Teaching a pony to stand still

[Flamboyant]

I have a lovely pony I'm working with currently who is lovely in every single way other than she just will not stand still. She will not stand still while I'm on her back or if I'm on the ground. Does anyone have any suggestions how to teach her to stand still when asked?

[Ambrey]

I do not have advice- but a friend has a horse that was halter trained as a draft show horse and "stand" was a command, not to be broken. I was just so impressed by her horse's behavior at a show over the weekend I vowed to research the training of that command and teach my horses.

So I'll be reading with interest!

[LostFarmer]

I drive ponies and have a little different apporach. If you won't stand you work and work and work and work.... I stop and they soon learn cock and ankle and take five you never know when the next one will come. It takes time and consistency to achieve this. If they fidget and you let them you are reinforcing the behavior. LF

[pony89]

I drive ponies and have a little different apporach. If you won't stand you work and work and work and work.... I stop and they soon learn cock and ankle and take five you never know when the next one will come. It takes time and consistency to achieve this. If they fidget and you let them you are reinforcing the behavior. LF

I agree with this approach. If fidgeting means being put to work, they definitely learn to take advantage of the opportunity to stand quietly.

I've also tried to teach my mare the "stand" command, with less success. When it comes right down to it, if she wants to move around, she can move around a lot. Until she would rather stand still. Like LF said, it took a lot of time and consistency. Now, though, if she isn't standing, all I have to do is make her yield her hindquarters around once or twice in warning and she takes the hint immediately. More often than not, I don't need to bother.

[SLW]

Leave the pony tied up correctly (eye high) and walk away. Check back in every hour. Offer some water as needed. After a few two or three hour sessions they tend to stand tied quietly. I learned this from a quarter horse trainer and it has worked well with several young horses and a driving mini I've started.

[FindersKeepers]

SLW's method is proven, and works. But not everyone has the means or knowledge to do it correctly. If you feel comfortable with that approach, it is the best way to go. The TB trainer I work for does this with all his 2 year old TB's. (he also trains QH's. That's his profession, TB's are his hobby) They are the most well behaved young TB's I have ever met. They all stand like statues and tolerate anything you need to do.

Patience is key. I usually start in an aisleway while grooming. Attach a lead rope, and don't use crossties. I start off allowing 3 steps in any direction before a correction. You don't want them to be scared to move, you want them to know it's ok to stand still. After 3 steps, put them back where you started and say "stand". Do this every single day. Keep "sessions" to no more than 10-15 minutes at first. Eventually, you can stop holding the lead line and "ground tie" and soon won't need anything at all.

As for when you're on her, every second she stands still is a victory. So ask her to stand for 10 seconds, then she gets a pet and can move. Slowly increase intervals.

You have to remember that it's not natural for a horse to stand still alone somewhere. Instincts tell them to be on the move and get back to the herd. That is something you can override, by teaching them you are going to be their herd and keep them safe.

[Flamboyant]

She has actually been tied up for hours before and she will stand very still when tied up, just not when on the ground with her or under saddle.

[poltroon]

Standing still is a fairly easy behavior to teach using clicker training, if you're open to that.

[rabicon]

I agree with the work technique. If she wants to move her feet than make her move her feet. When you say woo and she woos then let her stand but as soon as she moves a hoof its work time again. They will figure it out pretty quick. Another way for standing while mounted is to teach them to do carrot stretches on their back. This is how I get my boy not to walk off as soon as I mount. I'd stretch him as soon as I mounted and he learned to wait for that and for my command to move.

[mjrtango93]

Is your little pony a norwegian fjord? If so do you have the norwegian fjord I had last year? Because I am sure I finally broke him of that. He would stand like a brick anywhere....tied in the stall, in the trailer, in the cross ties (ok he moved occassionally but he knew he had to stand there until he was quiet), standing at the end of the reins.....but the second I was on him he had major ants in his pants. We did an ammended version of what others are suggesting. I would work him then we would go stand in the middle of the circle on a long rein. He would fishtail around and try to back up and wiggle but I would just close my leg or rein so that he never got anywhere. We would wait a couple minutes (seriously 2 minutes in the beginning was eternity) then back to work, then back to the middle of the circle to stand. We would go on hacks and randomly stop in the middle of the hill or field and stand (yes I looked odd just sitting on him in the middle of a field). Eventually our standing times got longer and longer, until finally you could just stop and stand on a long rein (this did take 8 months, but he had a stubborn pony brain). Just make sure if he is standing well and he starts to feel like he is thinking of moving off that you beat him to the punch and ask him to move on before he does. They can be taught, but ponies take a long time!

[mp]

Leave the pony tied up correctly (eye high) and walk away. Check back in every hour. Offer some water as needed. After a few two or three hour sessions they tend to stand tied quietly. I learned this from a quarter horse trainer and it has worked well with several young horses and a driving mini I've started.

This will teach a horse to stand tied, but not necessarily to stand still under saddle or when being tacked up.

I'm no great horse trainer, but every one of my horses stays still when asked to under saddle and when I'm handling them from the ground. And I do pretty much what LF said -- if the horse can't stand still, he will move his feet as I direct, until he gets the idea that standing still is a good thing.

For grooming, that means I decide exactly where I want the horse/pony to stand. If he moves a foot, I put it back, right where it was. If he continues to move or tries to walk off, he gets turned in a tight circle a few times, then asked to whoa. If he stands still, great. If he can't, then repeat until he does.

Same thing when you're mounting. Square him up, put your foot in the stirrup and if he starts to move, he gets turned around a few times. Then whoa. If he stands still, get on. If he doesn't, repeat until he does. If he walks off before you ask, he gets turned in a tight circle. Then whoa. Be sure to ask them to stand square. So they'll have to shift their weight to move and you can correct them before they actually move off.

And be specific about what you want the horse to do -- e.g. , you stand RIGHT HERE. Not 6" this way or 8" that way. RIGHT HERE. If you move, I'll make you move back.

They figure it out pretty quickly. I think the longest I ever worked with one of mine was about 30 minutes, with a 5 minute or so refresher the next time.

[Thomas_1]

If you do a search on the driving threads you'll find quite a bit about training a horse/pony to stand.

Driving horses HAVE to stand..... there's a lot of harness to get on, it takes time to put the horse to the carriage..... it can't even move a foot forward. Likewise when the carriage is on the back, it's to stand rock solid..... even a step forward means that the carriage rolls forward and potentially there could be a serious accident.

So go to the driving threads and learn what drivers do.

In the meantime, here's what I do. This is just for training to stand:

http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?p=3932622&highlight=stand#post3932622

Then for standing whilst mounting:

http://www.themanestreet.com/forums/showthread.php?p=424618&highlight=stand#post424618

[goeslikestink]

If you do a search on the driving threads you'll find quite a bit about training a horse/pony to stand.

Driving horses HAVE to stand..... there's a lot of harness to get on, it takes time to put the horse to the carriage..... it can't even move a foot forward. Likewise when the carriage is on the back, it's to stand rock solid..... even a step forward means that the carriage rolls forward and potentially there could be a serious accident.

So go to the driving threads and learn what drivers do.

In the meantime, here's what I do. This is just for training to stand:

http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?p=3932622&highlight=stand#post3932622

Then for standing whilst mounting:

http://www.themanestreet.com/forums/showthread.php?p=424618&
highlight=stand#post424618

hope you dont mind thomas but i have added these to my helpful links pages
anything else you think would be useful please add ta matey