Whoever handles that horse, trains that horse… for better or for worse.
There is only so much we can tell, but I agree, see if you can get a trainer to give you pointers as they can see what is going wrong where. They can provide you the outside eyes needed to sharpen your timing, and get the horse with the program.
Ground manners are my thing, and what you’re describing is something I find quite common in boarding barns - possibly some inconsistent handling, a lack of good timing, and a young horse. It happens. Thankfully manners are relatively easy to install once you get everyone working on the same page. :yes:
First I’d go down the list and see who is handling him. For the time being, if you can, pick the worker[s] that have stronger handling skills and place him on probation - only they can bring him in and out while you guys sharpen up his manners. Then try to get everyone in on one handling session to see who is doing what, who needs better timing, what gaps are in his handling, etc – preferably with coffee and/or pizza provided to show them all you appreciate them working with you to resolve this. Approaching this from a team perspective is usually the best way to resolve the problem. :yes:
I’m with Scribbler, get a rope halter. You can leave the leather halter under the rope halter since you won’t want to turn out with it, but I find rope is way better than a chain - especially with bullish horses. There’s not much finesse with a chain, and I find the bullish horses get desensitized to it which makes training for gradually lighter cues more difficult. Rope is pressure on/off, and you can control the degree of pressure and it’s a wonderful tool to have in your toolbox.
I’m also with Scribbler, he needs to be reprimanded for the nips. Not sure what you are doing now, but when/if he nips you again, you have to make it clear to him under no uncertain terms that was not acceptable. For some horses all they need is a sharp clap near their face, or a rough jab in their mouth of whatever body part they were aiming for – for some others, you might only need your voice. Your reaction should tell him what he just did was a Total Act Of War – react appropriately. Instilling the fear of God into this horse is appropriate.
Then, regarding the wiggliness in cross-ties… that’s usually anxiety related - brushing, grooming, wanting to be back with friends, etc; I would get a trainer who is good with ground-tying and see if you can’t get him to ground-tie quietly. Once that happens he can go back to cross-ties. It may just be the wiggliness is a byproduct of him being allowed to walk all over his handlers, and once you address the other issues, it’ll fall into place.
For the dragging you in/out of turnout… You may have to turn him in and out yourself for a few days with the rope halter. I say that because, most barn workers are operating on a tight time budget and don’t have time to work on a horse’s manners to and from turn-out (and they shouldn’t have to). I personally really dislike the habit of hauling to turnout, and when they start to pull I abruptly turn around and walk back to the barn until they stop. I do this every day - the second their shoulder gets past me, it’s abruptly turn around and go back to the barn. Then, at some point you need to turn around - this is when I ask for a halt, a polite one, turn them on their forehand, and then walk back to turnout. Rinse/repeat until they’re civil. I find this, combined with making them learn to respect your space (which you would do in a ring, not during turn-in/out) teaches them they cannot rush turnout.
Make sure whoever is turning him out is excising safe and proper turn-out protocol. Absolutely no unclipping the lead until the horse is turned around, facing his handler, and the gate is shut. If you need to, reward with a cookie once you unhalter/unclip the lead-rope. That’s one of the few areas of training where I do think using a treat is more successful: they quickly learn they don’t get a treat until they’re turned around, standing quietly and unhaltered – most horses get the program ASAP.
Regarding respecting space – this is something the rope halter and an 8ft or more leadrope is good for. With a helmet on, go to your ring and ask him to walk in a circle around you. He should not come into your space, and if he does, I spin the end of the rope towards whatever part of them is closest to get them to back off. You may have to whack him, or carry a whip at first if you don’t think he will respect your space. I also teach them to leg yield/turn on forehand in hand, and working on stopping/backing up/moving away on queue are great ways to develop fundamentally safe ground manners.
In hand he should stop promptly. While you are walking him on the rail, give a cue to stop (I start with “aaand” (half-halt) “whoa” (halt command) - horses get one step before I put pressure on the noseband. If he doesn’t respond immediately, make your ‘ask’ that much sharper. If he barges into you while you are doing that, it’s time to swirl that end of the rope until he backs off. He should never pass your shoulder and should never get into your space. Once he backs out of your space, stop your spinning or motioning of the whip, tell him “walk on” and do it again. Rinse repeat some thousand times and eventually you will have a horse that learns to watch you for cues - and will stop without pressure when he sees you slow your gait.
Good luck. Clever horses can make handling hard, and they really expose the gaps in handling consistency vis-a-vis the barn staff. I’ve been there; my horse is just smart enough to give one of the women that does chores a hard time… so, I just do his blanket swaps myself so she doesn’t have to. In my horse’s defense, he runs away from her if she doesn’t halter him first for blanketing… but she won’t take the time to halter first, before blanketing… .so… compromise. :rolleyes:
