how to stop young horses pulling back?

Question

when dealing with young foals whats the recommended way to stop them pulling back when the refuse to go forward, obviosly they win on the strength side.

Answer 1

Take a long lead rope and put it around them, just below their rear and above their legs, and guide them using that and the lead on their halter. Putting pressure on their rear will keep them from setting back, and will keep them moving forward. If you keep them from setting back in the first place, then there is no need for whips or alternate methods to control that behavior. You shouldn't tie a horse up and let it set back as much as it wants. There are hundreds of muscles in their neck that could pull the wrong way, and then you've got a hurt horse. A horse's head isn't meant to withstand that much pull, and it's their instinct to pull away fron danger, so if they get hurt setting back, that reinforces that being tied is a bad thing. I generally do not like to tie my horses while working with them anyway. Try to teach your foals to stand still to be brushed, and once they can be mounted to stand still for that too.

Try lunging them too. Keeping them moving forward and teaching them to watch you for commands will help them to obey when you want them to move forward on a lead.

Taking another horse with you will also teach them. Walk an older horse or it's mother and walk it beside you in the other hand (or have someone else hod the other horse). They will look to that respected horse and copy their example.

Remember to take things easy. Foals like to look around and explore, so instead of plain walking them, try making it fun. Take them over to a grassy spot to graze, show them some obsticles, and just try to challenge their brains and make them think about something other than the fact they are walking on a lead.

Answer 2

keeps a strong contact on the rope, not pulling but simply not moving. even if it takes a long time they will eventually step forward and realise that the pressure goes when they do. give them a moment of praise then step forward again, expecting the foal to follow you. if it doesnt, again keep the contact without pulling but tap the foal on the shoulder to encourage it.

if the foal is simply being a stubborn little minx, consider taking a second rope with you when leading it. take the second rope around the foal's hindquarters and pull that as well as the head. this will mean the foal is being 'pushed' from behind as well as pulled and eventually will submit.

you could also try using a rope halter, which tightens around the head when pressure is applied. the harder the foal pulls, the tighter it gets. it wont get tight enough to cause pain unless you intend it to, so the foal won't get hurt by it.
good luck

Answer 3

I like the tie and wait them out method. It also does wonders for their patience when you start doing vet and farrier work. If you think he'll really panick at being tied use a body rope. Take a long sturdy "soft" cotton rope and clip it around the barrel behind the withers, pull it snug but not tight, run the long end through the ring at the bottom of the halter and tie it to the post. This prevents them from pulling against their necks and possibly hurting themselves. The force of the pull is diverted to the body which is much less sensitive than the head and neck and prevents a broken halter. A few horses learn they can break halters as youngsters and must be tied with body or neck rope as adults. Also tie above wither hieght when tying with a halter this also reduces neck strain if they get spooked and pull. Good luck. Once they understand not pulling you can also run a long gently snug rope around their rump above the hocks so if they step back they feel something behind them.

