Having trouble with arabian horse in the round pen, please help!?

Question

My arabian (3 yrs old) will go around the round pen, maybe, once, stop and stick his head over the side and refuses to move no matter what i do. ive had him since feb and the lady b4 me could lunge him just fine, he was gorgeous! i just cant figure out why he wont lunge for me. i know he knows what he is doing because he has done it before, im just completly out of ideas and need some help!!!

Answer 1

I like missapparition's answer, but to add to it:....

What's going on is he's getting distracted and ignoring you in a disrespectful manner. It would be GREAT if you could get that roundpen fenced in with privacy fence high enough so that a horse in there has no choice but to pay attention to whomever is in there working with it!!! The smooth side should be INSIDE the circle with the posts holding it up outside so that a horse can not get hurt if they get out of hand too much and smack up against it.

Arabians are waaay toooo smart for ANYone's good! This horse is getting into a very bad habit. You MUST urge and make him go forward...even if he FORCES you to go as far as using the lash of the lunge whip on his rump to get his attention. I use a lunge whip with a LONG lash so I can 'crack' it behind the horse to give the command to go forward, but I've had to pop a couple of horses on the rump a couple of different times just to get their attention ...even though I didn't like it one little bit!!!!! After that it was like, "Well, if THAT'S the way you feel about it, I'll go ahead and do want you want me to...."

If that doesn't do it for you or you're not comfortable with doing that, then you need a professional trainer (or even the woman you bought him from) to come in and help you learn to get the results you want in a way that is best for the HORSE. If you don't gain his respect on the ground you will never have it on his back!!!

So you have absolutely NO choice in the matter but to correct this IMMEDIATELY or have the horse wind up at the killer's auction as a rogue. I've seen this happen too many times!!! I know this sounds harsh but it is reality. A reality I had to learn the HARD way years ago!...a reality that definitely SUX!!!

Answer 2

Firstly, even though you're in a round pen, do you have a lunge line on him?? Not having one is kind of nice, BUT it does mean you lose a degree of control and it's not something I would recommend unless you and your horse have a decently close relationship.

Secondly, it could be that he doesn't respect you - at least in the roundpen. Body language has a lot to do with issues of respect, since that's a large portion of how horses communicate with each other. To get an idea of how to use body language, I would suggest reading any book by or about Monty Roberts. One article I read on lunging correctly (I don't remember the magazine, sorry!) was very helpful. It basically said to form a triangle between the horse's body, the lunge line, and the whip (Not that you need to use it, it's usually enough that the horse sees you have it.) It does mean that you have to hold the lunge whip up at shoulder level so you make a point. You also should tilt your body towards your horse, so that as you turn in a circle with him, you're kind of behind him in a 'driving' stance. Hope this helps! If you're still having problems, talk to a qualified trainer in your area.

Answer 3

This is a typical behavior for young horses, especially because you are new to him, and vise-a-verse. It sounds like your horse is testing you, and you need to make sure that he realizes you are the dominate party in the relationship--this is important in ALL aspects of your relationship with your horse.

First, put him in the round pen and go stand in the middle. Allow him to sniff around, roll if he wants to, for a few minutes until he is ready to work. You should have a long lunge whip with you. Make sure that you are positioning yourself even with his hip, holding out your whip hand so that it is pointing several feet behind your horse, this will help to drive him forward--there should be a nice triangle from your horse's head to you and back to the point in which your whip is pointing. When he decides to stop, snap the whip lightly at his back feet (just so that it grazes his feet in the fetlock area), this annoys more than anything else. Continue snapping at his back legs (lightly--think about it this way, you don't want to "whip" him, you just want to use the whip to "tickle" his legs) until he moves forward. This should work after a while, though it may take a few training sessions to completely resolve itself.

Good luck!

Answer 4

If you have a lunge line on, and a lunging whip(Do NOT use the stupid excuse that this is mean. the whip never touches the horse) just tap the whip and if neccesary, crack it. raising the whip usually means"faster", lowering it slows them down. Hold the lunge line like a rein, if the pull on the line to use u as a 5th leg to stop themselves from running into the edge, let them crash. they'll stop, and they won't hurt themselves. if you let them pull, you'll get hurt.
Sounds like you're a little exasperated. Maybe have the previous owner give you some suggestions, since she knows him...

OK, you DON't tap the horse with a lunging whip! You tap the GROUND!

Answer 5

Are you using a whip or a stick to chase him forward? When you see him begin to slow down to stop, go behind him and push him forward, he is not to stop unless you have asked him to do so. You need to be the alfa mare, push from behind and pressure him to go, if need be, you can hit the ground with the whip behind him to send him forward. He needs to know you're the boss.
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Answer 6

Have you tried spending time to just figure out the horses personality? I work with Paso Fino studs and all of them work differently when i exercise them. When you have formed a bond with the horse he will do everthing for you. But you can't be easy on him the entire time - you can be afraid to make him go. I'd suggest using a short whip - but don't use the whip on the horse. Keep it at his shoulder the direction you want him to go and crack it behind him if you must.

Answer 7

You need a long whip. Buy one from your local tack store. It may also be that the round pen isn't large enough -- he may prefer to be on a longer line. You don't need to beat him with the whip, just a little tap on the butt usually works. Have never had that problem. Do you click to him? Did his previous owner have a word to get him to move up? Mine have always known "walk" "trot" "lope". When I wanted them to come down from the lope to a trot, I said, "ta ta ta ta ta" as the beat I wanted them to take. "Whoa" always meant to stop instantly, from any gait.

Answer 8

use the lunge whip and give him a tap but if he dosen't go smack him. that may sound mean but you need to stop babying him and show him who is boss it was hard for me too, and Araabian are full of aditude.