# New Horse BAD BAD BAD Ground Manners



## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

That's one of my pet peeves too. Enough that I would walk away from an otherwise awesome horse and not buy because of bad ground manners. A horse is way too big to allow them to pull on the leash like a dog (another pet peeve but not as dangerous) or walk all over you. I've pretty much gotten to the point with most horses that if I didn't breed it, raise it, train it, I don't need it.


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## ChingazMyBoy (Apr 16, 2009)

Bad ground manners frustrate me entirely. 

Horses are not giant puppy dogs, some owners need to understand this. Possibly the worst I have ever heard is the horse is rearing when doing groundwork (Obviously not commanded) and the owner then tried to tell us it was because he was natural horsemanship trained and he was showing his herd skills, um what? This horse is clearly showing serious disrespect and needs work. 

Horses need to be shown they have leaders, not best friends who will love and cuddle them while they are being generally disrespectful. I'm not saying that you can love & cuddle your horse, but they do need to show you respect - similar as a way of earning your 'love'. The way I see it, my horse respects me in return for love, shelter, food & general care (Just clarifying: if he was disrespectful, I would still feed and give him shelter).


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## Hunter65 (Aug 19, 2009)

ChingazMyBoy said:


> Bad ground manners frustrate me entirely.
> 
> Horses are not giant puppy dogs, some owners need to understand this. Possibly the worst I have ever heard is the horse is rearing when doing groundwork (Obviously not commanded) *and the owner then tried to tell us it was because he was natural horsemanship trained and he was showing his herd skills,* um what? This horse is clearly showing serious disrespect and needs work.
> 
> Horses need to be shown they have leaders, not best friends who will love and cuddle them while they are being generally disrespectful. I'm not saying that you can love & cuddle your horse, but they do need to show you respect - similar as a way of earning your 'love'. The way I see it, my horse respects me in return for love, shelter, food & general care (Just clarifying: if he was disrespectful, I would still feed and give him shelter).



hahahahah thats funny. I have actually just moved my bratty pony to go live with my trainer. We had him not biting anymore and behaving pretty good. But apparently BO was afraid of him (she was hesitant to take him in 2 years ago because he was so young). I thought things had been going fine til 3 weeks ago when I went to barn on Sat. All the other horses were out on the grass except Hunter, called BO she said that he had been rearing on her and today it was like 5-6 times. Apparently it had been going on for months, not all the time but about once every 10 times going out to pasture. Wish she woulda told me. Apparently he had been rearing with her dad too and neither one of them would reprimand him and I know Hunter if he knows you are afraid of him you are toast. He has been at trainers 5 days tried to rear on her yesterday and had a 'lesson'. I cant wait to have him in my back yard so I don't have to worry.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

It's a matter of respect. 

I frustrate the heck out of my boarders when they ask for help. I step up and the horse behaves. My husband has two mares that love to pretend they are blonder than they are. I simply say "I am NOT your owner" in a very firm tone and they quit trying things.


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## Hunter65 (Aug 19, 2009)

mls said:


> It's a matter of respect.
> 
> I frustrate the heck out of my boarders when they ask for help. I step up and the horse behaves. My husband has two mares that love to pretend they are blonder than they are. I simply say "I am NOT your owner" in a very firm tone and they quit trying things.



I didn't ask for help. Hunter is fine with me, its with the barn owner that he acted up and I DO expect them to reprimand him and not let him get away with things. We have now regressed a year and he is only 3 and a half. Although I think trainer has already gave him the what for lol


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## Lauren Woodard (Jul 7, 2010)

It's certainly a puzzlement what people allow in the "that's how horses are" category. I'm half way through writing my next book called: Horse Tricks... Like Leading.
Drives me crazy to see a Grand Prix level horse (or any horse, just saying it happens at the highest levels) drag, run over, shoulder into, resist and hang back, trot around stepping on their person, just so the person can get the horse from point A to point B. That isn't leading or leadership or for that matter horsemanship.


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