Tag: soreness

Question Category: Issues from the Saddle

Question: I have a 9 yr. old gelding that I have had for 3 yrs, I have shown walk trot English/Western for 2 yrs. My husband and myself are still novice to the show world, my gelding was a 4H show horse since they purchased him as long 2yr. old, so I know he knows his job. I am concerned because he has just recently tried biting, he pins his ears back when putting his saddle on (the vet sees no problem with his back), and he does rub his face on me when we are done riding. How do I solve these ground manner issues? He also consistently picks up the wrong canter lead when riding clockwise. I have tried leg, body weight, crop, side pass then lead off. I know that he knows what I am asking, when he gives me the correct lead I praise him and rub him. Any suggestions?

Thank you so much,
Lori,
Clearview, WA

Answer: Dear Lori,

You’ve got a few different issues here, with complicated answers, but I think I can steer you in the right direction to find the information you need to progress with your horse.

As for the biting, pinning ears and rubbing on you, these are all signs that you have a dominance issue with your horse. Pinning the ears when you saddle him could be a sign of a poor saddle fit, so you should definitely have that checked by a professional. Biting is the most dominant behavior of horses , and if your horse is just beginning this behavior, it is a sign that you have done things to make your horse believe he is dominant over you — biting is a late-stage sign. This kind of behavior starts with allowing the horse to move into your space, to control your actions, to take away feed from you, etc. Biting is the third stage of progressive behaviors of the horse; first is lipping. If that goes uncorrected, the horse begins to nip; if nipping goes uncorrected, the horse begins to bite. There are numerous articles on biting and respect issues in the training library of my Web site that will help you work through these issues and position yourself as a true leader to your horse.

If your horse is indeed trained to pick up his leads reliably and now he is not, it could be a sign of soreness or an error in your cueing. You always have to consider a physical issue first because it could be a sign of soreness developing. If the horse does not take the right lead, it could be because of pain in the right fore or left hind; and visa-versa. Both the leading foreleg and the outside hind leg endure more stress in each canter stride because the horse suspends more weight on them. Rule out a lameness issue first.

To set your horse up for the correct lead, always cue coming into a corner — not during the turn or coming out of the turn, but just before the turn. In this position, the horse should know which direction he is going and he’ll be positioned with his hips in, the way his body needs to be to take the correct lead, so that he can push off with the outside hind leg.

The cue for the canter on the correct lead use your outside leg, back about 6 inches (to bring his hips in and his outside leg underneath him), slightly lift your inside rein (to shift his and your weight to the outside and free-up his inside shoulder to take the lead.) and push with your seat in the canter motion. You might also use the kissing sound as a voice cue, which gives your horse a hint of what you are asking. If you are weighting the inside when you cue your horse to canter or you are cueing when his hips are positioned out, he will have difficulty taking the correct lead.

The canter is the most complicated of gaits, and you need to not only understand the cue and why it works, but also the footfalls of the canter and the mechanics of leads. Check out my video, “Canter With Confidence,” with much more detail on cueing for the canter and correcting lead problems.

Good luck with your horse!
Julie

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