Problems

Question
Hi! My name is Lauren! My horse is 15 years old and we are having tons of problems! I always feel like he is fighting me.  It always feels like we are never working together, just against each other, I love him SO much and i want more than anything for us to be partners. Please help me! I am so confused! Please. I'm crying as i type because nothing has worked, please please please please please. PLEASE!

Answer
hi lauren,
calm down, every horse and rider go through these problems. you feel like hes working against you because he is being stubborn. you need to go back to basic round pen work with him. reteach him to walk trot and canter on command and esspeacially whoa. earn his respect but getting him to face you when you say whoa. this can be taught on a lead rope. have him walk in circles around you and when you say whoa pull him into you and give him a nice pet. once he automatically does this on the rope take him in the round pen and repeat the process with nothing on him.
spend more time grooming him and petting him, this is the best way to gain trust. giving him treats will also help him be more social. dont feed him to many by hand though cause he will get nippy. just put most in his pen and let him eat them himself. another important thing is to talk to him. it doesnt matter what you say. just the nice sooth sound of the voice will make him feel more comfortable and relaxed. practicing easy exercies are also good. when he does it right and he gets praised he will like the feeling more then if you get mad and fight with him. horses have a short attention span. if one exercise isnt working after 15 minutes then forget about it for a while then go back to it. if you get mad or frustrated during a ride just stop and count to ten and breath. this will help you relaxe and will relax your horse.after this just walk around for a little bit, when he is relaxed retry whatever he didnt want to do. if you still need more help just come on back and ill help you out some more. good luck
amanda groff