[Horseychick94]

I have a problem with my horse. Our pasture is connected to the barn. At night, I call my horses in to eat their grain. My big standardbred always CHARGES in. When I go to let him in, he charges out. I am worried about my own, his, and other people's safety. While I was in Florida, my grandfather was left with the horses. One night comet came FLYING in, fell down, and slammed into the wall HARD. He tried to get up and fell again and slammed into the wall. What can I do to get him to come in safely?:?

 

[ilyTango]

Try leading him in maybe, so that you can control the pace he goes at.

 

[Horseychick94]

ok that makes sense!

 

[cosmomomo]

maybe even lead him in with a stud chain over his nose, some people consider them cruel, but used correctly they are fine. that way if he starts to pull he'll have something besides the soft halter kind of warning him. then if he gets worse you can just wiggle your lead a little and its more of a warning. i had to use one ONCE and all i did was wiggle it as little as possible. the less pressure the better. i cant stand to see those people who just yank on it forever >.<

 

[Horseychick94]

maybe even lead him in with a stud chain over his nose, some people consider them cruel, but used correctly they are fine. that way if he starts to pull he'll have something besides the soft halter kind of warning him. then if he gets worse you can just wiggle your lead a little and its more of a warning. i had to use one ONCE and all i did was wiggle it as little as possible. the less pressure the better. i cant stand to see those people who just yank on it forever >.<

Would a rope halter also work? he has one of those. He cant wear a normal nylon halter

 

[MudPaint]

You def need to reestablish that you are ALLOWING him to come inside for dinner. I wouldn't let him come in off the lead any longer. When he's coming in don't allow him to be pushy.

Rope halters work well for most exercises, though if he is really getting into your space or being dangerous, you may have to switch over to a normal halter and a stud chain.

It's very important that horses understand that they must respect you... they're way to big to be acting dangerously.

 

[cosmomomo]

i suppose a rope halter would have a similar effect if it had those two knots along the nose, they push on pressure points on the face and should make him want to back off from it. i know it can be difficult to use something like that on an animal you consider your baby (at least for me anyway) but you want to keep both you and him as safe as possible.

 

[Goose]

I agree, I make my horses stand and wait to eat for a few seconds after I put their grain in their buckets, they didn't like it at first, but now they just wait calmly untill I tell them to go ahead, then they dig in.....respect is something you can't have enough of with an animal as large and powerful as our horses... I have also used a short lunge whip just to keep attention, when I have one that is getting to pushy and to make sure they respect my space...I don't hit them, before anyone says it's mean, just a bump on the chest or nose with the handle end does the trick.....

 

[New_image]

If it were me personally...

I would call him in if thats what you like to do. Let him come charging in like a maniac. Stand ready with a lounge whip and raise one arm high so you're taller than he is then use the other to WHACK him with the whip while yelling something along the lines of "BACK OFF" or "MIND YOUR MANNERS". Get in his space and give him a good smack, the head, chest, wherever. If you're the top herd member its your job to kick the snot out of him if hes charging like a jerk, so let him have it! He can and will learn to come in like a gentlemen.
When he hits the breaks and runs back out like he will when the whip contacts his head and you're screaming with a raised arm... Drop your arm and whip and call him back, if hes nice he can walk in, if hes a jerk he can have it again until he learns to come in with some manners!

The other suggestions are great for training humans to mind while waiting for dinner But how often do you see the leader of your herd leading a pushy horse by a rope halter and making it "wait" for dinner? No, respect is taught by loud sequels, biting, kicking and chasing. He'll know what you mean if you speak his language. Plus you don't have to deal with a 15 minute leading lesson every night

I personally, would prefer to have words with him in horse terms ("Go ahead, run at the boss mare, It'll cost ya......") but leading him in is another option.

 

[cosmomomo]

Goose; I agree, I make my horses stand and wait for a few seconds after I put their grain in the bucket

I do the exact same thing lol. at the barn we used to board at they would just let them go in the stall and had the grain already in the bucket, luckily it only took me a few times of feeding him myself at the new barn and he knows to wait.

 

[kitten_Val]

Don't call them. Just walk into the field quietly, put a halter on and lead him back in. BUT you have to do it every day or he'll probably get back to his habit. Rope halter is just fine, BTW.

