Can't wait to read what people recommend...i have the same problem with my brumby! But he plants his feet when doing groundwork too. I am working on the groundwork and seeing improvements. I was thinking i might get some spurs with a roller ball on the end so they are kind and gentle but will deliver a more precise cue for forward movement when i am on him. Mine is only 2 so i am not planning on riding much yet but like you, when i say go i want him to go!
Hope you get some advice...i need it too!
Janelle

Well I'm going to ask you both a question. Have you done long-lining with them? How much and was it perfected before you mounted?
Monty's videos on long-lining will teach the horse the cues on moving forward.
Buying and using spurs is not your answer and if you do you will regret using them on your young horse.
More ground work is needed to cue your horses.
There are whoa horses and go horses. The whoa horses are the more difficult ones but they can be taught.
When your young horse has graduated to uing a snaffel bit with the long-lines and the side reins(elastic ones) have been tightened to the max allowed your horse will understand the cues.
Graduated learning is what will help them. Don't be in a hurray. Pretend you have all day and it will take 15 minuets, pretend you have 15 minuets and it will take all day!!!!
Teaching a young horse to move forward is time worth taking. These are lessons they will always remember.
Watch the videos again and watch them carefully. The lines are where the heels of the rider will be for a purpose.
Watch and listen, you will see what I mean.
Ronda

I agree with Ronda about long-lining the other thing I would suggest is using another horse or two for your baby to follow. One in front and one behind, although two is not really necessary. This requires someone to ride the other horse while you're on your baby but ponying your baby is an important part of teaching them to move forward comfortably with you on their back. This way you really don't have to cue so much but just allow them to follow behind giving cues only when needed. This technique should be used for a few weeks at least until the baby becomes comfortable with cues.
I hope this helps,
Kleinne

Well, I have a saddle, bridle, halter, and leadrope. THAT is what I have to use. No longlines, or even a long rope, no surcingle, just what I mentioned. I am trying to get more equipment, but at the moment, I dont have the money. I do agree with you, Ronda, spurs are not the answer. But there has to be a way to get our young horses to go, even if we dont have all the equipment we are supposed to have. It might help if my husband could be there more often, but I am usually alone with her.

Dear Phantom,

That's great you have Saddle!!!! An alternative to a surcingle.
Take your saddle and tack up your horse like you normally would. Make the stir-ups a bit longer, take some baling twine and tie the two stir-ups together, under her belly.
Leave the stirups about the same height as your feet would be.
Now go to a hardware store, buy some inexpensive yhating rope, sorry about the spelling, and two swivel clamps and use these as long lines.
To apply the clamps to the ropes, knot them through the opening of the clamp and bring down the second peice of rope and using electric tape, tape these together to prevent fraying.
It is really inexpensive and I do these kind of things all the time.
It can get quite expensive sometimes.
I only paid $14.00 Canadian dollars for my pair of 30 foot long lines. My nylon surcingle was only $19.00.
With the saddle and halter you can do this. Attach the lines to the halter, thread the lines through the tied stir-ups and watch the videos.
You'll do fine, I promise. She'll get use to it and you will get use to her.
Have your ropes at least 30 feet each so you are out of the kicking zone.
Try it and let me know if this helps, OK.
Yesterday I actually got STAr to turn correctly !!!I'm so proud of her.
Ronda

Thank you, Ronda. I will try that. Thats great you got Star to turn correctly. Princess turns just fine, if she would only go. I will let you know how it works out.

Hi guys i hope you don't think i was planning on using spurs to kick my horse...NO WAY!!!! If you look at monty's videos on teaching the aides for leg yeilding etc he does recommend having a soft spur to get a clear communication but softly. If you watch the other riders who come in on the babies they have the soft spurs,not for pain but for communication.
Ronda good news...Buster is now 'lunging' yay! You know how hard this was proving for us, we now have it. We have only done it once but a couple more times of him learning 'forward' and i'll move to the long lines.
Your suggestion to Phantommustang to make her own long lines is a great one! Very creative!
Phantommustang this is all great advice. Your horse, and mine needs to learn forward on the ground before you get on. Whoa horses can be frustrating but much safer than one who you have to be trying to slow down all the time!
Remember to have fun! It is all learning, but learning can be great fun and you horse will love it too!
Janelle

Everything about horses is fun, except for when they get hurt or sick. Even the frustrating things are fun, especially when you get them resolved! And Janelle, we WILL get our horses to go. And then it will be even more fun. I have had mustangs before, and had the same problem, but always had my son to help out, or he had me, whichever way it went, but he is grown and moved away now, I lost my mustangs and now have my Princess. Was quite a change going from wild horses to one that was already tame and friendly. Took a bit of getting used to. I tried gentling her like I did the wild ones, but she was already gentle and used to everything, so I ended up skipping that part. She thought I was nuts for some of the things I tried, but apparently put it down to human sillyness. She did give me some odd looks at times. All I was trying to do was get her not to be spooky, but she wasnt so thought I was being goofy. I guess I was, to a horse that wasnt spooky to start with. Since you have a brumby, I guess you know what Im talking about, wild horsesa are always spooky until they learn they dont have to be. And it is so much fun teaching them.

