wundahoss
Posted : 6/2/2010 12:54:46 AM
If your horse generally doesn't pay attention to you, I'd teach him to do that first. I'd put him in an area without grass, to cut down on distractions, such as an arena, yard, your driveway.... then give him a good reason to pay attention. Reinforce him with Something Good(treat or such) whenever he's looking at you. When he's not, ask him to, with light pressure on the halter, then reinforce him the instant he looks at you. That will teach him it's worth keeping an eye on you. Once you can get his attention reliably, work on keeping it for gradually longer - don't give him a treat until his attention's on you for 2 seconds, then 4, then longer, etc.
When trying to teach him specific things such as tricks, manners, whatever, keep it simple, teach him in baby steps, with lots of repetition & ensure your timing's spot on - reinforce him *at the time of* the behaviour, or at worst, within a second or 2 of it. Only ask for harder stuff once he's mastered easier steps. When introducing new criteria, relax the standards you're expecting with other criteria he's already learned.
When you're lunging him, I'd be paying attention to whether he's reliably doing the Right Thing or not first & not worry about his head. It may be that you do a lot of lunging & he's bored, or has learned to ignore you. If that's the case, I'd be doing less of it, for one - eg. don't do long sessions of endless circling for exercise, but rather use it to further strengthen his communication & attention on you in short sessions. If he's reliable with the basics - eg. walk, trot on cue, in the right direction & stay in gait until cued to change, then you can start mixing it up, asking for only a little of this before doing that, etc, which will encourage him to pay attention to you in order to avoid bigger 'cues'.
Being tied, trapped, is hard for a horse, being a prey animal who's primary defense is escape. It is likely that him not standing calmly is to do with lack of confidence. Perhaps he's quite nervous about it and the things that happen when he's tied. If that's the case, I'd have him on a long lead, untied but with the rope wrapped around a rail or such, so there is some resistance, but it can slide if he pulls back & he can move his feet & calm down. Then I would gradually work on trust exercises, desensitising him to stuff & prove to him that even in this situation you will be respectful of him & he can trust you to look out for him. Gradually increasing the tension as he gains confidence, by taking more wraps around the rail, you can work up to him being confident about being tied 'firm'.
Perhaps he's well practiced & otherwise OK at being tied, but was never taught to do it calmly, so that association & fidgety behaviour has carried over. Or perhaps he's learned that when he's tied Bad Stuff happens. I'd use a similar exercise to the getting his attention one. Get his attention and give him a treat if/when he's standing. Get this happening reliably before you expect him to stand for more than a second. I wouldn't bother adding a vocal cue(such as 'stand') to it until it's reliably happening for a few seconds, so that you can create a firm association between the cue & the behaviour. Ensure you cue and reinforce the behaviour *while it's happening*. Once he's reliably standing tied on cue for a number of seconds at least, then you can start asking him to do it while you move around/away. Remember to start with only a second again when you introduce new criteria & build up the time as he 'gets' it.
If it's about the association with Bad Stuff happening when he's tied, ensure you don't force him into anything in this situation, but instead desensitise him gradually & respectfully to stuff you want to do, giving lots of reinforcement, both positive(rewards, treats) and negative(remove the pressure).
Eg. won't stand to be saddled; introduce him to the saddle untied(rope looped over your arm or such) in baby steps. Don't attempt to put it on his back until he can reliably stand for you to approach with it. Reinforce his standing by instantly backing off & repeat until he's confident standing for the approaching saddle. Don't put it on his back until he can stand reliably for you to lift it at his side..... don't reach for the girth until he's reliably standing when it's sitting on him.... etc. In this way, prove to him that it's not bad and you are a considerate & respectful leader.