We made a major mistake in never taking this horse away from his Mom; except for a brief 2 month period with a trainer when he was 3 yrs. old. While at the trainers he didn't have a problem leaving other horses and while still very green he was ok on the trail. When under saddle he will not walk away from Mom, more than a few yards. He does not buck, rear, or jump around; he just puts on the breaks and tries to turn around and go back to her side. We took him completely away from his Mom and off our property, and placed him with his half sister. Sure enough, they immediately bonded and again he would not walk away under saddle. What can we do?
Answers:
he is very herd bound, which is obvious...you need to become his herd.
work with him in a round pen, if you have one. Seperate him from other horses and deal with the "weaning" process.
When you start taking him out under saddle... do it in baby steps. at side with saddle, walk him. when he gets upset...stop, and talk to him to settle him. when he settles, even for 10-15 seconds, take him home...take it farther each day...When he is good about a hand walk trail ride, then do the same with you in the saddle. The worst thing you can do is give him what he wants, another horse. And when he is fussing, you have to win, so have a stud chain handy so if you need a bit more control, you can put them on so he can't walk on you. Don't let him misbehave into getting back to his comfort zone. End your sessions on a good note, and always give him a good grooming or rub down after all of this, its a treat he will remember. When he is bad, tie him to a post and let him stand for a while, as long as it is a safe tie post.
Hope this helps.
Only use him as a team with his mom or sister.
Think of them as a unit.
When I am dealing with a herd bound horse, the first thing I do is move them to their own pen. Preferably one where they can still see many horses, but are not directly next to any one particular horse. I then make sure they spend a certain amount of time every day in a different turnout far away (out of sight) from where they "live". They usually do a lot of pacing or whinnying and running around the first few days. I also work with them in new areas. Ground work first to get their attention, then under saddle work (if it applies). I currently am working with a filly that was terribly herd bound 1 month ago (3 days a week is her work/turnout schedule). She is much better now and will go where I ask with minimum fussing now. She gets better daily with the more time I spend with her. Without knowing your set up, it is difficult to give specific advice. This is just what has worked for me.
My beloved old Jimmy was in his late teens when I got him (now past 30) and he is an Appaloosa and Appys can very stubborn and headstrong! so with an 8yo you should be able to resolve this fairly quickly. Jimmy would just about flip himself sideways/backwards and do anything to get back. What I did was chunked it down to alleviate stress on all levels (both horse and rider). I would ride away but only a short distance just before he would want to turn around then go back, ride away again but a few steps further, go back, just kept increasing the distance until he realised that he could leave and would get to go back again. Eventually I could ride this horse anywhere away from a herd out on a trail for miles if I wanted and had many years of happy trails without a care in the world..heck I miss riding him out.
You also need to gradually separate him as one of the other writers said but do it gradually to reduce stress as a horse in distress will more than likely try and jump a fence or push through and injure themselves.
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