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Nov/10 Q&A: What can you do to help a horse that pulls back?

By Glenn Stewart

Contrary to some people's way of thinking, horses do not enjoy, like, or think it is fun to pull back. It hurts and they are very worried, scared and claustrophobic-feeling when they pull back. It is much more difficult to teach a horse not to pull after he has started pulling than for you to learn some exercises and then use them with your horse to avoid the pulling in the first place.

The exercises that I would use to help horses overcome their pulling are almost the same as I would use before they started pulling. They are the exercises that prepare a horse for being tied. It is important to always ask the question WHY they are doing what they are doing before trying to figure out a way to help them. If you don't come up with the real WHY then you won't be able to come up with a real solution. We know that they don't pull because they like it so, we can get rid of that.

There are generally three basic areas I use to answer the question WHY? I keep it simple and ask myself if the reason they are pulling back is:

1. a respect issue,
2. a confidence issue, or
3. an understanding issue.

Sometimes it can be some of each of these areas. Once I have the answer to why, then I can either build their confidence, earn their respect, or get a system of clear communication established that the horse understands.

Usually the problem falls under a confidence issue. So we build their confidence. It also usually has some to do with respect as in they probably don't yield to the pressure of the halter very well. Obviously not when they are pulling. It also has some to do with understanding. If they understood that they had nothing to fear and that yielding to the halter was best, there would be much less chance of pulling.

So how do we build their confidence and get them yielding to the halter better?

Touch

The very first thing I would check is to see if my horse enjoys my touch all over his head—or not just accepts but enjoys. He needs to be completely comfortable being rubbed everywhere on his head, eyes, ears, poll, nose, lips and so on.



Having the whole horse enjoying a rub is even better. If the horse doesn't enjoy being rubbed, you use approach and retreat. Approach by rubbing towards the areas that he has worries about, moving as close as he can handle, rubbing there and getting him braver, then look for any sign that he is trying to relax then retreat. Keep rubbing your way in and then away from the area until you have convinced the horse there is nothing to be worried about. I would do the whole procedure again with my halter.

Sometimes horses accept the touch of a hand but not a rope. They sometimes throw their head around trying to shake your hand off. Don't move so close or as quickly to his area of worry. If he can shake your hand away he will perceive this as a release and try again the next time you try to rub.

Take your hand away when the head quiets. It may only happen for a second to begin with so be ready to release.

Claustrophobia

While I was checking these things out and making sure there were no issues with being touched and rubbed, I would keep in mind that horses are claustrophobic by nature—some more than others. Once I was sure a horse had no issues about being handled around the head, I would start helping them get braver in small spaces. I would see how many places I could lead, back and send my horse. I would find places that my horse has to go through, under and over sometimes separately and sometimes all at the same time.

Always start with the easier things like leading through a gate, then maybe back him through the same gate, then send him through.



Anytime you can, send—by that I mean stand still and put some feel on the rope, and ask your horse to follow the feel and go where you sent him. This is one way to see if your horse understands how to follow a feel, and find out if he has been taught to respect the feel of the halter and yield to the pressure being applied. There are many things you can use to help with this such as going into the barn, in and out of the trailer, between under and over trees.

Use your imagination and if possible send, lead and back through the areas that allow it.

Pressure

Another thing is to use steady pressure on the poll with your finger tips to ask the head down and use steady pressure with the lead line to ask the head down. Ask with light but steady pressure. If there is no response, don't release; add a little pressure and wait 2 or 3 seconds and add a bit more pressure.

The moment you get any kind of a yield downwards, immediately release the pressure, rub him to say thanks and start again. Teach him to put his head down each day for a few days in a row until the response you get from your horse is positive. Think about how much pressure it would take to push on the hair or to just get to the skin and his head goes down.

He also needs to be confident enough to keep it down. If he is in a big rush to lift his head up, you're not finished with the exercise. He might not put his head down at all at first; he might even go up. But if you hold the pressure until you get downwards even a half inch, release and start again, then his understanding, respect and confidence will grow.

