pony pulls lead out of hand while on the ground?

Question

ok, my brother has a haflinger pony and he is the stereotypical pony. what he has started to do is while leading him on the ground he likes to pull the lead out of your hand and run off. nobody wants to get rope burn on their hands, so they don't hold on to him. (understandable) the problem is he has learned all he's gotta do is pull and he's free! i don't know how to stop this, it's really frustrating. please...any suggestions would be a God send. thank you!

Answer 1

Haha! Send the little stinker to me, I LOVE rotten Haflingers! lol.

Seriously though, you have NO chance of winning this by brawn (Trust me, I know how strong Haflingers are). You can be primitive and resort to chains and force, or you can use your head. Either will work, but one's more dignified for you and the horse.

There are a few ideas that come to mind. But first, get a rope halter. Webbed halters are of NO help in situations like this. They are for well behaved mommy's horsies :-). The rope halter makes leaning against it very very uncomfy. If you don't believe me, try this while sitting in your chair: Take your palm and push down very hard on your shoulder. Painless, right? Now take the point of your thumb and push very hard. If you're doing it right it will hurt. You need to do the same thing to this pony. He has pressure points on his face just like the one you have on your shoulder. When he leans into the webbed halter, it feels just like when you push with your palm. He goes, "Ha! Idiots!" and takes off. But with a rope halter, all the energy he puts into leaving you will just be concentrated on his nose.

To go deeper into the problem, you need to address the relationship issue. I can help you with tips until I'm blue in the face but it won't do much good unless you change your whole approach to this pony. He's not being bad, he's being smart. Outsmart the little bugger.

I strongly suggest you look into natural horsemanship. I would suggest Pat Parelli, but it's mostly the same idea. There is much more than a simple bad habit here, it's an entire veiw of people that is being displayed. Try treating the problem and not the symtom.

A really great book I would recommend would be Groundwork Training for Your Horse. It's by Lesley Bayley and it's extremely helpful. I think I got my copy at Barnes and Noble, but many book stores should have it.

Good luck!

Answer 2

First, forget about the bits and chains. Thats a quick fix that will come back to bite you later. Get a good rope halter (it will be stiffer and harder for the pony to pull against). Also, either invest in some training books/videos or have someone knowledgable help you. This horse needs to learn some ground manners! It is disrespect and dominance that he is showing, plain and simple. It would be impossible for me to tell you everything to do right here, but a training book or video would help you out a lot. (I really like Clinton Anderson, he is very easy to understand) A little work will get this pony back on track.

Answer 3

wow the things some people will tell you to do to your horse! I have read through all of the answers you have recieved and really nothing is very good. DO NOT use a chain on your pony, you can do alot of damage to his nose, simply inflisting pain on you pony isn't going to do anything! It might be a quick fix, but its going to cause you alot more problems, and maybe even some very expensive vet bills. If your not carful you can break your pony's nose wth a chain!
What you need to do is go out and buy a nice rope halter, detatch the attachable lead, and put on a 10 ft thick cotton lead rope. Cotton lead ropes will not give you rope burn. What you're going to need to do is work with the pony. Walk him out on the ground where you have the problem. If he starts to get in front of you stop him by pullin back on the lead rope. If he doesn't want to respond then give the lead rope a quick sharp yank. After he has stopped wait for him to calm down and then continue on. You pick when you stop and start, make him stand still until he is calm, and don't allow him to eat grass. If he goes to eat grass give the lead rope a sharp yank. Cotten rope is not going to burn your hands, so you'll need to get over this and learn to take control of your pony.
Leather leads will burn you hands, as will nylon ropes. Using a chain on your pony will hurt him, and he'll soon grow out of it, or might even become very ggressive because you are inflicting pain on him. If you want your pony to lead well them you will have to take charge. The first thing is to stop letting go of the lead rope. By letting go when he pulls you have trained your horse to do this behavior. Now you have to untrain him, which will not be easy or fun, and it will take awhile. What you need to remember is that everything that you do with your pony, or allow him to do, is training him. If you don't like something he does once immediately repremand him. Simply ignoring a problem as it starts will not make it go away. You don't need to be mean to your pony, but make it very clear to him when he does something that you don't like that it will not be tolerated. By doing this you will avoid having to come back on Yahoo Answers and ask again how to fix another problem. Happy retraining and good luck!

