How do you stop a horse from charging at you when you lounge it?
We have a 8 year old Mustang. We have all sorts of ground manner problems with this horse and that extends to lounging in the ring. I mention the ground manners cause I'm sure it's all part of the same problem. She has no respect for our space. When we lounge her though she will go around a couple of times and then charge at you bucking and kicking. I'm really afraid someone is going to get hurt. She doesn't care if you have a whip or anything she just comes straight at you.
2008-03-28T09:47:04Z
Did I mention she doesn't care about the whip...she runs through the whip. Ugg what a pain. I have 8 horses and she's the only one I have trouble with.
Mulereiner2008-03-28T09:16:05Z
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Ohhhh for a beast like this, I would honestly step it up a notch, but email me for advice.
If i post it here, all the flicka babies will be reporting me lol.
I wouldn't tolerate this, no respect for space , whip etc, then I would definately get an upper hand.
i had a 6 year old stallion off the track that did exactly the same thing. i thought for sure i was lunging the correct way, but in fact was not. i did use the whip on the neck and shoulder, but it had zero effect. it actually made him more confrontational. also, be very , very careful if you use the whip in defense, becasue it would be very easy to take an eye out, and no one wants that! i also had a dressage horse, at the time, that i was having lessons on. my trainer was a grand prix rider, and when i told her of the problem with the stallion she offered to help. she stood next to me and positioned my body, like i was a puppet...lol. my biggest problem was NOT staying at the shoulder and NOT moving forward with the horse. you must hold your body at a slight angle, to allow the horse to move forward. no matter what he does, stay at the shoulder, AND MAINTAIN EYE CONTACT. never back away from the horse , keep the action moving forward the whole time. the stallion did attack a few times during our lesson, but it did not turn into the wrestling match it had been. by the end the horse was trotting around nicely. even though we got beyond it, i could tell whenever i lunged him, it was on his mind, and i never nodded off at the wheel....lol you will have to stay on your toes, whenever you are around this horse. i would also suggest you email mule. he seems to know his stuff, and always has the horses best interest in mind. this horse needs to get with the program, so he can have a happy life and be well cared for.
You Have it right. It's all in the ground manners. Your horse knows that you do not have his respect and trying to lounge is going to be a disaster as you explained. You must start with the ABCs and then build your words. I recommend clinton anderson gaining respect on the ground. He uses techniques that will get your horse listening and responding to you. It takes time and patience. Whips, sticks, and spurs are not necessary. Once your horse listens to you lounging will be a breeze. Show him who's boss. Good luck and stay safe.
You do need to step it up a bit - Get a good whip that is long enough that you can get use it in a stall but long enough that you won't get kicked - then use it! Start in a stall - use the whip to make her understand that you have your space and she has hers. A good horse should always put it's butt in the far corner of a stall when someone enters. You have to follow through and be in control of everything - she can't take a step unless you tell her to - if she acts out, whip her and make her stand till you are ready to go. The amount of whip you need to use on her depends on how quick she understands - it's ok to use them as a tool as long as you aren't using them out of rage or frustration.
One of my younger horses sometimes does this. I usually try to give her extra line so she is running in a wider circle around me, and I keep the whip in between the two of us. If she charges at me, I crack the whip and this usually scares her back to where shes supposed to be. And after she does this, I tap her with the whip, just so she knows that she shouldn't do that. Shes responded very well.