Teaching a horse manners

Mallard123

hi
i have this 8 year old cob who has a bit of a problem when out with other horses.i mainly just do trekking with him and he's very good on his own but when with another horse he changes and gets very jumpy when we start doing anything over a walk. he's by himself in a field and has been for the past 3 years seeing as i only have the 1 horse and the only other person i go out with is my friend who recently got a horse his main problem is shuffling around on the road and then taking off(regardless of martingale)and bucking or rearing. i've done horse riding for 6 years and then stopped when i got my own horse.
thanks

helibelly

Join the club, I once went on a sponsored ride and spent the entire ride being bounced along by my horse who was very excited :rolleyes:, considering I spent so much time getting him happy with hacking out alone, I applied the same principles to the 'company' problem. So if there's a lesson you can go to do, if you can hack out with friends do, exposure is one of the best methods, once he gets used to being around others again he should chill a bit more. Remember as well that you've got to be relaxed as well as your horse will pick up on your mood very quickly, so more exposure the merrier

Ave Sodalis

As the poster above said, exposure. Take out on more hacks and surround him with other horses. Even if you can ask a friend who has a few horses if your horse can join them in the field for a week or two.
A martingale doesn't stop a horse taking off, it's job is to lower the head so you have a bit more control. If a horse want to take off, a martingale won't stop it. The bucking and rearing is a concern and needs to be stopped as it can be dangerous, particularly the rearing. Do you carry a whip when riding? If so, use it. If he bucks, a sharp tap behind. If he rears, a tap between his ears will make him think he has hit something and he'll stop. This has to be done as he goes up though. Cobs are known to take a hand of people, don't let him do this.
As for the shuffling, exposure should clear this up. Just sit quietly and relaxed. If you feel you don't have control, you might want to think about using a stronger bit... but only do that if necessary!
Best of luck

convert

I agree with what's been said before. It sounds like your horse just needs to get used to being ridden in company. A lot of the young horses I've worked with have been excited seeing and being ridden with other horses, but once they get used to it they'll probably settle down and learn to enjoy it quietly. I'd also agree with sup_dude re. discipline. The worst thing you can do is let your horse get away with being bold as it will just reinforce his behaviour.

ailbheg

Bring things back to basics with him. Is he ever in a yard with other horses, and if so, how is he there? Does he have manners when you're on the ground?
If he's rearing and taking off on the road, this is very dangerous behaviour, and, as sup_dude said, needs to be stopped.
Do you ever ride him in a more enclosed space with another horse? My lad wasn't used to being ridden with other horses when I bought him, he'd take off every time we rode with others, so I did some arena work with him before bringing him out with others, initially with one other quiet horse, who wouldn't get excited if my lad acted up, and now he's grand to go out in big groups, as long as he doesn't feel penned in by other horses.