Hi Phantommustang :-) It Is very interesting the differences between wild ones and domestic bred horses. What i have found with my brumby is that he is far less spooky than my old thouroughbred! Everyone who meets him is amazed at his calmness and intelligence! You are right though that he has learned he doesn't have to be afraid of humans, so he isn't. I think the area he comes from is renowned for their easily trained brumbies so i am lucky there! I have noticed that he can be very determined to get his own way at times and needs clear instructions. It has been a big learning experience for me going from an old horse who knew it all to a baby!
It is funny that your domestic was looking at you funny...i wonder what was going through her mind lol!
Janelle

I have this same problem with one of my horses. I have 2 mares. Annie is well trained and easy to ride. After I bought Annie I went with a friend to a place that was trying to find a home for some horses that were not being cared for by their previous owner. I fell in love with one of the horses and brought her home. I named her Lilly. She was very head shy when I brought her home and blind in one eye. I found this out after I had the vet come check her. Now she will let me rub all over her head and loves it. She doesn't seem to be afraid any longer. She seems very happy. She is very easy going and sweet. She does very well with ground work. She tries very hard to please when you ask something of her.... except when I get on her and try to get her to go. She is very attached to my Annie and if someone rides Annie she will gladly follow her everywhere but when you try to ride her without Annie along she goes for a few minutes then plants her feet and stands there. I don't have any knowledge of her background. The dentist told me she was around 13 years. She is the sweetest horse. As soon as I come to the pasture she comes right over and stands there while I put her halter on. She loves to be praised when she does what I ask her. She has never bucked or done anything aggressive. She just seems very lazy. The vet said she was healthy except for the eye which he said was probably an old injury. I would love to get her to go. I would love any suggestions.
Heidi

Heidi, your horse is balking when she refuses to go forward, I would suggest you watch Monty's series of "Walter won't go forward". I think that this would help you with Lilly.

This may be a real no no here but if I had a horse that wouldn't go forwards and I would revert to Tom Roberts's method in Ch.10 of his book "Horse Control - the young horse". For this you would need some kind of rod or whip about a metre and a half long. Don't worry I am not going to ask you to whip your horse. I used a Pat Parelli wand when training Tricka this lesson but a dressage whip would be just as effective. Before the lesson commences ensure that your horse is familiar with the wand or whip and doesn't see it as spooky at all. With the dually on desensitise your horse to what you intend to use until your horse will happily stand still and be touched and stroked all over with it and has no fear of it at all. When you feel that you and your horse are ready then take your horse close to a fence or wall - not too close about a metre away. If the fence is on your right then you stand on the near side of your horse facing the same direction as your horse. For this excercise you stand at his shoulder with your feet roughly in line with his forefeet not at Monty's sweet spot. This is so you can reach back towards the hindquarters with your wand or whip if that becomes necessary but be mindful of your horses head. Have a lunge rope or long lead rope attached to the ring next to you on the dually and hold the rope with your right hand about 6 inches or 15 cm from the ring. In your left hand hold the remainder of the lead rope coiled safely and the wand or whip with its end directed at the rear of your horse. Have the end of the whip on the ground initially so that it is not threatening.(I actually used a rope halter for this exercise as I didn't know about the dually but I think the dually would be better). When you are ready softly click with your tongue and be ready for any reaction. Any forward movement at all then move with your horse and give him lots of praise and pats. No reaction click a bit louder - try this several times. If he steps back instead of forwards then move with him and maintain you position- no reward for this. If you after several attempts you have no forward movement then lighly touch him with the wand/whip as far back immediately after your click. Remember adrenalin down, lots of praise and pats for any forward movement and move back with him if he goes backwards so that he has no reward for this movement. No harshness at all and only the lightest taps with the wand or whip when necessary - be patient, be consistent. Every horse initially react differently. I am also assuming your youngster are pretty laid back and quiet to start with as Buster seems to be. If you horse flies backwards - hopefully it want - then turn and face him/her (eyes averted) and go back with him - the dually will help here. If you can teach them this "go forward" lesson then they will know that a click of your tongue means go forward when you are on them as well as when you are on the ground. Tricka learnt this lesson really well but she was an easy, calm horse to handle and a quick learner. Please note that this is only my suggestion based on my understanding of Tom Roberts. It is a method that has worked for me in the past when training young horses to go forward on command but as I do not consider myself to be in anyway an expert only try this if it makes sense to you.

