How to change a horses behavior?

I just purchased an Arabian, 7 yrs of age and he has a few habits that I do not like. When riding sometimes he stops and puts his head down as he if he was going to eat, plus when you want to mount, he doesn't stand still..How can I change this behavior in him. Any tricks of the trade so to speak?How to change a horses behavior?
I have a pony that used to have the exact same problems!! To address your problem of him putting his head down, there are a few methods to train him to stop. Grass reins can be used to stop the problem temporarily, but will not correct it (plus you cant use grass reins at shows) The first method to correct this problem is to put your hands on his withers, and otherwise ignore the pulling. If you keep your hands there, and he tries to pull down, he will be bumped in the mouth, and because your hands are on his withers he will eventually associate the fact that him pulling down is whats hurting his mouth (as opposed to thinking that you are the one who is doing it).

This method should work after a week or two, but if it does not, or if he is too strong and pulls you down even when your hands are on the withers, you can use another, more traditional method. If he pulls you down, pull up on ONE rein (if you use both he will get it confused with you trying to stop him), make a loud scary noise (i usually make a 'ehhh' noise), and squeeze *not kick* with your leg.

To deal with your mounting problem, lead him to the mounting block like you would normally. Grab tightly on the reins, and whenever he moves away from the block, give them a quick jerk and make another mean noise. Slowly make your way onto the mounting block, continuing to scold even the slightest movement. Once you get on, give him lots of praise and tell him good boy for standing still.

Good luck :)How to change a horses behavior?
To stop him from stopping try this as soon as you fell him start to slow down give him a nudge and get his mind back on the job. You can keep his mind on the job by turning and or picking up the pace. After you do this for a while and pretty soon he will relize that he cant stop any more and will get bored of not being able to.



As for the moving thing have someone hold him while you mount him. Try this a couple of times. Make sure that when he does stand still to give him lots of praise and when he doesnt stand still dont praise him at all.



Good Luck. Hope everything works out.How to change a horses behavior?
Getting a horse to stand still when you mount is just a portion of getting him to stand still in general. The theory is to make not standing still generate a lot of work for the horse.



You need to create a cue for the horse to stand. I use the word %26quot;stand%26quot; but remember that the horse does not understand the word, only the sound, so you need to find a specific way to say it and stick with it.



Position the horse on halter, say the cue and wait. If fifteen seconds of stillness occur, praise the horse and after three more seconds of stillness, take him to do something else (you can go to another part of the barn and repeat).



If not, make a correction sound (I use %26quot;chuh%26quot;). back him up, walk him in circles, walk him forward, put him back in the spot, say %26quot;stand%26quot; and wait again.



Takes a little while (half an hour to a few days), but not long.



Once this is mastered, repeat with tack on. Then repeat with a mount attempt (one foot in stirrup). Then repeat in the saddle.



If the horse has a specific fidget, you can go after that fidget. For instance, if the horse always backs up, say %26quot;chuh%26quot; (or whatever your correction word is) and tap him lightly on the butt. Forward, do the same, but to the chest.



--



For the stopping problem:



First, make sure you are not inadvertently cuing the stop. A sensitive horse may feel you take your legs off and may interpret it as a stop. Western pleasure and reiners both are trained specifically to behave this way as a result of a leg removal.



If you aren't, squeeze with legs and then, if that doesn't work, kick the horse lightly on the sides with your boots (not spurs). If that doesn't work, use spurs (both sides) or a crop (butt) - lightly. You must do these in sequence and within a second of the horse refusing to move - the faster the better.



You need to do this EVERY time. Consistency is critical for speed of learning.



I hope this helps. Good luck!How to change a horses behavior?
for the eating thing, just kick him and pull straight up on the bit. not hard or anything, but be firm. make sure he knows that you are boss, and he gets to stop and eat when you tell him he can.



for the mounting block, bring him up to it, and without getting ready to mount make him stand nicely at the block. if he moves forward, push him backwards. if he moves sideways, push him over. if he backs up, pull him forward. don't let him decided where his body goes. that's your job. once he's standing nice and calm, release any pressure on his reins. that's his reward. keep doing but increase your activity. like get up on the mounting block and put your hands on the saddle. again, make him stand, and when he does, release any pressure or pulling. eventualy get on and make him stand quietly. once he's quiet, hop back off so he knows that not everytime you go the mounting block it means he'll be ridden, ya know? once you hop off, go through all the steps again, always rewarding him by relaxing him everytime he's quiet.How to change a horses behavior?
he needs discipline and clearly does not respect you. you need to work on teaching him to ground tie, it may take a while but it is worth it. if he has trouble ground tying, make him turn to face you. then. stomp yowards him in an agressive manner. look ate his feet and if he does not back off, kick him right above his feet til he moves. eventually, you will be able to point at a foot and he will move it. just dont kick him extremely hard. as for putting his head down, dont pull directly back. it wont be effective and will just tire your arms out. either seesaw on the reins or just one rein himHow to change a horses behavior?
When ur horse moves when u mount him you need to get on and back em up hard, i had the same problems with mine and just a few times of backing him up made it so he wont move when he knows im about to get on him.

As for the stopping and putting his head down.... same thing back him up hard...

the habit will soon breakHow to change a horses behavior?
Try squeezing him with your legs pull slightly on the reins U can turn him also to distract him from going to grab a bite.I hate it but sometimes my horses also start walking off before I mount I bring the left rein around to slightly bend their head. I also practice partial mounting and making them stand still.How to change a horses behavior?
if he stops to eat u should try keeping a leg on him to keep him lisening to u and if ur horse keeps moving when ur getting in the saddle try to mount him and if he moves get back down and back him up and move him back to were u were getting up on him and do it agen if that dont work try getting on from the other side of him hope that helps :)How to change a horses behavior?
Sounds like you haven't bonded yet. He needs longer to settle. Also do some ground work like getting him to stop when you want getting him to back up ETC....



if you can buy a copy of the books...

Think like a pony.



They explain why horses do what and how to bond with them. My horse was like yours but with a bit of groundwork he's fine now.

Hope this helped!!!

also look at this website.How to change a horses behavior?
Grass rein ( use them with fat little ponie that want to eat all the time, with the kids not being strong enough to pull there head back up works wonders)



Send him around you in a circle and when you want him to stand say it firmlyHow to change a horses behavior?
When your going to get on him, if he moves at all get off and push him backwards and make sure you hold the reins right when you get on.