Controlling a big young Andalusian horse on the ground.?

Question

I have a new 2 year old Andalusian that is not too tall (15H) but is BIG and strong. She is a bit of a handful for me at present. I am used to my smaller Arabs that are so easy to handle. What ground lessons can I start with in the pasture to get her to respect me??

When I lead her out of the pasture and she wants to take off and drag me with her, what is the best tactic? Turn her in circles until she walks with me? I am a strong person but I need some ideas to get this girl under control. She is going to need a hoof trim soon and I am scared to take her out of the pasture!

Otherwise she is a very sweet and gentle horse. Just young and strong!

THANKS!

Answer 1

Try using a stud shank on her.  This will help control her and let her know you're not going to be pushed around.  

Get the longer of the stud chains and attach it to your leadrope then run the snap from the ring on the left side of the noseband of her halter, over her nose, through the ring on the opposite side of the noseband of the halter then up to the farther ring and snap it there.

When she pulls, do NOT pull back on the chain, simply give her a jerk.  If she does not respond make it a HARDER jerk!  This will get her attention and back her off of you

Answer 2

I have raised my two and a half year old since he was born... He was VERY pushey and wanted to go everywhere on his own. So every time that he would start to walk ahead of me i would give him a little jerk with the stud chain (or you can get a really good built in stud chain halter from smartpack) and turn him in a circle until he stopped. Once he was standing still for mabey a minute i would start walking again. But i recomend the stud chain helps a bunch... and until you are ready to take her out of the pasture you can just easily work with her in there.

Answer 3

the circles is a temp. fix. No need for a professional, either. some lunge work, before she goes outside. you can use a crop or something and while walking, just stick it out to your side so that she doesn't invade your space, and if she starts to, you can just kinda tap her with it, but be ready incase it spooks her. has she ever seen a crop before? anyhow, you can also stop her whenever she gets going ahead of you. also, you can use a chain, as a last resort.

Answer 4

Don't lunge her, she'll just get bored.  I think natural horsemanship would be the best because it focuses a lot on ground skills before you ever ride her.  I do Parelli, and I focuses on what you want - for her to respect you, so she doesn't over power you, and scare you.  Parelli has 7 main ground games, which will help you hugely, and you will no longer be scared to take her out.  Here's a link that describes fairly well how to do them.  Also the Parelli website.  I urge you to check it out, as it is made to help problems like yours.  I can't tell you enough how much it has helped me.  E-mail me for more info, or if you have any questions on how to do the ground games.  Good Luck!!!

Answer 5

Join up is a fabulous way of connecting with your horse heres a link!

http://www.montyroberts.com/

Hope this helps!!

:) ***

Answer 6

use a chain...start out with good ground exercises, like teach her to put her head down when you put pressure on the chain, teach her to stop with you like walk stop back up..another thing is doing loungeing exercises or roundpening, lounge inside the pasture until she is tired, then again, try to lead her...hope i helped!!!

   P.S. she does NOT need a professional, this is something everyone goes through with a two year old, just be patient, show her you are the alpha filly...=D

Answer 7

start from the beginning and redo her ground training...whoever you got her from, it sounds like they missed a step. If you have a smaller ring or a round pen that would be a good place to do it.

I have a extremely rambunctious yearling but once I put the halter on...he knows it's time to behave.

Answer 8

I assume you can catch her, but leading her in is the problem?

Have you tried a rope halter and lead?  I use a nylon rope halter that is loop attached to the nylon rope lead (no metal parts to break).

I also have 8 to 10 feet of lead when I work with the horses.  The rope halter will exert sufficient pressure on the poll to give an amazing amount of control....and the fact that nothing can break gives you that advantage as well.  In this rig, when she tries to take off and drag you, you will be able to keep her from running off, and lunge her around you on the lead (I'd use the 10' for her).  A fairly small woman can win a tug of war with a big strong horse using this rig...it is expensive for a good set, but worth every penny.  If you go that route, there are many ground training exercises you can also do using this rig...let us know.

Answer 9

I would get her in a smaller area work with her and this way she isn't dragging you through a large pasture.  I have two 1 1/2 year old and a Andy baby that's almost 3 months, that little guy is huge and will be kept as a stallion.  I'm trying to get control of him now before he towers me LOL

Answer 10

I know the type - just young and rambunctious and needs to learn some manners.   I'm pretty strong, but no match for any equine, when it comes to brute force!

Do you have a small enclosed area in which you can work on her ground manners?  If not, you can start work with her in her stall.  I'd use a rope halter ( the pressure is more concentrated than with a leather of nylon, and better than a stud chain which only puts the concetrated pressure across the nose) and a lead rope, and a dressage or buggy whip.  The first thing that is important to do is to get her to respect your space.  She must back out of your space when you ask her to.  Use as much pressure as you need to, but as little as you can and still get a response.  Then begin teaching her to walk beside you.  Don't let her eye advance past your shoulder.  If she does, a firm tug on the lead rope, backward, then back her several steps.  If she's trying to barge through this aid, raise the whip in front of her, as a barrier, then back her.  You may have to be pretty forceful at first, because it sounds like she really doesn't have a clue that her behaviour is rude!  Not her fault.

You have to repeat these exercises over and over, until she is so tuned into your body language that she stays right with you and stops the second you stop, backs when you do, slows down and speeds up when you do.  She needs to not lag behind or advance and inch from her position in relation to your shoulder.  This will take many sessions, depending on the horse, from, say 3 to 100 sessions.  I can tell you that she will not learn as quickly as your Arabs!  They are so sensitive, smart, and people oriented.  (no offense intended, to your new mare! I do like Andalusions as well).  

Also, for quite a while, if I were you, after the intitial training, I would stop and back (just a fews steps) her many times on the way out to turning her out, since she'll be more excited at this time, anticipating her romp in the field.  Depending on how far the walk to the pasture is,  maybe 10 to 20 stops.  Every day.  Don't ever let her barge through the gate, always stop her there. before going through.  And once in the paddock, (you probably know this) turn her toward you and have her stand and stay with you for a fews seconds after you remove her halter.  This is one time when I WILL use  treats for training.

If she is unusually frisky on a particular occasion, and you don't have time to properly school her, just be sure you keep her head turned toward you as you're leading her.  This way she can't get the leverage to drag you or bolt, and her hind legs will be swung away from you should she try a kick or two.

This way you can, as you said, pull her around you in a circle.  This isn't a real solution to the training issue, but will keep you in control somewhat, and safe, until you can perfect her ground training.

Good luck.

PS Lungeing is not a great idea for a big 2 yo who is really rambunctious.  Too hard on her soft bones and joints!  Personally I only longe 2 year olds at the walk and trot and for 10 minutes, max, so they have to be quiet, in order to do this, or I don't attempt it.  We do ride the tbs in a roundpen at a young (too young, IMO) at w,t and canter.

Answer 11

Sounds like a trust issue for the horse and a fear issue on your part. The horse needs to know that you are at ease around her. Horses don’t generally run out to pasture unless they are running to other horses. You can turn her in circles, but that is a short term fix. Groom her; be with her without working her. She needs to know that you are not going to cause her any fear or discomfort. A good sign to look for is when she comes to you head first, ears apart and head down. That is trust on her part. With your horse it’s more about relationship than technique. The younger the horse the more time you need with her. Hope this helps.

Answer 12

try to put her on a  lunge line and see how that works out... remember that you are in control of her and its not the other way around. because if you let her get away with tryin to push  you around she will keep doing it

Answer 13

Try some lunge work. That may help her develop some ground manners. Otherwise, I'd suggest a professional trainer.