my stallion

[lucky lodge]

ive been doing a lot of ground work with my stallion

and he is bluntly ignoring me and wont stand still and he knows what iam asking off him

please help

 

[MyBarakah]

Sorry to hear you are having problems with your stallion. Are you trying to work with him in halter? Is he around other horses when he's not listening to you? Are you just using a regular halter or using a chain or anything to have him on his halter to have him listen/respect you? I for one just having a horse walking beside me if I stop and they are not paying attention. I will make them stop and back up.. and I will get after them the first couple of times.. and make them back up 5 - 10 steps and have them back off of me.. I want them out of "My space"... then I will walk forward another 10 - 20 steps and them stop and have them back up again.. I want them to be paying attention to me and want thier attention... Once they start listening I will always stop and "reward" them for good behavior with a treat and a good "happy" voice praise and a good pat/run on the neck so they know what "good" reward is... once they pick that up they will start looking for that praise.. I guess ground manners need to come first (usually) even before round pen work... also being tied up daily, while I clean thier stalls, a rountine really helps...

 

[rabbitsfizz]

How old is he and what is your situation- give us a bit more info- what are you doing, what are you asking etc.? Is he in or out, do you have mares....the more info you give, the more help people can be.

 

[JMS Miniatures]

I highly recommend Downunder Horsemanship by Clinton Anderson. He really knows how to get a horse respectful and IMO his Fundmental series would be your best bet.

 

[disneyhorse]

I would recommend hiring a trainer to work with the two of you. MOST times there's something going on that you are doing or not doing, which could be subtle, which a third party can see.

It's very hard to teach subtle training techniques not-in-person.

Andrea

 

[wcr]

Stallions are not mares or geldings and have their own behaviors and you need to earn their respect. Even tho minis are small and stallions are easier to deal with, they are still stallions. I love the stallions and their personalities and respect is the big thing with them. It sounds like this is the issue you are having and having outside help may be the answer for you. I am the head mare around here and I want to be the most fascinating thing in their life when dealing with them. I want their attention on me at all times, respect my space, don't talk to the mares when the halter is on and watch my body language and move accordingly. This comes with learned horsemanship and a quick fix isn't easy to find.

 

[lucky lodge]

I highly recommend Downunder Horsemanship by Clinton Anderson. He really knows how to get a horse respectful and IMO his Fundmental series would be your best bet.

funny you say that I was watching him on u tube he is fantastic

will be trying his ideas today ..

i put a bull bit on my stallion and he was a 110% better but i dont wont to have to resort to that

Ok i bit about me stallion he has just turned 4 he has his first foals on the ground..and i havent shown

him and done much with him in the last year..thats my fault..he has been moved away from his girls

first time every as thay have grown up together..i think iam going to start training him from the begining

again with what clinton anderson is doing asap

but all advice is much appreciated

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

honestly, this isnt a hard problem to fix. the big reason he wont stand for you is because he's a young stud colt thats feeling his oats and is testing you. he's trying to move up in the pecking order by not listening to you. you can easily fix this without an expensive trainer and without Clintons wayy overpriced dvd set. the big thing here is he doesnt feel like you can control him anymore. you need to teach him he's wrong, that your still in charge. when you want him to stand, get his attention and say 'stand'. if he takes one step forward say 'ahah' and aggressively back him up a couple steps, flag your hands, let him know thats the wrong answer. DO NOT hit him or start yanking hard on the halter. You want him to respect you, not fear you. keep doing this until he stands. dont let him walk off without your command. when you want him to walk off say 'walk', 'lets go', 'get up', etc. dont just walk off. if he even leans forward like he's about to walk off or picks up a foot to take a step say 'ahah' loudly and flag the rope in front of his face. do this every time and he should get the message pretty quickly.

