Any way to get my horse to walk in calmy without rushing into his stall?

Question

I have an 18 yr. old gelding and he runs into his stall. I have look over him thoroughlyand even asked my vet. One girl broke her wrist bringing him in. I have tried this so many ways. I have walked him in and out until he walks in and i have put a set of lights in his stall so it's not dark! help please

~His stall is birght enough and once he is in he's fine i don't know if it's small spaces. he also comes out fine.

He does come in first 'cuz he won't let anyone out in front of him.

Answer 1

I agree with Dixiecowgirl in that his groundmanners are not up to snuff. At his age it will be hard to get him to change his behavior, but then again, it's just a behavior. You need to get him to respect YOUR SPACE and your cues.
If it were me, I'd start out in the arena with a halter and leadrope. Simple walk, stop, walk, stop. Get him to pay attention to you, stay with you, and most importantly, stop when you stop.
At what point does he start his bolt? When he sees the door? when he's 10 feet from the door? I'll probably catch ignorant flack for saying so, but I'd get a crop and some treats handy and start leading him to the door from a long distance. Walk, stop, walk, stop, etc until you find at what point his negative behavior starts. at the first sign of his dangerous bolting give him a smack on the chest and command his attention - it is NOT okay for an animal of that size to take it upon himself to dictate when he runs and when he doesn't.
Eventually he'll pay enough attention to you that you'll be able to work closer, and naturally, through the door. The main problem sounds to be his attention and respect. Once he's going through the door humans are no longer a concern. You need to get his attention back, be the leader, and he will look to you for security - not the stall. If he's ignoring his handler it means he doesn't trust your judgement in that situation.

p.s. have you tested him for other small spaces? I had an arab once that got very nervous going through tight spaces, and also liked to run. Through doors, gates, even into trailers, it took a long time for him to learn that even though he was scared, it was my job to look out for him.

Answer 2

When you get him out of the paddock, wrap your lead around the horses nose and hold it at the bottom at his chin. (Make sure its still attached to the bridle). When the horse tries to rush, squeeze the lead so that it tightens around the horses nostrils (don't worry it doesn't hurt him). This will force the horse to take shorter breathes and will relax him. It's kind of like giving a person a paper bag to breath in. This is not guaranteed to work all the time as some horses are just naturally ornery. Another method is to lead-feed him. Grab is dinner bucket and put in some oats or sweet-meal or whatever it is that you feed him. When you try to lead him into the stall, let him feed as your walking, this usually works well. Any of these methods require some practice. Don't be afraid to yell at the horse either, the horse is actually more intimidated of you than you think. (Humans look much bigger from the eyes of a horse.)

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Alot of the problem is how he was originally trained more than likely. A horse must learn to respect you and what you want him to do. Groundwork i think would be your best bet, teach him not only to whoa when you pull back but also by voice commands. be loud and firm. if he does not listen one way i have been told is to use a stud chain when reinforsing the whoa. run it under his jaw loosley, when you want him to stop if he does not stop give a VERY light tug on it, it may freak him out at first if it has never been used before so be careful, the chain will give more pressure to his head to let him know you mean business, but be very careful using this as it can cause great pain if not used correctly, it does not take much at all for him to get the point, once he realizes what you are wanting from him, you should be able to get rid of the chain. Teach him also not to move forward until you ask. It may take so time, but it should work. but on the other hand he could just be very barn sour. I hope this helps some. If not contact some local trainers, or other owners, im sure they would be more than happy to give you some other pointers from experiance.

Also, you didnt say how you lead him in, but dont walk in the stall with him make him walk in on a loose rein and turn around and face you before you untie him, this way you are out of danger if he rushes in, like everyone else did say, make him whoa before walking in and once he has stoped completly ask him to walk on in. I hope this helped some.

