lost for ldeas now

[horsey123]

here we go ..sorry

i have been riding a mare for a friend ,who canot ride for ages becouse she has just had a op

the mare was very pushy in the stable but i have sorted that out and she now has some manners (in the stable any way)

when i am riding her and she dosent want to go she will just plant her feet or does a sharp spin back home or where ever she wants to go
i am finding it really hard do ride her i dont want to pull on the bit but she dosent yeild to pressure from the leg that well
we have been working on yeilding and she is getting better.
but when shes doset want to go somwere she is not going to go.

i have tryed
~taps with the leg
~pushes with the leg
~tap on the shoulder with a wip
~leg and wip

she had know pain becouse she do very sharp turns when she has her own way
i ride in in my treeless so there is know back pain and her teeth have been done

can any one help

she is a 16.1 middleweight cob about 9 yo and i am 5"3 and about 8st

ta h123 x

[sarahfox]

Have you tried the wip wop?

[horsey123]

yea sarah, but its not the going on i struggle with its the turning. with some clicks i can her to move off the leg on go but i just cant get her to turn corners if she dosent want and if she has had enough she just spins around and goes home or were ever she wants to go

[eskimo]

Whats she like on the ground if you ask her to move over?? Lots of pressure needed or a light fingertip touch??

For this groundwork imo is needed as she needs to move from light touches of leg, atm she sounds desensitized & happier to do her own thing Rather than what the rider wants. Using groundwork techniques & incorporating them into riding will help her understand that you want her to move from a light touch & not set herself against you.

[horsey123]

whe i frist started fer on the ground she dident know what i was asking did i have been working on the ground for about 3 week and i wouldent say she moves off the light touch but you dont need alot

[naria]

Tin hat & flak jacket on and heading for cover as I type!

It sounds to me like she's trying it on & is seeing which of you is boss! It may not win me many friends but I'd try a good growl & sending her on very determinedly if you feel her getting ready to spin. If she does spin pull her right round while telling her off & immediately send her on.

Does she do this with your friend? What does she say about how she's behaving for you? If it's a long standing problem & it's putting you in a dangerous position then I think you need to politely tell her that you won't be riding the mare, if it's not something she does with her owner then maybe ask her advice on how best to ride her horse.

[horsey123]

her owner dosent ride her much dosent hack out just dose walk trot and canter once a week on this school on the same rain so she hasent had much schooling
she isent doin it in a dangerouse way and i dont feel at risk but i feel like she is tacking the
P!sS
and i think i just need to tell her that i am boss and i am the leader if you get me

[rosemaryhannah]

Have you tried leading her out in hand? Very often this kind of problem can be solved by a LOT of leading out in hand. Never imagine once or twice will do it. BUT it is the best gentlest and surest way of sorting out leadership issues and confidence problems. it teaches obedience by stealth.

[jen1]

i agree with Eskimo, teaching her to move off a light touch is the way to go,just because she doesn't wouldn't necessarily mean she wont teaching your self about focus energy will help a lot, you have to mean it in your body mind and your output of energy when to use just enough and when to use more, and when to use almost nothing, start big work on getting it down, and most of all check your self (nothing implied)sherbs went from all touching to nothing today in a very short space of time,as we didnt have anything on him to back him up or move his shoulders, (hope you dont mind me using him as an eg C) check she is with you and not away with the fairies, no point talking to someone/thing thats not listening, look for the ears look for the eyes, and use all this for your ground work, if she believes you on the ground then chances are you will make some good progress when the time is right to start riding her again,i do believe in rock solid foundations before moving on,if your not into all the above, when riding look for the microcosm of what it is she does or what state of mind she gets into before she bogs off and get your focus on full and try and nip it in the bud before the drama starts, at the end of the day there must be something causing it often horses that are deemed to be just trying it on are often genuinely scared, or confused by its person,/anxious !its upto us to decide what, first and foremost! and then get a game plan together, good luck

[horsey123]

thanks jen1 eskimo for wil try walking her out

[zack]

Had exactly the same problem with what sounds like exactly the same horse! I solved it by.... leading out in hand! I still do it at least once a week, as it makes her super chilled and listening to me. She goes into a different mode, and still sometimes if she is really panicking about something (eg a long line of travellers up a lane with fires, dogs, flapping things etc) and she is spinning repeatedly (which is really rare now, but when I got her had stopped three other people riding her, and was on every ride) ,then I get off and lead, and she'll always follow me.
I am also much more determined about getting her to go post things, and I can pre-empt a spin now, and push her on (sometimes even trotting just to create forward momentum),. Catching the thought before the spin starts seems to work wonders, but it took me a while to get to know her and work out this dynamic.

