The funny thing about the horse is that he is kind of like a little kid. If you want him to stand still and you tell him to stand still, he is just going to squirm all over the place. This is because he feels like he has to test you on whether or not he can move. If you have children, this may sound very familiar.

Well, just like your kids, you will want to begin directing that energy into something useful and stop spending so much of your energy trying to make him stand still. If the horse wants to move while you are grooming, saddling, etc. then use that energy and put it to work. Instead of trying to make him stand still, make him work. If he doesn't want to stand still, then take him to the arena and longe him. You may also want to take your tack out there as well, because this usually turns into a different lesson than the one you had planned.

If you sense that the horse is going to move, try to catch him and make him move before he does it on his own. You might ask him to back up and then come forward again. This will help you in two ways. You will make him easier to handle and you will also make him want to stand still. If they feel like they can't move, then they want to move and if they feel like they can move they want to stand still. If you make moving harder work than they planned, they will usually decide that standing still is easier.

Younger horses generally have these problems because they need to feel unrestricted in order to feel safe. They need to know that they can move. By helping and guiding the young horse along in this manner, you will be saving yourself a fight when they are older.

Other areas where horses tend to move is when they are mounting. The horse seems to know that as soon as you get your foot up, that is the time to take a step forward. Before you know it, you have done leg lifts all down the side of the pen. Most people will lose their temper in this situation and will be yelling "whoa" loud enough that you can hear it in the next county. What happens here, however, is that the horse moves around enough until he is satisfied and then he stops long enough for you to get on. When you do get on, you are actually only reinforcing that behavior. Also, if you are holding your reins or lead rope in such a way that you are making contact, you may actually be asking your horse to move without realizing it. Many times you will have better behavior from your horse in this situation if you do not hold the horse in place. Have slack in your rope or reins so that the horse doesn't feel restricted and so that you aren't accidentally telling him to move. When the horse realizes that he can stand still with slack in the reins, you will see this problem disappear.

If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. When you are riding your horse, you guide him with your reins. As soon as he goes where you want him to go, you give him slack and release the pressure. Well, the same goes for mounting. When you hold your horse still through the reins, you are telling him to move. If you give him slack, you are telling him that he is where he needs to be and he will learn to stand still while you mount. Some horses are more sensitive to others and they simply respond to lighter cues than other horses.

By putting your horse to work when he moves and you don't want him to move, you will show the horse that he is going to have to work a lot harder than planned. If you allow the horse to know that he is unrestricted, he will be more willing to stand still. If you give him a little slack, he will begin to understand that he is where you want him and he will learn to stand still. You may have to work on this bit by bit, but eventually your horse will begin to understand that all you want is for him to stand still.