Pressure motivates, and the release of pressure teaches. Your timing of the release and effectiveness of the phases you use to apply the pressure is what will teach your horse wanted and unwanted behaviour. The better our timing and effectiveness, the better the behaviours.

A light, calm, soft, brave and responsive horse is what we are after, but he might not be that way to begin with. If he has a pulling issue, it is doubtful that pushing on the hair is going to get his attention so to be affective you may have to apply firmer pressure. Don't be in a hurry to get firmer and as you add pressure give him time to think. We are not stronger and don't want to try to be. I tell people a fly can move a horse, so if you are pushing your fingers in him to his muscle, he knows you're there, so you might just hold and wait. Be more persistent than the horse. Teach him how to move off of pressure.

Teaching your horse to follow a feel and yield to pressure is something to be aware of anytime you are with your horse. Notice if you are applying any type of pressure and if you are, what his response was.

An example of pressure being applied accidently and no response is being asked for is holding the lead line short. It is something I see often. The owner/rider of the horse is standing beside their horse holding the clip or very close to it, which often puts slight or even considerable pressure on the horse's head. They're not asking him to do anything; they are just standing visiting with a friend. The whole time the horse is feeling pressure on the bit or halter but isn't being asked to do anything.

This way, the horse gets used to holding the weight of the person's arm with his head, so he becomes desensitized to the pressure. Then when asked to do something, the pressure means little. It is like driving to town with your foot on the brake a little: sooner or later you don't have any brakes or they don't work very well. There are many times and ways to be accidently dulling our horses to the feel of our halters. Be sure to teach your horse not to pull, but be careful not to be a puller yourself.

Overall Confidence

One more thing to check on is your horse's overall confidence. Does he get worried easily? If he does, then use approach and retreat again and desensitize him to things, sounds and objects.

For example, he might be scared of a flag on a stick and even more scared if you waved it around. If he is scared of the sound or look of it, then lots of other things might be scary to him as well. Being tied makes him feel a bit trapped and then if he is scared of things moving and/or sounds, one thing fuels the other and the pulling begins. Understanding what makes a horse a horse helps us prepare them better for things we want them to do and helps us undo things that have already been created.

Tying a Horse That Pulls Back



In the meantime, when you need to tie your horse, wrap the rope rather than tying hard. If the horse pulls and the rope will slide, it is much less frightening to the horse. Wrap the rope around enough times that if you really pull hard it will slide. This way it is uncomfortable for the horse to pull, but the rope has a bit of give, which will help him feel less trapped. A long lead line will give him time to think before the rope comes completely unwrapped.

Doing this in a smaller pen helps because the other edge of the pen also causes the horse to stop pulling. If he gets stopped and comes forward to find the release, this will speed his understanding of the situation.

In Conclusion

All these exercises are creating a new behaviour and may take you some time. Horses that pull can be taught not to, but the person doing the teaching needs to possess some skills and understanding.

So remember:

1. 1. Desensitize to your touch and rubbing.
2. Desensitize to your halter and lead.
3. Build their confidence with things, sounds and objects.
4. Make sure they understand to yield to pressure with your fingers and your lead line for bring the head down.
5. Make sure they can follow a feel.
6. Help them become less claustrophobic.
7. Wrap your lead.

If you are having limited success, get some help from a professional who has helped other horses and people with pulling issues, and who understands that horses are not pulling because the like it and they need their confidence, respect and understanding developed. I was told for years that once a puller always a puller, but I have since proven that statement wrong with numerous horses.

Pulling is not easy to fix but is fixable. If the human and horse understand these concepts and you put them to practise, your horse will stand quietly tied. Once you get him standing quietly tied you will have other things working better as well and probably notice improvement overall.

Enjoy playing with your horses and developing their unending potential.

ARTICLE ADDED WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2010
CATEGORIES: TROUBLESHOOTING, NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP (GENERAL), GLENN STEWART, Q&A, SOLUTIONS TO COMMON PROBLEMS

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