Riding on the road.....not so good

Question

I used to ride my horse on my dirt road with no problem, and around sometime in March, he began to act up, and it was downhill from there. He will weave back and forth, uncontrolbally, and if I try to kept him in a striaght line by using my legs, he gets all mad and throws his headback and backs up quickly. And, he only rides in one direction, (the direction of where he USED to live, where all the other horses were ;) So, when I try to ride in the opposite direction, he won't budge, or he'll back up into the ditch on purpose, and he'll yank his head. But I have squeezed him and kicked him, hit him on the rump as hard as I possibly can, cluck him to go. But he seriosuly won't move at all, so don't say 'Kick harder' or anything. His roa behaovior has been so bad, one time a car was coming, and I literally had to get off him and move him to the side of the road, because he won't if I'm on his back. I'm very tired of this, and love to ride on the road in the fall, so can anyone help please? Thanks. (Btw he isn't afriad of the cars though, and he doesn't spook)

Answer 1

Well it sounds like he wants to be with his herd. Try taking him out a couple times with another horse. then try going by your self again.

My sisters horse does kind of the same thing so we have to attach a lead rope to her bridle and then lead her down the road and my sister gets on her case the second she starts to slow down.

Trust me it has been interesting.

Ia all you do ride down the road. Try hand walking him down the road and when you get to a good place let him graze and give him treats. MAke it so he wants to go. Do that for a week then every other day so he doesn't get obsessed with going just for food.

Good luck

Answer 2

Sounds like my horses half the time. ^.^ We ride on the road all year long. (We live in boon country with more dirt roads then you can shake a stick at)  Sounds to me like your horse is buddy sore and used to his routine.  I have a mare who doesn't like to leave home, and doesn't like moving out of her usual rut, but when other riders join me, she acts better and is more then happy to fallow in on what the other horses are doing correctly. A riding buddy may help. Also check your horses shoe's for any discomfort. The smallest thing can make them cranky and not want to go anywhere.  

Answer 3

This is what my horse used to do, but my horse is also afraid of the cars and freaks out! Whenever my horse wouldn't move, I would get off, lead him a couple feet then get back on and try it again. Yes, it is a HUGE pain in the butt, but it actually worked for me.

Another idea is try to see if other people will ride with you. Then put your horse in the middle of two other horses and then they usually will walk with the other horses.

Hope I helped atleast a bit.......

Answer 4

Sounds like you have some serious "barn sour" issues.  Best bet is to wear him down at home first, then take him down the road.  When you turn around to head "home" and he acts up, circle him until you wear him down and then take him farther down the trail.  OR try taking him down the road AWAY from his old home and do the same thing when he tries his barn sour routine.  

You could also try riding with another horse, that works too.

Answer 5

I'd begin with going back to ground work.  You need to establish yourself as his leader.  Maybe do some work in a round pen making him move when you say move, stop when you say stop, and turn towards you when you say change direction.  It's important that you get him to turn in towards you because it shows he respects you.  I'm not a huge fan of some of the gimmicky natural horsemanship stuff.  But if you can find a good book with different exercises, it may help.

Once you get this down, get back on and ride in the arena.  Really work on getting him listen to your leg.  Make him move foward and sideways.  I'd do a lot of work on upward transitions, especially ones within gait (collected trot to extended trot, stuff like that).

Next you and a friend (with a reliable horse) should trailer the horses to a nearby trail or field if possible.  The first time you go outside the arena I would go somewhere other then the road where you have had trouble.  Have your friend go first so your horse has a good role model.  Try to make the ride enjoyable for your horse.  Keep it short, and don't make him work to hard.  Maybe you can get off for a while and let him eat some grass or something.

When you feel like you can control him anywhere, go back to the road.  Again, have a friend go first, don't make a big deal of it, and keep the ride short and sweet.  Hopefully your horse will now acknowledge you as the leader and be fine.  However, if you do run into trouble I have some tips:

The most important thing is that your horse moves forward, if he squirms a little, it's fine for now.  If he starts to plant his feet, or toss his head and back up, turn him in a sharp, tight circle and spank him with your stick and spurs.  The point of this is to throw him off balance so he literally has to move his feet so he doesn't fall over.  Also, make sure you have a good position.  If you're riding badly, he has an excuse to misbehave.  Make sure you don't lean forward; I'd actually sit a little behind his center of gravity to encourage him to step forward.  Finally, look ahead, and don't make a big deal about it.

If you're still having problems try asking an experienced friend to ride him or get help from an instructor.  If the friend can ride him well, you know the problem is coming from you--not the horse.  An instructor may also be able to pinpoint where the problem is coming from.  Good luck.

Answer 6

If the horse is not attentive to you and responding to your cues without throwing a tantrum then you still have not established dominance over your horse and the horse is not accepting you as alpha leader. You need to go back to round pen work and training basics.

Answer 7

i think you need to bond with your horse cause at the moment he dosnt trust you. i sort of had the same problem with my pony. i ride english and when ever i rode him he used to stop dead and back up. he was spooked at the corners though. then once he trusted me he never stopped again.

Bonding takes a while to do. but for the meantime, try walking beside him down the road so that if he does stop you can make him go and then eventually he will realize that notings wrong with leaving his home.

Answer 8

Try a martingale to stop him swinging his head about. Then it should be easier to keep him under control and encourage him to move forward.

Or maybe even better, try a bungee, ( i think they are called.) I use one on my horse. It keeps his head in a lovely position, and encourages him to go forwards. It really works. You shouldn't stand around for to long with it on though. And you should use a slightly longer rein than usual so the horse can stretch his neck a bit.

It clips onto the bit either side, and goes down between the two front legs and attaches to a round thing that goes through the girth of the saddle.-a bit like a martingale.

Good luck..i hope you solve your problem, and i hope i've helped =D

Answer 9

sounds like you should go back to the basics.

Do some lunging and some join-ups, then walk him up and down a driveway.

After that, take him on some trails and then when you feel ready take him to the road and walk back and forth every time you ride him, going a farther distance each time until he responds to your commands.

Answer 10

You need a good riding crop. Don't bother buying one, just cut a nice long swishy ash plant from the hedge, and don't be afraid to use it. You probably won't need to use it more than a couple of times.

No, I'm not a cruel person, I too am a horsewoman, and it sounds to me like the horse is controlling you to get what he wants. Don't let him get away with this kind of behaviour.  

Answer 11

He oviously doesnt lyke the road much anymore. try riding him somewhere else maybe his feet start to hurt and the shoe is slipping.