Post by @mlanger@mastodon.world

2026-09-05 11:45 UTC

I was taught a trick for dealing with a horse that doesn't want to obey. Pull one rein or the other to force the horse to walk around in a tight circle. Do maybe two circles. Then let the horse decide if he's going to listen. If he doesn't, do it again. I don't think this would work with neck reining; you'd have to literally pull the rein and bit in the horse's mouth to get his head nearly over to your leg. (2/3) @TimKStanton@mstdn.social

Replies (2)

@TimKStanton@mstdn.social 2026-09-05 12:18

@mlanger@mastodon.world The wrangler on this trip mentioned the same trick of turning in a circle. Unfortunately, I was sometimes very limited in what could be done to correct the horse behavior on narrow steep trails. In this case, I found that first tightening the reins to stop Dusty, then loosening to see if he remained stopped, then tightening again if he moves, and repeating the sequence perhaps 4-5 times would get his attention before he remained stopped.

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@mlanger@mastodon.world 2026-09-05 11:45

One of my neighbors had a horse that neither she nor her husband could ride. After my horses were gone, she invited me to go riding with her and, sure enough, she put me on that horse. He tried a little rodeo with me and I used the rein trick. He sure did not like that. But after doing about five circles, he settled down and we had a decent ride. Not bad for Jersey girl. 🤣 (3/3) @TimKStanton@mstdn.social

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