he is lovely to ride. However, on the ground he is not so lovely. When I pick out his feet he is always trying to pull his foot away, and after about 10 seconds he slams his foot down. I'm not allowed to do his back legs because he tries to kick, so someone else does it. When I am untacking him, he wanders off when I take his bridle off (as in, motivated walk, not just a few steps). When I lead his too the field he drags me around and tries to eat the grass. He did not used to be like this when I first started riding him (about 4 months ago), and the last time he started to wander off when I was untacking him I got told off for letting him do it as I "have been riding long enough to know what do do". But I don't know what do do. Is this normal behavior and am I just being weak? what can I do to stop his acting this way?
 
#2 ·
This horse is just taking the p out of you...Your gona have to get tough! dont be afraid to give him a we thump in the rib if he starts pushing u around when picking his feet out, make sure someone holds him for you, if he has his head down all the weight will be piled onto you and if he trys to walk forward you get your toe squashed! and when untacking him, take him into a stall/stable first, so at least if he trys to make a getaway theres nowhere to go,if thats not possible get a head collar and rope and put it around his neck, with the nose strap under his chin, the second you slip the bit out of his mouth pull the head collar on.. anything else your just gona have to show him whos boss, if your nervous around him just tell your trainer, get them to show you ways to control him properly
 
#3 ·
I have had a similiar problem

I'm no expert but I experienced the same thing. I have a horse that did get the best of me, I was to easy on her, she figured it out and was not well behaved with anything. Leading her was a tug of war and picking her hooves was a challange. I had some one come over and take a look at her and was simply told that she knows she is in charge. I had to turn the corner with her and let her know that I was in charge. Unfortunately, this takes time, two years later after taking charge, she now walks well on a lead line, I can trim her hooves and she stands while tied. We are now on the next adventure and are riding now. She still thinks she is the boss sometimes but I don't waste any time letting her know she isn't. You don't need to be mean and hurtful, just firm and not letting her get away with anything. Even something as simple as rubbing her head against you, that's her way of being dominate and you need to let her know it not acceptable. It will take a lot of time and patience but it will be worth it. Both you and the horse will learn alot.
 
#4 ·
Don't be afraid to assert yourself with the horse, and don't worry about hurting his feelings by telling him who is boss. He can injure you a lot more easily than you can him, and I don't know why I see it coming that one of these days he'll get your foot when he stomps his hoof down.
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#5 ·
It's really true that the horse will rise to the level of your expectation (the ones that you actaully expect hard enough to enforce). So, it took a few months but this horse figured out you were not expecting obedience, so you dont' get it.

Expecting obedience means that you have utter confidence that it WILL happen, just as you envision it will. You envision that when you say go, he will go. And if you need to get firm, you do so with total confidence that your firmness will make him change his mind.

So, for when leading this mare out to pasture and she goes for grass, instead of trying to pull against her, you throw the lead line at her head. I mean , you give the lead line a big "snap", which sends the wave down the line and makes the line smack her in her jaw. First, you say "Ah ah!" and then give her the biggest toss of the leadline up into her jaw. If she jumps, so be it. If she does nothing, continue to snap the line ujp and into her jaw so that eating is a miserable experience. When she stops, you stop. The second she starts to lower her head, use the scolding voice and if she keeps going, toss that line at her again. When she'll stand for a few secs without going to eat, start walking forward, but you keep your third eye on her and the second she starts to go down, you scold/snap her. The important thing is to catch it early, when she is still thinking about it and knock that though out of her head.

Same with the feet. When you feel her just begin to move her foot, scold her warningly and pick up the foot higher. Doing the feet is more of a challenge, and you might need a more experienced person to help you because of the danger of being kicked. But for now, try my suggestion for the leading issue.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the advise. When I untack him, I do try to get the head collar on him as soon as I take the bridle off, but he is too quick to move away. I'll try to untack him in the stall next time.

Maybe because he is a lesson horse, he gets fed up of people picking his feet out? When I was watching someone else pick his feet out and he was trying to kick them, he didn't seem to notice that she gave him a wack every time he kicked out. I'll try to disipline him next time, but will he remember me in a weeks time and still respect me, or will he forget? I only see him once a week, and lots of people must ride him.
 
