So when I first got my horse I did all my work with a lunge line. He is very well trained when it comes to knowing what he is suppose to do.. About a year ago I started just free lunging him in the round pen and he did a lot better vs lunge line. Well about 2 months ago he started getting lazy and he would start out perfect then after going around the round pen 2 times he starts to slow down and cross fire. I'd immediately threw my whip in front of him make make him go the other way into a lope until he did it again (i was told by a trainer i use to work for to do so, it worked really well with a horse that was brought in for training) Still no improvement! So I started last week back on the lunge line (I had gotten lazy myself and hadn't used it in about a year and a half) and he has no manners what so ever. Doesn't want to listen pays attention every where else etc. I got him to finally start listening to me with that so I moved him back into loping around (without telling him to trot, walk, or whoa) and hes still cross firing!
So after that long story my question is:
How can I get him to stop cross-firing on the lunge line most importantly?
2nd Is there anything else I can do in the round pen to get him to stop?
Oh and when he is on the lunge line if you snap the whip the first time it makes him lope right, but after that you have to stomp your foot at him or get him on the butt and no change after that...
Crossfiring can be a lazy bad habit that is hard to break. (crossfiring, by the way, is when the front end is in one lead and the hind end is in the other lead -- usually the outside lead)
I, personally, never let a horse crossfire just so they will not get comfortable with it. I always get after them hard and chase them around harder and harder until they bring that inside hind foot up and get both ends in the inside lead.
I never let them slow down to get correct -- I always make them go forward faster until they get it right. I do the same thing under saddle. They will get sloppyer and sloppyer and slow down and break stride if you do it any other way. Every horse I have will catch the inside hind leg back up if I just yell at them because I have tried to eat them up whenever they let that hind end fall out.
Letting a horse drag a back lead is kind of the epitome of anti-collection. If you have let a horse do it for a long time, I guarantee that horse does not want any part of collection and of properly wanting to use its hind end.
At this point, I would bit this horse up with a snaffle and a surscingle and force it into proper frame and start longeing all over again -- both on a line and in a round pen -- and teach this horse to properly use its hind end.
Thank you Cherie.
I don't understand how he got into this in the first place. He has never gotten away with it and is perfect under saddle. I really doubt he got away with it before I got him either he has been a western pleasure show horse his whole life and all the sudden he is starting to get into some really bad habits. But thank you
how big is the circle, he could be unbalanced. is he leaning in or out in the circle or he is moving straight ?
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