I have a horse that i have been trying to teach him not to run me in to the fince!?

Question

what do i do when i have a horse that is so smart that every time i ride him he trys to find some way to get me off???????????

Answer 1

Take riding lessons.

Answer 2

This is behavior that can be corrected, yes, but it will take a very strong leg and seat on your part as a rider. When your horse gets too close to the fence, you need to put your leg on that side on his side, and give him a sharp kick,and at the same time, pull or position his head towards the inside of the arena. You may want to carry a crop or whip as a backup to your leg- and when your horse does this, give him a sharp tap or two with it. The first few times you do this, be prepared for trouble- he may try to bolt, or he may buck in self-defense, particularly if he has never felt a crop before. Another solution is to take your horse into the middle of the arena and work him there exclusively for a while- just to teach him that he must listen to you and that he is not allowed to go anywhere near the fences or walls. I once had a lesson horse that would run me into the arena wall unless I steered her and controlled her movements with my legs and seat- which is what you need to learn to do. You sound a lot like me in a way- I had to ride this horse I mentioned a moment ago in the middle of the ring for months before I learned how to steer her. You can overcome this problem- I did, by using the tricks I just described. One thing I would NOT recommend, however, is hitting your horse on the head, the way one of the other respondents is suggesting you do. Smacking your horse on the head or about the face will only make him headshy and afraid of you, which is not what you want. If you use a crop or whip as a backup to your leg and voice commands, make sure you use it on your horse's rump or hindquarters, NOT his head. I am also not sure that what you describe is a case where your horse is deliberately trying to get you off- I think it is more a case of a horse that has been ridden a lot by lots of beginner riders and has learned some nasty habits in the process. If you are patient with him, and work to take away his motivation for behaving the way he does ( and working in the center of the ring will do this, because he can't get near the fences or wall) then you should see a difference after a while. Your goal should be to get him so he will work in any spot in the arena, and when you put your leg on him, he should go somewhere-preferably forward and straight, without an argument. Try the step I mentioned earlier- it does work with horses like this. Good luck, and I hope this helps.

Answer 3

He isn't smart, he was just broken incorrectly. Re-break it and start over, he got screwed up somewhere along the line.

Answer 4

As with any animal you have to make him not want to do what he is doing.  Your explanation is incomplete so it is hard for me to advise you here but I assume you are running him on a track of some sort and he is rubbing your leg against the rail or something of that nature.  Be aware of where you are and when he starts getting too close to the rail pull his head all the way around in the other direction (He'll fight you and you must be stronger than he is) he may stumble and even fall a time or two but he won't know exactly where the fence is and will not want to run into it himself.  Don't just sit on your horse, ride him!  As he starts closing on the fence (say it is on your left) Slap the left side of his head and slap it hard, you can't hit him hard enough to really hurt him but you'll get his attention and he will move in a direction away from the slap.  Try several such things and whenever you try anything use a verbal command or noise, the same one always, so he will come to identify the sound with something unpleasant about to happen to him.

Answer 5

I’m not sure what you mean. When horses do something we don’t like, they are usually not being naughty, but are confused, scared or trying to communicate pain or unhappiness.