Join Up Query

Hi guys,

I've posted on here before but heres a quick re-cap

I own a rising 4 yr old welsh cob gelding who pretty much follows me all over in the field or school he is broke to ride but still a little green

At the moment the issue we are having is that he has started to get a little pushy when on the ground. So I was wondering if doing join up with him would help or confuse mattters?

He knows his boundries and when reprimanded he toes the line but soon tries being sneaky and pushy again (sometimes within 15 mins)

I've got kelly marks perfect manners book but only bought it this afternoon any and all advice welcome

X

15 minutes before he tests you again is quite good! CA makes it really clear, a 4-foot circle around him is his space, & he kindly but firmly, with his "handy" stick, causes the horse to get out of his space. You must be consistent; it's horses' nature to keep testing your boundaries.

I personally would do just the opposite. Until this horse understands boundaries, I would not invite him into your space at all. He needs to respect your space. Draw an invisible 3' or so bubble around you and that's the line he cannot cross, no exceptions. If he does invade it, I would back him up into last week. He needs leadership, not a buddy.

MyBoyPuck, by his space, I meant the human's, so we are in agreement.

I wasn't disagreeing with you. I didn't even see another post when I wrote mine. I totally agree with what you said.

Oh, when you said you'd do the opposite, you meant of what the OP said! One of those post order mix-ups! Got it, thanks!

I like the idea here, so if I use a handy stick or equivilent method, its me invading his space with out invading mine??

I just don't want to be pushing him around all the time, I want to get him working around me.

Horses work off of release of pressure. If he gets into your space, use whatever method you have selected to back him up, whether is be shake his lead line, tap it with a stick, whatever works for you. The key is to stop correcting him the second he complies. That's the only way he knows he did what you wanted. Also, be sure to let him make the mistake first. An example would be a horse who likes to walk off when you're standing there holding the reins because you want to adjust a stirrup or something. If he's standing still, do nothing. If he takes a step, back him up and take off the pressure to allow him to stand still again. Wait for him to repeat the mistake and correct him again. Always correct to the degree he screwed up. That eliminates the mistake of over or under-correction. For example, if he only took one step forward, send him back one step. If he took 7, send him back 7. You get the idea. Most horses want to please and gelding just want leadership, so he should get it quickly. Whatever issue you're working on, work on it long enough to where he gets it, but don't bore him to death with it. Know when to quit.

Thanx guys this really helped! At least I hope so! The last few days I have been backing him up when he has been a pest and it really seems to have worked! He got confused initally but once he knew what I was asking 'tah dah'!