Training Tip: Help for a Barn-Sour Horse

Does your horse have a built-in magnet to the barn? When you take him away from the barn, all he can think about is getting back to it. And why wouldn’t he want to get back to it? His stall, hay and buddies are all back there. The barn is a comfortable place to be. Whenever you take him away from the barn, it usually means he has to move his feet and do work. So change his perspective on the situation. If he wants to get back to the barn, let him. But as soon as he gets back to it, make his feet really hustle. Do rollbacks into the side of the barn, or do serpentines outside the barn door, or get off and hustle his feet from the ground – the more changes of direction you make him do, the better. Then take him 100 feet away from the barn and let him rest. After resting him for five minutes, take him back to the barn and hustle his feet again, then take him 200 feet away from the barn and rest him. After several repetitions of this, your horse will start to figure out that the barn isn’t as much fun as he thought.