[Mountaingirl89]

o.k my little mare is wonderful under saddle and on the ground, but she does still do some stuff I call "baby stuff", and sort of exuse becouse of her age.
One of the things is she shakes her head at the walk and trot, which usuly makes her slow down, I wait till she is done (she would ignore my aids while she is doing this) then I make her continue doing what we were doing, usuly I can cetch hre before she breaks gait. Her newest thing is she sees something scary off to the side of the trail and crans her neck around to look at it, mildly jumping sideways at the same time, then shaking her head like she has done in the past.
I assumed she would grow out of this once she figured out that it wasn't getting her anywhere, but should I be reprimanding her for it?
I'm pretty sure it isn't health related becouse she squeeks when she does it which is what she does when she is upset or impatient.
Also this last weekend she reared. she had just spooked at something and then reared. I'm not to worried about it, I just thought I would mention it.

I do work with a trainer but not directly with my horse (the trainer can't come to my house) so I will be talking to her about, I just wanted some other peoples ideas.
Thanks

[Xena_n_joss]

you dont have to be mean about it, but just dont let her get away with anything. If you do she most likely will not stop Horses go through stages and they do do baby stuff even at that age. And will for the next couple years.

Make sure you do lots of different things each ride and keep her on her toes. She sounds like she might be a little bored.

[JBandRio]

You do need to rule out a physical reason for her shaking her head. I would have you vet do a thorough exam to make sure this isn't the case.

[Blistering Winds]

What JBand Said..on ruling out pain first.

Then, quit making excuses for her and get after her. She'll never grow out of it unless you make her.

When my horse shakes his head, he gets turned sharply or backed up sharply. Get them doing things sometimes gets them to stop being impatient.

When he spooks, we don't punish, we just deal with the spook calmly. And work through it.

Rearing, push the hrose forward. Ask for forward movement. Lean forward down on the neck to help balance the horse forward and not back, and squeeze with your legs for forward momentum. Then I usually do a circle after the feet hit the ground to re-align their mind back on me, and move on.

[Mountaingirl89]

Thanks
I ride only on trails so the only reprimand I can really give her is a tap with the whip (which I rarely bring along) or to push her forward.
the thing that bothers me about her spooks, is that she is rarely actully spooks at something real, I think your right Xena n joss, she is just getting bored. I'll give her some more stuff to do.

[Blistering Winds]

ride only on trails so the only reprimand I can really give her is a tap with the whip (which I rarely bring along) or to push her forward

I think you need to re-evaluate the "trail" issue if she's missbehaving.

Work in an area that you can do something. A WHIP should not be used for "punishment"....it should be use as an extension of your arm.

I ride trails too. Are your trails not big enough to do a tight circle? I've done some serious small circles in SMALL areas. And areas that people would FREAK about attempting to correct a horse (clifts and drop offs right next to us).

But sometimes, to remain in control, and not in a WORSE situation, you do what you can where you can.

Good Luck.

[Mountaingirl89]

thanks, trails are the only place for us to ride, and I'm fine with that, I love training on trails. yes, its really a road so I do have space to turn her in a small circle, it just never occurs to me that I can do that. I think I'll try that next time, thanks!
I wouldn't really call what she is doing missbehaving, I just don't want it to turn into misbehavior.
Thanks again!