Horse people might enjoy this :D

[Tinted]

I have been working on getting my four year old gelding to take the right lead for about a month now and we are making slow but steady progress. Well today everything went wrong; neither of us could get it together. To control the frustration and to keep from lashing out at my gelding in the form of yanking on his mouth when he "hops", my instructor who feels the same frustration with her horse has told me to scream my bloody head off whenever I get frustrate enough to want to haul on his mouth cause he is acting like a twit. Well I rode for 2 ½ hours today in an attempt to get him to take the right lead, and nothing was working (we were both discombobulated today) so every time he goes to hop (aka thrust into the canter in a vain attempt to make me happy) I scream at the top of my lungs “I SAID NO.” After about 5 or 6 of said screams of frustration the lady in the rental house above the field I ride in comes running out thinking something is wrong only to see me on my baby boy screaming like a banshee while he hops like a bloody rabbit saying “Do you want me to canter now? How about now? Now? NOW?”. Needless to say it was a hysterical moment.

I thought some horse people on here would have found it hysterical, she did and after a while so did I. I love my horse, he tries so hard to deal with his crazy mom.

 

[Slinkytoys]

I hope you thanked your neighbor for caring enough to check up on you!! That was a very nice thing for her to do.
Slinky

 

[welsummerchicks]

I hope for your horse's sake as well as your own and all around you, that you make the resolution that you won't lose your temper any more while you are riding.

I don't think screaming instead of jerking the reins is the answer to the temper problem. I don't think going at it for 2 1/2 hrs is the answer either. I think the answer is to not get mad when you're riding, rather, keep a cool head and figure out what's going wrong, fix it and go on.

It's something everyone eventually learns in riding - to control their emotions. If you are getting mad, frustrated or whatever, best thing to do is to get off.

A good instructor will have a lot of tools in their toolbox that they can share with the rider. If the horse is hopping, most likely you are catching him in the mouth with the reins when he tries to canter. Too, there are exercises and ways to position the horse and rider so they pick up the correct lead. Positioning the shoulders so they stay in line, sitting on the inside diagonal til just before asking, making the leg and weight aids more clear, putting the outside arm up and holding the reins in the inside hand (yes, this is an exercise for English riding), putting the rider on an older schooled horse a few times, putting the rider on the longe line, or the trainer getting up on the horse and getting the lead a couple times.

There are many, many options, all of which have worked for many, many years with many, many riders and horses.

If something is going wrong, don't keep at it for 2 1/2 hrs. Otherwise the horse gets sore and is worse the next day. Both horse and rider are 'set up for failure' rather than success.

Stop and try again tomorrow, but try something different. Stay calm, don't yell, and don't jerk the reins. Instead of getting mad, think, stay cool, and analyze what's going wrong.

 

[chickenzoo]

Yes, if you are getting frustrated with something he is having trouble on, stop and do something that he knows well - to get both of you to relax and get his confidence back. Always end on a good note. Continuously trying to do something he is having trouble at only seems to confuse them more and then he will get sour and stop trying totally. Glad the neighbor cares enough to check on you guys....

 

[michickenwrangler]

Quote:
Yup. Take a break if you have to and go back to it.

 

[Tinted]

I am not asking for your opinion as I honestly don’t care. I will do what I want when I want with my horse. This thread was a "Funny" Ha-ha, thread as it was hysterical in the moment. My instructor knows what she is doing, and I listen to her not a random person on a chicken forum. You have no idea how my horse reacts and no idea about his behavior, you also dont have a clue about me as a rider. I would be incredibly thankful if you would keep your unneeded criticism to your selves.

My horse WILL do what I ask him to at least once, I will not allow him to think that he will get away with it if he keeps it up. He DID take the correct lead and he did get to go back to the barn after he did as asked. I ride 3-5 hours a day, 2 1/2 hours to me and my endurance anglo arab is nothing. Again please keep all negative and unwanted criticism to your self on this thread.

He is hopping as he WANTS to do as I ask and canter, however I am brining him back to a trot every time he canters as he is on the incorrect lead. He is not being a bad boy, just trying to do as I ask. I know my horse, and I know what and why he is doing it.

We ended doing trot work.

ETA: Yes I thanked the lady, and we both had a good laugh.

 

[welsummerchicks]

"I do what I want with my horse"

Not really. No one is an island, and everyone is subject to the law, and to the limits of human decency and ethics as well as the consequences of 'training' your horse that way, which is that he will not only continue to canter on the wrong lead, he will be tense and nervous and afraid. You aren't looking at any successful showing or even just having a decent ride or lesson, til you can manage your temper better.

You also are more likely to break your horse down and make him lame, doing like that. Tense horses get hurt. While a trail ride at a walk can go on for many hours on a fit horse, schooling a horse like that when you are angry you run a very, very big risk of harming your horse.