Answer 4

In the begining I recomend having two people (or if you're alone a sturdy post). Once you have caught the horse (I also recomend leaving a halter and full lead on them, when they step on the lead they start to understand that pressure on the halter means stop) the horse will most likely still be trying to get away from you, so I recomend having two people, one to "sit" on the rope and one to begin to desensitize the horse. The "sitting" person should have the rope behind his/her rear end to act as an anchor, don't litteraly sit on the ground, you just use your seat as an anchor on the end of the rope. You can also tie the horse to a sturdy pole, but that is assuming that you can get the horse close to a strudy pole once you've caught them. The rest is just getting the horse used to humans. The second person will still be holding on the the rope to help control the horse (because yes they will win the battle of strength) if they start to pull back just stay with them until you can stop them. Don't let them think that pulling back gets them away from you, no matter how hard they pull you are still right with them. But just start to talk to them and rubbing them. Try to find a spot that they seem to like to be rubbed. For some its the forehead, some it's under the chin, but just try to find a place that they like. Then gradually start moving over their body very slowly with your hands. And when they start to get upset just go back to that spot that they like, and once they've settled again start back to the different places. Once the horse is used to you and is not at a constant battle to run you can begin to try to get the horse to move forward. Yes the butt rope is a method that some people use, but I'm not a big fan of it. It's just too much stuff to get in the way. I prefer the simple balance method. I you were to look at a horse from an arial view you would notice that they are long from head to tail but very short from side to side. Use this to your advantage. You will never win the battle of trying to pull them straight forward, they have the leverage advantage. However they are easy to move side to side. Use the halter to turn their head to the left or right and lean them off balance until they take a step to catch themself. Praise every step. They take a step, release the pressure on the halter and scratch that place you found earlier. Just keep doing this over and over, your horse will begin to understand that the sooner he gives into the pressure the sooner the pressure is released. You may spend a couple of days doing just one step right one step left, but you will begin to see your horse responding quickly and then you can leave the pressure on and ask for a few more steps at a time. Just take it slow and don't get frustrated. Remember he has no clue what you want him to do until you tell him. So just use their balance against them, and you'll see great results. I also recomend using a rope halter since it is narrower than a flat nylon or leather one, it creates a sharper pressure that will be harder to ignore than a broad flat pressure. Best of luck to you, and remember that when dealing with horses you need only two emotions, patience and a sense of humor.

Answer 5

your young horse needs to learn to lead.

if it is a foal, then you should have one hand on the foal slip & your other hand stretched behind your foals bottom past the tail to encourage it to go forwards. don't drag it along as it will naturally try to free itself.

if you horse is a yearling then you use the same principle but i would get a second person to help you, one person lead the horse & the other walking alongside the haunches (which is out of kicking range) with their arm behind the horse to encourage it forward.

it is vital to teach your horse to lead correctly from both sides as otherwise it can make things a lot harder when you eventually think about breaking your horse in.

Answer 6

There are several methods you can use.
1. you can tap them on the rump with a schooling whip which should send them forward.
2. You can put a lunge line on them and place it around their rump about alf way up from the hocks and as they pull back the effect will be the lung line pushes them forward so in reality the are pulling against themselves
3. You can use presure halter

I would recomend getting a presure halter and trying to work with them in a school to build up confidence in you as a handler and leader to them.
In the long run the schooling will be more effective.
good luck

Answer 7

My colt was a little stubborn at leading. I would use a lead rope and clip it on his halter and run it behind him around his rump and back throught the halter. You need a long lead for this. Then I would try to lead him and if he gave me any tugging I would pull on the end and it will push him forward. As soon as he stopped fighting I would release and in about 10 minutes he didn't have any problem following me.

Answer 8

A light tap on the bum usually works being so young you should not really pull them if they pull you cause this may scare them even more!!

You could also try a bit of feed when leading to encourage him to walk on then gradually day by day take it away and see how things go I did this and it seemed to work!!

I hope this helps!!!

Answer 9

the tried and tested method would be to walk at the foals shoulder with a schooling whip - one long enough to reach his rump. always wear a hard hat (just in case it all goes horribly wrong!) then whenever he shows signs of pulling back you give him a small amount of encouragement with the whip. it doesn't need to be hard just enough to get his attention back to the task in hand.
alternatively you could get a special head collar that has pressure points and which, should prevent pulling back etc. I've not tried one with my youngsters because i find the first method usually works.
hope you find your solution soon, good luck

Answer 10

I find that if they want to pull back you tie them to a solid post (not a rail) and then you let them have it. DO NOT encourage them to "freak" out let them do there thing. DO NOT leave then unattended either. Also make sure that they have a good strong halter on and a good strong lead so nothing breaks. Let them figure it out. It something breaks then they are getting away with it again. After they stop tossing around, walk up cautiously and give them a treat, call it a day and try again the next day.