Halter an Unruly Horse

Halter-breaking a colt or an older horse that is unruly can be challenging, but it isn’t impossible! Learn how to halter an unruly horse while keeping yourself safe and teaching the horse to trust you. Fasten the halter gently and calmly, and establish a routine with your horse so they know what to expect. It takes a lot of consistency to work with an unruly horse, so get ready to dedicate several training sessions every week to your new endeavor.

Steps

Approaching an Unruly Horse

1. Put your horse in an enclosed pen when you need to halter it. This may not always be possible, just depending on your situation. If it is, having your horse in a contained space where it cannot easily run far away will help you get it haltered faster.
   • Avoid having other people, horses, or animals present in the pen when you’re attempting to harness your horse.
2. Show your horse the halter as you begin to walk toward it. When you enter the pen, keep the halter in your left hand. Never hide it behind your back, and don’t shake it back and forth. Just let it be visible so your horse knows you have something in your hand.
   • Approach your horse near its shoulder from the front side so it can see you well. Avoid approaching the horse from behind or directly in front of it because it has a gap in its vision and may not be able to see you.
   • If the horse bucks or runs away at the sight of the harness, that is okay. Let it run around or back up, and then approach it again slowly or wait for it to come back to you. You may need to repeat this several times until you’re able to stand next to it.
3. Use your horse’s name and speak to it in a kind voice. Even if you’re nervous, try and keep your voice calm and steady. Your horse can pick up on your attitude, and if you’re skittish, that could make it nervous, too. Call out to your horse and use its name. Use reassuring words as you make your way to it.
   • If the horse bucks or runs away, stop and stand still until they’ve stopped moving. Then start approaching it again.
4. Move slowly and avoid making any sudden movements. As you continue making your way toward your horse, avoid making any fast movements. Don’t run at the horse, wave your arms in the air, or lunge at the horse. Fast movements could spook the horse and make it nervous.
   • If you brought treats with you, you could always take one out and carry it in your right hand so your horse can see it, too. You could also use a bucket of grain to encourage your horse to come closer to you.
5. Continue approaching the horse until you’re on its left-hand side. Depending on how skittish or unruly your horse is, it might take a little while until you’re able to get next to it. Make sure the horse can still see the harness and continue using calm, kind words as you speak to it.
   • If you ever feel that the horse is too upset and that you could get hurt, leave the pen. Give the horse 5 minutes to calm down, and then try again.

Haltering the Horse

1. Pass a lead rope under and around the horse’s neck. Stand on the horse’s left-hand side, take the end of the lead rope, and pass it under your horse’s neck. Reach over the horse’s neck with your other hand and grab the rope (keep the halter in the hand that’s under the horse so it doesn’t startle it). The horse will feel like it’s “caught” and is less likely to run away once you have the lead rope around its neck. This gives you a little more control over the horse’s head while you’re putting on the halter.
   • The lead rope attaches to the halter, and you use it to lead the horse around.
   • Remember to use reassuring words while positioning the lead rope.
2. Position the halter and slide the noseband around the horse’s muzzle. The halter is made up of the crownpiece, which goes behind the horse’s ears, the cheekpieces, which line the horse’s face, the noseband, which goes around the horse’s muzzle, and the ring, which is where the lead rope is attached. To put the halter in position, the ring should be on the bottom so that when you slide the noseband in place, it’ll rest below the horse’s mouth.
   • Depending on how skittish the horse it, it may pull its head away several times during this process. Keep a firm hold on the lead rope around its neck to keep control of the horse, and be persistent. It may take a few tries, but you’ll get the noseband in place!
3. Fasten the crownpiece over the horse’s head and behind its ears. Once the noseband is in place, take the crownpiece and position it behind the horse’s ears. Secure the end of it in the buckle, but don’t make it too tight—there should be enough room for your hand to fit under the strap.
   • Be extra gentle around the horse’s ears. Many horses have sensitive ears and get upset if they’re accidentally smushed down or touched on the inside. Take care to not fasten them down or yank them in any way.
4. Release the lead rope that has been around the horse’s neck. Pull the lead rope back around the horse’s neck so that it is hanging down from the ring. Remember to tell your horse what a good job it’s doing, and keep in mind that this may be a really uncomfortable moment for it.
   • Don’t yank on the lead rope. Eventually, you’ll be able to start leading your horse around the pen and teaching it to walk beside you, but for the first few weeks of halter-training, you just want to acclimate it to the harness itself.
5. Stay by the horse’s side for a few minutes before removing the harness. This is a great time to talk to your horse, pet it, give it a treat, and just hang out. Depending on your horse’s attitude, you may even be able to groom it while you’re in the pen, which is another way to teach it to associate the harness with pleasurable things. After 4 to 5 minutes, slowly remove the harness, give your horse another treat, and end the training session.
   • Repeat this process for 2 to 3 weeks before moving on to leading the horse around. Ideally, you want the horse to not be skittish or aggressive when you approach it with the halter before you start the next part of its training.

Training Your Horse over Time

1. Keep your horse in an enclosed pen when you’re training it. An enclosed pen is an advantage for both you and your horse. The horse won’t be able to run very far and it will always be able to see you. Similarly, you’ll always be able to see the horse and approach it directly because there is only so much space to move around in.
   • This process is also called lunging. Many people use enclosed pens to train horses, teach them new commands, and build rapport.
2. Establish a routine of regular interaction with your horse. Part of getting an unruly horse to take a halter is based on its relationship with you. Regular grooming and interaction, even if you’re just talking to it and touching its shoulders and head, go a long way in creating a relationship between you and your horse. Commit to training with your horse 3 to 4 times a week.
   • Be patient with yourself and your horse. It can take weeks of time to get an unruly horse to work with you.
3. Teach a Horse to Come when Called. Even an unruly horse can be taught to come when called or when it sees you. If you can teach your horse to come to you, it will make haltering it much easier. Positive reinforcement is the best way to accomplish this:
   • Keep treats with you to give your horse when it comes up to you. Try treats like carrots, apples, grapes, pumpkins, and strawberries.
   • Use the horse’s name when you are around it. Try giving the horse a treat when you say its name.
   • Establish a connection by touching the horse’s shoulder, mane, neck, ears, face, and nose.
4. Reward the horse for approaching you and letting you touch it. Don’t give your horse a treat if you walk up to it; save treats for the times when the horse comes to you. If you’re working with a particularly skittish or unruly horse that isn’t used to touch, give a treat and a positive affirmation when they let you touch it.
   • Over time, your horse will associate you and your voice with positive emotions. The horse may still be skittish, but you’re moving in the right direction. Before you know it, your horse will be approaching you when it’s time to put on its halter.

Tips

• For young male foals, wait to start halter-training until after they’ve been gelded. This will make them much easier to train.
• Never yell at or hit the horse. You don’t want it to think the halter is scary.

Warnings

• Never put yourself in an unsafe position. Don’t approach the horse from behind or try to sneak up on it.

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• Be Safe Around Horses
• Begin Horseback Riding
• Mount a Horse

References

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Quick Summary

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See also

• Discipline a Horse Without Using Aggression
• Get a Horse Under Control
• Keep a Horse from Cribbing
• Teach Your Horse to Stop Biting
• Handle and Control a Stallion

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