You also have to consider how it makes you look to other people. Not good. It's a small world, and people have long memories. The person you lose your temper with or in front of today, is the person interviewing you tomorrow for a bank loan or a job you want.

Also, not if your neighbor does what she should have done, and calls Animal Control. Hopefully next time she will. After that happens a few times, you build up a record, and that's not good either. But some people, that's the only reason they control themselves - because they don't want to get caught and pay a fine. One hopes that one develops some feeliing for the animals, and stops for that reason.

Everyone has given you the same response - you show about zero concern for the feelings or the physical welfare of your horse. You may not want anyone's 'criticism', but you may need it - very very badly. You will find yourself to be a very, very isolated and unhappy person down the road if you don't listen to what people are telling you.

I have serious concerns that you think it is 'funny' to scream at your four year old and ride him for 2 1/2 hours.

It is not funny, it is a problem. That you think it's 'funny' really, really concerns me.

I don't know of any trainer that would allow it to go on. I'd be curious to know the name of the instructor who stood there for 2 1/2 hours encouraging you to scream at your horse, so I don't take lessons with him, but seriously, I doubt that's how it went down.

If I had ever done anything like that for even a second, my trainer would have me off the horse and my mouth in the dirt.

In the old days with a traditional instructor, you would have got a whip across your back, a boot in your backside, and sent home. Immediately. No decent instructor tolerates ANY loss of temper in a student.

I am very concerned for the welfare of the young horse, as well as for you. Someone who is THIS angry all the time is not going to be happy or successful at anything. You might consider some anger management classes, or some counseling.

As a person grows and matures, they often have trouble managing frustration and anger. It's not unusual. But it is unusual for a person to be this much in denial, and this much resistant to help.

 

[babyblue]

if you have to fight for hours and still not get something constructive done then either your skill level or the horses isn’t up to doing what your trying to do. I am frustrated that your "trainer" just lets this get to the point of screaming without intervention. if this "trainer" cant tell you what needs done and get the point across then this "trainer" needs to get their rump on the horse and school it for you. if that cant be done or the "trainer" cant after some serious work and schooling get the situation under control then you need to find someone else to help you with your horse.

and believe me there have been times when I have felt like screaming and crying. like when a certain "trainer" insisted that I had to get my pony to canter. well lesson learned rocky mt horses do not canter under saddle, particularly ones that have been extremely well harness trained. As a 10 year old I didn’t know any better, but other adults at the boarding barn kept tws and told my mom the instant they saw the pony exactly what he was and what the issue was.

 

[Tinted]

Quote:
I am laughing my head off. Really I am. My gelding is happy as a clam, and was after the ride as well. He got a shower and a rub down. He was acting up, what do you expect me to do pet him and give him cookies for bouncing around like a jack rabbit? I ride calm and soft in my hands and seat, however he is young and quite reactive so I avoid using a whip on him when he gets crazy. Hollering at him works GREAT, he is hopping like a rabbit and every time he hopps I holler out "I SAID NO" and boom instant reinforcement and an instantly trotting horse. You have no reason to judge me or my horse. My gelding is a baby, but he is strong and we get along great. We ride for hours around my home area, and on trails. He has been slowly building up for endurance core training and just this summer we began to build him up. Five years old is the starting age for endurance horses, next year we will be attending 15K rides and he will be able to handle the rides of that I am sure. He gets a vet check at least three times a year, he is perfectly fit and sound and has been cleared for the training we do. He is mentally healthy and pun intended "Happy as a horse."

I just began using the "holler when he hopps" idea, and it works wonders! It is much more effective in this situation than popping his butt every time he hopps and confusing him. If you dislike it, I dont mind. Thats your opinion. I listen to people who know what they are talking about, as I said I do not listen to people on a chicken forum.

 

[welsummerchicks]

You don't know how much or what type of experience the 'people on a chicken forum' that you look down on so, actually have with horses. You have no idea, so I wouldn't draw conclusions. There are a lot of different people who keep chickens these days. In the short time I've been here I've been very, very impressed with the diversity of experience and knowledge here.

One gal I know, has shown successfully in Hunt Seat at the top levels for 30 yrs, and worked with the best people in the country, and she has chickens.

Another I know won a gold medal at the pan am games and has done hunt seat and dressage, fox hunted, played polo successfully at the top level for 45 yrs, and both have trained many young horses and many, many students.

Aside from that, I'd suggest you post here about horses, because people are far less likely to come down on you like a box of hammers HERE, than on a horse website, where you would get much, much more of an reaction and much, much more criticism and condemnation.

I think you really need to get some help with your anger issues. That is not the way to train a horse, doing him like that.