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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 938
  
Location: Texas | Like the title says..how would you slow down a rusher? This horse was ridden by an inexperienced rider who just pulled and pulled and made him dread being ridden. As soon as I got him I had him vetted - scoped for ulcers, flexed, X-rays, the works. Nothing. Vet says he looks great. I've been trying to keep him out of the arena - taking him on trail rides, riding in the pasture, moving cattle, etc. He is much happier and comes up to me now whenever I grab his halter which he would never do before.
The problem is that he gets so nervous whenever we get into the arena that all he wants to do is throw his head up and fight. At a wall he is completely relaxed and fine, but the second you pick up your reins at a trot or lope he panics and fights you and will not slow down. I knew this horse before his previous owner had him and he did not act this way.
He gets himself so worked up that he can't even trot a circle without his hip almost passing him. What would you all reccomend? |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12841
 
| Guanabenz and a lot of slow work |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| I had a mare like this but the girl also hardened her mouth. So I put her in a snaffle and when I asked for a trot and she stiffened and sped up we did tiny circles until she slowed down some then we'd straighten out and when she stiffened and sped up we repeated. As soon as she trotted a couple slower strides, I stopped her let her soak and then stepped off, loosened her cinch and we were done for the day. It took all summer to get her to slow down and lighten up in the trot and lope. She never was a drop your reins and lope off horse, but she was much better. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 489
| I do a LOT of 1 rein stops on horses like that. You already know that holding one doesn't help because they can brace on the bit and keep pulling. The 1 rein stop works on one side at a time, so it helps stop the bracing and pulling. I really try to take the energy out of my body on those types of horses. Any time I even start to get a faster speed than I'm asking for I one rein stop. Sometimes it feels like I do a million of them. Eventually the horse will learn to hold its speed on it's own. I also really try to do the stops with feel, not just snatching them around. I don't want a horse to be scared of me taking ahold of them. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 612
| I loosened the tie down and curb stocking stuffer a horse that I have that was a little like this. It helped him because he didn't feel so trapped. We spend a lot of time trotting and loping circles but he wasn't nearly as bad as your horse sounds. We work on loping and then walking.
I don't know why that the Auto Correct keeps changing the words 'curb strap' to be stocking stuffer.
Edited by JAG18 2016-05-05 9:32 AM
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 Cute Little Imp
Posts: 2747
Location: N Texas | JAG18 - 2016-05-05 9:29 AM I loosened the tie down and curb stocking stuffer a horse that I have that was a little like this. It helped him because he didn't feel so trapped. We spend a lot of time trotting and loping circles but he wasn't nearly as bad as your horse sounds. We work on loping and then walking. I don't know why that the Auto Correct keeps changing the words 'curb strap' to be stocking stuffer.
Because you're typing "on" right after "strap".  |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 425
Location: California | LOTS of time and small circles. What about just walking in the arena if he's okay with that? Walk around for a few minutes & just hop off. How does he lunge? Maybe walk him in the arena & lunge him to see how he does? Those would be some of the things I would do. Sounds like he has come a long way so far since he's coming up to you now.  |
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 Serious Snap Trapper
Posts: 4275
Location: In The Snow, AZ | Gunner11 - 2016-05-05 7:45 AM
JAG18 - 2016-05-05 9:29 AM I loosened the tie down and curb stocking stuffer a horse that I have that was a little like this. It helped him because he didn't feel so trapped. We spend a lot of time trotting and loping circles but he wasn't nearly as bad as your horse sounds. We work on loping and then walking. I don't know why that the Auto Correct keeps changing the words 'curb strap' to be stocking stuffer.
Because you're typing "on" right after "strap".
LOL, BHW has a dirty mind. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 929
| lots and lots of trust. Like others have mentioned, lots of slow work, trail rides, and stuff that isn't "hard." Just standing still in an arena with barrels or poles is hard for some of these horses...go stand in an arena with barrels or poles and do NOTHING. Just stand. As hard as that may be. Once your horse stops panicking and does the lick/chew and lets out a big sigh...give her giant pets and get off and loosen the cinch.
Eventually you will get to the point where they are less hot and will come back to you. They may still be on the hot side but once they learn to trust you they will come back and start listening without running off. Do not allow them to be disobedient...but you have to do it with a "soft" hand and quiet body. If your horse freaks out, stop, wait until they are done having a meltdown, and go back to whatever you were doing before then. It's taken my horse 2 years to learn that I am not going to hurt her and we started winning some last year. It will happen. Have patience.  |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 938
Location: Texas | ccarpe18 - 2016-05-05 10:56 AM LOTS of time and small circles. What about just walking in the arena if he's okay with that? Walk around for a few minutes & just hop off. How does he lunge? Maybe walk him in the arena & lunge him to see how he does? Those would be some of the things I would do. Sounds like he has come a long way so far since he's coming up to you now.
He lunges awesome, it's almost like something triggers in his mind as soon as you pick up the reins. Some days he will jog for 5 minutes then the second you move your hand he panics and takes off. I took him on a trail ride today and brought him back to the arena and walked for 10 minutes and jogged him in a few circles (he stayed calm and didn't fight) then let him sit there for a minute and got off. He was licking and chewing right after that. I think we're finally getting somewhere.
