Trail Problem Solver: Barn Sour Behavior

Barn-sour behavior is strongly influenced by horses’ natural instincts, including their instinct to be with the herd and their need for security. A barn-sour horse may refuse to leave the barn or hurry home from a ride. If you’re dealing with a barn-sour horse, here are a few things to try:

Show him that it’s fun to leave the barn and it’s work to hurry home. “Walk with your horse out to the edge of his boundary—that place away from the barn where he first becomes anxious or worried,” Falcone says. “Make that boundary a good place to be. Give him an incentive to be there—let him graze a bit, or set out a bucket with a little grain. Reassure him that life is good away from the barn. Then walk him back toward the barn.

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“If your horse becomes unmanageable on the way back to the barn, ask him to do something specific, and fast, with his feet—backing up, circling, going sideways,” Falcone continues. “It will help him realize that being close to the barn might mean having to do work.

“Respect his boundaries and help him gain confidence before increasing the distance,” Falcone adds. “Gradually increase the distance away from the barn. Depending on the horse, this could take many sessions over several days or weeks. Be patient. The time you spend on this will be well worth it,” she says.

Don’t let your horse go straight home. “For horses that rush home, I go away from the driveway down a different trail,” Reynolds explains. “If the horse needs a lot of work, I’ll just keep going back and forth by the driveway. I’ll go south for 10 minutes, then back past the driveway and go north for 10 minutes. Don’t go home until the horse is walking and not jigging and pulling on you,” Reynolds says.

Work in the arena. “Do more arena riding to tune up your skills,” Hal Hall suggests. Hall practices dressage with his long distance trail horses because he believes it helps them become more flexible and build muscle. Arena work has the added benefit of making trail riding seem more appealing to many horses. In fact, working in the arena before you go on a short ride can help your horse see trail riding as a relaxing break.

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16 years ago

Micaela Myers

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View Comments

tiffany says:
June 22, 2008 at 5:08 pm
what about your horse being barn sour in the ring my horse always trys to run to the gate that is closest to the barn??
Emma says:
April 2, 2010 at 2:36 pm
It says to take your horse to the end of your property, well if your horse is barn sour he doesn't like to leave the barn, so how the heck would you even get him to the end of you boundaries in the first place?
Sharon says:
May 29, 2012 at 4:11 pm
When I try to get my appaloosa mare to go on a trail ride by herself, we get as far as past the barn and fences. After that, she freaks out and wants to go back to the barn. Do I work with her to build her confidence up? I did go on a trail ride with another rider.
Gail Staub says:
June 30, 2019 at 12:12 pm
I always do round pen work before a trail ride. My mare will respond to verbal commands at liberty including reversing direction, backing up, etc. but the minute I try to head down the trail she is a nervous mess and will refuse to leave, head tossing, bucks, etc. My husbands horse is head of pecking order but was retired this year due to heart failure. I fear I lost my mount too.