What is the best way to get a pony to walk on when they play mule and refuse to budge.?

Pip: What is the best way to get a pony to walk on when they play mule and refuse to budge.?
He is a rescue pony and I believe in the kind approach can you help ?????
Just to let you know I forget to say it is when he is being lead, not ridden.
oops I offended a mule person by usung a common phrase……..sorry mule people no harm intened.

Answers and Views:

Answer by barrel racer
dont give up……even if it requires you to dismount and encourage him with his bridle…..just dont give up and reward him when he’s good.

EDIT- Ok my bad…….um never sit there and go out in front of him and pull and tug on the lead rope…..stay by his side, nudge him with his halter and maybe kinda tap him with the lead rope…..encourage him with treats.

Answer by ∪*∪ lil jumper ∪*∪
keep asking. kick, kick, kick, kick, kick. if you give up then she things that she wins.

cary a crop with you. don’t use if it you don’t have to but if you do, use it behind your leg.

edit-oh, in that case….still don’t give up. if you do, she thinks that she wins. maybe try a rope halter so that you have more control. you could also carry a dressage whip with you and tap her with it if she tries to stop. just hold it in your outside hand and (provided that its long enough) tap her with it without even turning around.

Answer by Madi
Pull him side to side by the lead rope, or reins (w/e you’re using), so he has to teiter from foot to foot. Then as he bends to go in whichever direction (because you are making his front bend), quickly bring his head in an arc back to the forward and his steps will HAVE to move forward. If he’s still balking, turn him in circles until he complies to move forward. Even circles WHILE slowly moving forward, so that the arch is slowly bringing you ahead of where you were. Treats, etc. can also work to get his attention. But don’t give him the treat until he’s walked a considerable distance in the direction you’d like him to.

If you’re riding him, circles. My horse does that from time to time on the trail. He’ll just STOP. For nothing. Like he has to poop, but he won’t, he’ll just sit there, lazy and balky. lol. I find circles, or half circles. Faking them out so they THINK they are turning around, then pulling them back so they are forced to catch themselves and move forward. Often times they’ll find the turning and side to side, and circling just isn’t worth it and it’s easier to move forward.

Answer by Crush
Use the tail end of the lead rope and swing it behind you and pop him on the rump with it, make sure you stay at his shoulder in case he jumps forward. Don’t look at him and keep pressure on his halter as well untill he moves forward. If little bumps of the rope dont do it, don’t be scared to get a crop or whip to pop him with!

Answer by Ajierene
Madi and Crush both have good ideas. moving the horse from side to side until they step is a good idea – praise with ‘good walk, good walk’, then ask again. You can also carry a dressage whip and tap her on her side/hindquarters when she doesn’t move. Carry the whip in your left hand and you won’t have to change position to tap her.

This is not exactly the most appropriate thing to do, but I play the waiting game with my mare. If she gets stubborn about moving forward and someone goes behind her with the whip, she gets even worse. I stand infront of her and keep the leadrope taught – I am pulling a little on her head, but not leaning so that I am in danger of falling over. If she pulls back, I go with her and keep the lead tight. If she goes forward, she gets slack on the leadrope. Sometimes she doesn’t want to go through a gate that looks small for her (she’s a bit claustraphobic) or she doesn’t want to go in the trailer.

I know you are not supposed to stand directly in front of the horse so you don’t get trampled – but I know my mare well enough to do this. So it depends on how well you know your pony.

Answer by Sue M
Get his feet moving. Don’t kickkickkickkick. Pretty soon he’ll be immune to any leg pressure. Pull one rein hard (not sharply) and turn his head to the side. He’ll have to move his feet when he “loses” his balance. Reward him immediately by loosening the rein.

Answer by mulereiner
Not sure how many mules you have been around, but mine move. Next time word it appropriately….

Rescue, or severely spoiled. Your kind approaches must not of worked up to now eh?

I have ways of getting Mr. Pony to move, but it would involve something that would make you thumbs down anyway lol.

Answer by g_kira1
The best way to get a horse to move forward that is planted, is to get him to move his feet. If you pull on a horse or the horse doesn’t want to go forward, it is hard to make them. It is not so hard to make them go left or right first to get their feet moving. While on the ground , when the pony stops pull him left or right to get his feet to move, and use your voice to teach him those are the cues to move your feet. When the pony moves a step release, and then start over again. It should soon learn that when he moves you stop pulling on him.

Answer by QuarterHorseRider
Don’t give up carry a crop and when he stops show him it most horses know when there’s a crop they’re in TROUBLE!And if that don’t work TAP him or try putting something around his eyes so he has to follow you.

g_kira1 has a good idea!

(who keeps on putting thumbs down on everyone!We are just trying to help!)

Answer by bribri4ever
if you have your hands on a rescue i would say try some natural horsemanship approaches to it. You should first be trying to figure out why he is reacting the way he is, then think about what to do about it.

Answer by Driver
Carry a dressage whip so that when he stops, you can tap his flanks with the whip without changing your position (facing forward, at his shoulder). This is not unkind, it usually only takes a small tap, nothing harsh. You can also try leading him to the side if he won’t go forward, the change in balance usually makes them move at least one foot. Always use your voice and soon he will know that “walk on” means go.

Answer by orangerazzler
My mare does this all the time. Usually i just keep pulling with all my weight and she finally walks, or you could wave your hand behind their butt. Or a riding crop works for this. Dont hit them or tap them, just wave it behind their but slowly. They should take a few steps forward, and from there just start walking with them.

Do not bribe them with treats…..i did this to my mare and she figured out that stopping means getting treats. So now i using these approaches and she’s doing a lot better.

Answer by Megan M
If you pop your “Rescue” pony with a crop, you will only traumatize him further!! He will shy away from you and get worse. Talk to him calmly in a low voice, don’t get angry or in a hurry. You can try backing him up a couple steps, turning him to the right (never toward you, he could step on you) and then walk forward and smooch to him. Make the direction change one fluid motion so he doesn’t have time to stop again. I would suggest just spending some time sitting in his stall hanging out, talking to him and an occasional carrot to let him get the feel of you and start to trust you, too. He probably just needs a little more time to get over whatever happened to him in his past.

Answer by petshorsefun
carry a crop with you to encourage him to move
forward you could also try lunging to teach him
cues on moving forward. I’m sure with time
he will learn to trust you and will do what you
ask of him . don’t forget he is a pony and
they can be stubborn. too smart for their own
good. i also have a draft pony so i know
what your talking about. keeping working
it will click soon and then he will come up
with some thing new ,.lol

Answer by horsez_roxz
well if you are riding him push your hands forward and give a firm nudge if he still doesn’t move nudge him more sharply and if he still doesn’t move give him a little but firm tab behind his leg or on his shoulder the most important thing is dont give up and try to imagine why he does it he may be being naughty or somthing may be scaring him good luck

Answer by angel_eyes
I’m with you on the kind approach. My old horse did this non-stop,and at first i would pull on the lead rope in the hope that he’d move.Doesn’t work. The way to do it is to adopt submissive body language (body at an angle, eyes down looking at his chest), and ask. If he still doesn’t move, then increase the angle at which your are standing. If he won’t move you can work up until you are at a 90 degree angle to the pony, holding his lead rope, and then give a gentle pull. At this angle, the horse has no choice but to move because you can unbalance him. Just make sure that the instant he even thinks about moving, you release the pressure on his lead rope