Horse Refuses to Stand Still

When your horse won’t stand still, it can be so frustrating and so maddening. He circles, invades, pulls, even rears up. Sometimes it can even be a little unnerving. Humans are small in comparison to the size of a horse, and a restless, restive horse can feel dangerous.

There are two things that can help your horse not only stand still, but want to – and they are both the exact opposite of what most people do.

1. When your horse refuses to stand still, instead of holding him tight and jerking on the halter, give him more rope and get him to move more! It's called reverse psychology and it works. Give your horse at least four feet of rope, put your back against a wall or fence and then play the Driving Game, sending your horse quickly from one side of the fence to the other. When a horse is full of adrenaline, holding him close makes him feel claustrophobic and panicky. By giving him more rope, you stop aggravating this feeling.

2. When a horse needs to move his feet, the more you try to stop him the worse it gets. So do the opposite...get him to move his feet faster than he wants and pretty soon the adrenaline comes down and all he wants to do is stand still. Oh...and don't let him go in circles. The fact that he has to go back and forth, faster than he wants to is the secret to this exercise. This can take a little time if it's an extreme horse, but even though a few minutes might feel like an eternity to you it's a drop in the bucket of time where a horse is concerned.

One of the great trust and confidence builders in the Parelli method of natural horsemanship is our Seven Games DVD. Starting with the first game – the Friendly Game – and progressing through the series is a natural way of building a partnership/relationship between human and horse. The Driving Game we refer to above is also one of the Seven Games.

One of the common mantras of Parelli natural horse training is “Take the time it takes.” So many people don’t take the time it takes to do things right, and end up spending so much more time dealing with the horse’s problem on an ongoing basis. If you invest the time it takes to understand why your horse refuses to stand still and then do what it takes to naturally discharge the underlying cause, you'll have a horse who stands still with no problem.

A happy, calm, peaceful, satisfied and relaxed horse. 

A happy, calm, peaceful, satisfied and relaxed human. 

That’s what natural horsemanship will get you every time!