Do some round penning with this youngster. Follow my round penning technique I've got up on my site there, step by step. (There's a printer-friendly pdf version at the top of that first page) and you'll find that here:

http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/RoundPenning.html

And do not allow him to come in to you when round penning UNTIL he shows those signs of more respectful submission that I teach in that section there. In round penning, those signs would be: inside ear remains on you at all times, he starts making smaller circles around you in an attempt to find the less pressure spot, he works his mouth and drops his head like he's "mowing the ground." You will use a rope tossed at the back of his feet to send him, or spin the rope, letting it smack the ground hard, repeatedly, to send him off. Then, follow the round penning techniques I teach there in my round penning section. From the time you enter the round pen with the horse, YOU are the director, not the horse. YOU decide when he turns and where, not the horse. You are: the lead mare. This round penning exercise is NOT about mindlessly longeing the horse around and around in circles, but is about direct one-to-one clear communication. Read that section to learn the nuances of this precise science of natural horsemanship.

In prey animal psychology, all horses follow an innate behavior instictive rule and it goes like this: "He who moves the other's feet is higher up on the pecking order." ALL horses are pecking order animals and this "rule" is just instinct in them, from the time they are born. So...these biting/rearing games your young stud is playing there is his attempt to move up the pecking order from you. I.E.: trying to move your feet! Stop and look and think...and realize: he's probably succeeded in moving your feet far more often than you realize. Time to turn the tables on him to get him respecting you as a leader. Believe me, he wouldn't DREAM of exhibiting this kind of behavior around another horse that he perceived higher up on the pecking order from him, especially a lead mare. Nope! He'd rather die than do that.

Part of the problem I see often with people who have raised a colt from very young is: they sometimes accidentally spoil the young horse somewhere along the way, not setting proper limits. By the time they are two, the spoiled behavior can become quite dangerous. You need to establish with this horse what we call the "black and white zone." The white zone is when the horse is behaving properly and we don't pressure the horse in the white zone, all is good and calm for the horse there. The black zone is when they have stepped over the line and that is when pressure goes on them instantly and as proportionally high as need be to get the horse back into the white zone. Make sense? Let me get specific.

If the horse is at liberty (not haltered) when doing the rearing or biting or even aggressive pawing, instantly send him assertively away (by tossing a rope at his back feet, or spinning the rope to slap the ground hard, or, in a pinch, stuck with nothing in your hand, you can kick dirt at their hindquarters or even pick up a dirt clod and toss it at the hindquarters), get "big" with your arms out, and make this sound real loudly, "SHHHHHH!" and from hereon when disciplining/correcting use that sound as well. Before long, the horse learns that "Shhh" means "stop it!" We find that a far, far more effective disciplining sound with horses than "No," or any other word or sound. Use it often enough when correcting (but only to mean "stop it"), and before long, just a quiet "Shhh!" for ANY behavior we don't want stops the behavior instantly.

If the horse is in halter/lead rope when the biting/rearing occurs, if he bites, bop him good and hard, but come from underneath, under the chin, never on the face itself or you can create a head shy horse. Under the chin they never see it coming. We take biting VERY SERIOUSLY in NH training. Believe it or not, biting is more dangerous than kicking. Huge hunks of humans have been taken off by a biting horse, sometimes quite permanently crippling the human. (Ever see a horse take a huge chunk out of an apple? Sure you have. We want a horse to never ever "go there" with the human.) So take this seriously, act seriously, so the horse understands: this is NOT okay to do, even in play. But you have 3 seconds to connect with the horse under the chin to discipline for that; after that 3 seconds, it means absolutely nothing whatsoever to the horse, you've missed your window, so don't go there. Horse's don't understand "revenge" and anything past the 3 second rule is not read properly by the horse.

When you bop him under the chin, use the "Shhhh!" sound at the same time, and then immediately after doing that, jerk the lead rope hard downward repeatedly and walk into him. Be aggressive/assertive. Be loud with the "Shhh." Make life quite overtly unpleasant for a few seconds there. This skedaddles the horse backwards, and hence, reinforces: it is you moving his feet, not the other way around; you are the higher pecking order one then in your little "herd of two." And he understands that innately as: you are the higher pecking order animal, worthy of respecting.

