What is resistance in horses and ponies?

Resistance is a horse or pony’s way of saying “No thanks”. There are many different forms of resistance, depending on the animal’s temperament. Some are more dangerous ones than others. If your horse is resisting something, don’t despair. Only a saint of a horse never resists anything in his life. I saw it in action last week with two young riders:

An older, normally well-behaved horse hadn’t done a turn on the forehand for some time and said “no thanks” when asked by reining back. Every time he was asked to step sideways, he stepped backwards instead. It took a bit of time and patience for his young rider to get him to do this exercise correctly.

A placid, teenage 13.2 who is great with beginners, decided he had had enough cantering in circles when being asked to do plenty of transitions. This was hard work for him! He said “no thanks” by suddenly leaning forward and trying to pull the reins out of his rider’s hands. This is his usual form of resistance.

Working through the resistance firmly but non-violently is essential. Be careful, though, with young horses. Sometimes they will start to resist if they are tired or if they are being asked for too much. Always try to work out why the horse is resisting. Is he afraid? Is he fed up with doing the same thing over and over? Is he just being naughty? More info here.