Young Horse With Gate Anxiety

During ranch sorting the other day there was an rider on a 3 or 4 year old gelding whose first time on cows would be that day. The rider was concerned that the horse would spook and bolt inside the pen. I had the rider and the horse stay right behind me and my horse as we approached the pens from the outside while the cows were being pushed into the sorting pens. As you can imagine the new horse's head was on a swivel watching and reacting to any move from the 12 Corrientes's in the pen. After a few minutes we rode away, then rode back to do the same. And each time that horse got better. He still had some anxiety about those cows, but it was time to get in the pens.

I was planning on using my first 90 second run with the new horse and rider just circling the cows to allow the horse to get some confidence about the cows moving away from him, and eventually did that, but when going to enter the pen through the 4 foot gate for the first time, that new gelding wouldn't get anywhere near the gate. Eventually, one of the ground crew led the horse through the gate and we commenced on our first run.

The new horse and rider did another 4 or 5 runs each time having to be lead on the ground through the gate. During a break I talked to the rider about how well the horse is taking to cattle and saying that I actually thought that little gelding probably had some cow horse bred into him as he was doing so well once he got into the pen, but still the gate bothered him and we should try to fix that. I took the rider and the horse over to the larger arena fence where it was also apparent that the sponsor signs on the fence bothered that little horse.

I had the rider ask the horse to move towards the arena and letting the horse stop when he needed to. The horse, being curious would soon become comfortable and take a step forward on it's own motivation. And while I was explaining that to the rider, the horse moved forward a step much to the rider's delight. Within a few minutes that horse was nosing the signs, licking his lips and starting to look around.

Then I dismounted and demonstrated moving the horse following the lead line between me and the arena fence, asking the horse to roll his backend over and bring his front end across and follow the lead between me and the arena fence.

I was using a Bosal and a mecate, while the rider was using a leverage bit, so the rider retrieved a halter then started doing this exercise with the new horse. And at first the new horse skitted through between the rider and the fence like something bad was going to happen in that confined space. After a few times of back and forth following the lead between the rider and fence the horse became much more comfortable and I had the rider, give the horse a break for a few minutes, then close the gap and continue. Another few minutes and that was old hat to that young gelding.

So then I had the rider ask the horse to stop between him and the fence then to rub on the horse. Then I had the rider continue at a slower pace and stop the horse mid way in each direction and rub on him. There as a big difference in that horse and the rider saw it. I said let's give it a go and see if he'll move through the sorting pen gate on his own. That young gelding moved through the sorting pen gate like he'd been doing it all his life.

The photos below show what I described above in having the horse follow the lead between you and the fence.  You may have to use a flag to help the horse go forward and the horse may hurry through it in the beginning.  Once the horse gets comfortable following the lead, rolling his back end away from the fence and bringing his front end over and going through again, you can have him stop between you and fence.  Giving him a release here.   They quickly become desensitized to the fence.   And in the case of the little horse at ranch sorting who was fearful of the sorting pen gate, the gate becomes a non issue.