My Horse Turns His Rear End Towards Me When I Try To Catch Him

  QUESTION: I have a horse that will sometimes turn his rear end towards me when I try to catch him. I don’t feel safe when catching him, how can I correct this so it doesn’t become a problem?

  ANSWER: What is happening is a lack of respect for you from your horse. He is basically telling you that he doesn’t want to be caught. Turning the hindquarters towards you is his subtle way of showing disrespect for you.
Horses survive day to day on a pecking order system. Each day they have to prove to each other where they stand in the pecking order. When you enter the corral, the horse’s home, you are playing by their rules. You become judged on where the horse feels you stand in the pecking order. Your job is to learn how the horse plays these dominance games and how to win these games.

  First and foremost when dealing with a horse you have to think like a horse. You will hear me say this over and over, again and again. If you think like a horse, discipline like a horse, and reward like a horse you will be respected like a horse. How many of you have traveled to a foreign country? Not all countries speak English, they might not slap your hand for speeding, and they all have their own set of rules and regulations. If you want to have an enjoyable vacation you have to adapt to their rules and ways. Horsemanship is the same.
The first thing we want to accomplish with our horse is to set them up to succeed. Start off in a small corral, preferably a round corral. A square corral will work ok. Approach your horse with a smile on your face and not that “I am going to catch you no matter what” look on your face. If your horse turns and shows you his hindquarters, do what another horse would do, bite him on the hindquarters. I would prefer if you did this with your lead rope or an extension of you arm such as a stick and string or a lounge whip. Not many of us can afford to be kicked in the face and horsehair is not the greatest tasting, so lets do it safely. Remember to only bite your horse one time, and not try to beat on him.

  Be ready for your horse to react to you biting him on the rear. He may run off, possibly kick back at you, but hopefully turn and face you. If he runs off just stand where you are and allow him to settle down and most times they will turn and face you. This is why I suggest a round corral or small corral, so you are not walking all over your pasture trying to accomplish this task. If he does not face you, wait for him to turn the hindquarters towards you and bite them again. Your horse will soon figure out that when his rear end is facing you it will be bitten. If you are in a pasture and your horse acts this way, pretend you are in a small corral and do exactly the same things, but be ready for the horse to possibly run off.

  Keep persisting with your horse every time you want to catch him. When you do catch him, rub your horse for a few minutes before moving on. This is his reward for being caught. Take the time to let him know you aren’t just going to hurry off and saddle him. This should improve over a few sessions and your horse will have a new respect for you and hopefully you will have a new respect for him. See you on the horsemanship trail!