[Tayz]

So my first horse, I bought him last week and we are starting to get to know eachother a bit better.
I know now:
~He likes to test you out and see if you will let him get away with things but I'm a tough cookie and so he learns very quickly to behave.
~He doesnt like to be tied up for too long and starts to paw at the ground and then will start trying to pick up rugs and things that are along the fence. (When he does I yell at him or give him a hit and he will have to get used to standing in one spot a long time but hes doing well considering a few weeks ago he had been put in a paddock for months and never bought in at all so when he first got bought in he didnt like to stand still at all, now he can stand for about half hour- 45minutes before starting to get fidgetty. But I am going to hopefully see him everyday this week and so he will get used to it)
~ He hasnt had massive long grooms, like an hour groom and so the other day he had his first and he did suprisingly well, only being a little fidgetty.
~ When riding him, he doesnt like to stand still when your on him either. So I've been making him stand longer everytime i ride him, such as last time I made him stand about 3 minutes, yesterday about 7 minutes. He starts pawing at the ground or trying to walk off)
~Hes very lazy to ride which is what I want, I dont want an incredibly fast horse and very soft in the mouth.
~ His paces are lovely to watch when my friend got on him and did walk, trot, canter.
~ He turns his head around and watches you do everything, do the girth up, brushing him, put his saddle on, etc.
~ He loves his face being brushed.
~ He is a sook and his paddock companion bites and kicks him and so he has sores from the gelding. He was even bleeding a little yesterday on his leg, nothing deep.
~He gets worked up a bit when we start walking back from the arena to where we tie him up, so I'm thinking that maybe I should take him into the yard next to it and do a few more minutes work to show just because we are heading back that way does not mean we are done and you can try and go home quickly and get grumpy when i halt you.
~ Also when grooming he sometimes puts his head up high and at first he wouldnt put it down but now as soon as I put pressure on the lead rope he brings it right down, i can even get him to put his head right down to the ground, Im so pleased about.


But so this is my first horse and Im trying to teach him right so are these the right way to go? Am I doing okay? I've got people helping me as well of course but thats what I'm doing when I'm with him by myself. I dont want a horse walking all over me lol, I've had horses and ponies try that before and I dont like it at all so yeh, any advice in anything would be appreciated!
Though please, If I'm doing something wrong, dont yell at me. I am an understanding person but I hate when people yell or be rude but thanks

 

[tinyliny]

from the sounds of it, you are doing exceedingly well!

 

[Tayz]

Thankyou, that makes me fee better. We are kinda learning together, I mean i've been riding a few years and worked with so many different horses but never had my own so its a whole different thing to me lol. He's a little bit on the heavy side so going to go ride him hopefully every afternoon and try and get a bit of weight of him haha

 

[tinyliny]

what is a "sook"?

 

[Kayty]

Bit of an Aussie slang lesson here for you Tiny
A sook - I guess you could describe it as a wimp (or is that Aussie slang too?? :S), a person/animal that doesn't like being told off, wants attention all the time, will cry if you look at them the wrong way, not terribly brave..... get the idea?

 

[Saddlebag]

If he tries to move when you ask him to stand, while riding, make him move his hindquarters in a circle. Horses are built to move forward so this is more tiring. If you do this each time he'll find out that it's easier to stand still.

 

[loosie]

Hi Tayz,

Sounds like you're doing OK to me. Perhaps trying to move a bit too quickly though. Eg. while you may want him to be infinitely patient when tied, half an hour or so sound pretty bloody good, considering he wasn't good at it a week or so ago. I wouldn't be asking for any more than that for now, but making sure you're reinforcing what he's giving you.

If he won't stand under saddle for you, making the 'right' thing easy & rewarding & the 'wrong' thing difficult for him will be effective, whether that means you just ask him to stand, yield his hindquarters, whatever. But don't forget that if he doesn't want to stand & does for you, you need to reinforce this repeatedly, not make it more unpleasant by making him do it so much longer. If he's at the point now where he's reasonably happy standing for a minute or 2, I'd ask for this regularly/repeatedly & don't ask for more for now, until he does it reliably & calmly, without comment. With time & repetition he'll get the idea it's not so bad & then you can build it *gradually*.

 

[pkhpinto22]

I definitely agree with loosie. Asking him to stand for 7 minutes at a time is going to really wear him out mentally. Since he is new you want to build a relationship with him. Make sure that you are actively rewarding the good things he is doing and not just punishing the bad. It sounds like you've got the right idea going, just slow things down. Don't worry about being the boss, just ask for respect. But it sounds like you've got a good horse on your hands, good luck!

 

[Tayz]

Yes, I'm an aussie lol, i have bad slang. Sook is um... well its hard to explain it for me. sooky? um, really not brave as Kayty said, a wimp.
Thanks everyone I'm apreciating the help!
Update is that we are getting to know eachother well now and he does try it on you to begin with, like he will try and be bossy but you put him in line straight away and hes a good boy for the rest of the handling.
Im having one difficulty though, when he is tied up, he starts pawing at the ground. I can't decide whether or not i should
a. ignore him so that he doesnt get any attention and that it doesnt get him anywhere.
b. scold him and give him a slight hit to say no.

Also for the hindquarters when hes standing, i dont think ive ever been taught to do that, or maybe i have. can someone explain to me how i should make him do that?

If I go see him this afternoon I will get some pictures because hes being rugged and hes looking so healthy and shiny.