 

[Lil Timber Buck]

honestly, this isnt a hard problem to fix. the big reason he wont stand for you is because he's a young stud colt thats feeling his oats and is testing you. he's trying to move up in the pecking order by not listening to you. you can easily fix this without an expensive trainer and without Clintons wayy overpriced dvd set. the big thing here is he doesnt feel like you can control him anymore. you need to teach him he's wrong, that your still in charge. when you want him to stand, get his attention and say 'stand'. if he takes one step forward say 'ahah' and aggressively back him up a couple steps, flag your hands, let him know thats the wrong answer. DO NOT hit him or start yanking hard on the halter. You want him to respect you, not fear you. keep doing this until he stands. dont let him walk off without your command. when you want him to walk off say 'walk', 'lets go', 'get up', etc. dont just walk off. if he even leans forward like he's about to walk off or picks up a foot to take a step say 'ahah' loudly and flag the rope in front of his face. do this every time and he should get the message pretty quickly.

Good advice here! This is Clinton's method simplified and it works. Basically he has to respect you and he will pay 100% attention to you then. You are in control of everything when he is in your hands with a lead so unless you tell him to do it, he is out of line. Like Molly says here, if he takes that step forward that you didn't tell him to he needs to be corrected. If he pulls down to try to take a bite of grass, backs up, nips at you, or any of that he needs corrections. Eventually he will learn it is easier for him to stand there and be a good boy than to be corrected all the time.

 

[JMS Miniatures]

The way to earn a horse's respect is to move their feet. If he is coming up on me, rearing on top of me, biting at me I won't flap my hands around and try and make him stop coming at me. I will pop the lead rope if necessary and make him back out of my personal space. Yeah sure I'll flap my arms around, make noise, and run up to them in hopes they will stand still so they won't be scared of things running up at them.

In fact to want the horse stand still honestly its by moving their feet. The reward is for them to stand still quietly. I don't even have to teach my horses to ground tie very much anymore because they know if they stand still quietly they don't have to go work.

Honestly this stallion just sounds like he needs a job. Doing ground work will keep his mind on the job at hand and you if done correctly. The more groundwork you do the more respect he will have. And no you don't have to buy any DVDs but it helps for new ideas.

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

The way to earn a horse's respect is to move their feet. If he is coming up on me, rearing on top of me, biting at me I won't flap my hands around and try and make him stop coming at me. I will pop the lead rope if necessary and make him back out of my personal space. Yeah sure I'll flap my arms around, make noise, and run up to them in hopes they will stand still so they won't be scared of things running up at them.

In fact to want the horse stand still honestly its by moving their feet. The reward is for them to stand still quietly. I don't even have to teach my horses to ground tie very much anymore because they know if they stand still quietly they don't have to go work.

Honestly this stallion just sounds like he needs a job. Doing ground work will keep his mind on the job at hand and you if done correctly. The more groundwork you do the more respect he will have. And no you don't have to buy any DVDs but it helps for new ideas.

flapping your hands around has a meaning to a horse. to them, if its done correctly, it resembles another horse tossing its head, thretning to bite them. it means more to them than it does to us. and yeah, i like to learn about new ideas for training, but not when it costs $600! thats ridiculous! in this economy i could buy a new horse or two with that money!

 

[JMS Miniatures]

And to mine any sudden movement like that and running towards them is a sign to stay calm and relaxed. So its just a different personal difference in training a horse.

If you feel like paying $600 is too much to pay for training DVDs fine. You don't have to. There are many tv shows out there with different trainers you can watch, but the actual DVDs go into far more detail then what they show on tv. If you think you can train them without any fancy stuff great, but to me its valuable and my horses are much better trained now before I started training them to the method.

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

And to mine any sudden movement like that and running towards them is a sign to stay calm and relaxed. So its just a different personal difference in training a horse.

If you feel like paying $600 is too much to pay for training DVDs fine. You don't have to. There are many tv shows out there with different trainers you can watch, but the actual DVDs go into far more detail then what they show on tv. If you think you can train them without any fancy stuff great, but to me its valuable and my horses are much better trained now before I started training them to the method.

