Once again, I was watching a short video on social media and was horrified at the stupid stunt the “star” of the video pulled. I’m sure I’m going to step on some feelings here, so be prepared but also, try to learn from what I say. The video showed a woman leading what appeared to be a young, maybe a three year old, horse out to a pasture. Facing the pasture, she pulled the halter off and turned the horse loose. The horse zoomed forward, frolicking, and kicked the woman as it went by. The woman wasn’t actually injured, but it appeared to sting pretty good. Thankfully, it got her in the side, not the head. That would have been more than a sting, maybe fatal. Several things came to mind as I watched this. First, the horse had been taught this very bad behavior and wouldn’t unlearn it on its own. Second, the woman had encouraged the behavior by turning the horse loose as she did. There really is a better way to do it, and it starts with proper leading. From the first time handling a horse, whether a foal or an older horse, I want that horse to be focused on me when I have ahold of the lead rope. If their focus shifts, I bring it back to me firmly. I want the horse to acknowledge my authority of being the one doing the leading, not being just along for the drag. A horse that tends to gawk off and wants to be in the lead is dealt with in the following way: Walking along by the horse, it is given the opportunity, via a loose lead, to walk in the correct position, which is in my opinion, head next to my shoulder. If it gets ahead of me and isn’t paying attention to my position, I make a 90 degree turn away from the horse and with the lead held very firmly, even using my off side hip for a leverage point, allow the horse to be snatched around to follow. I’m not making eye contact or showing any aggression, I just changed direction. I’ve never had a horse perceive this as a challenge, and after several times of being snatched around to follow, they tend to be paying attention and when I turn, however sharply, they turn with me on a loose lead. This has worked on old, ex-race horses that had years of dragging people around in their history. No fight or fuss, they just start focusing on me. Another aspect of leading and standing on a lead, is personal space. My personal space, specifically. If the horse moves its head or body into my space uninvited, which I feel is about 18-24 inches from me in any direction, the horse needs to give me the space back. Don’t ever be the one to move unless you feel your safety is in question. If that is the case, you need to get to work on the horse’s respect for your space and person. To redeem my space, I will touch the horse on the shoulder or neck with my stiffened index finger, as gently as I can for a response, and ask them to move away, increasing pressure as needed. For really rude horses, I will even use a stick or other somewhat sharp instrument to get the response, but only using as much as it takes for the shift away. I reward even a shift of the body without the movement of the feet, then ask again. Horses feel a fly when it lands so you can bet it can feel pressure from your finger or a stick. Keeping that personal space bubble intact is a key to having control of the horse. An example of a respectful horse would be a stallion we had years ago who could be moved away from a hot mare with a pointed finger. It had started as a foal with him. It would seem that turning a horse loose would be a simple procedure, but it is as important as how you catch one. I lead the horse through the gate and into the pen or pasture, turn the horse to face back toward the gate, and make them stand. If they are gawking around, looking over their shoulder or suchlike, we do some close order drill to draw them back to the task at hand. That can include moving in circles, backing, side stepping, or anything else that gets their feet busy and mind engaged. As soon as the horse is completely focused on me, I stop and let them stand. If they stand politely, I put the halter rope over their neck, up near the head, grasping the lead together under their neck, and untie or unbuckle the halter, keeping ahold of the halter rope. If the horse starts to move, we do some more little drills to draw them back to me, with my hand holding the halter rope firmly at their throat latch. When the horse is standing still and looking at me again, I stroke their neck, release the hold on the far side of the rope, turn and walk away, pulling the halter rope over their neck as I leave. They usually follow along until the rope drops, then stop and watch me leave. If they do decide to whirl and leave, I’m safely away from the horse and they have already acknowledged that it was ME leaving them, not THEM leaving me. Horses are in a constant state of competition with other horses in the herd, and it doesn’t matter what age or status the horse is, it will include you in that power struggle. You should always be the alpha in the situation. If you are not willing or able to be, you need a smaller, tamer creature to spend time with than a horse. Maybe a gold fish would be a better choice.
Jan was raised on a ranch in far western South Dakota. She grew up horseback working all descriptions of cattle, plus sheep and horses. After leaving home she pursued a post-graduate study of cowboying and dayworking in Nebraska, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota....