#7 ·
Buckle the halter on his neck while you take the bridle off, or rope around his neck so he can't wander off.. that's just plain rude and he can get into a lot of trouble. As for the feet, lean into him, he's probably slamming his foot down because
a) he's losing balance
b) being a silly goose and rather not stand on 3 legs.
Also, when he tries to go for grass, twirl that leadrope infront of his face (clockwise) until he stops. You aren't stronger that a horse so pulling will do no good except hurt your arm. You need to gain respect through correction not brute force.

Hope this helps.
 
#9 ·
Thanks for the advise Skyseternalangel, I will put the head collar onto him before I take the bridle off. I don't think it is him losing his balance, as he was ok with me picking his feet until about a month ago. My friend (who rides at the same stables) said that some people are saying that he is getting grumpy with his old age (but he is only 8!?). He also does huge kicks when people tighten his girth.
 
#10 ·
Yeah he sounds like he's in discomfort. Has he been checked for pain?

I don't think it is anything about his age.. just he's feeling worn out and doesn't view you guys as higher up in the chain of command than he is, so he's acting up a little.
 
#11 ·
I don't know if he has been checked, I'm only at the stables once a week and I'm not really close with anyone there for them to tell me. Kids just avoid him and adjust to his behavior. I think he had a bad back a while ago though and I remember thinking at the time it was strange that people were still riding him (but it might not have been him with the bad back though, as I said I don't really know what goes on much).

An unrelated story, but a while back, a horse I rode bucked me off and afterwards I heard my instructor talking to the stable owner and saying that her saddle didn't fit her and had slipped too far forward.
 
#12 ·
Yikes, I had the same problem with a horse last week-end. Big horse, Percheron and I went to get him from his field to lead him to the barn. Well, he wanted to eat grass and I let him pull me around. I guess he was just taking advantage of me. Next time I will let him know who is the boss and not let him boss me around!! LOL I never had a problem with other horses but I think the fact that he is sooooo big scares me. If he decided to run away there is no way that I could stop him!
 
#13 ·
As most have already pointed out, the horse is calling the shots and not you. If you're not there daily it would help if any other people making use of this horse could help out. Any time he takes his foot from you (even if you've just finished with it) take it back, pick it out and brush it more. Establish with the horse that you determine when the foot is finished. Hold the foot and lower it to the ground. If he slams it down and out of your hand, pick it back up, bush it and try putting it down easy again. It might take time. When I was training my mare it took me a month of daily work to teach her that her feet stayed up as long as I needed them. She went to her knee many times. Jerked her foot free even more often, but the end result was that she spent more time with her foot up and me cleaning it many times over until she held it still and allowed me to put it down gently every single time. When they do it correctly, praise them and if they are food driven try little treats (avoid sweets...a hey cube can work nicely). They will usually quickly catch on to what you require by way of good behavior and are usually happy to comply for a reward.
Back feet can be tougher if they are kicking. Being more careful and aware. First mission should be to train them not to kick. Rewards have worked well for me in this area too.
Some people have issues useing food/treats rewards. The horses will start out expecting it once you've successfully established it. But as with anything else, a little time working with them and you can ween them past it (after they've learned to do what is required)
This is not a quick fix. It's lessons for a long term fix.
I bought a 3 year old filly that hadn't had much done with her front feet and would not let her hind feet be touched. It took two months of work, but at the end of two months you could do what ever we needed for as long as it took. To the point that she'd rest her hind foot in the holder even if you had to go get a sharper knive to cut back her bars. Do it as a one person job with no one holding her.
Now if that sounds overly
simple, it's not. That's the result of daily work for 60 days. You start out rewarding for even the smallest action that is the direction you want to go.
Example for the hind feet, which were the most difficult. Started out just getting her to let me rub all of her hind legs down to the hoof. Praised and rewarded her for it. After that was no longer a problem we worked on her foot coming up. If she liften her heel she was rewarded until lifting her heel was easy. Then allow her foot to be touched with her heel lifted. Continue with small stages until they will give you their foot and let you do what it's needed. It's all done with little steps and rewards for any progress. No rewards for negative actions.
Most horses will catch on. They like praise and rewards. Take patience, time, patience, care for safety, patience, consistancy, patience, determination. Did I mention that it will take patience? :))
 
#14 ·
Where is your instructor during all this? You're there to learn, not get yelled at for what you don't know.
It doesn't sound like this barn has the best interests of the horses or riders in mind.
Ask yourself if you are looking forward to your next lesson with joy or anxiety. If it is the latter please consider changing barns.
 
