| Time and again, I hear about a horse behaving badly-a | | | | front of you or creeping up on you? If so you aren't |
| horse chases someone around a pasture, it kicks, it | | | | leading properly. He is going where he wants to and |
| bites, it bucks, it won't canter. While all of these issues | | | | not really minding you. Take some time to study proper |
| sound different-they can all be traced right back to | | | | leading of horses. Just by doing some simple leading |
| one and the same cause. A horse that exhibits bad | | | | exercises, you will find your relationship with your horse |
| behavior is more often than not just suffering from | | | | improves drastically. |
| what I call alpha horse complex. That is, the owner of | | | | 4. Do join-up in the round pen |
| the horse has not truly established himself as the | | | | Longeing your horse in the round pen at liberty so that |
| leader for the horse. The horse thinks that he is the | | | | he joins-up or hooks-on with you is a great way to |
| leader, and all he is doing is behaving like an alpha | | | | establish yourself as the leader of your horse. |
| horse does! The owner calls this bad behavior and | | | | 5. Get the Attention of your Horse |
| feels like he needs to correct it. In truth, what we need | | | | If your horse is not focusing two eyes on you, then he |
| to do as horse owners is take a step back and learn | | | | is not paying full attention to you. He is looking off with |
| how horses think. Then apply our new knowledge to | | | | the other eye for threats or maybe things more |
| make ourselves the alpha mare or stallion of the herd, | | | | interesting than you are. To become a leader for your |
| rather than letting our horses fill that role. Where to | | | | horse, you need to have both eyes. |
| begin? In this article I'm going to mention 7 easy to | | | | 6. Do backup exercises |
| apply exercises that will help you become a leader for | | | | The alpha mare or stallion in a herd gets the other |
| your horse. | | | | horses to move out of the way. We can use this fact |
| 1. No more treats for your horses while working | | | | to communicate with our horses just by moving them |
| When you are working your horse, do not give him | | | | around. A great way to do this is using backing up as |
| any treats. Period. Giving treats to a prey animal does | | | | a regular part of our groundwork routine. Backup |
| not reinforce good behavior the way we think it does. | | | | exercises are an excellent way to get a horses |
| Instead, it makes the horse think of you as a cookie | | | | attention when he is behaving badly. |
| factory. This in turn makes the horse want to take | | | | 7. Look for Precision |
| advantage of you. So throw away the treats-during | | | | When you are communicating effectively with your |
| training. Give your horse a treat after you've been | | | | horse, take things to a new level by looking for precise |
| working with him and you're finished. | | | | backups. Instead of asking your horse to back up 10 |
| 2. Do not use treats to catch your horse | | | | feet, ask him to backup just a hair. Start with 2 steps |
| All too often horse people want to just grab their | | | | and then ask him to stop with a "whoa". When you |
| horse and go ride. But the truth is you're establishing | | | | have that down, ask him to backup a single step. |
| the bounds of your relationship with your horse the | | | | Progress from that so that you can get your horse to |
| second you walk out to the pasture to get him. Your | | | | shift his muscles backwards without even taking a |
| horse is sizing up your body posture, how you walk, | | | | step. When you establish that kind of precise control |
| and if you can be intimidated. That is he is seeing who | | | | with your horse, you are not only communicating with |
| is the leader in this relationship! You cannot bond | | | | him effectively but also establishing leadership. A horse |
| successfully with a horse that you have to bribe to | | | | you can control precisely on the ground is a better |
| come into you. Instead of wagging carrots at your | | | | riding horse. |
| horse hoping he will come over, learn to catch your | | | | That concludes our look at 7 tricks to eliminate bad |
| horse using body language horses already know. | | | | horse behavior. If your horse is being dominant in any |
| 3. Lead Your Horse Properly | | | | way, apply these 7 steps and build the foundation you |
| Where is your horse when you're leading him? Is he in | | | | need for a successful horse-human relationship. |