i totally understand. i dont really follow Clinton, or any one single trainer. i just use what works for me, which is all anyone can do.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

honestly, this isn't a hard problem to fix. the big reason he wont stand for you is because he's a young stud colt thats feeling his oats and is testing you. he's trying to move up in the pecking order by not listening to you. you can easily fix this without an expensive trainer and without Clinton's way overpriced dvd set. the big thing here is he doesnt feel like you can control him anymore. you need to teach him he's wrong, that your still in charge. when you want him to stand, get his attention and say 'stand'. if he takes one step forward say 'ahah' and aggressively back him up a couple steps, flag your hands, let him know thats the wrong answer. DO NOT hit him or start yanking hard on the halter. You want him to respect you, not fear you. keep doing this until he stands. dont let him walk off without your command. when you want him to walk off say 'walk', 'lets go', 'get up', etc. dont just walk off. if he even leans forward like he's about to walk off or picks up a foot to take a step say 'ahah' loudly and flag the rope in front of his face. do this every time and he should get the message pretty quickly.

Who are you and what have you done with Molly???

I agree completely, if he is testing you it is completely normal and usual behaviour, there is no need to resort to what I really consider to be gimmicks- and expensive ones at that, just use good old fashioned, free, common sense. You have not done anything wrong, as such, all you have failed to do is keep up the "Boss Mare" attitude so he thinks he can now walk all over you.

One thing I do have to say- you have taken him form his herd so he is confused and defensive- what was the reasoning behind this?

I can take Carlos from his ladies in October, put him in with the other boys, and he is fine. If I just brought him out of the field and started trying to work with him he would be a head case in ten minutes flat. Do you have a goal in mind for him, did something happen that made you take this course??

Is there any reason he cannot just go back with the mares and be handled and trained form there??

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

Who are you and what have you done with Molly???

I agree completely, if he is testing you it is completely normal and usual behaviour, there is no need to resort to what I really consider to be gimmicks- and expensive ones at that, just use good old fashioned, free, common sense. You have not done anything wrong, as such, all you have failed to do is keep up the "Boss Mare" attitude so he thinks he can now walk all over you.

One thing I do have to say- you have taken him form his herd so he is confused and defensive- what was the reasoning behind this?

I can take Carlos from his ladies in October, put him in with the other boys, and he is fine. If I just brought him out of the field and started trying to work with him he would be a head case in ten minutes flat. Do you have a goal in mind for him, did something happen that made you take this course??

Is there any reason he cannot just go back with the mares and be handled and trained form there??

lol, what do mean? have i changed since i took a break? i havent noticed.

honestly, if she wants to train him its better in the beginning for him to be away from the herd. that way he can learn to focus on his owner and respect her. if he's around his girls, he'll be totally focused on them and he may act out more.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

lol, what do mean? have i changed since i took a break? i haven't noticed.

honestly, if she wants to train him its better in the beginning for him to be away from the herd. that way he can learn to focus on his owner and respect her. if he's around his girls, he'll be totally focused on them and he may act out more.

I think you have and, at the risk of sounding patronising, which I do not intend, infinitely for the better! I think you have relaxed a lot, so you are sounding less defensive- does that make sense? You have a lot to contribute, so stay relaxed.

As to taking him away from his herd, no, I disagree (and agree- we are going the same way, I think, just different approaches) He needs to be focused, he needs respect, but he does not need to be stressed out. If he lives as he is used to living and comes away only for training he will have the increased incentive of behaving and learning, and then getting put back with his herd. If he is taken away, cold turkey, as it were, he will be constantly worrying about where they are and looking for them. This would be OK if he were taken to a new location, but on the farm he knows, he will, in a way, be grieving. The herd dynamic has been disturbed, horses feel loss and grief as well, maybe not as we do, but they feel them.

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

I think you have and, at the risk of sounding patronising, which I do not intend, infinitely for the better! I think you have relaxed a lot, so you are sounding less defensive- does that make sense? You have a lot to contribute, so stay relaxed.

As to taking him away from his herd, no, I disagree (and agree- we are going the same way, I think, just different approaches) He needs to be focused, he needs respect, but he does not need to be stressed out. If he lives as he is used to living and comes away only for training he will have the increased incentive of behaving and learning, and then getting put back with his herd. If he is taken away, cold turkey, as it were, he will be constantly worrying about where they are and looking for them. This would be OK if he were taken to a new location, but on the farm he knows, he will, in a way, be grieving. The herd dynamic has been disturbed, horses feel loss and grief as well, maybe not as we do, but they feel them.