Training Tips

QUESTION: Hi Sylvia, I am hoping you will be able to help me. About a week and a half ago, my cousin went to her friend's house to try out the pony her friend had been riding for someone. The 12 hands high Welsh A pony was a dream. Although he needed to be ridden with a crop for encouragement. They agreed to buy him and have had him at home for a few days. When my cousin got on to ride the four-year-old gelding, all he did was walk backwards. She had her Mum try to encourage him forward from behind, but he just walked backwards! My cousin used her crop, but it didn't work. So she got rid of the crop and tried being gentle. That didn't work either. She tried being firm with him but that didn't change either. We are all wondering if he needs more time to settle in, or if he doesn't like where he is riding (it is on a hill with a lot of trees). Does he need to be more familiar with his surroundings? The thing that worries us, is that after he is used to where he is living, he will still walk backwards. My cousin is upset, she found her dream horse but he won't go forward! Please help, Sylvia.

REPLY: I would want to first rule out pain issues, for example the saddle may be hurting the horse. You always want to rule out pain first before assuming something is just a behavioral issue, especially when the horse is balking like that. And going backwards instead of forwards when asked is in the category of balking. So check the tack fit thoroughly to make sure there are no pain issues and call in a professional if you're not sure.

Once you've ruled out pain, and the problem remains, now tackle this as a balking issue. I'm going to direct you to some links on my site for a start here. Go to the Q&A section of my web site here, where problems are listed in alpabetical order by topic and scroll down to the entries I have there under the subject of "balking" and "horse won't go": http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips.html -- and read them all in those categories.

What you will learn in more detail in reading those entries is how to unstick a horse who is taking over like that. A horse's forward impulsion is controlled by its hind quarters. Think of the horse as a motorboat with the engine in the back. To get control of the engine, you need to get control of the horse's hind quarters. Do read those links I directed you to because they will go into far more detail than I am here and give you the step by step instructions on how to gain control of the horse's hind quarters when they are balking or using evasive behaviors such as you are experiencing there.

In addition to gaining control of the hind quarters there, I think you might also be experiencing a "confidence issue" with this horse as well. For the first few trail rides in the new home, you might have this horse follow a seasoned confident horse at the same time you are working on the leadership issues. But the bottom line is, this horse has training foundation holes. If your cousin wants to (re)train this horse herself, and in the process learn to be skilled in natural horsemanship, my advice is to start with ground work first to check out/rebuild the horse's foundation from the ground up, and the review (if she sees the horse knows stuff as she goes along) would be good for the horse.

Round penning is a good place to start for the very bottom of building or rebuilding a horse's foundation the natural horsemanship way. That's where I start with most horses myself. It sets you up as leader of their "herd" and them finding comfort in being the follower, for a start (it also fixes hard to catch horses, etc.). Use my step-by-step round penning tutorial that starts here on my web site: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/RoundPenning.html. I also have a Round Pen Leadership DVD out that you can read more about here: https://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/VNHTCProducts.htm#DVD_Round_Pen_Leadership

For the next steps after that, to faster track there, I would suggest applying horse whispering/natural horsemanship training techniques in a very clear step-by-step program, which your cousin can learn more about in my DVD set, the Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System, and you can check out/order that here: https://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/VNHTCProducts.htm#DVD_WW_12Step_TTS

After watching the videos, and after learning and applying the methods, you or she, 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 will be far more willing to do whatever you ask, even when 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 your 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 -- your horse will 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 their owner!
How to move the horse from the rear, and learn 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 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 or your cousin to lay down an even stronger, more solid and trusting foundation under your horse there 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 your horse into a far, far more rational, trusting, happier -- and safer -- horse in saddle as well.

And you or your cousin can do this yourselves if you just back up and learn a few things there. This video set will get you there the fastest with this 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 above 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: https://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/VNHTCProducts.htm#CompletePackage

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, your horse is learning something. You just want to make sure your 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.

You can also read here a few of the many testimonials we have received from around the world from those following my program: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/ProductQuotes.html

Hope this helps and good luck to you there!