ANSWER: Your gelding
is "Herd Sour". Meaning some horses do not like leaving
the company of the other horses. Horses that are "Barn
Sour" do not like leaving the barn/pasture/yard.
First, keeping
your gelding separate from the other horses may be
necessary to nip his being Herd Sour in the butt.
Since Herd Sour horses may bond closely even with
horses kept directly next to them, it is best to
have him completely separate from the others by
distance, not just a fence.
For Herd
Sour horses and/or horses that have simply never
learned to stand tied: Daily, every single day such
horse's need to be caught , led out of sight of
their pasture mates and tied correctly (above the
height of their withers and rope from halter to post
about only the length of an adults arm). And to a
good stout post with a good strong halter and lead
rope. They should remained tied if it takes 2 hours
or 2 days until they settle down and basically
relax. Then and only then should they be
untied, led around and finally returned to
their own paddock.
The key here is that the horse remains tied no
matter how much it fusses until it QUITS and settles
down. Even then, the horse must be quiet (totally
relaxed from ears to tail) for a minimum of 1/2 hour
before untying it. Personally I prefer at least an
hour plus but 1/2 hour to start with works also. I
want to see that horse basically dozing, resting a
hind leg, ears at rest first before untying it!!!
This teaches the horse "not only "Manners"
but to have "Patience" also.
Untying the horse
before it settles down defeats the purpose of
training it to stand tied by itself in the first
place. In fact untying a fussing horse teaches it
to act up even more because it soon learns by acting
up worse, the owner will go over and untie it.
NOTE: A net bag full of
hay can be hung up "high" on the post for horses
needing to be tied for long hours until they settle
down. A bucket of water can also be fixed to the
post or else hand water the horse every few hours.
