A horse owner contacted me today with the following question:
"I have a 19 year old quarter horse who has bad ground manners and if you ride her without another horse she spins and throws her head all over the place is there any help for me and her"?

Here was my response:
Sorry your horse is being difficult, but it's fixable. This is a perfect situation to solve on the ground where you can be safe. It would be too easy for your horse to spin around and knock you off, or break your nose. You stand a much better chance of building his (her?) confidence from the ground.

First of all, the majority of horses would prefer to be lead around through life. "Go ahead and go first, in case something is waiting in the bushes ahead". Remember that horses are prey animals, so they have an intense paranoia. The more insecure they are; the more they prefer the company of another horse. Think back to those "Halloween & Freddy vs. Jason" horror flicks. There was always one idiot in the crowd that had to open the door in the dark while the music was playing. That was always the one that got killed. Get my point? Your horse isn't brave enough to go by himself, and he probably doesn't want to go first either (even if another horse is present).

This is where "sending" your horse on-line becomes so important. In the program that I teach, I encourage you to send your horse from place to place; instead of leading them. When you lead a horse, you are placing yourself in the dominant position of going first. Insecure horses prefer someone else to be in-charge, so leading them around doesn't solve their underlying lack of confidence. Insecure horses tend to lack curiosity. They might investigate a few things, but overall, they approach with great trepidation.

I like to set up obstacles: barrels, cones, balls, etc. On my 12' or 22' line, I will ask my horse to put his nose on various obstacles. By asking my horse to go from place to place and put his nose on "things"; I'm asking him to become curious about them. If you watch horses become curious about something, it happens in a specific order: NOSE, NECK, FEET. They will smell it and touch it with their nose, and push it around. Then they will stretch their neck over it and step closer to it. Then they will start to paw at it and try stepping on it. No matter if it is a trailer or a ball - that's the usual scenario of curiosity and developing confidence about something.

You should be able to stand still and send your horse over to an obstacle, as well as walk next to your horse's girth, and "drive" him over to an obstacle (just like you would when riding him). All of this takes time: you have to take the time to learn the skills so that you can teach your horse what you want, and be able to consistently ask the same way every time. Horses are the easiest animals to train compared to dogs and humans. People are very poor learners, which is why a lot of horses have behavioral issues. Humbling, isn't it?

If you aren't familiar with "sending" your horse: Put your horse on a lead rope (long). If you are holding the lead rope in your right hand, "send" him to the right by pointing with the hand holding the rope. If he only takes one step - praise him, relax, and ask again.

Make sure you look where you are asking him to go. In order to ask your horse to focus - YOU MUST BE FOCUSED. If you are asking him to put his nose on a barrel - you must be staring at the barrel as if you were going to burn a hole through it. As soon as you break your focus - you are breaking your horse's focus. Train your horse by setting an example. Insist that your horse follow your example to the letter.

Take some time to look at the photos on the website. You will see what the "send" looks like. Look closely at the people, and where they are looking.

I hope this helps. Let me know if I can clarify something further or explain it differently.

I will have some video clips on the website in a couple of months for people to watch. I also recommend renting the Parelli Level I or the Clinton Anderson Ground Series from www.YourHorseMatters.com If you are unfamiliar with everything that you can do with groundwork skills, this will give you a jump start. Ground school is a lot of fun, and it's the basis for everything from tricks to lateral work. Have fun!

Keep in touch. Best wishes.
Lisa
www.EquineConnections.net