|
Author
|
Topic: Horse won't ride by herself
|
lil_horse_whisperer
Junior Member
Member # 2174
|
posted May 14, 2004 02:34 PM
My two horses are very bonded and have decided that they do not want to go out riding off the property by themselves. When ever I try riding the one by herself she stops dead and refuses to go. She will even buck and rear if I try to force her. Please give me some advice on how to convince her to leave with me. I have even tried walking her up the oath I want to go on but as soon as I mount she heads for home.
--------------------
And now a horse is added to my menagerie!
Posts: 8 | From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: Apr 2004
|
|
MissBandit
Member
Member # 1377
|
posted May 14, 2004 02:44 PM
Sorry to say I had a chuckle at your expense ![[Hah]](graemlins/hah.gif) How many of us have encountered a stubborn cow like that? ![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
It isn't fun is it?
There are a couple of ways to approach this. It really depends on what kind of setup you have. Do you have a riding ring? If so, one method is to teach the horse that when he decides he wants to go back home, he gets his bum worked off. Work in the ring. Make him really move his feet, not just running around, but stuff to make him THINK. Side passes, paterns, lots of up and down transitions, flying changes - whatever you can come up with. Then head out on the trail. It may be a LOT of back and forth for you for a while, but keep it in your head that this is TRAINING, so you don't get fedup and giveup. The other thing you can do - and this can be done in conjunction with what I mentioned above - is to make him work on the trail whenever he refuses to move. Circles are good, as well as backing. If he plants his feet, make him work. You have to be persistant. He will soon learn that by refusing to walk forward, he'll end up just getting hot and dizzy. Horses do not like working circles, nor are they too fond of backing. Use both to your advantage. The key is to be consistant . If you give up when HE wants to,it will just defeat the hour of training you may have just had. It WILL be work, but the 'condition' is trainable. It IS fixable. BTW, if your horse is bucking and rearing in his refusal to move forward, cranking his head around and making him work a small circle is safer than backing up. Choose your method carefully, depending on how he reacts.
Hope this helps you.
--------------------
You know you are a horse person when...
...You pull change from your pocket , and hay falls out.
...you yell at the kids, and the horse's name pops out.
...you actually get to a point where flies don't bother you so much.
Posts: 2292 | From: BC, Canada | Registered: Jan 2004
|
|
saraa
Member
Member # 2377
|
posted May 16, 2004 06:11 PM
u should try to go for a walk rather then riding or get a friend to bring them both for a walk and slowly start moving farther and farther away from each other......
--------------------
TwO sTeP
Posts: 33 | From: Newfoundland | Registered: Apr 2004
|
|
SyntheticTrust
Member
Member # 2281
|
posted May 16, 2004 06:13 PM
make him/her think your gonna beat his/her booty if they dont
Posts: 238 | From: Carriere, Mississippi | Registered: Apr 2004
|
|
MissBandit
Member
Member # 1377
|
posted May 16, 2004 10:38 PM
NO Synthetic. Beating a horse that is refusing to go forward is asking for BIG trouble. Especially in a horse that is already bucking and rearing in the refusal. No physical force. BIG no-no.
--------------------
You know you are a horse person when...
...You pull change from your pocket , and hay falls out.
...you yell at the kids, and the horse's name pops out.
...you actually get to a point where flies don't bother you so much.
Posts: 2292 | From: BC, Canada | Registered: Jan 2004
|
|
1rish
Member
Member # 1951
|
posted May 17, 2004 01:01 PM
Sounds like your horse is not only barn sour but extremely herd bound. If I were in your shoes I would isolate the two horses, put them on opposite sides of the property where they are unable to see each other or another horse.
If they are as bad as you say, be prepared for a week of pacing and calling.
--------------------
You know one woman who would rather clean a stall than her house.
Posts: 113 | From: Nevada | Registered: Mar 2004
|
|
Midnight Felicity
Member
Member # 1106
|
posted May 17, 2004 01:20 PM
I totally agree with you MISSBANDIT...no physical force is better..felis will back up a lot even without me asking her if i try to go off the property..and 1rish i don't think it's a good idea to isolate the horse...that's his friend and his companion there is not sense in putting extra stress on him when that's supposed to put his down/relaxing time.
*I have a question for you MISSBANDIT...when i do some off the property training with Felis (she is the same as this horse mentioned) she will totally loose her head and "hear" things in the woods or from the neighbors that will send her into a snorting fit or running fit...if i am riding her she will either back really fast or start pawing....what can i do with her if she starts that???????
--------------------
I whisper but my horse doesn't listen!
You can tell a gelding, and ask a mare, but you have to discuss it with a stallion!
I will always love and cherish(well spoil) my baby girl Midnight Felicity!
Posts: 371 | From: Washington | Registered: Dec 2003
|
|
lil_horse_whisperer
Junior Member
Member # 2174
|
posted May 17, 2004 01:54 PM
Thanks guys. I have started working with her every day. She is perfectly fine when I lead her around so when I am done working her and really want to go for a ride I'll just walk her however far I want and then ride her back.She doesn't mind that. She is even starting to act up when I ride her with the other horse so I am making sure she is tuckered out when Im done. Just in case that was adding to the problem (being under worked and therefore high-strung)
--------------------
And now a horse is added to my menagerie!
Posts: 8 | From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: Apr 2004
|
|
1rish
Member
Member # 1951
|
posted May 17, 2004 05:07 PM
We divide our barn, one side is mares one side is geldings. On even days the mares are allowed to use the pasture, on the odd days the geldings are allowed out.
We recently got a new horse to our barn. The girl brought her to us because the vet recommended stall rest to heal a suspensory injury. The girl mentioned that the horse had never been by herself and has always had a buddy. When the geldings are turned out to pasture and the mare cannot look out her door and see another horse she loses her mind, they must ACE the poor mare 3 times a week just so she will tolerate being alone.
What if one of these horses was in a similar situation? Would you want your horse so dependent on other horses that you risk irritating an injury such as this girl? There is a time when a horse becomes too dependent, then what?
--------------------
You know one woman who would rather clean a stall than her house.
Posts: 113 | From: Nevada | Registered: Mar 2004
|
|
|
