Ground Manners

[BlueEyedBandit]

Hey!!

I am new to the horse forum world, but was looking for some help. I bought my horse in November and we are getting to know each other. He is a 10 year old gelding, paint horse who is very quiet. I started having issues bridling him after I got him but now thinking the bit was pinching his mouth. Was using a soft shank bit with a roller. Going to try a snaffle instead and see how that goes. But! I have been trying to lounge him and was having issues because he wanted to follow me everywhere. At first I thought it was just a bad habit, since the people I bought him from thought he looked like a puppy and it was cute. But after working with him and finding out his history even before that (worked cows) I think he was trained to do that. He is completely engaged, focused, and locked on to me. He stays by my shoulder, but not too much in my space and moves with me. He will stop when I do, back up, pivot, etc. But when I try to get him to stay on the rail of the round pen to lounge him he seems confused and upset that he isn’t doing his job. He isn’t afraid of the whip. How do we untrain this learned habit and train him to lounge properly? He’d be a great showmanship horse - which I like- so I don’t want him to loose it completely. But he needs to move off of me when I lounge him and learn to ground tie versus follow me. When I ride him he’s very sensitive to neck reigning so need to be subtle with my movements. He’s decent on leg. Need to work on him turning his inside eye slightly in and drop his head (it isn’t up in the air) and he will collect some if I wiggle my fingers. All in all he will be a good horse and wants to please - just feeling a little lost in how to retrain some habits! Has anyone heard of this with cow horses? I’ve always rode western pleasure, trail, or basic English- zero ranch classes. Thanks guys!!

• Mom to Blue Eyed Bandit.

[Bluey]

Are you working with a good trainer?

That would be the best way to sort out what your horse knows and teach you how to ride him as he is trained.

Then you can slowly, with the trainer’s help, teach him more of what you want, in a way that won’t confuse him.

Hard to say what you need to do to teach him to longe properly without seeing what you both are doing there.
Learning how to longe or round pen properly is important.
How to start teaching the horse to respond to us, how to stand there, how to move, how to be efficient in telling the horse what we want there and why do what we do and what not to do.
That was one of the first we taught apprentices, the base of so much else that then can be used to handle horses properly later thru our lives.

Why working with a good trainer is so important?
You and especially your horse will be much better off.
You will learn to handle and ride him correctly from the start, without him resisting confused, a bad habit for a nice, accomodating horse to get into.

No need to re-invent the wheel.
Having someone show you how to communicate with your horse makes more sense and is kinder to the horse.

Leave the trying stuff for when you know what you are doing and a trainer has shown you how to proceed, helping you gain training skills.