Help! My horse won’t stand still…How to help your horse to stand still.

It’s been a long time since I was in this situation, but today I was faced with this dilemma – Why won’t my horse stand still today? What’s up? Well this is annoying when I wanted to get on with my ride.

The morning was going as normal, he was happy eating his hay, gave him a good brush and started tacking up. He can sometimes be a bit grumpy with the saddle and I worked on saddling him up as normal, but taking some time to ensure he was happy with the saddle, girth etc. I took him field mate out into the field and he was completely happy with the change, sometimes he can get a little unsettled when things change on the yard, but today he was a dream, no problems just happily eating his haynet.

I have spent a lot of time working with Luch and standing still whilst being mounted as he was a fidget pop when we first had him. On a normal day all I have to do it stand on the mounting block and he will line himself up and stand awaiting to be mounted. Today was just like any other, I stood on the block and he positioned himself and stood still, but when I go into the saddle, he slowly drifted off before I was ready and without a cue. Now don’t get me wrong, most people probably wouldn’t’ have noticed or think it was something to be fixed, however these small ‘uncontrollable’ veers are important to correct, especially with Luch. So I tried a few things to prompt him to stand still until I was ready to move off. It is key to note that before I chose went through the below motions I made sure that he wasn’t hooked onto anything specific (ie. he didn’t have destination addiction, he was quite happy to go out for a ride, away from him field and towards the school – this was not my issue). [Point to note in the below, each time I asked for a relax rest at a standstill, I had loose rein and relaxed frame].

1. When he moved off, I tried to stop him and ask him to back up. This did not work – we continue for a little while until I decided it wasn’t the right thing to do.
   
2. Next I let him walk off and when he was moving forward I added a little leg (it is very light to the aid). The aim was to make standing still at the mounting block the ‘easier/better’ option for him. Again I did this for a while, but again this option didn’t seem to be working for him today (has worked in the past).
   
3. My original aim for the session was to go in the arena, so as the two above options didn’t seem to be working I went up to the arena and tried the same principles. I hoped on and he was off again, so I bent him gently around until he came to a stop, I released the rein and allowed him to relax, but he moved off again. His mind was elsewhere and was reluctant to relax fully and just chill.
   
4. My next decision was to increase the pressure slightly and ask for more energy, to make his decision of walking off the ‘not so good option’. As you may know horses learn from the release of pressure and tend to look for the easiest option that involves the least amount of energy. So again, I allowed him to make the mistake and he drifted off, this time however I asked him for a trot. We did a 20 meter circle or so and I asked him to slow up and stop, gave him the reins and allowed him to relax (he was pretty relaxed in body, just active in the mind). He decided to drift off again, so I asked him for a trot and off we went for another 20m circle. We probably did this four or five times until he finally relaxed in body and mind and was happy to cock a leg and enjoy standing still and relaxing whilst I was on him.
   
5. He showed a release of some kind of stress by yawning and licking and chewing after a short period of being stationary. As this was the result that I was looking for, I hopped off and ended the session in a good place for both of us.

I know some people will struggle with the concept of just hopping on your horse and just sitting there, but for me today, I wished to have a relaxed ride and wanted to have a good connection with him. He showed right from the beginning of the ride that he was not in complete control of his mind, which could have led to unfavourable behaviour, also depending on your horse, when you come across a ‘small’ issue it is a lot easier to nip the smallest of issue in the bud, rather than trying to fix it a month down the line.

It is also important to note that when you end your session, it is important that you end your session on the best note, once you have achieved your ‘goal’ of fixing the issue. You may not feel that you have achieved your session goal, but helping your horse to relax and be in control of his/her emotions is key to your relationship and is key to your progress.

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