Recently my horse has been acting up (Bucking and not listening to me at all) How can l calm him down before l ride him? l cant lunge him because the arena flooded and froze and we have sand only on the outside of the ring and not in the center and in corners. last time l chased him around the field to get some of his energy out and it seemed to work, but is it ok that l chase him around the field ???if not what else can l do ?
Also when its really cold out he starts to bite and no matter what he dosnt stop. ive tried putting a chain over his nose and he didnt bite as much but he still tryed

hmmm.i would just groom him, talk to him, give him treats, love him up, lead him around.make sure he trusts you!!!

he needs to know your the boss, not just make him tired, so any time he acts up when you dont want him to(like tacking him up or leading him) you need to make sure he knows when to stop, my horse did the same thing. when you ride him circle him everytime he bucks and keep him focused, you have to be his alpha! :)

Ca not you lunge him in the field?

What r u feeding him? He needs more riding, more training & less energy. Make sure u r stern & consistant when he misbehaves so he knows u wont put up with it. A strong, forceful NO! will probably be enough to snap him out of his 'ignore my rider' zone. Whatever u do dont get off when he acts up, keep working him.

You should not try to 'work the bucks out' of him, on the lunge or not, because it teaches him that it is ok to act foolish on the lunge & in the arena, builds his endurance & makes him more fit. You will have to work him longer & longer each time before u can get on.

Give him more work & discipline & less energy & he should calm right down.

free lunging/chasing your horse encourages ''bad'' and fast behavior and works your horse up in my opinion. l mean you should try to keep him quiet not work him up. but you said it worked.so idk.


i just like my horses to be QUIET and CALM not runnnnnnnning and getting worked up.espically before a ride where l will be asking him to be quiet after just chasing him. gives mixed signals and probably confuses your guy.

do you feed him straight alfalfa or cutback?

l agree with 'Confused.' Be consistent with your training. If you allow him to act up one time, then he will assume that he can get away with it. Then if you try to discipline him another time, he will get confused and act the way he wants to.

Chasing him around the field is not a good idea and he might become afraid of you or will loose his trust in you. l think he is just frisky from the cold weather. Just work through it.

As he is just started acting up, the first thing l would do is have his back, teeth & tack checked to make sure he is not in pain.
Secondly, consider his feeding regime. Cut out all his hard feed & only give him hay for the time being. Hard feed provides fast release energy which is not what ur horse needs at the moment. Is he turned out in the field or stabled all day? Turn him out as much as possible. If he is in all the time he will definitely be naughty when he gets out. l would not chase him around the field as that will only get him excited & encourage him to run when you're around.
Is he clipped? Lots of horses get very ''energetic'' when they're cold. If his back is clipped, use an exercise sheet to keep him warm.
If all else fails, u just need to ride it out. Focus on calm work & listening. Make him walk, halt, turn, bend, trot, halt. Do some lateral work too - leg yield, turn on the forehand, basically everything u know how to do. Lots of slow exercises to get his attention on you. He can only think about one thing at a time so ur aim is to get him concentrating on his work rather than thinking about bucking or messing around. Try working on ur own in the arena, & having a friend with a quiet horse work there to. See if this makes any difference to his behaviour. It goes without saying that u should have somewhere there when u ride, just in case anything happens.
When he bucks, try to fix ur hands so that he can not get his head down. This will make his bucks smaller & easier to sit. Wear gloves so that this does not hurt ur hands.
Also u will want to work him as much as possible. Concentrate on his schooling & aim to tire his brain out. Do not go off doing fast work until you're sure that u r back in control. He is more likely to buck on the canter transition prepare this well & sit slightly back so that you're more prepared to stop him.
l wonder why he is started to bite. You need to have him checked out anyway so mention it to ur vet while she is there. Are u giving him any treats/food out of ur hand? Don't, this will only encourage biting. Do not play with his lips or nose. Obviously put up a warning on his stable door & keep kids away from him - the last thing u need is an accident.
You say u r putting a chain on his nose - when is he biting? If it is when you're grooming him/tacking him up he might be sore or ticklish. Try & see if it is associated with any particular spot on his body. Make sure u tie him up really short & watch where his head is so that he can not get u though. Give him a good slap if he does try to bite u - it is completely unacceptable & can not be tolerated. Reward him (by saying good boy, not with treats) when he is relaxed & not attempting to bite.
The other thing l wonder about is whether the biting is associated with preparing for work. This might mean that work is causing him pain & he is trying to avoid it. l would certainly investigate the pain angle, but in the meantime do not tolerate the biting. It is too dangerous.
l hope this helps. Good luck with ur training.

well first of all, l would not chase ur horse around, even though it might be a good way to get him running. the thing is, he should not really be running away from you. l think some bonding time on the ground would make him want to please u more when ur riding. if he is bucking, u need to make sure that there is not anything uncomfortable about his saddle/saddle pad. always make sure that there is not a thorn or something on the pad. & putting the chain around his nose might not be the nest solution. this helps: if ur standing at his side when he tries to bite you, use the ball of ur fist, or ur elbow to block. What l mean is that when he swings his head, around, have ur elbow/fist ready, so that it will hit him right in between his cheek & his jaw. this might seem mean, but it will help him respect you, & also if u really think about it, if he is trying to strike out at you, why should he be the more dominate one? u r the boss. he needs to learn that if he bites, u r not just going to let him get away with it without a discipline. Pretty soon he should learn that if he bites, he only gets bitten right back. Hope this helps!