Thank you, Maggie, I will. My Princess is very calm and easy going, so it just might work. Everyone has given me so many good ideas, so Im sure onbe of them will work.

I hope it works - good luck with it.

Hi Maggie, I know Monty doesn't like single long lining but it was the only way i got Buster to understand 'forward' I used my rope halter and 12ft line and my carrot stick and i stood to his side and just tapped lighty on his back legs. As soon as i got any forward movement i stopped tapping and he kept moving! It took all of 5 minutes to have him moving around me in a circle. I did it both sides and then ended the session, i think it was about 15 minutes. The next day was even easier! Moral of my story is that your suggestion sounds similar to what i did. Sometimes we just need to try something a little different.

My problem with lunging or long lining is, I have yet to see a video on a horse that has NEVER done it before. I have never done it, and neither has Princess, so its not working very well. She thinks if she is on one end of the rope and I am on the other, she should come to me and gets confused if I try to send her away. But anyway, yesterday I got an idea, tied 2 socks together for a giddy up rope, and cued her with heels and sock while Jim led her, and it wasnt long before I turned her in a different direction than Jim was going, and she kept going! Turned, stopped, and started, went when I told her to and where I told her to. It was wonderful, she finally got it! I rode her around the corral several times with no problem at all. You can believe I let her know she did a great job! We will keep trying to figure out the long lining. I watched Montys videos on it several times, but the greenest horse had already done it 4 or 5 times, Princess never has. I had already taught her neck reining, and stopping, before I ever got on, she she has those down perfectly, no problems there at all. It was just going,. and now she has that mostly figured out. It will take more times of riding in the corral before she is ready to go out to the pasture, but we are getting there! Ronda, I told Jim what you said about making my own long lines, so he took apart a couple cheap, nylon ratchet straps that didnt work, put snaps on them, and I now have long lines. They are about 15 feet long, but our corral isnt very big IF we could just figure them out. Like I said, Princess thinks if she is on one end of a rope and I am on the other, she should come to me, even if its backwards. Even if I look her in the eye, get straight, she still comes to me. And its nearly impossible to get anywhere back of her head with a rope of any kind. She just keeps turning and coming to me. Too joined up, maybe? I dont know. We never did do join up because she was already following me everywhere. She started that the day I got her. I have never had a horse like her, she is so easy in so many ways but some things neither of us seem to be able to get. On the lunging, I tried everything I have ever heard or read, but nothing worked, she just got confused. With the long lines, the one time I did manage to get back of her middle, she backed up to me. I couldnt figure out how to get her to go forward at all. I tried tapping her hind legs, and she just looked at me. I have gentled and trained several horses, but never lunged or long lined any of them, mostly because I didnt know how and couldnt figure it out, so is it really necessary anyway?

Dear phantom,
Congradulations !!!! You got her to move with socks, yeah !!!!
I'm not sure if long-lining is necessary, I'll let someone like Ann tell you that.
And I don't think you can be too joined-up. She sounds like a sweetheart.
Amanda Everette has a course this summer on long-lining. They say if you are both green (as far as long-lining) is concerned we shouldn't do it.
Practise first on a horse that has had it done and knows the ropes (no pun intented, haha).
I'm happy your husband is so cleaver, sounds like mine, very inventive.
Great to be on the forum, right. Get all kinds of ideas.
Ronda

Dear All, I will do my best to get a video next week with a horse that has never been longlined to help in every possible way for you and your horse.
Bare in mind - you will never see any of Monty Roberts instructors with a wip or stick in his/her hand to try to get forward motion - we think horse, we do it with horse psychology and equus. As soons as we - the tigers - get our mind framed with an agenda, the horse will insinctivly know it - give yourself the permission to have a plan A plan B plan C and when frustrated, walk away and seek more help. You will get it I promise! Give me a couple of weeks! Warmest Ann

Hi agian! Just to help you get a good picture out of the "not putting pressure from behind" Watch Proper way to lead your horse Part 7 with Spenser!
Warmest Ann

Looking forward to this, Ann!
My boy is not refusing to move on the long lines, but we lack proper impulsion/propulsion and energy as he sort of just ambles along (unless he finds something interesting to move towards). In the woods we're fine, but he finds the arena boring, it seems.

Hi Janelle - so pleased you had success with moving Buster forwards. Does sound similar to what I suggested which is from Tom Roberts. Totally aware that it is not something Monty would do but it works and it certainly isn't forceful in any way. I found the Pat Parelli wand quite useful when training Tricka but only used it to give her clearer signals as to what I wanted. It helped to move her out and around me for lunging too - she was totally familiar with it so wasn't fearful of it at all - it was just another aid. I don't need to use it at all these days as she knows what is expected of her.

