Shaboom and Clyde:

My horse has absolutely no manners. He constantly rubs his head up against me and always is pushing. One time he even pushed me into a barbed wire fence. What can I do?

                                                                                                Krista, 13. Lynden, WA

Krista,

It is obvious that your horse has a problem respecting your space. If allowed to continue this could become a dangerous problem and requires immediate attention. Your horse thinks he is the boss and needs to be convinced not only that he is not but that you are the leader.

In order to teach your horse not to invade your personal space start by standing in front of your horse holding his lead in one hand and a buggy whip in the other. When your horse invades your space pull his head away from your body with the lead. This is asking him to leave your space. If he resists lightly tap him on the neck and/or shoulder opposite the direction you are pulling his head. You have asked him to leave your space, now you make it uncomfortable for him to stay in your space. Increase the intensity of the taps until he moves away.

Immediately reward him by stopping the taps and releasing the pressure on his head. Do not tap him on the head. The object is not to hurt the horse but to make it uncomfortable for him to invade your space. Continue until the horse does not attempt to invade your space any longer. It is very important to be consistent. You must be prepared to push him away EVERY time he invades your space. It may be necessary to carry a riding crop with you while leading him and when he crowds you push him away at the neck or shoulder until he maintains a respectful distance. Be sure to have adult help or supervision while attempting this process. If you are not comfortable with the process or the problem persists it may be necessary to seek professional help.

Halter Breaking using the Bailey Method

                                        Teaching the foal to drive

Last month we started to desensitize the foal to expected and unexpected obstacles that may be encountered anywhere he is ridden. The object is to gain the foal’s trust so that no matter what the obstacle, the foal will trust you not to put him in a situation where he may get hurt. We did this by leading the foal over the obstacles. Once your foal is crossing a new object when first presented with no hesitation it is a good sign that you are in a position of trust and you are ready to move on to the next step.

When under saddle a horse cannot always be led over a scary object and circumstance may require that the horse be ridden over it. With out the reassurance of a person leading, the horse must be able to rely on cues from the rider and in essence cross the obstacle first. Many horses which can be led over an obstacle will not cross while being ridden. While to us the difference may seem minute, to the horse it is major. In order to prevent this from being a problem we will teach the foal to drive and reintroduce him to the obstacles from a perspective similar to being ridden.

   In order to teach your foal to drive you will need:

- halter

- surcingle (a belt, band, or girth passing around the body of a horse to bind a saddle or pack fast to the horse's back) or CM training system

- two long leads or driving lines

- Buggy whip

Note: When introducing a foal to something new it is best to do so in a

round pen where movement can be contained.

1. Put the halter and surcingle or CM training system on your foal. Attach the long leads or driving lines to the halter by running them through the surcingle at roughly the same location as the cinch rings on a saddle. Clip the lines to the side rings of the halter.

2. Standing to the rear of the foal (far enough back to avoid being kicked) start asking him to bend his head and step around giving to the pressure of one line or the other. You may need to use the buggy whip to tap his hip to get him to give initially. Ask him to stop by pulling evenly on both lines and saying whoa. This ia good time to teach your foal his verbal cues for driving such as gee (right), haw (left), hup (forward), back and whoa, especially if you plan on driving him in harness.

3. Once the foal is giving easily to the pressure it is time to get him to move out. This can be accomplished by tapping him on the hip with the buggy whip or lightly slapping his sides with the lines. soon he will be moving out easily.

4. Continue to drive your foal around the round pen until he is moving freely and easily responding to your commands. Then drive him outside until he is comfortable there as well. Then using the same methods as when you lead him over obstacles, drive him over them.