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Horse Problem - Buddy Sour Horse - Afraid to go out alone to ride

 

 


 

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QUESTION: Hi. I have heard great things about your methods and that they really do work. I have recently started riding a five-year-old gelding. He has been recently broken and is understandably nervous. He has only ever been ridden in the company of his half brother who is the same age, etc.

Whenever I try to take him out alone, he gets very upset and usually bucks repeatedly until he gets me off in order to return to his friend in the stable. I have tried schooling him in the nearby field, and have someone stand at the gate holding his brother, but even this did not stop his bucking.

I would be really grateful for some advice as I am really starting to lose my confidence when riding this horse. The horse is only ever worked by me and as he is not mine and due to work commitments I can only manage to spend time with him a few times a week. Thank you very much for your help.

REPLY: Hi. Thanks for writing. I would suggest having this still-green horse follow another more seasoned, well-behaved horse when you go out on your rides (outside the arena, but you can start this inside an arena as well). This will help him to build new-to-him confidence. This is also what I do when starting out all green horses.

Also...you need to work (inside an arena or round pen) on building into his foundation the one-rein stop/safety zone to keep him safer there and progressing better. I teach how to do that here, and all the why's: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips94.html

More importantly, I have a very strong suspicion that this horse still has a lot of foundation holes that need to be plugged up...safely on the ground first! And here's where I would suggest applying horse whispering/natural horsemanship training techniques in a very clear step-by-step program, which you can learn more about in my DVD set, the Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System, and you can order that here: CLICK HERE

After watching the videos, and after learning and applying the methods, you, as the horse's primary teacher, will have taught the horse:

  • How to be bonded to you more deeply so that the horse trusts you to the max and they will be far more willing to do whatever you ask, even when they are in doubt;
  • That you both have a "bonding place" (a "safety zone") to come back to always, from then on, if the horse is ever upset or afraid, on the ground (or later, in the saddle); we plant a one-rein stop in the foundation of every horse, on the ground first, so that in the saddle, it is automatic. This keeps you safer and the horse more rational, and feeling supported, bonded, connected more deeply emotionally to you.
  • How to relax the horse when they are tense about something before they are called upon to react negatively.
  • How to have the horse yield easily, in any direction when asked -- they'll learn how to yield properly to pressure to receive the release of pressure. All horses learn from the release of pressure what it is you want, not from the pressure itself;
  • How to progress bonding to even deeper levels to the point of downright intimacy; makes a horse feel like they never had it so good being with you!
  • How to move the horse from the rear, and learning to do that rationally, which is so important to teach a horse to do before you ever ride them, and which you'll be using for a lot of other things like trailer loading, going in and out of a gate, into a stall, and so many other places/situations; this also teaches a horse that you are in charge of their feet.
  • How to address effectively any fears (and the horse's reactions to them) that you flush out in their behavior at any given time; my program focuses greatly on finding the fears before they find you and fixing them -- safely on the ground first! Even lay folks can do this. It's all about: safety. This then builds a far more rational, confident, happy, trusting horse, because, in essence, you have effectively raised the horse's "fear/anxiety bar." And you will have taught the horse simultaneously in the process, how to turn to you for nurturance support when/if they are ever afraid or upset.
  • How to do all this first on the ground, then later in the saddle, in that order.
  • How to keep you safe and the horse safe at all times, throughout all of this --- always my biggest training focus.

This video set will help you to lay down an even stronger, more solid and trusting foundation under your horse that will then serve you well, tremendously, actually, when you do step up into the saddle. By the time you complete the steps, you will have a transformed horse. The final steps are in the saddle and those exercises will more deeply plant into your horse's foundation the one-rein stop/the "safety zone," and more, that will turn the horse into a far, far more rational, trusting, happier -- and safer -- horse in saddle as well.

And you can do this yourself if you just back up and learn a few things yourself there. This video set will get you there the fastest with your horse, which is why I'm recommending this route. It's designed for anyone on any level, horse or human, to get professional trainer-like results.

And incidentally...my Whispering Way Complete Training Package contains all my videos and training tools that you need to train or retrain your horse yourself the natural horsemanship Whispering Way. You can check out/order the Whispering Way Complete Training Package on my web site here: CLICK HERE

I'm a very strong believer that every horse owner is their horse's primary teacher/trainer whether they realize it or not. Every time you are with your horse, that horse is learning something. You just want to make sure the horse is learning what you want them to learn, not what you don't want them to learn! My natural horsemanship training techniques are gentle, effective, and powerful. Works with every horse every time!

But it's real important to back up and break down all teaching steps in a way that you are releasing baby-gives, allowing the horse to feel the release for the right answers incrementally, so that they learn that's really what you want.

This will also speed you along there for fixing all problems that crop up there, including your present problem. After you get going in the program that you learn there, if you ever have any questions as you go along, I'm only an email away for answers!

I also wanted to direct you to a specific "buddy sour" problem link on my web site to see more what you can be doing there to fix this problem and help you further there: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips11.html

But don't ride this horse until all foundation holes are safely plugged!!

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