Dear phantommustang 1 and Heidi.
I think the basic problem of the horses is that they have no idea what to do when you get on them the first time: go forward, backwards, to the right, left? They don't know any cue. So they have to learn first what pressure with legs means or whatever other cue you want to use to go forward.
Rudi

Janelle, its strange, isnt it, that where a wild horse comes from can have an impact of how easy they are to handle? I got one mare from Northern Colo that was very wild, then another from northern Colorado that came from a different herd and I had her saddled the day after we got her home, one from Wyoming that was wild but easy to train, my 11 year old son trained her, 3 from Nevada, one was easy, the other 2 not. All of them, once they got used to us, were intelligent and calm, and were hard to spook, some couldnt be spooked no matter what we did. Had a funny thing happen one day, my husband came with a semi load of gravel and the wild mare reared up and wanted to attack it, she didnt want that huge thing anywhere near the corrals. She kept running at it and rearing, good thing she was in a corral and couldnt get to it. The rest of the horses got as far away from it as they could, but not her. She wanted to chase it off. Since he was a trucker, they all eventually got used to semis and dump trucks.

Ronda, I really appreciate what you said about long lining maybe not being necessary. After meny years of training horses without doing it,and then thats all I heard, I got to thinking that I had been doing everything wrong,even though I got he results I wanted. Calm, easy going horses that did what I asked because they wanted to, not because they had to. When its just me and a horse, I have confidence, but when other people start telling me what to do, that Im not doing it right, I lose confidence in a hurry and start to doubt everything I do. So you really helped. Thank you so much.

Well, Friday the sock worked, Saturday it didnt. Now this is what Princess does. When I get on she stands there with her front feet apart and her eyes closed, acts like shes asleep. Calm, yeah, you could say that. So Sunday I did a no no, like Maggie suggested, got a strap, (throatlatch from an old bridle)since I didnt have anything else, tapped her with it, and spent the next hour RIDING her, she finally woke up! I did NOT hit her, just a light tap, she kicked a little, one time, I think when she woke up, then said oh, you want me to go? Ok, no problem, I'll go if thats what you want. So we worked on stop and go, reining, mounting and dismounting and mounting again, she thought when I got off the first time that we were done, but I said no, not yet, so she said ok. She really did very well, and I hardly needed to use the strap after the first couple times. In fact, after the first time, all I needed to do was touch her with it. So naturally I was all set to go back again today, and its raining.

On Horse and Country - Horsemanship Essentials episode 3, Kelly Marks does a demonstration on training a safe horse and she long-lines a 3 year old filly for the very first time. This horse had never been worked with before, it's very informative. This might really help everyone that's having problems with long-lining a young horse for the first time.

HI Phantom,
I'm sorry if you thought I was suggesting not long-lining. That is the very thing I am trying to get STARS' co-operation with, right now.
That is why I said I will leave that up to Ann or another instructor to advice you on.
Yea it seems we have our own way of doing things but for me I love it when others make suggestions on how I can imporve. I certainly need it.
I love Montys' way. I have used others and they just don't get the same results.
Right now I am having a hard time training STAR and it is my fault, not hers.
I will keep learning from all of you.
Have a great day,
Ronda

Hi Kleinne,
Thank you for the reminder. I haven't watched those videos in a month or more.
That is a very informative series.
Right now I am re-reading Montys' book and learning all over again.
As I said when I first joined the UNI, Montys' way is different for me but I love it, it works.
Thanks again,
Ronda

I didnt mean I dont like advice, I do, its just when people start telling me that Im doing everything wrong and should do everything a different way, usually by using force, but not always. I have found most of Montys ways are the way to go. Its just sonetimes, either I dont understand it or something like that. So far, the long lining is about the only thing I cant get. But will keep trying. And will check out the Kelly Marks video, it might help. And there is always room for improvement.

I have a 13 year old paint that I have owned for 3 months. He rides great and is very friendly and loving. However sometimes on the trail he just stops and wont move no matter what, when I ask for forward movement back we go! I wait him out and then he decides to go forward. Leg pressure doesnt work nor does clucking I refuse to hit him even with a small dresage whip thats mean also for being afraid of being thrown off (that happened once my trainer said hit him on the bum so I did not hard and off I went broken hip and wrist). He has great ground manners I just can't figure out why he stops other than he just doesn't want to go that way even when we are out with his pasture mates. Thanks Kimberly

**to ad to my above comment he didn't throw me it was another horse I forget to say that.. thanks**

hi phantommustang1,
Just a word of encougment, I have a 3 year old new forest filly, a real gem in every way but we have had real problems getting her to move forward, but with lots of time, paitence and encougment, she is now going forward, we tryed long lining but she would have none of it,just put her feet in the ground and said NO, she now will walk and trot happerily, turns and enjoys it, and under saddle she just didn't want to move, now she has found her feet as it were, her balance and now goes out in company nicely very willing, and will work in the school well, but we have keep her work to very short sessions, as soon as she does well we find a good place to stop, lots of praise and reasurance.
Try using your own body lauague to encougment her forward, think engery, enthusiam in your voice, don't give up, these are all things that we used and I feel we have turned the conor, and the only way is FORWARD, have paitence and good luck