#16 ·
Where is your instructor during all this? You're there to learn, not get yelled at for what you don't know.
It doesn't sound like this barn has the best interests of the horses or riders in mind.
Ask yourself if you are looking forward to your next lesson with joy or anxiety. If it is the latter please consider changing barns.
I'd have to agree with this. If you are doing something wrong or if you are having a hard time getting the horse to do what you want him to do on the ground then an instructor should step in and instruct you on a proper, better way to go about things. If my instructor ever said to me, "You've been riding long enough to know this," I'd quickly respond with, "Well, it seems you never taught me so how about doing so NOW? That is, after all what you are paid to do!" I'm not an advocate of getting snippy with people but such unproductive comments deserve to be put back in their place.

After 20 years of riding someone FINALLY showed me the proper way to pick up a horse's hoof. You know what I might do if I were you? Find a farrier to give you some pointers on how to manage horses who don't stand well for hoof picking. I bet they know ALL the tricks of the trade, so to speak.

And try once more the talk to your instructor. Be very specific: "I'm having difficulty leading my horse around and switching his bridle to his halter. Could we spend a few minutes of my lesson time today or afterwards to work on the ground with him so that you can show me a better way to handle him?" Heck, if I were your instructor (not that I am an instructor) I would donate my time to a student who was having difficulty with the basics yet willing to learn rather than just complain about it or give up.

You are a great student; you deserve quality instruction.
 
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#15 ·
I had my lesson yesterday and was on a different horse, Saffy, and I was amazed at the difference. She doesn't try to stamp her feet down and doesn't kick when I pick out her back feet. She was more challenging to ride, but on the ground she was great.

When I ride Charlie next I will try to keep lifting his feet up until he stops slamming them down, but It's hard when I'm having to quickly tack him up before a lesson and I can't spend 15 minutes trying to teach him manners.

its lbs not miles- Thats some good advice, but its hard to do all of it when I only see Charlie once a week and sometimes, when I'm on different horses, not even that. It would be hard to get other people who ride him to try to get him to lift his feet nicely because he must have lots of different riders and I don't know who they are.

natisha- I do look forward to my lessons, but I don't look forward to tacking up because I feel self-concious and that I'm doing things wrong. Some people at the stables, like my instructors, expect me to be able to do everything, ans some people, like the girls that help out there, do everything for me and don't let me help out. Its hard to get the balance right. :?

Another question that arose from the lesson - Saffy doesn't slow down very quickly. My instructor tells me to keep pulling on the reins and tells me off for giving her rein until she has. I feel horrible having to pull with all my might on the reins for about 10 seconds before she slows down/stops. I hear people on this forum talking about light rein contact and only having to give the reins a squeeze and the horse slows down and I see the pictures caused by bits and I worry that I am hurting her, but if I don't keep pulling on the reins she won't stop. Is this normal lesson horse behaviour?
 
#19 ·
Another question that arose from the lesson - Saffy doesn't slow down very quickly. My instructor tells me to keep pulling on the reins and tells me off for giving her rein until she has. I feel horrible having to pull with all my might on the reins for about 10 seconds before she slows down/stops. I hear people on this forum talking about light rein contact and only having to give the reins a squeeze and the horse slows down and I see the pictures caused by bits and I worry that I am hurting her, but if I don't keep pulling on the reins she won't stop. Is this normal lesson horse behaviour?
I know what you mean, but I think that the light rein contact discussions usually have to do with people's own horses, not with lesson horses. Lesson horses don't usually have the kind of sensitivity to the aids that involves light rein contact.

You do need to pull on the reins, probably harder than you think you ought. I had a lot of trouble with this for the same reasons you do - I don't want to ride with heavy hands, I don't want to yank on the horse's mouth, etc. One thing that REALLY helped me was when I was walking my horse, my trainer walked right next to us and took the inside rein and put the right amount of contact on it, and then had me hold that, so I could see how much the "right amount" was.

This was on my horse, and is is VERY sensitive to the aids, and it was still a very surprising amount of contact to me! It was much more firm than I had been using.

It is not actually a favor to the horse to keep contact that is too light, because (what I've been told) the bit can bang around in their mouth if the contact is too light. Also, if the contact is too light the horse will not be sure what you are asking for, and if the horse things that you're not sure about what you are doing, it will either try to take control of the situation, or it will just stop going until you make up your mind.

