I am trying to help someone with a 2 year old gelding who has horrible ground manners, and am hoping for a little direction because I am stumped as to how to help this horse be a happy guy.

He halters up nice and quiet, but then after that he starts being pushy in the stall, and pushy when leading him around. Any roundpen work has been met with no success. He has absolutely no herd sense. No respect for personal space whatsoever. Doesnt pick up on any cues to move out, away or back up.

For backing up, I've tried waving/wiggling lead rope while standing in front of him. He just moves towards me or stands still. I walk towards him while I do this, and he still wont move. He only backs up when I physically push him on the chest. To get him to move out or away from me, I've tried whirling the leadrope, waving arms, stomping feet, touching him with ground-stick - nada. I tried waving my hat in his face as he walks towards me - he couldnt care less, he just keeps on coming. I use the tone of my voice as a cue, but that doesnt phase him either. We tried turning him out with the rest of the boys (to learn his manners herd style), but he kept far away from the herd. Because of this, he was not eating , so we felt forced to put him back in a stall.

On the rare occassion that he actually does move out and away, he canters and bucks out at me. Today I had a friend work with him, and she got him to move around her for a short while, but it was very tight circles at a trot. She got the feeling that he would have ran her over if she let him, so there seemed to be some aggression coming out.

Any advice, or referrals to websites/books, would be so appreciated. I feel like a total dunce with this guy.

Initial reaction: you are not being assertive enough, the gelding is going to hurt someone if his behavior is not modified and is in dire need of a good old fashioned trip behind the wood shed.

Advice: if you are not comfortable using more aggressive measures to get his attention then send him to a trainer who has more expierence with pushy colts.

Good starting point: Clinton Anderson videos on ground work would be helpful i think. Also, on RFD-TV there are specials on colt starting occasionally that may give you some excorcises to do with him.

@CircleKinstructor - I agree with you 100%. That's why I was reaching out for some help, because I felt out of my element with this horse. The horses I have worked with before have been very shy/abused ones. Never worked with a horse who constantly wanted to be in my back pocket and who didnt respond to my body language.

Since posting this, I've been able to talk to some trainers (went to a horse expo yesterday), and do some online research. I've got some more advice, and one person actually recommended Clinton Anderson too.

Thanks again for your post

great! let us know how it goes.

What would you do if he were a teenage kid? You'd set the ground rules and demand some respect. Someone has let him think he is the boss somewhere along the way.
Use your lead and quick hard yanks to get his attention and keep it. He won't repect you, if you don't deserve it. Be confident, so he knows you mean what you say. If you can't show this to him, it's best to let a professionaldo it.
The kicking at you..........lol........he is giving you the finger.