Thank you, Maggie. I need all the encouragement I can get. Princess is so willing to do what I want, its just figuring out how to tell her. I think she has passed the go barrier, but the long lining is still out of reach for both of us. However, my husbands horse Emmett seems to understand it, so will practice with him until I understand it, then will try it with her. Emmett, by the way, is 12 years old and has been on drill teams, worked cattle,been in parades, so actually knows quite a lot. And it seems like he is willing to teach us. Jim told me he thinks Emmett will teach him far more than he will ever teach Emmett. This is something else I havent had for a very long time, a horse that is already trained. The last one I had that was, was the first one I ever had, which I got when I was 8. And that was 49 years ago. Since then, its been wild, unbroke horses, and most were fresh caught mustangs. So having a guy like Emmett is also a new experience, but one I fully intend to use. With some help from his previous owner, who trained him in the first place, since we havent figured out what all he knows yet. I am sure that once I start working with him, he will teach me a lot too. So far, I have been concentrating on Princess and letting Jim get to know Emmett, since Emmett is his horse and Princess is mine. Now this might sound odd, but even though Emmett is already well trained and very gentle,I feel more comfortable on Princess than I do him, probably because I know her better. But so far I have only ridden him once, when we got him. And he hadnt been ridden for a long time. Now that we know each other better, I think I will feel more comfortable riding him. Hes a real sweet guy. And as far as time and patience goes, I have plenty of both. And if one thing doesnt work, we stop, take 5, and think it over, then try something else until we get the results we want. I know Princess doesnt always understand what I want her to do, so stopping and taking time to think it over really helps. I wouldnt force her to do anything, it has to be her choice, as Monty always says, and I totally agree. I always want my horses to do what I want because they WANT to, not because they have to. It just takes figuring out HOW to get it across to them in a way they can understand and agree with. Because if they dont aqree, its not going to work.

FILLY GOES! I got on her today, with no extras, just me and the saddle, and she went like she knew what she was doing. I guess she just needed to wake up. She did everything I asked her to, tried going her own way a couple times, until I explained that first she has to learn what I want, then can do what she wants sometimes. Then we quit and went out to the pasture, since she has never been out there with a saddle before, and just led her around for awhile, then went back to the barn. Then I tried longlining Emmett, and he knows what to do and was teaching me. So it was a very fun and successful day. Maybe Emmett can teach me to teach her to longline, ya think? Apparently, he wanted to join up with me,when I went to put on his halter, he first ran one direction a couple times, then the other, then came to me. I wonder if the guy we got him from did that? Anyway, Emmett did, all on his own.

I hope nobody thinks I HIT Princess with the strap, I didnt. I just tapped her very lightly, and that was all she needed.

I would be interested to know if these young horses that won't go forward were imprinted at birth. I'm wondering if imprinting causes a young horse not to have a flight response from us. Do you think that training an untouched young horse would be easier because they do have a flight response. My farrier also trains (not Monty's way) but told me that she will never train an imprinted horse because she's had such bad experiences with them being dangerous because they have no fear and they've taken after her when she stepped into the round pen with them. She also said she has found that untouched horses respond and bond to her much quicker. Does anyone have any thoughts about this?

Kleinne, My Brumby gelding was conceived and born in the wilds of our national parks here in Australia. He was in the wild until he was 18 months old and so was definately not imprinted! From what i have heard from a great deal of brumby owners they are very non reactive. Some of them are very 'whoa', actually they are almost all 'whoa'! but some more so than others. I totally believe that my unsuccessful efforts to get Buster moving were my own fault, not his. The time i had trouble getting him moving when i was on him he had a problem with his leg so my fault for asking him to move with me on him! I now have taught him to lunge on a single line....not monty's method i know but i did it gently and now intend to long line as he seems to 'get it' now. So to answer your question about imprinting...i have no experience with that but my wild horse is far less flighty than any domestic i have ever met!

I just thought this was an interesting question should I ever decide to raise a baby. I wanted to know what experiences other people have had.

