Difficulty turning out and bringing in

I received a phone call "I'm having problems turning my horse out and bringing him in".  J had owned R for just a few months, he was her first horse.  A coloured cob, strong and sturdy, he was great to ride but knew his own mind, especially when J was on the ground.  There was a 5 minute walk along a quiet lane to get to his field, with a busy main road at the end of the lane.  R had a nasty habit, usually when he was on his way in from the field, of taking matters into his own hands and pulling away from J in search of pastures new.  She had bought a Dually halter after attending a Monty Roberts demonstration, and was looking for some help in using it correctly.

I worked initially to assess R's response to me asking him to walk with me, stop, back up, move his quarters, bend his head and neck, and walk in a circle around me.  I found that he was basically very obedient, but had momentary lapses into difficult, almost threatening behaviour.  The longer I worked with him, the more relaxed he became.  Once I was confident that we were safe, I took him out onto the lane to show J how I would expect him to behave when he was led to and from the field.  He walked on a relaxed rope, with a 'smile in the line' (no pressure along the rope between my hand and the head collar), and we stopped often.  I expected him to stop when I stopped, and if he didn't, I asked him to back up a step or two until he was where he should have stopped, then I stepped out of his space to reward him with peace and quiet for doing what I had asked.  The more tempting the grass by the side of the lane, the more often I stopped.  I described it to J as having a conversation with him.  The walking, stopping, occasional backing up was like continually conversing with him, rather than just ignoring him and doing my own thing and so encouraging him to do the same.  The more distractions there were, the more interesting I needed to make the conversation. R walked calmly with me all the way to the field.

I asked J what she had noticed, she said that it looked like a fairy tale and she wanted to know how to achieve the same herself.  I advised her to start with some reading - Kelly Marks' 'Perfect Manners', Monty Roberts 'From My Hands To Yours', and anything by Mark Rashid for starters.  This week I'm going back to work with J and R again, helping them to work together rather than against each other.

If you'd like help with your horse, you can find your local Intelligent Horsemanship Recommended Associate at www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk.