Horses are herd animals and those instincts often fall into place in other places such as an arena or trail ride. These are also the times when you generally need the horse to be more independent and do what you ask. These herd instincts often lead to fights either on the rail or on the trail, but in order to find the root of the problem, it is important to look at things from the horses point of view.
The horse has a reason for everything he does. It is up to the rider to find what those reasons are. If the horse is scared, then you will want to help him to relax and calm down before you head off in a different direction. If he just wants to go somewhere else because he feels like it, then you will want to treat him differently and tell him where you want to go. This might end up in a small fight, but he may just be acting stubborn. The rider should be able to feel the situation and feel what they should do next. If the horse is truly scared, then you may want to begin with baby steps.
The baby step horse is the one we will discuss. You will want to ride your horse with a friend, assuming that their horse does not have this problem, and you will want to gradually begin suggesting to the horse that you want to veer away for a little bit. All you are doing is suggesting, maybe applying a little rein direction or leg. He may not respond immediately but any pressure you apply for a different direction will make him think about moving that way. As soon as he gives the slightest effort, remove the pressure and relax. He will probably continue staying near the other horse, so you will want to suggest your way again. The key is to get him to understand that there is only pressure when he is with the other horse. As soon as he realizes he wont be pressured if he goes your way, he will decide to go your way.
The hardest part of this training is that you must have a feel for your horse. Many people have problems developing and finding this feel and getting the proper timing on relieving pressure. The horse will provide you with little signs he is thinking of going your way, these signs might be as simple as his ears moving in that direction or taking a slight step in that direction. For example, if you are riding along with a friend and you decide that you want to veer off to the right and away from that horse, you will apply rein pressure and the horse will give you a sign that he is thinking of that direction by turning his head slightly to the right. When you see this sign and that is the way you want to go, relieve the pressure immediately. The sooner you are able to relieve the pressure, the more willing the horse will be to move in your direction.
This process is especially useful in young horses and colts that have just been started. They are more in tune with the rider and the rider will need a greater amount of feel. Many older horses have often begun to ignore many cues from the rider, as many times you mistakenly cue your horse when riding and they learn to basically tune you out. Young colts are not like that and they are very sensitive to everything you tell them. You may not necessarily want to focus on setting this as a goal, but you may choose to practice it with your horse over a short amount of time. The horse will soon begin to understand and will gradually become more willing to go where you want to go rather than staying with his buddies.
Some horses will take more effort than others and they may need a little more convincing. Many times you may also need to pay really close attention to what you are doing, and your horse will be more willing to respond. The key is finding a feel for your horse so that you will be able to see or feel what he is about to do. Many horses may give you very subtle cues such as twitching an ear in that direction, while others will turn their whole head. Colts can be even subtler and you may have to rely on your feel of the horse in order to feel which direction he is going to go. These methods will work whether you ride English or Western and can be easy training procedures that can be used on the trail. Anytime you have an opportunity to test your horse and teach him something new, you should take advantage of it.
Ron Petracek is the current article director for a rapidly growing equine social network community. He was raised in Southern Idaho with a beautiful jet black morgan as his adventure companion, and the Snake River within a easy ride. Horses and the outdoors are a solid part of his life. For more great information and FREE equine classfieds! Everything from horses to trailers & tack please visit. http://www.theequineyard.com
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Alpha And The Omega
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