HI Kleinne,
Perhaps you have heard of Dr. Miller. He is a very popular Vet/trainer in the USA. He believes very much in imprinting, but done in a specific way.
Look him up on the internet and you can see how he does it. It is very interesting.
There are a few on the forum who have done this and have had great success.
I'm wondering about the trainer and her experience??? There is imprinting and spoiling a horse.
Monty gave an experience of a famous actor that trained his horse to jump up and put it's front hoofs on his shoulders. Needless to say the horse was ruined, imagine a full grown horse not understanding this will kill someone, poor thing.
Ronda

Yeah, I did that with a colt when I was a kid, didnt realize it would cause problems later on. I was only 9 years old at the time, seemed fun to have a horse dance with me, but wasnt a bit fun later for his new owner. Boy, did I get chewed out for that! Good thing he was a small pony, but still, I shouldnt have done it. Even a small pony is big when he rears up.

Hi phantommustang1 - Just loved reading about your successful day with Princess and Emmett. Fantastic and great that Emmett knows how to longline. I still haven't tried as it seems rather confusing so still just lunge with the single line but I always have some slack in it these days. Fortunately I don't need to lunge often these days.

Well, I meant lungeing, not longlining. Sorry. But at least he knows that. Havent tried the longlining yet with him. It does seem confusing. But since I didnt know how to lunge either, it was still a breakthrough for me, if not for him. Today everything went very well with both of them, until I decided to saddle soap the saddles, they got so interested thet they stood, one on each side of me, with their noses right in my way. That went on until the saddle fell off the fence,(think Princess had something to do with that) then they decided to leave. They are SO much fun to be with. Princess always wants to help with whatever I am doing, Emmett likes to try to steal my water bottle, he can drink out of one.

Hi everyone! I am just starting to ride my 3 year old gelding and while he is extremely calm and quiet and doing everything else wonderfully, I'm having trouble getting him to move forward with both the long lines and when ridden! I tried hard not to spoil him as a foal, but he just doesn't see the point in moving away from me! Anyway, I've enjoyed reading all of your comments and I will keep persevering! Cheers from Oz!

Sounds like Princess. Got her going while being ridden, still havent figured out the longlining, like yours, she just doesnt see any reason to go away from me. When I try to get her to, she stands there and looks confused and asks, what did I do wrong? And then comes to me to try to make up for whatever it was she thinks she did. Abd I dont know what to do because she DIDNT do anything wrong.

I just long-lined my neighbors 15 year old mare that they bought a couple of months ago and bucked my neighbor off a few days ago. They asked me if I could work with her so they brought her over this morning. I've been ill for several weeks but am starting to feel a little better and I was happy for an excuse to get outside. I did join-up then saddled her and turned her out to see if she'd buck, she didn't so the saddle's not the problem. She's somewhat jumpy so we did some plastic bags (more work will be needed with this as she's never been exposed before). Then I hooked her up to the long-lines to see how she'd do. She ran and then would turn to face me, run and turn to face me and then wouldn't keep from facing me. So I gathered up her lines, re-positioned her and tried again that time she went slowly at a walk and was doing great until I stupidly decided to try to turn her and back to facing me she went at that point it was time to call it a day but I felt good about what we were able to accomplish. If I wasn't so weak from being ill I'd work with her other mare that's much worse. I just want to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather but happy to practice on a new horse.

ange.taylor, where in oz are you? I am in oz too :-) I have a brumby gelding who i am starting from scratch with and he is going well but like you i have had a great deal of trouble with forward motion. How do we create impulsion in a horse who is very content to just stroll along?? Hope you get some success with it soon :-)
Janelle from Tassie

WE DID IT!!! Today Tanner trotted a circle in both directions, first with a single lunge line attached to the bottom ring of the Dually (I know, I know... but he only had it on for 5 mins tops) and then using double lines!!! Wooohoooo! As soon as he trotted one circle in each direction, I ended the session and gave him the rest of the afternoon off! I might see if I can ask him for two circles tomorrow!!!

Janelle from Tassie, Tanner is a gelding I bred and he turned 3 last December! I have a 6 month old Brumby too! He is going to be 'fun' to eventually break-in, as I had to handle him a lot when he first came to me because he was completely blind and needed medication and lots of TLC! He can now see out of one eye and my old Stock Horse mare is doing a wonderful job of being his foster-mummy! I live near Tumut, gateway to the NSW Snowy Mountains! I wish we lived closer to each other! I would love to have another Monty Roberts inspired horsey friend to hang out with!!!

One thing that helped to get Tanner moving around/away from me was for me to jog around and get a lot more energetic! Heaven help me if someone was secretly video taping me! I must have looked like a total goose... but hey, it worked! I also found that using a single lunge line at first helped too. But now that we have managed to double line lunge, I will hopefully never have to do it again!