 

[Goose]

I don't have my horses on lead when they wait on dinner, they follow me to the feed buckets and they stand at their buckets and wait quietly till I tell them they can eat,,, I just find horses can get a little hyped up and pushy at dinner time and I want mine to know that I feed them and say when they can eat... they are now very calm when it comes to feeding time...and they talk to me the whole time ( I love the nickers they give me )

 

[Eolith]

I agree with New_Image... mostly. A good hearty smack and a shout here and there is perfectly fine... but I wouldn't want to hit the horse in the head for fear of getting him somewhere sensitive like his nose, ear or *gasp* eye *shudder*. I'd aim for his chest/shoulder.

Sometimes the horse needs a good dose of "whoa she can be scary" before they figure out that they need to mind their manners so that you don't turn scary on them. As New_Image pointed out, you don't see boss mare leading the other horses with a halter/lead so they'll be good. You hear her squeal (our shout), see her pin her ears (our large, direct approach), and if necessary, deliver a kick or a bite (our smack with the whip).

 

[Goose]

be careful when you stand in a charging horses way with or without a whip, chances are he will turn back, but he just may put his head down and try to knock you over,,, I would work with him away from where he eats with waiting for something he really wants. and maybe when he comes charging in the barn for grain, have his bucket empty and make him wait for you to give him his feed while he waits nicely... just a thought....

 

[Goose]

and the lead mare will make lesser horses wait their turn for food.......and if you need a lead for more control at first, there is nothing wrong with that, we have these tools for a reason...

 

[MaggiStar]

I think you need to give up calling them for dinner. IF he has been trained to come for nice food he will come as fast as he can.
I would call them up but SHUT the door so they cant get in then lead in each horse one by one. GEt them to do a few steps of ground work eg back or over and make them wait for dinner you need to stop making dinner time the most exciting time on the day make them work for it.
I had a very pushy oushy pony who would step over or through you to get dinner we used a whistle to bring everyone to the gate then its one by one into stables with this little pony he had to wait until he stopped wrecking my head to come in then he was made back up and move away from the pressure i was applying when i brought him into the stable i removed the leadrope but if he went to eat whilst i was in the stable i made a rucus and he stepped back until i got out of the stable.
Again you are head of herd he eats with your position if he oushes you work his *** off in the stable it only takes a few days before they get the idea

 

[Speed Racer]

You've not established yourself as herd leader. Until you do that, you're going to have to do some extra work and bring them in one at a time.

My 3 are let out of the front paddock into the pasture at night. The barn is in said pasture, and they're fed separately in their stalls.

They're allowed to mill about and have scuffles among themselves, but when I show up there will be NO crowding, getting in my face, or acting like heathens.

JJ gets fed first, and the other two are to stay away while I'm walking him and his dinner to his stall.

Mack goes in second, and Casper hangs back until I put his feed in his stall.

Establish yourself as the alpha, and you won't have these problems. What I'm seeing is someone the horses don't respect, and who has no control over their actions.

"Charging in" doesn't happen at my barn. It's just not acceptable.

 

[kitten_Val]

Folks, let me say it really depends on the barn. Not saying it's a case with OP of course. The barn I kept Jemma first couple of weeks (before we run away from there) 15(!) horses (out of like 40 total) charged you at the gate when you wanted to bring one horse in (if you called that horse). Whips, screams, etc. did NOT help - too many of them (and I've seen number of times they broke through the gate knocking the person at the gate down in mud and the whole crowd just run to the feed bins). THAT was very scary. So the best way was to walk in to the field, and quietly take the horse you need out.

Now when you have just 2 - 5 horses (especially with established alpha) it's much easier to be in charge and handle the situation.

 

[Speed Racer]

Now when you have just 2 - 5 horses (especially with established alpha) it's much easier to be in charge and handle the situation.

True.

But if her horse is in a 20 plus herd, then there should be no mass exodus at feeding time. She should go get her own horse and make him behave.

 

[kitten_Val]

True.

But if her horse is in a 20 plus herd, then there should be no mass exodus at feeding time. She should go get her own horse and make him behave.

You are absolutely right.

BTW, my horses went crazy when they saw me coming with buckets when I just moved them to my place. Took me about month or so to teach them to behave (not just for me, but for my mom as well). But I think it had a lot to do with the fact that they realized the food not gonna go away (like it possibly happened at the boarding farm on regular basis), so they mellowed a lot after that.