I have a 6yr old thoroughbred gelding who sometimes has control issues,like resistance to stopping or turning?

Question

We have problems mostly when trying to stop after cantering or jumping, & sometimes with making round circles. He doesn't seem to always respect me & we don't always "flow" together. If I pull on his mouth or get angry when I try to make him listen, it just makes it worse.
I think he has to learn to yeild to pressure better (which would get him to step over willingly, lover his head when asked, stop, etc). I want him to be able to relax and think when he's asked to do something (like stop or bend) or when in an emergency situation (like he's pulling his own head because of a lead rope caught under his foot). Do you know of any exercises or training methods that could help him yeild to pressure better and stop, relax, and think about the task at hand instead of tensing and resisting?

Answer 1

Every horse no matter the age needs a tune up every once in a while. But you should start with ground work. When in doubt always return to the basics. I've been training horses for a long time- I'd tell you but you'd probably think I'm a vase of ashes. I've never had to use any type of equipment but the regular- bridle, bit, over reach boots, splint gear, and saddle. I prefer not to use martingales or draw reins because these aren't allowed in most show rings.

As a basic go back to your snaffle bit. I see why your horse would get upset with you pulling on his mouth. This hurts and if you don't stop you can cause perminant damage to his mouth or teeth.

Go back to ground schooling him with his tack on. Doing things such as getting him to yeild his hindquarters and move away from pressure on the ground will give you better control in the saddle.
Before you even get back on your horse try riding another horse that's more willing to do what you want to get your confidence back. By this time your confidence with your 6 yrold is pretty much gone and getting back on him with you not relaxed will make him unrelaxed.
When you are ready to get back on him. Start warming him up with flexing exercises and moving his hindquarters. When you feel he's ready to move on work on transitions with him. From Walk to trot to canter back down to a trot again. While doing so tell him whoa and let him rest here for at least two minutes. This will teach him to enjoy the "whoa" more and be more readily to stop for you when you ask. Alot of people when doing this will only stop for a few seconds and start cantering again, doing this teaches the horse that there is no whoa- it just means stop here for a second so you can go again.
I would stay away from jumping until your horse is good with transitions and giving to your hand.

The most important thing of all- is you aren't relaxed your horse won't be. So remember to breathe and so will your horse.

Answer 2

train with your seat- not your hands. TBs have very sensitive mouths and some go nuts when you start pulling on it. A correctly trained english horse (jumping/eventing/dressage) should stop when you stop moving your seat and move off of the tiniest leg pressure. You should not have to use your reins at all. With a sensitive TB, that is especially true. If you pull on the reins he will put his head up.
I would go back to flatwork and make sure he has a nice comfortable bit- I never put a horse in anything higher than a snaffle.
As for lowering his head- if he responds to leg pressure, all you need to do is inside leg and a half halt with the outside rein. You may need a lot of leg pressure, but you should not use anymore rein pressure than you would picking up a book- or you are being too hardon the reins.

Also, we train all of our horse to not freak out when stepping on the lead rope, but there are a few that could not be taught- no matter what, and 1 was a TB and one was a TB cross.

Answer 3

First off, a different bit isn't always the opption, and more equipment will only make a horse like him feel more confined and panicy. Keep riding him in the stuff you have. Spend several lessons, say 15 or more is you can, just working on flexing and giving into pressure. More likely someone else owned him before you and they were very, very rough with him and he feels to avoid pain he has to stiffin up and pull. (which definately doesn't look good in jumping or dressage) Use ground work again. Fully tack him up as if you were going to ride him. Stand at his shoulder (begin on the left, as you mount on this side) his left shoulder and lightly pull the left rein, increase a steady pressure on him until he gives, even the tiniest bit, at first, he can just dip his head or turn it to the left towards you and into the pressure. Continue working like this on his left side until you can tap on the rein and he gives in, then move onto the right side. Do the right like you did the left, and once he gets the right down, soon you should be able to tap both sides and he should tuck his head in nicely. It will take awhile because he is scared. You may also try it from his back if you want. Just keep steady pressure on one rein until he gives then let go the rein as a reward. Remember this will take time and patience. Do not yank at all, you yank, you ruin. You pull hard you ruin. Start softly, then steadily increase pressure, because he is expecting to be pulled and yanked on so any slight pressure will make him stiffen. If you let him know you will be light, but then get rougher he will realize that it is easier and not as painful, if he just gives in. Don't get angry. If you feel yourself getting angry, dismount and walk around with him, or ask someone to hold him, or you tie him and walk around yourself. Anger makes us act harshly, and horses hate it and will only expect the worse from you and from riding. Count to 3 or higher if you need! (sometimes I have to count to 100, for the really frustrating horses) Remember, give him a chance to think about what you are asking. Do a lot of walking so you can stop easily. some trotting when he gets better. He basically needs a chance to realize you aren't going to hurt his mouth. You may even ride in a halter or a hackamore over his bridle, and use that to steer him instead of the reins attached to his mouth. A pony I had was the same way and it took about a month to get him soft again. My mare lives by these rules of giving. good luck

Answer 4

My Friends and I take our horses swimming all summer long in the pond. Some like to just get their feet wet, some like to stand up to their bellies and splash around, and some like to go in the deep end and actually swim. It's all in fun so we just let them do what they are comfortable with. I can say that almost all of them do appreciate a nice cool dip on a got summer day. From reading some of the other answers, I'm taking it your horse is lame. You really shouldn't be riding a lame horse. My horse is lame right now, and for a while I couldn't figure out where the pain was coming from. I do know that a limping horse is a horse in pain though. I finally figured out where the pain was coming from though. I haven't ridden my horse for almost a month now and she is getting better. It will probably be a couple of more weeks because I want to make sure there are no recurrences. Take it easy on the guy if you want a sound horse for a long time.

Answer 5

John Lyons has some great videos and books on teaching your horse to give to pressure and relax. Ans I have used them successfully. The other videos in the link are really awesome to teach your horse to listen and how to stop light and collected. And give and flex and a ton of other things. And even though they are done under a western saddle, the same principles can be used in English also. And I found that it was more of how I was asking my horse to respond, than him being stubborn. One small change in the way I was riding and it was like having a whole different horse. And when I figured out that my horse stopping hard on his front end was me asking him at the wrong moment, it was an easy fix. Good Luck and I hope these help.

http://www.horsetrainingvideos.com/

Answer 6

Hi, I had a similar problem with my horse. I found that when cantering, the more I pulled on the reins the faster he went. So I started to relax with the reins and use my seat and my voice to stop him. Now, all I have to do to get him to stop is to sit back and way "Ho." When we were jumping, he used to take off with me and be in complete control. I rode him in a neck stretcher for a few months and that gave me more control because it forced him to keep his head down (I even jumped him over small jumps with the neck stretcher because it's made of elastic and stretches). Now he is very calm over the jumps. So my advice is to try a neck stretcher and to ride with your legs instead of your reins. Be careful of trying different, tougher bits. I tried bits a slightly harsher than the snaffle I was riding him in and he reared up and tossed me off twice (each time with a different bit) when I pulled back on the reins.

Answer 7

You might want to try a different bit. Have you tried using a running martingale on him, this will lower his head and get him to flex more. Depending on the saddle your using try tying his head around to your stirrup, not tight just so he bends it a little then tie it off the otherside and work him that way from the ground, it might take a few times to get him to flex. But i would sure try a different bit and see if it makes a difference

Answer 8

I think you need to do more ground work with your horse. I also like John Lyons methods. When I was training my horse, I did so much groundwork, I thought I was going to be sick, but in the end, when it was time to get in the saddle, it paid off.