Franklin Levinson's
Horse Help Center
Professional support for you and your horse!
Horse herding me?
About five months ago I purchased my first horse, a ten year old Quarter Horse gelding. He is trained very well and socialized; I can even ride him bareback with no problems. When I am walking out in the pasture with him or in his coral with him he follows me VERY close for a minute or two then always ends up quickly walking in front of me, circles in front of me and stops, when I go around him he just does it again then begins to push his head into me, hard enough that it kind of pushes me back. I am not experienced at all with horses and that’s why I purchased an older, trained horse. I don't know what to make of this. I am not sure if I am doing something to cause this.
Thanks for your help! Angela
RESPONSE
Hi Angela,
What you are experiencing is this horse herding you. He is leading the dance as opposed to you. He is not bad or anything. He is just being a horse. You can stop this by facing the horse and taking a few steps into his space (towards him) and saying "NO!" You could put your hand up with your palm out at the same time. The walk right at him, say "BACK" and wave your hands just enough to have him take a step away from you. If you are too vigorous in your waving he will leave you. If you are too soft with it will have no effect. You need to feel your way into the balance of how much is too much, too little or just right. As soon as he takes one step away or even leans away a little bit, tell him he is a good boy and stop moving towards him. You can set personal boundaries with him this way. It is a good thing to have boundaries. It is a very good thing to remember that we must lead the human/horse dance every moment. Your horse wants this leadership. All you have to do is 'LEAD'. Let me know how it goes.
Sincerely, Franklin