Answer 4

Is he eager to get at his food and water in there? Maybe you could give him some treats before putting him away to encourage him to stay out longer. I'm assuming that his running into his stall is food related. I would keep on working with him by leading him in and out of his stall. Talk calmy to him the entire time and reward him with carrots and apples or whatever his favorite treats are. Try to make it as desirable as can be to stay out of his stall longer. Let him know that by his staying out a while, he can get some treats and some wonderful brushing. Don't yell at him. Praise him. I have only had 1 horse and am not an expert but train dogs and in alot of respects, they are similar to train. I would definitely invest in working with a personal trainer on this issue. It would be a worthwhile investment if you can afford it. Also, like you said, make sure your stall area is well lit. He could be getting spooked. Good luck.

Answer 5

first off your horse does not respect you and you need to gain and get that respect .otherwise this is going to become a bigger problem than what it is right now . Practice with him several times a day walking in and out of his stall . Cross tie him in his stall and brush him . and if he gives you a fit whack his butt he cant really feel it but he will know that you are not going to put up with any nonsense . Make him see this and in a few weeks time this should not be a problem any more. good luck and god bless and happy holidays.

Answer 6

I have had a simular problem with my 20 Yr. old gelding (Amigo). I believe that I created a pavlovian response from him by putting grain and hay in his manger before I let him into the stall. To correct this habbit, I started walking him into his stall with a short lead on his halter. The only way I could get him to settle down was to remove all food from his stall and bring it in after he was calmly and safely in his stall. Here is how I would get him to that point. I would wait for him to calm down once he was on his lead outside the barn. Once his behavior was proper, I would produce a small portion of his normal "sweet feed" from my pocket and allow him to smell it. Once I had his complet attention, we (amigo and I) would slowly walk together to his stall. Once in the stall, the grain went back in my pocket untill he was secure in the stall. Then the small portion went into his manger and I would bring in the rest of his grain and hay. It took about two weeks or so, but I have not had a problem with him being too rambunctious when returning to his stall for the night.

Answer 7

I have tried lots of things with this problem--and I have found that the best way is to back him through the stall door--he will think at first you are nuts but eventually he will get the hang--its gonna save you from getting hurt-and after he has been good about backing in quietly try him going in forward==Horses are huge on Good behavior and reward so when he is good give him a goody

Answer 8

If he is 18 years old he has been doing this a long time. Horses make associations and it is almost impossible to break them. The behaviour is probably so ingrained now that you may not be able to break it. He may be afraid that the door will close on him. He may have had a dog to chase him. He may have been "helped" into his stall with a whip or a slap on the behind. Who knows? Don't know owhat your set up is but will he find his own stall without being led? I don't "lead" my horses into the barn when I feed in the evening. I put their food in their stalls and then let them into the barn. They file into their own stalls without my help. I then go behind them and close their gates. It works for me, no one gets hurt and it is quick.

Answer 9

Every time you take your horse out of his stall do you jump on and ride the crap out of him? Do you brush him or do anything with him in his stall? There is a reason he wants in that stall so bad he is willing to hurt people to get in there.
Putting a light in the stall, why would this help.... Sounds like your horse is barn sour to me... or stall sour. Try cross tyeing him in his stall. It is nice to be "nice" to your horse but if your horse is gong to hurt people and push you around you have to show it who is boss. Before someone gets more then there wrist broke.
When he starts to run into his stall stop him! Teach him the word "NO". You have a elbow use it, this is not going to hurt your horse.
Otherwise you will get sued someday for your horse seriously hurting someone. I do not understand why anyone would want to take on your horse so that horse had a chance to break there wrist.
Show the horse who is boss, right now HE is the BOSS...
Good luck

Answer 10

I would just try walking him in really slowly, if he tries to speed up then turn him around and try again, eventually he'll get tired of circling around and will hopefully just walk in slowly. Then everytime he goes into his stall you have to make sure that he doesnt speed up at all. Make sure if he's a lesson horse or a lease horse that all those who ride him do this so that he will eventually just walk calmly into his stall.