Do you want your horse to stand still when you're handling him, leading
him, when he's tied? Does he wiggle, paw, turn and face you, or otherwise
act distracted? Let me ask: Are you sure that anyone has ever properly
taught him to stand still? It could be that he's not misbehaving; it's
just that no one has ever really sat down with him and really explained
what is expected.
So what you need to do is to teach him to just stand still. It isn't
particularly hard, it's just often assumed that a horse already knows it.
I tend not to assume that a horse knows anything unless I have taught it
to him; I may cue for a command and get the right response, but I don't
*know* unless I did it myself.
Walking
Whoa-ing
First, teach the horse the word "whoa" (or some facsimile thereof--you
can pick any word you'd like). Don't assume he knows it-start all over
and make sure. I usually do this by walking the horse, stopping, using
the lead to ask for a stop, and saying "whoa." Eventually, you use the
lead less and less until he is responding entirely to the verbal
command, and does not need you to use the lead rope to get the idea
across.
I have an additional page on teaching
voice commands, which goes into this sequence in more depth.
Now you want to teach him to stand still, to continue to stay "whoa'd"
while you are moving around him. You will eventually make him stand at
a whoa while you mess around his body...playing with the girth,
flipping the reins, whatnot. This is how I do it:
You may want to begin any or every session by reminding him of how he
whoas on the lead; walk a few steps, whoa, walk a few steps, whoa. Then
you will move on.
I usually first teach them to stand while I am holding the lead rope,
walking back to the neck ("whoa. whoa. whoa."), and back to the head
("whoa. whoa. whoa."). I hold the lead rope to prevent him following
me. If he tries to follow me, I do not punish him; I tell him, "no,"
(or "AAAP!" as "no" sounds quite a lot like "whoa") and start over. You
are trying to teach him something he does not already know; there is no
point getting angry at him. You have to show him what it is that you
want him to do, and then try to make sure he "gets" it.
If he has remained whoa'd then I reward with a treat or a "good boy" or
"good girl," or a nice scratch (or a combination thereof). Rewarding
him for doing it right will tell him when he has done what you are
asking for. Do this for several times a session--I would say about
five--and then stop. At any time, if he seems to have a "flashbulb
moment" and suddenly gets it, or does it perfectly, STOP. Put him away.
Reward him by not making him repeat the exercise any more that session.
Do this for several sessions until the horse really seems to have the
idea down well. Do make sure you repeat the exercise on both sides of
his body, not just left or right.
Next session, I start off by reminding him to stand whoa'd while I walk
back to the neck and then return to the head; reward. Now I walk past
the wither; for the first few sessions, I usually keep my hand on the
horse. I lightly run my fingers along his body as I walk toward his
back, then back to his head. Again, if he has been able to stand still,
I reward him. I do this for several sessions until he understands it
and obeys well.
I bet you can guess what I do for the next session ;) I extend my
"walk" to his hip, then eventually to his tail. Over the course of a
few sessions I keep extending my range until I am entirely walking
around his body and returning to his head.
If at any time he seems to be losing it--he will not stand still when
told--you can go back to the very first step, asking him to whoa while
being led. Reinforcing the idea of "whoa" is most helpful.
I also teach him to stand while I walk away. It's easier for him to
obey your "whoa" if, at first, you walk away from his side (turn your
back to his withers and walk straight a few steps) rather than away
from his head; he is used to being led when you walk away from his
head, and it may not "click" that he is supposed to stand and
wait.
Stop him, tell him to "whoa," walk a few steps away from his body. Walk
back, reward. Again, try extending this slowly over the course of a few
sessions; you want to be able to walk about 5 steps away, or away from
any *part* of his body (shoulder, head, hip) and have him remain still.
Teaching your horse to stand is helpful in so many ways. It's a real
building block of handling and training. Once he understands what it
means, you can use the concept when he's tied, when you're opening a gate,
in mounting, in loading in to a trailer--this is such an essential concept
for horses to know, and yet we often do not actually *teach* it...we just
assume that the horse already knows it, and get upset at him for failing
to perform. ;) Once *you've* taught your horse a concept, then you know
that he understands it!