After he skedaddles backwards, stop. Pause. Face him. Just stare at him. Full eye-to-eye contact. Staring is a pressure. Be silent. Still. And let him think about what just happened. Through thinking, they learn. Important to take that pause to allow the horse time to think! Generally the horse will work the mouth at some point there during that pause which means, "I understand." Wait for that if you can. After the 30-second or so pause/horse works mouth, approach him and pet him. Yep, pet him. (Rub always, never pat). Reward him. For backing up/off. So he can file away what the white zone is compared to the earlier black zone. If he tries to bite again even there, repeat the disciplining, remaining 100% consistent in your actions there.

All horses instinctively lean in the direction of what is easiest. You're going to start making the right thing easy and the wrong thing hard in this category, as we say in NH. Life is very good and easy for him when he's quiet and respectful and "doesn't go there." Conversely, life gets VERY hard suddenly for him when he crosses into the black zone, misbehaves dangerously like that. Now...I'm not talking brutality here whatsoever; hear it correctly. It's more about: posturing. Be "big" (your arms up and out making you look bigger), be loud with your Shhhh, and jerk the lead rope downward as you walk into the horse. I guarantee you, he WILL move back. If he tries to rear when you jerk the rope, just wait until he comes back down and still jerk the rope again to get him moving backwards (always work with a 12' foot lead rope, no shorter!! That keeps you out of safe rearing range). Don't allow rearing to work for him any longer. What goes up, must come down. Wait for the come-down and send him back via jerking the rope downward!

Incidentally, just FYI, I use a natural horsemanship halter with 12-foot lead rope to train in at all times, and that attached lead rope comes in handy for just about every single thing I do with the horse whether it's just in my hand or on the horse.

It's designed for maximum communication by the way the knots are tied at strategic pressure points around the horse's face, so...the smallest amount of pressure is quickly and easily felt by the being-schooled horse. Not all halters are the same or communicate the same. I personally will not work a horse in anything but the natural horsemanship halter with 12' lead tied on. Period. If I arrive on a training scene with a horse in any other halter/lead, I stop and change halters to mine. And it has a nice, long (safe!) 12-foot lead attached; slack is your friend in NH! Slack allows you the opportunity to have room to communicate to the max to the horse, but the 12-feet distance allows you to remain safest from a biting, rearing or acting up horse without ever really losing control of the horse. And the length allows for many interesting, effective exercises that you can do with the horse, as well. Just wanted to pass along my two cents worth regarding what to work the horse in; I think it is that important.

Don't worry that you'll "lose his trust" going this disciplining route with the misbehaving like that horse. The opposite will actually occur. See....horses despise/disrespect those lower than them on the pecking order. Just the nature of the beast. They look up to, respect, like more those higher than them on the pecking order. So...you're doing him a favor disciplining him and it will deepen your bond once he understands "the rules" better. Horses are actually far happier in the non-questioning, lower pecking order spot, just "getting along." It's a more relaxing place for them to exist.

You are right to take this very seriously, by the way. I would too. Trust me...he'd only do this probably ONCE with me and never again because that's how difficult life would suddenly become if he tried that kind of "play attack" with me, or any good NH trainer. No one's allowed to get hurt in NH, and that includes: us, not just the horse!

You're only partially right that this behavior will die down after he's gelded. Unfortunately, you're gelding him rather late and what behavior they learn before they are gelded is exactly that: learned. And therefore has to be unlearned. I highly recommend not waiting any longer to geld him (unless you're intending to breed him). But even kept-stallions can be taught proper behavior around humans. Follow the above measures and you should see that behavior checked pretty quickly.

But you need an overall plan there, as well!  It's important not just to show the horse what he's not supposed to do, but spend even more time on teaching him: what is IS supposed to do. Because I think it will help you tremendously there with all your training of this guy from here forward, 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 route will absolutely get your horse past all of those issues, and more, I assure you.

One last link on my site that I think might help you there -- to learn a little more about natural horsemanship and prey animal psychology in general -- my "What is Natural Horsemanship" link here:

http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/WhatIsNH.html

I hope all this helps, and let me know if I can be of any further help to you there as you go along. Good luck to ya! Stay safe! And thanks for writing.

 

 

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