I wish I had that problem, a horse not moving!!! Mine is a "GO" horse, legs and feet always moving.
If your horse will not move it could be your body language. We need to be firm, but gentle. Square those shoulders, give that mother-in-law look and they will move, I promise.
Slap that long-line on your shoulders or legs and soon you may be "dragged" around the pen.
Ronda

Good morning Kleinne,
I'm sorry to hear you have been ill and happy you are feeling better.
The best to you,
Ronda

Thanks Ronda,
You're so sweet I am starting to feel better it's been 7 weeks of crud but I can't afford to be sick any more I have too much to do. The weathers beautiful and horses to train so onward and upward.
Have a great day!
Kleinne

Princess decided to go with Emmett this morning when I lunged him, so maybe shes getting the idea. She did just what he did, without a rope. Had to take a porcupine quill out of his nose, wasnt very deep and came right out, then checked both of them to make sure there werent any more, there werent. She is going just great, so now we are working on turns, shes a bit slow on that, but coming along nicely. She has never bucked, but did today, AFTER we were all done and I had turned them out, they left, then came back and she decided to buck around the corral, just having fun. Emmett forgot to roll after I brushed him, which he always does, so had to come back and do that. Guess he cant roll in the pasture. Then it decided to rain.

Well done ange.taylor!! I too had to use a single line to get my boy going but i have now done two sessions with the long lines and it is all going well. I definately need more practise!!
I drove through Tumut last year on a scenic drive to gundagai! I knew i had heard the name :-)
You are going to have so much fum with your brumby! My boy has been out of the wild for a year now and is such a calm tempered boy. If yours is anything like mine you will have no problems starting him under saddle. I have a youtube channell with some videos of Buster and me look up Nelliebell2ponies to have a look if you like :-) I am guessing your baby is out of the Kosi nat park?

Well he was found alone under a tree in a paddock in Batlow. Apparently the brims come and go from these people's paddock, but for some reason he got left behind. Considering he has very limited sight, he is very trusting! And he is growing into a nice solid pony! Due to hi lack of sight, he will probably only be used for pleasure riding around our little farm and keeping my old mare company in her retirement! I call him my very expensive (due to all of his bet bills) "pets as therapy companion" for my old mare! Although he will need to be gelded very soon! Where did you get your boy from? Are you on Facebook?

I had to resort back to a single line again today with Tanner, after trying and trying to get him going with the double lines! But as soon as I got 2 laps of my little arena at a trot, we stopped the lesson and I turned him out! I'm going to try another short session this afternoon, but without any gear on and see if I can get another couple of laps without any lines on at all! I just wish he had a bit more energy! Maybe I should buy him some oats! :-)

We did it! A lap in each direction at a CANTER and without any lines! We will keep practicing this For a couple more sessions until he will do it without being cranky and then go back to doing it with the double lines! And then when it's all smooth sailing, I will see of I can get him moving whilst on his back!!! I'm so glad I found this conversation on here because I didn't know how on earth I was going to get him moving without having to use the giddy up rope!

WooHoo!!!! It is great you are having some success. Long lining will get better with practise i am sure. My boy is also more than happy to amble along but i am hoping that as i do more of it i can create some impulsion using my own energy. My problem is that Buster does not care about lines flicking at him or any of that stuff so i have to get that forward movement some other way! The joys of starting horses!
Your little brumby boy was probably left behind because he was blind. Too hard for the herd to safely look after him. He is a lucky boy to have found you! My boy is from the Alpine National park, Bogong high plains region. These brumbies are very solid and are beautiful blacks and browns with sometimes brilliant white facial markings. They have beautiful calm, unflappable temperaments too...soooo nice!
Yes i am on facebook :-) Janelle Baldini :-) There is also a page called All Things Brumby where a lot of us brumby owners are keeping in contact...would love to see you on there too!
Cheers from Tassie!

Hmmm well Tanner is the same, he is not scared of the rope when I stand in the middle and toss it at him, however yesterday I pretty much literally chased him around the arena swinging the rope at him and also (I hope no one was secretly videoing me) literally did a two legged version of a trot and a canter behind him! Anyhow, I have just come in from another very successful session of lunging him without any lines and this time I didn't have to 'trot' and 'canter' nearly as much! I'm looking forward to tomorrow!!! I will look you up on Facebook!!! :-)

I received a post on my facebook account from Kelly Marks. She posted that we cannot expect our horse to understand long-lining unless we teach them to trust the lines.
We have to totally desensitize them against them.
We do this by rubbing them all over with the lines, especially the legs.
They have to be comfortable with the long-lines areound their legs and feet.
Only when they will accept this are they ready to accept the long-lining.
RE-reading, Monty's book and re-watching his videos, over and over, I have finally succeeded in STAR accepting tack with extreme ease.
We are very proud of her.

Thats great news, Ronda.

Awesome news Ronda! You must be so proud of your girl! And you should be proud of yourself too....this is a big win hey!

