A horse barges through gateways because the other side of the gate is where the good things are — turnout, dinner, his friends — and because barging has worked: every time he has pulled through, the gate opened and he arrived. It is anticipation plus a learned lesson, and it un-teaches the same way it taught, through a gateway routine in which waiting quietly is what makes the gate open.
Why gateways charge a horse up
Few moments in a horse's day are as loaded as a gateway. He can see or smell what he wants — grass, companions, the yard at feed time — he is excited, and the gateway itself is a narrow squeeze that horses naturally hurry through rather than linger in. Horses who have been rushed, turned loose carelessly at the gate, or allowed to drag handlers to grass learn that speed at gates pays. The barging horse is rarely being rude on purpose; he is following his strongest habit in his strongest moment, which is why correcting him mid-barge rarely works and the answer is a new routine practised until it is stronger.
The routine that replaces barging
Build it in four steps, identically every time. Halt a few strides before the gate and stand until the lead rope is loose and the horse is waiting rather than leaning. Open the gate yourself while he stands — if he pushes forward, calmly walk him away in a small circle and halt again, as many times as it takes, without anger. Walk through at your pace, not his, then turn him to face the gate and stand again while you close it, and only then walk on or turn him loose. The reward he is working for — the field, the yard — arrives only through the quiet version, and horses are quick to spot which behaviour opens gates.
Practise where the stakes are low
Do not start at the field gate at turnout time on a hungry morning. Start at a quiet opening — a stable doorway, an arena gate, a field gate you are not actually turning out through — and rehearse the halt and stand where nothing exciting lies beyond it. A few repetitions inside the day's normal handling teach the pattern; then carry it to the real gate. If the horse is big, keen, or has already learned he can pull people off their feet, wear gloves and a hat, use a rope long enough to keep you out of the crush zone, and work from the safe side of the gate rather than standing in the gateway itself.
Consistency is what makes it stick
The routine only survives if everyone who leads the horse uses it. One handler letting him tow through because the morning is busy re-teaches the old lesson in a single trip, and horses are expert at learning which people enforce which rules. Write the gateway routine down where the yard can see it, and note how the work is going — a horse who barges less at the field gate but still rushes the yard gate has shown you exactly where the work remains. In KinsLe, setting gateway practice as a small shared duty through Care Teams keeps every handler on the same steps, with the notes on his profile and each practice marked complete, so the calm routine becomes the horse's default rather than one person's project.