The other thing is that it is not good to just haul away on the reins and get in a pulling contest. What works a lot better is to kind of massage the bit in the horse's mouth. You would pull back but then give a little and then pull and then give, etc. instead of just pulling and pulling and pulling.
 
#17 ·
Sounds like he's trying to see what he can get away with... Reminds me of a certain Paint Horse I know *cough cough* Joker *cough cough* Like some of the others have already said, do not be afraid to discipline him! When you are picking out his hooves you really need to PUSH!!! Do not let him put his hooves down! If his hooves slip out of your hand, then pick it right back up! When you take his bridle off, first put a halter around his neck (not too tight of course) But do NOT tie his halter up to something! If he pulls back while it's around his neck, he can flip over backwards and break his neck... So anyways, if he tries to walk off while you're unbridling him, just grab the halter real quick, tell him woah, and back him up to where you had him before. When he tries to eat the grass, you can:
A: Push his mouth with your boot (not too hard)
B: Hit his side with the lead rope and cluck
C: Twirl the end of the lead rope
Hope this helps!
 
#18 ·
Remember also that while few are strong enough to overpower a horse's neck straight back, many can do it to the side. If my horse wants to eat and won't bring UP his head, then his head is coming to the side - WAY to the side.

Once bent to the side, it isn't too hard to lift up. Their neck muscles give them strength in a direct line. They don't have a lot of twisting strength.
 
#21 · (Edited)
I'm not impressed with your instructor, from what you say here. If you "keep pulling on the reins," even on a school horse, you'll just end up in a pulling contest with a hard-mouthed horse who has learned she can plow through the bit whenever she wants. Which is probably what this school horse has become due to receiving such treatment daily, as I doubt you're the only student with whom she does this.

You should pull and release, repeatedly, until the horse stops, or make the horse execute a series of tight turns and circles (there are a variety of ways to handle this) but more importantly, you would be better off with an instructor who could help you improve your riding and horse handling, rather than shout at you for not knowing things she hasn't taught you.

The way I look at it -- if you're in a riding school paying good money to take lessons and you're feeling like you need to ask a bunch of random people on the internet how to deal with various horse problems, then you're riding school isn't doing its job!
 
#22 ·
It took awhile but my young horse will stop when I do three things somewhat at the same time, sit heavy in the saddle, lift the reins, (not pull) and say "whoa". When she stops I drop the reins. I started this when I first started her under saddle. Sounds easy but it takes time, patience and persistance.
 
#23 ·
Once when I was trying to slow her down I did give her some rein and then continued pulling, but then my instructor gave me a lecture on how I shouldn't give her any rein until she has done what I have asked for. I can't really do circles to slow her down as ther are usually other people in the lesson and Saffy kicks other horses when they get too near to her.

I see what your saying about the teaching quality but I wouldn't know what stable to move to or where to start if I was going to move. I have only been at this stable a few months and they are loads better than the one I used to go to. My old stable never asked me to groom or pick out feet and the horses were always in their stalls and were tacked up all day. At least at this stables I am learning some things about horse care.

it is annoying how sometimes they expect me to know things though. Maybe they forget I haven't been riding as long as some of the other 14 year olds (I've only been riding a year and a half). It really upsets me when I get told I've been riding long enough to know things, because if I knew how to do stuff I would do it! Also, during my lessons I feel that I can't disagree with what my instructor is saying because she will just tell me i'm wrong.

In a lesson the other week there was this girl on a pony who was going to canter. The pony is really hard to get into canter so she was told to give the pony a smack with her whip while she was in walk so that it would wake up go into canter better. She was asking why but my instructor wasn't answering, she just kept telling her to do it. Eventully the girl did hit the horse and it bucked and then went into a canter. I don't know why she wouldn't answer the question.
 
#24 ·
I don't like the sound of your instructor.. I would be looking for someone different.

I've noticed that when you take lessons from people versus when you have your own horse and take lessons.. they are much different. When I used to take lessons, everyone never bothered to explain things, just told me to do whatever and yell at me when I got worked up. Now that I have my own horse, the instructors go out on a limb to help me and explain things because they know I will fire them if they aren't being respectful or not caring enough to make sure I understand the mechanics behind every tap or why I play with the reins or why my horse does this or that. They work WITH me.

