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Horse Behavior and Training

First time leading - horse rearing with dually halter

By:
famous_fivenz
Date:
Please upload your photo 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed 200 lessons completed
I am training a new horse and am having a bit of trouble with the horse rearing because of the pressure of the dually. I have done join up with her, she is happy for me to touch her head and neck and put the halter on (I've watched the video's about how to fit the dually a few times and I'm fairly sure I'm putting it on correctly). But when I apply pressure, she first ignores it, then takes a couple of steps towards me, I release the pressure, then she rears and spins and continues tossing her head. To me, it seems as if my releasing the lead rope is not completely releasing the pressure of the rope across her nose, and so she is fighting to get rid of the pressure. 
I have only done one session with her with the dually and after about 10mins, I was seeing no change - she was still taking a couple of steps, then rearing and spinning after I had released the pressure on the lead rope. So I removed the dually and tried using a rope halter and she began to understand what I was asking - stopped rearing and began stepping towards me when I applied pressure. 
So, what I'm asking is - do some horses strongly dislike the pressure across their nose and because of this, they won't respond to the dually? Or do I just need to persevere? Or maybe I'm putting too much pressure on the lead rope while she's resisting, making the dually too tight, meaning it is still a bit uncomfortable, even when I release the rope? 
Hopefully that all makes sense...thanks in advance :)

JoHewittVINTA
Please upload your photo 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed 200 lessons completed 250 lessons completed 300 lessons completed 350 lessons completed 400 lessons completed 450 lessons completed 500 lessons completed 550 lessons completed 600 lessons completed 650 lessons completed
Hi & welcome to the Uni. Your mare is telling you that your body language needs work. The dually needs the lightest touch. Sometimes the horse doesn't get the 'invitation' so you need to be clearer. Did you ask her to stand still with your shoulders square to her, then overt your eyes & cross her body to invite her to walk with you? Probably no. More likely you stood at her head, moved forward & turned to face her when she stayed put - that is a common human reaction. When the mare felt the pressure on the dually - given that your body language said stay, she showed you she was getting conflicting signals. 
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Good trainers are flexible in their approach. Try it twice. No positive from the horse that can be praised, stop. Re-think. Change the invitation. Simply upping the pressure will not solve a miscommunication. Be clearer not harder. 
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My advice is to set this mare up to succeed. 1. Check your ability to control your breathing & your body language in a mirror. 2. Give her a reason to want to move forwards by heading towards a reward - her stable, her friend in the field - make going with you her preferred option. 3. Having done a successful Join Up, stand square in front of her, eyes on eyes so she stands for a few seconds. Rub her to reward her for a job well done. Turn so your shoulder is at her nose & walk across her with a loose line, using a finger hooked lightly into the back ring of the dually ( or the cheek strap ) to gently guide her to come with you - towards her reward. Given her previous session only go a few calm steps before stopping & generously praising. Repeat 3 times & if she is calm & cooperative end the session there. You can then revisit this process in her next session before moving it up by moving off without the use of a finger in the halter. By breaking this down into more incremental steps & allowing her to understand what is being asked, not demanded, you will lay the solid foundations for the  future. Good luck. Cheers, Jo.
Miriam (Holland&Germany)
Hello! 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed 200 lessons completed 250 lessons completed 300 lessons completed 350 lessons completed 400 lessons completed 450 lessons completed 500 lessons completed 550 lessons completed 600 lessons completed 650 lessons completed
Hi famous_fivenz,
Here's my welcome to the forum to you, too!
Great advice from Jo, as ever.
What I'd like to add is that you might have the Dually too tight.... remember Monty explaining it needs to be able to 'twist', like a twist in your sock insde a boot: it doesn't hurt, but it irritates. Watch the videos and you'll see Monty undoing the twist after pressure on the Dually, to return it to 'neutral'.
To invite your mare to come with you, please use only two fingers on the leadrope, no more pressure is required, when your bodylanguage is correct.
Your decision to take a step back and try a ropehalter first seems a very wise one, this way you gave the mare a chance to understand your invitation. 
Let us know how you're doing!
Miriam 
famous_fivenz
Please upload your photo 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed 200 lessons completed
Hi, thanks for that! I think from what you've said I was definitely applying too much pressure. And actually,now that I think about it, I found that applying a small amount of pressure with the rope halter was more effective with her in the second session as well, so I will try this with the dually. 
And I will review my body language - I didn't ask her to stand still and then cross her body axis...I moved away to what I felt was a safe distance and stood at a 45 degree angle to her and had my eyes on her feet. I began directly in front of her, then crossed over to the left so that I was pulling her on an angle rather than straight ahead, then crossed over to the right and tried again, rewarding whenever she moved her head away from the pressure. But then I applied more and more pressure, trying to get her to move her feet which resulted in her moving her feet and then rearing/tossing her head etc. 
Thanks again :) I will try all that this afternoon and let you know how it goes. 
Sarah
famous_fivenz
Please upload your photo 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed 200 lessons completed
Success! I have had two lovely session with this mare. Crossing her body axis and hooking my finger in the side of the halter to gently encourage her to follow worked a treat and she followed me without even needing to pull on the lead rope. And when I did use the lead rope, I only needed to put a small amount of pressure on to keep her following me. 
So thankyou for your advice - it really helped :) 
Sarah
JoHewittVINTA
Please upload your photo 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed 200 lessons completed 250 lessons completed 300 lessons completed 350 lessons completed 400 lessons completed 450 lessons completed 500 lessons completed 550 lessons completed 600 lessons completed 650 lessons completed
Hi Sarah. I'm so pleased you & your mare are back on track. Use the Uni, study the lessons & you'll find your training becomes so easy. It will become second nature to you to ask 'softly' & when your horse fails to understand, to immediately apply a more incremental approach. This will give your horse huge confidence in you - that you are worthy of trust & panic is unnecessary. You are now on course for so much fun. It's wonderful when a plan works first time but also it's so satisfying when you apply yourself to devising a more incremental plan that overcomes your horses misunderstanding or misgivings. Please keep us updated. Cheers, Jo.
Miriam (Holland&Germany)
Hello! 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed 200 lessons completed 250 lessons completed 300 lessons completed 350 lessons completed 400 lessons completed 450 lessons completed 500 lessons completed 550 lessons completed 600 lessons completed 650 lessons completed
Well done Sarah!
A lifetime of learning lies ahead of you and your horses, enjoy every minute of it and never forget: a mistake is the best opportunity to learn!
Keep the good work going and let us know how you're doing.
Miriam

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