[horsemadpeter]

As we are on an Intelligent/Natural Horsemanship site.....

Have you got access to a round pen?

A lot can be observed from doing a little round pen work with the horse, she may have some existing problems that are causing the behaviour you are describing.

Maybe I will be going over old ground here, but if you can manage to create a round pen, it will need to be a minimum of 40 feet in diametre.

Realistically you will need the assistance of a friend, who knows how to observe a horse, and to see any problems.

Send the horse away from you on which ever way she wishes to go, you need to induce movement in the horse, by means of creating a pressure zone, this is achieved merely by use of keeping your eyes on the horses eyes at 45 degrees behind the head. you will need to maintain your own momentum, and keep your own feet moving forwars all the time, you do NOT need a whip or anything, the most you may need is a raised hand to ensure forward movement, you should ideally achieve a canter.

Allow the horse to cover around a third of a mile, you should observe the horse keeping her inside ear towards to, which shows she is listening to you, and you will observe her licking or clacking, then it's time to turn her around, so she can go the other way, this is ideally done by moving yourself forwards, which will achieve the turn, and she will canter the other way.

Your friend should be observing the movement of the horse, and any lameness or back problems will become apparent, you will also see any stiffness in movement.

Also in doing this you have almost achieved "Join Up" with the horse.

Again, you will observe licking or clacking and you simply allow the horse to drop out of her canter, you move yourself to the centre of the ring to the comfort zone.

Here I have briefly outlined some round pen work, which will help with many many problem horses, and is suggested with any new horse you obtain, it will highlight many problems.

But before undertaking any of the above I suggest that you obtain further information on round pen work.

I am sure Kelly Marks will have some dvd's to help, or Anna has some excellent dvd's available, at realistic prices. I have the dvd's, but it will be very naughty of me to copy them

Happy New Year



HMP

www.reachouttohorses.com

[kya]

I had a spell of napping like this, and it takes a bit of time to bore them into submission. It's vital to finish the ride you start, in the saddle, on foot, whatever. She simply cannot go wherever she wants. Not an option. I would try a turn back to the way you want to go with a growl and a smack of the whip on your boot. Repeat ad naseum. Turning tightly is no fun for her and she may finally decide that compliance offers more. Good luck.

[horsefeed]

If you are sure her back and teeth are ok, then she is just trying it on.

She could be bored, I use to have a pony who was a nightmare on hacks and I got in the habit of always riding in the school to avoid confrontations with him. He got bored and he started messing around in the school too!!

I would go on short but interesting rides, try and do a little of everything, bit of road, busy and quiet roads, fields, woods get her out and about and see and many new interesting things as possible. Try and ride small circuit or round a block so that you go home a different way to way you went that will keep her thinking too.

Be prepared for her to misbehave, carry a schooling whip and keep her going forwards, if nessacary get of and lead her, do not let her turn back you have to complete the ride. When she spins, turn her back the way she spinned and do not let her turn in a complete circle so she may see this as getting her own way.

Good Luck and hope this helps :-)

[lizr]

I had this problem with my previous horse and had a lot of RA help to sort her out. Ground work and longlining definately helped, however what I found most effective when riding her was to turn her in small circles every time she tried to spin around or plant and refused to go forwards. Turn three small circles in one direction then quietly ask for forwards again. If she refuses to go, then three small circles the other way and ask forwards again and so on until they realise that moving forwards is a far nicer option than turning in circles. It doesn't take long for them to work it out! Make sure you are not restricting her from going forwards in any way ie with your hands etc and give loads of praise when she goes. Good luck.