Just re-read everyone's comments here and I feel it is a good example of how different we all are and how different all our horses are too. What works for one may not necessarily work for someone else. We all need to experiment and find out what suits us best - naturally under Monty's umbrella as he is the expert but that shouldn't exclude us from trying something of other expert natural horsement if we feel it will suit us. When breaking in Tricka I didm't know much about Monty so relied on my own understanding of horses and Tom Roberts's book. I was very lucky as Tricka was a wonderful student and was so willing to learn and respond. She was also very quiet but unspoilt as I had handled her from birth so nothing spooked her which was great but she respected me as her leader. Before I rode her for the first time I did think of using long lines from behind re Jeffreis Method - a natural horseman of the 1950s era in Oz. He used long lines for mouthing and training young horse to move foreward, turn and stop from behind prior to riding. However as Tricka was so good I didn't find this necessary. She was responding so well to my commands from the ground both when just walking beside her leading her and when single line lunging her with a lose lunge rein. When I did first ride her I used her elastic side reins so that I wouldn't jab her mouth if things went wrong. I rode with these for some time until she was used to the bit and responding. Now that all my horses are trained and I have little need to lunge I see little point in trying longlining. If I need to lunge then I will continue to use the single line lunge with a loop in it as I always have. The 'expert' way of single line lunging is to have the lunge line tight and in "contact" and in my mind it is that method which pulls the horse out of position. So my conclusion is that we should not feel guilty if we do not follow all of Monty's methods to the letter. He is the expert but as many of us are not experts we need to choose and adopt those parts of his teaching that suits us and our horses. Although I am a Monty fan these days and really appreciate all he has done for horses and trainers I choose not to follow him completely. For example I choose not to attempt long lining in my old age and I will always use small pieces of carrots and apples to help gain a horse's trust and as positive re-enforcement for correct behaviour. Food rewards used correctly work for me and as far as I am concerned they fasten a horses learning process. Rather than cause a horse to bite correctly used food rewards can help remedy a biting problem. Chase the horse away if it puts its ears back at you or nips you in anyway and only allow it back if it comes in submissively with ears saying can I come up to you. Your answer then is yes come and get a pat and cuddle and better still here is a little bit of carrot as a special reward for being good but don't try to look for it - just stand there submissively and let me hand it to you.

My sentiments exactly.

Well, I took Princess out in the pasture yesterday, Jim took Emmett, and we rode around out there for ahwhile, Princess did very well, better than Emmett, actually, all he wants to do is run. He hadnt been ridden for quite awhile before we got him, and Jim hasnt had that much time, and he seems to LOVE to run, its hard to make him walk, and then he agues about it.Lays back his ears and does everything but walk. He does ground work really well, no problems there, its just once you get on, all he wants to do is run. I think he needs a good run, but neither of us has been on a horse for a long time until now, and just dont feel up to that yet. Any ideas? An arena would be nice, our corral is too small, but the one at the ranch, just down the road, has bulls in it right now so cant use it.

HI phantom,
I have used my round pen just to run Star and let her get her extra energy out of her, periodicly I turn her so she won't get lame from too much pressure on one side.
If not is there any area where you have enough room to run him without him getting too far away from Jim.
Star has to run everyday, that is why she has such a hard time during the winter months.
I stand in the middle of a medium pasture and fling my arms and laugh as she gallops by.
She loves it and she sure can move. When she is done she is huffing and puffing but comes right up to me as if to say, I needed that.
During the spring and summer months we do this everyday with her and then I let her rest in the pasture for a while and eat her grass.
Like people some horses have a lot of energy, wish she would give it to me.
Have a good day,
Ronda

Nope. 90 acre pasture, bit big for that. I wish he would lend me some of his energy too, I need it. I suggested to Jim that when he has time, to take Emmett over to the ranch and canter him up the field road to the reservior, its about 4 miles and all dirt and fairly level and straight. He wouldnt have to canter him ALL the way, but I think it might help get rid of some of that energy and its all open there, no fences, trees, or brush like in our pasture. And maybe Jim would feel more conmfortable there too.

Hi phantommustang1,
To get rid of excess energy before riding, I would put Emmett on longlines and let him work his way through it. Being the one that directs the feet of the horse and his direction, your position as a leader will be settled more firmly, too. You don't need to use a roundpen for longlining, choose a level spot with good footing, making turns regularly.
Don't forget to use an old stirrup leather to connect the stirrups, so that your lines are guided and the stirrups not flying about.
Watch the lessons on longling on this UNI and I'm sure this will solve your problem.
Let us know how you're doing,
Miriam

Good idea. Ive done that, but apparently not long enough, he still wanted to run. Will do it longer next time and see if that helps. Thanks for the idea. I will let you know what happens. He would be a real pleasure to ride if he would just slow down! Its a bit amusing, havng a very green filly that behaves better than an older, well trained horse. Which he is, just hasnt been ridden much for awhile. He is very obedient in all other ways, just wants to run all the time.