bad manners when leading

[MissAriel]

The gelding I part lease can be opinionated on occasion. Usually reminding him with a firm voice is enough to get him back in line. Once in a while a little swat with hand can help him refocus. But recently he has been getting very pushy when heading back to his stall after we ride. It is worse when I ride late and will be feeding him dinner after I put him away, less so when I ride early and he gets put away well before dinner time. So I know it is just the dinner thing - still not ok.

The problem is he doesn’t push me, he moves his head in front of me and spins his body until he is facing me. A chain helps, but he still moves toward me with his head/neck, not body. I think I need to work on moving him away from me when we are walking and he isn’t thinking about dinner, but are there other things I can do?

[maddiehorse]

My lease horse had a similar problem. He will trot in a circle in front of me. He also loves to brace his neck so usually I just halt and back up. Then walk off and repeat as needed. Gets the point across that you control his feet and he has to obey you. If he just kinda thinks about it I will give a sharp tug in the other direction to tell him I am not dealing with that.

[trailpal]

Ground work can help by building a habit of him listening to you from the ground.

Also, if he is allowed to do this sort of thing by the barn help, he will try it on you too.

If I have a horse like this, I usually carry a crop so I can correct him so his head doesn’t get in front of me (usually a tap on the chest to keep him back) and stay safe. Also, don’t take him directly to his dinner right after under saddle work, make him do some other things that move his feet (like ground work). When he is calm and listening to you, then take him in. He will learn that being calm and listening is what gets him to supper faster than acting a fool. It will take time initially, so be sure you have the time it takes to do it, otherwise you will just reinforce the bad habits.

[HungarianHippo]

Trailpal nailed by saying “so his head doesn’t get in front of me”. At the point his head and shoulder are both in front of you, so that he can turn his hind end and face you, you already lost the battle. (or, rather, you’re fighting the wrong one.) I’d carry a dressage whip every time I lead this guy (ie not only when you’re expecting a problem). I’m willing to bet he exhibits some of this behavior at other times but it’s not such a big problem so it doesn’t get corrected. Hold whip with your right hand at your hip. The nanosecond he starts to move out in front of you, communicate that he needs to slow down by gentle pressure on the lead (straight arm down and back, in line with his chest rather towards you). If he doesn’t respond to the subtle request, then correct with a hard tug on the lead. Not a sustained pull, don’t give him something to lean into. If he doesn’t immediately fall back in line, THWAP across the chest and growl Back!. Lots of start/stop repetitions, again with the ask/tell/command progression, until he reliably stops with just body language.

[2DogsFarm]

Good advice already.

I’ll only add that as soon as he plays his Turn&Face card I’d move him in the opposite direction from the barn - where he wants to go - and walk him until he’s walking respectfully.
Then wash,rinse,repeat until he walks all the way to the barn w/o making his move.

[MissAriel]

Thanks for all the tips. I will definitely try carrying the whip. He is definitely one to try to get away with things, but recognizes when you mean business. Trailpal and Hippo- you got the piece I was missing - I can’t let him get his head out front.

[Simkie]

I admit it–I bribe the snot out of my gelding.

I haven’t had a gelding in years. (Or decades?) I am totally a mare person. My mares have always been very reasonable when I explain where they are supposed to be when leading and respond very nicely to a kind words and a pat when they’re doing a good job. Perhaps we might have to pull out a chain or a whip once or twice to get the point across, but rarely.

I brought home a young gelding from the track last year and he’s been a bit of a challenge. Not because he’s not a good horse–but because he’s just DIFFERENT from my mares. I can explain to him all day long. I can make him work. I can bring out the chain, or the whip, for the conversation. But he just processes in a different way.

So I started with the treats. When we walk, I test. I stop, I back up three steps. If he’s listening and SHARP–stop, back, back, back–he gets a treat. If he’s not sharp, we practice and he gets a pat when he listens. If he really gets ahead of me, he trots in a circle on the lead rope for 3-4 minutes.

But the treats? He LIVES for the treats. I get such nice work out of him now. I’ve never had to bribe a mare, but it totally works for this horse. I’m really not a treat person, and it sort of horrifies me that it’s come to this…but hey, it works.

I agree that you need to be good about setting the boundaries and reinforcing them, with whatever you need to get the point across–chain, whip, whatever–but you ALSO need to figure out what motivates the horse so you can really release and praise when he does a good job. Treats work for my gelding. Figure out what works for yours