You need to stand up to this instructor. Tell her you have a lot of gaps that need filling with answers and explanations. You need to know WHY you do things, and if you don't agree with them, tell her. If she yells at you, calmly tell her that you are trying to learn, and if you aren't learning then you will find someone that is willing to TEACH, not tell, you.

You are paying for these lessons, and if you don't even have a good instructor that can help you figure things out, then you are wasting your energy and quite frankly, your money too.

The lesson horses come with the territory. Once you get a better handle on what to do and WHY, then they will start giving you more respect instead of a hard time. But I think the main issue you are having is communication issues with your instructor.. maybe even a teaching method clash.

Something I tell myself when I'm looking for a good instructor:
"They need to work well with ME AND MY HORSE"
Since you are using lesson horses:
"They need to have a learning style that works well with me"

I hope it only takes a conversation to turn your lessons around :)

Have you tried talking to your instructor at the end of lessons about why you did things, etc?
 
#25 ·
I had my lesson yesterday. The stable owner was teaching me so and it was a good lesson. I tacked Charlie up with Christine (stable owner) watching/helping me and she told me not to bother picking his feet out because he is a bit stroppy with it. She told me that as he is becoming grumpier and is kicking, we have to flick him with the whip on his hindquarters. When I tightened the girth he kicked and she gave him a flick and he didn't kick out again. It was a bit strange at the beginning of the lesson because they had a horse show that they had to get to at the end of my lesson so my lesson started 15 mins early which meant I had to be in the same lesson as the group before me for 15 mins. After that we did some work on slowing Charlie down in trot my rising slower and speeding up by rising faster (which was hard because it felt like I was banging down on the saddle) and stopping just by pulling on one rein.

When we got onto cantering Charlie did a huge buck and his hoof made contact with the fence around the school making a huge bag which scared me a bit and I lost some of my rein so when he was cantering and I was being told to slow down my reins were too loose. When He did stop Christine told me that I'm the only person that he reacts too like that and asked me what I did with my legs. I showed her (one leg behind girth and one on the girth) and she asked me whether my legs had gone too far back. I didn't think that they had. The only other conclusion she could come to was that I had given a small kick not a slight squeeze. She said that my main problem is that I over ride and that he knows that he will be going into canter when I go sitting so be only needs a small aid. After that we did some sitting trot work (and he kept trying to go into canter). All my canters after that were good, I just need to not flap around so much.

Then the girl in my group (who is about 8) was being really annoying and kept saying that she wanted to jump. It was too windy to jump because the poles would fall off but we shortened up our stirrups and were told to go into trot in jumping position. I have never trotted with short stirrups let alone go into jumping position trotting. I was all over the place! When we stopped I told Christine that I have never done that before and she seemed surprised. She told me to watch the other girl do jumping position in trot and then I had another go.

After the lesson Charlie was untacked for me because they needed to be quick to get to the show on time.

My mum said that I will have my riding lesson next week but after that I will miss two lessons so that she can save some money and to hopefully make the stables realise that they need to stop messing us about (They only phoned up yesterday morning to tell us to get to the lesson 15 mins early and they have me in a group that they even admitted isn't right for me, but they aren't doing anything about it. Every week I have no idea how many people are going to be in my group).
 
#26 ·
I've boarded at a stable with lesson horses for years now, and I've always seen this behavior in the more popular school horses. It simply comes from beginners not being able to correct the horse, and the horse learns bad behaviors. My horse was the most well-mannered horse ever before he became a school horse - now I find myself working with him once a week at least to make sure he maintains his manners. The hoof thing is something I just try to hang on to the hoof as long as I can for, and if they do get it away then I pick it right back up even if I was finished with it.
 
#28 ·
Sometimes you have to inflict some negative reinforcement to get discipline.

Case in point, the horse I lease suddenly developed some nasty stall manners. She would turn around to kick if I tried to halter her up in her stall.

The next time that happened I went to the tack room and grabbed a dressage whip and went back for her. The moment she turned around on me I let her have a painful (full force) lash on her hindquarter and a loud, assertive NO. Then I would back off and wait a few seconds then go back in the stall quietly and gently with the whip lowered but ready for action.

It took about four or five instances of that before she realized that I am the dominant one and will not tolerate disrespectful and dangerous behavior from her.
 
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