Whats really odd about him is that he's not hot at shows near the alleyway or the pen if we're running barrels. I usually try to find a place outside of the arena to trot him and lope him in hopes he stays calm which is a 50/50 shot. He's a super nice horse, I just hope I can get him back to being able to enjoy riding in the arena.
Thank you all for your suggestions! I think each one will help him and hopefully I'll be making another post soon saying that I have a total different horse!  |
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| I read your first post and then I read your last post ..
I hate it when people do this ..
next time tell the rest of the story .. don't do a Paul Harvey on us..
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Whats really odd about him is that he's not hot at shows near the alleyway or the pen if we're running barrels. I usually try to find a place outside of the arena to trot him and lope him in hopes he stays calm which is a 50/50 shot. He's a super nice horse, I just hope I can get him back to being able to enjoy riding in the arena.
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Apparently he is just telling you that he knows the pattern and to quit messing with him at home ... keep him legged up in the pasture and work on a few cues but no patterns ....
A lot of good well seasoned horses are like this when they have been over practiced on by a rider learning to run barrels .... most of your pro rodeo
riders do nothing on patterns except when there is money to win!!
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 938
Location: Texas | BARRELHORSE USA - 2016-05-06 3:00 AM
I read your first post and then I read your last post ..
I hate it when people do this ..
next time tell the rest of the story .. don't do a Paul Harvey on us..
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Whats really odd about him is that he's not hot at shows near the alleyway or the pen if we're running barrels. I usually try to find a place outside of the arena to trot him and lope him in hopes he stays calm which is a 50/50 shot. He's a super nice horse, I just hope I can get him back to being able to enjoy riding in the arena.
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Apparently he is just telling you that he knows the pattern and to quit messing with him at home ... keep him legged up in the pasture and work on a few cues but no patterns ....
A lot of good well seasoned horses are like this when they have been over practiced on by a rider learning to run barrels .... most of your pro rodeo
riders do nothing on patterns except when there is money to win!!
This isn't about working him on the pattern. He hasn't even seen a barrel at my place since I got him. This isn't about doing a "Paul Harvey" (whatever that means) on anyone.
While I completely agree with you that some horses don't like being messed with at home and don't need the work, that's not what I'm trying to do here.
What I'm trying to accomplish with this horse is to have him relax and realize I'm not going to try and rip his mouth off like his last rider. He stays more calm on the trail and in the pasture, but he will still have that moment where he panics when you pick up the reins. This horse isn't going to see another barrel until I can get him relaxed and completely trusting me. I don't want him to start dreading running barrels so I decided to just do flat work until he is more comfortable. When you pick up the reins at a lope (and I mean just lift them up without putting any contact on his mouth) he instantly cringes and stops as hard as he can. This morning I rode him in a halter and he was much better. I think having a bit in his mouth is just a constant reminder of what happened to him, so I'm going to order a few hackamores and see if he likes them. |
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 Own It and Move On
Location: The edge of no where | Time2beat - 2016-05-06 11:47 AM BARRELHORSE USA - 2016-05-06 3:00 AM I read your first post and then I read your last post .. I hate it when people do this .. next time tell the rest of the story .. don't do a Paul Harvey on us.. ******************************************************** Whats really odd about him is that he's not hot at shows near the alleyway or the pen if we're running barrels. I usually try to find a place outside of the arena to trot him and lope him in hopes he stays calm which is a 50/50 shot. He's a super nice horse, I just hope I can get him back to being able to enjoy riding in the arena. *********************************************************** Apparently he is just telling you that he knows the pattern and to quit messing with him at home ... keep him legged up in the pasture and work on a few cues but no patterns .... A lot of good well seasoned horses are like this when they have been over practiced on by a rider learning to run barrels .... most of your pro rodeo riders do nothing on patterns except when there is money to win!! This isn't about working him on the pattern. He hasn't even seen a barrel at my place since I got him. This isn't about doing a "Paul Harvey" (whatever that means ) on anyone. While I completely agree with you that some horses don't like being messed with at home and don't need the work, that's not what I'm trying to do here. What I'm trying to accomplish with this horse is to have him relax and realize I'm not going to try and rip his mouth off like his last rider. He stays more calm on the trail and in the pasture, but he will still have that moment where he panics when you pick up the reins. This horse isn't going to see another barrel until I can get him relaxed and completely trusting me. I don't want him to start dreading running barrels so I decided to just do flat work until he is more comfortable. When you pick up the reins at a lope (and I mean just lift them up without putting any contact on his mouth ) he instantly cringes and stops as hard as he can. This morning I rode him in a halter and he was much better. I think having a bit in his mouth is just a constant reminder of what happened to him, so I'm going to order a few hackamores and see if he likes them.
I think a hackamore for a while might be a great idea. He needs something very different from what he's been accustomed to dealing with. Trotting small circles with lots of changes of direction is a good way to get one to focus and dial in. It might take him 45 min of trotting like this to chill....but I've yet to have one no eventually give up with it and relax. |
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