How to prove you're dominant to a horse?

[Stormhorse23]

Get professional help for the saddling up areas. Sometimes their minds are so fragile, you can screw them up in this area. On the ground work is pretty easy, with most horses. I don't have a round pen so sorry I can't be of any help in round pen training.

 

[patandchickens]

The danger in trying to learn roundpenning with a horse with whom you're already having trouble is that you two will get your signals crossed at times. And when that happens with a horse who's not already operating from firm assumption of goodwill and calmness, you are in for Big Trouble.

Either 1) the horse thinks you are retreating from it and becomes more firmly convinced she can/should ignore you, chase you around, and/or come after you.

Or 2) (far more common) you press her too hard and at the wrong moments, and don't back off when you ought, and the horse genuinely thinks you're attacking, and reacts in sincere fear and/or self-preservation. Particularly for horses with feral or semi-feral herd history, you REALLY DO NOT want them reacting to you with fear or self-preservation, no matter how fast you can run and duck, eeep.

Or 3) you alternate too-submissive and too-aggressive/too-unrelenting behavior, and you get all of the above reactions plus the horse becomes more and more convinced that people are unpredictable nutcases to be ignored when possible and defended against with teeth and hooves the rest of the time.

Tact and appropriate body language in the roundpen are not easy to learn from a book or video, you need someone there with you helping you learn, either a very good horseman, or (lacking that) at least a very good experienced charitable fully-comprehending horse.

This situation has neither.

Look, the mark of a good horseman is to know what you can safely and sensibly do yourself, and what you (as yet) cannot. Really truly. It is time to get help, and the longer you delay the harder it's going to be to find anyone good enough TO help you. When you can't find anyone good enough to help you, that's when the horse becomes whatever today's alternative to dogfood is (there are many other sorts of sad ends for messed-up horses).

Pat, who has seen a number of horses meet that sort of sad ends, labelled as 'outlaws' or 'nutcases', by means of stories that begin like this one, despite all the owner's best intentions.

 

[nightshade]

I recently bought a 20 yr old mustang who was already broke. very well too. but you can tell he is not just anytype of horse just by being aroung him. The woman I bought him from was also the one who trained and broke him. She told me you can't be afarid to be alittle rough with a mustang, or they will become the dominte and will push you around. It I very easy to get hurt with one. You must let her know you are the top dog so to speak. Weather it is with a slap on the nose and a raised voice when she bites or tries to or simply shoving them back when they try to shove you. Ours is very very head strong, which I have been told is a major trait with them. He will try to puch you and knock you down if you are not payign attention to him when he wants you to.

You will need to spend ALOT of time with her, even if it is just sitting on a bucket or stool outside her stall talking to her. She will need to learn you are not there to hurt her but that she needs to behave in a certain way. Mustangs take a much longer time to break "well" then a normal horse and it will be a forever process. They are emotionaly damaged easier then a normal horse. In other words once you have their trust it is easier to lose it, by being too rough or losing your temper and beating a horse. It is one thing to correct a horse but to beat a horse is just going to cause you more problems.

Hope this helps.

 

[valmom]

3 year olds are adolescents with all the testing and trial that comes with growing up.

NO TREATS! And, I agree, saddling and bridling should not produce tantrums- ground work may be lacking if it does. Saddles should be a non-event along with lungeing and bridling and everyday handling, mustang or not. How long have you had her? She sounds like she is a little bit spoiled and allowed to think she is the princess

Transitioning to working for a living is tough for a 3 year old to learn.

About the dominance issue, I believe in the "make them think you are going to kill them for 30 seconds" school. I yell, growl, chase them (if you can make them move their feet away from you, you are dominant). No one dares make pissy faces at me- they get chased away. *I* am the dominant mare in my herd! Face the horse squarely- don't tilt your body. Look at them- it is dominant and aggressive, and will make them think. Use your arms to make your body bigger. Think BIG. (and stay out of range of a kick if that is a possibility)

It does sort of sound like you need someone who has started youngsters before at this point.

 

[ratlummountain]

i've had a mustang for 6 years now, about once a year he gets too big for his britches and i have to remind him i'm the dominant mare.
i've driven him from his herd and kept him away until I SAY IT's OK to re-join the herd. i've even literally knocked him off his feet when he tried to bulldoze thru me. i get pretty rough with him and push him around, then he settles back into his role of friend. mind you i don't abuse him. but if you watch horses playing and establishing the pecking order in the pasture they're not gentle either.

she's 3 years old and she's still an adolescent, mustang or not most 3 year olds are mouthy and pushy - most at this age don't understand "personal space".

part of me thinks too if she's being really snarly about saddling and bridling, you might want to check and make sure the tack fits properly. there could even be a different medical issue underneath this behavior.

this may sound silly, but you could try an animal communicator.

there's even the possibility that she's simply not the horse for you. personality conflicts are not to be completely dismissed.
i've seen plenty of horses work well with just men, but are terrors to women. and vice versa.

if you do end up sending her to training, i would recommend a "cowboy" type trainer. be careful and pick one who does not employ abuse methods though.

if you do try to establish dominance yourself at home, PLEASE wear a helmet as a precaution. most of the trainers i know ALWAYS wear a helmet when interacting with youngsters. and for more than one it has been a very wise precaution.

 

[rooster-red]

Ever see blazing saddles?

The scene where mongo punches the horse?

 

[Florida chick]

Wow is all I can say! Some of the answers you recieved are just SCARY and Stupid and way off! Please find yourself someone than can "train" your horse not abuse her. Check out Parelli and John Lyons, they are both great Natural horseman. You need some serious help, alot more than a little explaining on the computer.