Need help with colt.?

Question

Well he is a month old tomorrow, and he just a couple days ago started rearing, he leads well and we are very careful not to put to much pressure on his head, and if he takes a few steps back, so do we. We are careful with him, but we will not let him be defiant. But I'm not quite sure what to do about the rearing on the lead. He is getting big, and it is getting dangerous. When he rears on his mom, his mother doesn't punish him, so I think he thinks he can do it with everyone how should we discpline him?

Answer 1

Butt ropes have always worked for me. It contains them so they have to move at your mercy. They can't go forward or back without you wanting them to. I used to have a filly that would drag me around and rear and buck and kick. A few weeks with the butt rope and she was perfectly quiet!

Answer 2

You said he leads well.  Horses don't forget in a hurry so maybe give him a break for a while.  All babies go through playful stages, and he is a colt.  I must do things differently to other people but i believe that a baby needs time to be just that.  I do as little as possible with my foals until they are weaned, then when they are in a position where their minds are a little more mature and their bond with their mother has changed, i do most of the halter training then.  That way, they lean on you for support and training becomes much easier.  I have an excellent record for very quiet youngsters who have gone onto become great childrens ponies at a young age.  Most problems are created by over handling when a horse/pony is too young.

Answer 3

He needs to know how to give to pressure on the halter.  I realize that he's only a month old, but I always had my foals pretty well halter trained by then, most would lead right off without any problems.  Rearing is just his way of trying to assert his dominance over you.  When he rears, pull him sideways so that he has to regain his balance but with all four feet on the ground.  He needs to learn that just because he rears, the pressure isn't going away.  Don't pull down or back though, he'll likely just rear higher if you do.

  The foals I had big problems with (the ones who never quit rearing) I ended up taking into a deeply bedded round pen and when they reared up, I pulled them over onto their sides.  It usually scared them well enough that they never did it again.  The problem with doing this is that you have to have your timing just right so you don't flip the baby over backwards onto its back. This is a LAST RESORT only, and only if he won't stop.

Answer 4

I'm glad you want him to be respectful and well behaved. When he is will you he should be trapped. He needs to know that getting away from you is not an option he has. Butt ropes are a gentle way to persuade young horses to move in the direction you want them to go without out a big fight and if you don't have anyone handy to help you out.

Good luck with him.

Answer 5

I would throw the butt rope back on him and use that, even in the rearing, and use that to continue forward motion... I would even go so far as to have someone use a whip with a bag on the end of it... he rears, they shake the bag behind him and enforce forward motion.