My new horse has some major ground manner issues. I have been working with a trainer two days a week, and the other days I'm on my own.
His biting/rearing/running people over issues are almost completely gone. So we are making progress, slowly. He is a real sweetie, but he was raised as a pet, by some people who didn't enforce boundaries at all.
He still doesn't lead properly though. In his paddock, I can catch him fine. He leads around his paddock fine. He leads out of his gate fine. At the door of the barn, he plants his feet and refuses to move.
It takes ages to get him to go forward once he's decided he wants to stop. You can turn him around, but if he doesn't want to go somewhere, he won't.
It also happens when going back into his paddock; he plants his feet and refuses to move. I think it partially has to do with the mud by the gates, but he doesn't lead that well anywhere.
He'll lead well for my trainer, but even that is a struggle. He doesn't steer very well, and if we pass food he heads towards it. Not full speed or anything, but he does his best to haul his handler over to it.
My trainer says it's something I need to work on by myself, and that I'm not firm enough. Although he sometimes stops with my trainer, he still doesn't do it nearly as often as he does with everyone else. I really do try my best, but when he plants his feet and won't move I just get really frustrated.
What should I do when he does this? Food works, but then I don't feel like he's learning anything. He isn't phased by crops/leadropes; they just seem to annoy him.
His biting/rearing/running people over issues are almost completely gone. So we are making progress, slowly. He is a real sweetie, but he was raised as a pet, by some people who didn't enforce boundaries at all.
He still doesn't lead properly though. In his paddock, I can catch him fine. He leads around his paddock fine. He leads out of his gate fine. At the door of the barn, he plants his feet and refuses to move.
It takes ages to get him to go forward once he's decided he wants to stop. You can turn him around, but if he doesn't want to go somewhere, he won't.
It also happens when going back into his paddock; he plants his feet and refuses to move. I think it partially has to do with the mud by the gates, but he doesn't lead that well anywhere.
He'll lead well for my trainer, but even that is a struggle. He doesn't steer very well, and if we pass food he heads towards it. Not full speed or anything, but he does his best to haul his handler over to it.
My trainer says it's something I need to work on by myself, and that I'm not firm enough. Although he sometimes stops with my trainer, he still doesn't do it nearly as often as he does with everyone else. I really do try my best, but when he plants his feet and won't move I just get really frustrated.
What should I do when he does this? Food works, but then I don't feel like he's learning anything. He isn't phased by crops/leadropes; they just seem to annoy him.