Answer 4

The stud chain idea is the first thing I thought of. Also, lead with a lunge line so when she does pull away, you will have plenty of line left to still hang on to her. When she hits the end, yank hard! The stud chain will get her attention. Then, like the other person said, lunge her - have a lunge whip ready and make her go!
As for rope burn - use gloves, and take a 12-foot cotton lead. Unravel it and then rebraid it in a plait. Much softer on your hands and just as strong - you can leave it raveled (twisted_ about a foot from the hook.

Answer 5

Even if your trainer says it is okay I would still check with the owner. I would get her address, drive over tell who you are and what you have been doing with her horse and get up to a point of asking her if you could ride him. Also mention that his halter is too small and that his lead is breaking adn that you would like to buy him a new one, she will probably say she will go ahead and buy but you never know. I would also suggest getting your trainer to go with you so that she has a witness to how you handle her horse and that will give her osme reassurement. It sounds like you can handle him well and your trainer beleives you two will do good together so if she has any snaitity in her she should be just fine with you riding her pony :)

Answer 6

You need to get him under control- right now, he is the dominant one of the group. You should not say it is frustrating- it is the owner's fault that they let the horse get away with this.
Wear good gripping gloves and DO NOT let him get away. You start out with one that pulls away- and goes on to one that will start being pushy or start charging you. Your brother needs to be the dominant one of the group- not the horse. With a good set of gloves, he should be able to hold on. I can hold on to 2,000lb running and rearing draft horses since I was 16 - and I am a girl- guys are usually stronger, so a 800lb pony should be nothing.
If your brother is not strong enough, he can use a chain over the nose. If the horse starts to pull- one jerk and then stop. Back up with the horse if he backs up, but hang on to the rope. The chain can be very effective when used correctly. Do not constantly jerk the horse- once as a reprimand, maybe twice, but you don't need to use it more.

As for a lip chain- the ONLY time I have used this is when the horse did not respond to anything else. I think that is the most severe and I would start with something a bit less harsh, considering is the training and not the horse's fault.

As for stereotypical pony- it is only a stereotype because people let them get away with things.

Answer 7

Try using a lip chain this will stop him in his tracks! I am telling you if you try this a few times he will not pull anylonger! I use to work at the race track and we had to use this on a few horses! Get what is called a lip chain. Hook chain at check lervel on halter, run chain through halter by month and accross the gum line under the top lip, then hook to other side of halter!! Attach the lead to the lip chain, whn the pony pulls he will feel it on his lip! He will stop and you will not have to do it for long! You can also try a nose chain as well!!


Just for future refferance the chain on the nose is less avassive then the lip chain when using these methods you will not be doing the pulling or yanking the horse will be!! You never yank on a lip or nose chain and in the 45 years I have been working with horses never in my life has a nose chain or lip chain done damage to the horse! Ask a horse shoer! Lip and nose chains are used all the time to break problem horses of their bad habbits weather their own habits or the owner letting them have these habits!

Answer 8

I agree with either the lip or nose chain. You may want to invest in a leather lead rope too. Easier to grip and you won't get rope burns. Make sure to properly school AND reward the pony depending on how it acts.

Answer 9

well i work with horses for a living have you tried a thing called a rearing bit its something u put in there mouth and over there head and attach it to the lead rope as soon as the horse pulls bac it pushes on its tounge and sends a gives the horse/ pony a horrible feeling which will hopefully stop the pony from pulling bac

Answer 10

Lead him in a lunge cavesson & lunge line. If he takes off lunge him, & lunge him...... keep him going, steadily, until you want to stop. Then make him walk on.
A couple of hours should sort out the problem, but he is liable to try it on with new handlers so leading in a bridle may be a good idea.