Training Tip: Q&A: Handling Unexpected Crow Hopping

Question: My barrel horse likes to kick out and crow hop during runs. He is very inconsistent about when he does this. It is not every run, sometimes it’s the first few runs, and sometimes it’s five or 10 runs later. I have worked with my veterinarian to rule out pain, and I’ve tried different saddles and bridles. Nothing is making a difference. Do you have any suggestions? – whitneyacres

Clinton’s Answer: My first suggestion is to make sure your horse isn’t fresh. What I mean by that is if you haven’t worked with him in a few days and you pull him out of the stall, saddle him and then go run barrels, you’re setting him up for failure.

If he’s had time off, make sure you spend time getting him to tune in to you and use the thinking side of his brain. Then, when he’s riding well, go run your pattern. That’s the opposite of him feeling his oats and kicking up his heels when you run into the arena.

If he’s doing it inconsistently and you don’t think it’s pain-related, then it’s likely he’s developed a bad habit. Horses too smart for their own good will develop habits like this. It’s what I call a show-ring habit. For example, with reining horses, they know that when they’re in the warm-up pen not to make any mistakes because their riders will correct them. When they go in the show pen, they know there is a whole different set of rules. The judges are watching, and the chances of you blowing your run to correct them in front of everybody is slim to none. They get real smart about it.

That’s why I recommend taking horses to school ‘em and fool ‘em shows. These are local shows where you’re not spending a ton of money on classes. You enter a class, and when the horse misbehaves, you correct him right then and there. Then you go on with the pattern. That sets the horse back and makes him realize that yes, you will correct him in a show environment.

My suggestion for you if you don’t believe his problem is pain-related and that he’s just messing with you is when you gallop into the arena and head for your first barrel and he kicks out, jerk him into the ground. Hustle his feet backwards. Spin him around and gallop him back to the alley and then gallop him back into the arena. If he kicks out again, repeat the same steps.

I’d make him realize that if he kicks up and misbehaves, you’re going to make him feel really uncomfortable. What you don’t want him to think is that he can run out into the arena, crow hop and kick out and you’re just going to walk out of the arena and let him rest.

If you’re in a situation in which you can’t work him in the arena, make sure you put him to work outside of it. I do mean put him to work. You want him huffing and puffing and thinking it’s no fun to be outside of the arena.

You’ll find that if you correct him a couple of times when you’re running barrels, he’ll stop doing it. It’s like kids who misbehave in public. They know when their parents are going to correct them and when they can get away with murder. Admittedly, that never worked with my parents—they were never afraid to line me out in public.

Horses are a lot smarter than we sometimes give them credit for. They know when they can push the envelope and get away with behavior and when they can’t. Your job is to teach your horse that no matter where you are or what you’re doing, you expect him to behave. And if he chooses not to, you’ll correct him right then and there.

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