I have owned my horse for almost a year now and unfortunately I started with a "trainer" that was horrible and literally wouldn't let me ride my own horse. She said "he still had a lot of problems that needed fixing for him to be safe for a green rider" after about 6 months of sitting and watching my horse be rode and only being allowed to do the lunging as well as seeing how violent a trainer this gal was (she hit my horse with a lung whip on the top of his head and when I told her I didn't agree with that she told me it was because he wasn't paying attention to her and that was disrespectful on his part so she "woke him up") I went looking for a second opinion. I found a new trainer moved my horse and after the new gal rode my horse for the first time she told me he needed help "slowing down a lil for a green rider because his old training taughthim to go go go" and help "learning to use his body a lil better during the ride" but that he was perfectly fine for me to ride him. I have rode a total of 9 times over 2 months I am just learning to trot on him (which isn't as scary as I thought haha) and now I'm on my own because I couldn't afford another month of training haha. Day one training my horse by self from start to finish was wonderful but I do have a fun horse in the sense that he gets a lil stubborn from time to time and likes to test me to see if I can get him to do it right haha. The lunge went perfect, I rode at a walk and that went perfect he was soft on the bit and listening to my legs with very little pressure. Then I brought him into the round pen for the trot and he stopped listening to my feet and at one point literally would not trot and would instead walk a very little circle in the middle of the round pen not matter what I was asking of him haha. I am really wanting to follow in Monty's footsteps and not bring violence into the equation and I don't get frustrated with him if anything I laugh at him because he reminds me of my 2yr son at times. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on getting him out of stubborn mode with out having to "really pull his mouth and kick him he'll listen when you teach him your his boss" like other people tell me to do?
Rewards
Subscribe to Equus Online University and become a part of Monty's worldwide mission to leave the world a better place for horses and for people too.
Students automatically gain access to special rewards, such as exclusive discounts at the Monty Roberts Online Shop. Visit Monty Roberts Online Shop.
First I shall guess that you were working outside of the roundpen first and only after entering that you began to have issues? If that is the case there may be an issue with how comfortable he is inside of the roundpen, or confusion as to what exactly he should do considering (Im guessing) the only work inside of the roundpen with you has been on the ground.
You are on the right track by laughing instead of getting fustrated with him. And take my word from personal experience: Almost NEVER listen to anyone that tells you to force a horse to do something, regardless of any further action that they take. When you do that, the others will make things difficult but stick to your guns on it. Maybe someday they will look at you and ask why your horse behaves so much better than theirs...
Hi Reitha are you looking where you want to go or at his head? Often we don't look at our destination and our head drops so the horse has no idea what you want him to do. Try picking a spot in the round pen and riding to it you may be surprised. Make a decision where you want to go and at what speed, then cue your horse. Good for you for getting your horse out of a bad situation. Good luck
Paula
Thank you all for posting
Soul...very good advice you are right I have only worked with him in the round pen on the ground. I didn't even think about that! Do you have a suggestion on how to better acquaint him to me riding him in the round pen? Or is it something I just have to ride out until he gets it? Yes me being green and surrounded by the people all about forcing the horse makes it tough but I'm sticking to my guns! lol I do hope they see what I do and maybe think hmm I could do it differently but unfortunately like Monty says those set in their ways stay set lol
Paula...actually I do have a bad habit of looking at his head instead of where I want to go I will certainly work on that...I'm trying to get a feel for him so I spend a lot of time trying to see if he is pinning ears or something because I do try to make sure I'm not doing anything that would cause him to get irritated. I tend to worry a lot about if I'm putting feet in the right place to ask etc is that something I should not worry so much about?? Do you think maybe I'm causing a roadblock doing that??
I must say, I have a very strong sense of deja vu right now, as that is the same way that I learned to ride, I just never had a roundpen to use (Unfortunately that was about 5 years before I found out about Monty and his work.), and I still have much to learn. I can say this, your first concern is to be consistent. No 2 people ride exactly the same or give exactly the same cues, so I would be more concerned about being consistent with how you place your feet more so than where that placement is. As to the roundpen, I have 2 suggestions, and am curious to see what others have to say about them. If it were me, and my horse worked well outside of a roundpen, I don't know that I would ride in there at all really. I can think of no reason to do that. If you do decide to ride in the roundpen, I think that is something that you will have to just work on by riding him in there, as at this point I think that he is simply getting used to the idea that you may not always work him from the ground while in that environment. And I definitely agree with Paula, try to keep your eyes on your destination, and use your peripherial vision to watch his ears and eyes.
It can be done, and it does not happen overnight. Take your time, and make sure that you and him are comfortable with whatever you are doing before you move on. And never be afraid to listen to your horse. Believe me, they will tell you when they are ready to move on or if they need more time.
Good luck!
Thank you for all the suggestions! I had been riding him in the round pen because his old training (cowboy mounted shooting) has him in a state of mind that he needs to give it all he's got whenever he is asked for a little bit of giddy up lol. But the last time I rode I had ventured out into the big arena outside where he usually has trouble slowing down and tried to trot and he actually did beautifully! He listened to my cues and didn't fight anything (I was also making sure I was looking forward instead of at his head)I think all of the above helped him do a great job for me!! He did try to pull through the trot into a lope after the first few circles around the arena but it didn't take much to get him to ease up and stop. So I think I will probably be doing my work with him there that way I can get a feel for him and at the same time it should help him understand that he does have to slow down a bit for me as well as it not being a confusion fight with him etc... lol Thank you again for all the help!! I love being able to grow with him he is well trained and is doing a great job at taking it down a step for me and his patience with me is wonderful when I do make a mistake and I think it's because I make sure I don't use force in anything I do so my mistake doesn't hurt it is more of him saying to me "what the heck are ya doing Mom?" lol
Congratulations Reitha, realy glad its going well for you
I am green with a three year old gelding and LIBERTY training was just confusing myself and my horse so I sending him back to work with the breeder as I got kicked pretty badly and the breeder said I was sending my horse mixed messages! I was told by another well known Liberty trainer to sell him but I do not want to do that!Any suggestions? Thank you AnnePoirier
Stop liberty training? Find a trainer who really knows what their doing, watch them work, watch the horses response to them. If there is the slightest hint of fear or resentment or anxiety in the horses they are working with, then quickly and bravely run away...: ), oh and bring your horse with you....: )
If your horse intentionally kicked you, you need to investigate and find out if you were the cause or something/someone else was the cause. Liberty training has the potential to be dangerous and is virtually useless to an INEXPERIENCED person. I emphasize this for good reason. Study your horse, get to know his personality, study the different methods out there with "good qualified experienced" trainers with a good track record, who handle horses with respect and dignity and love and gentleness. They are very scarce indeed. Then pick one...good luck.
Sorry to appear terse....not intentional. I meant to address amllucy/Anne Poirier with my response. Anne, what country are you in?...if I may ask? I may be able to help you find a good Hempfling contact?