[iridehorses]

All the above is great advise but I'll add one more thing. Does your tack fit her and is it adjusted properly? Another reason for balking is pain. I would eliminate that from the equation then follow the other steps.

[taliacristianna]

Originally Posted by iridehorses

All the above is great advise but I'll add one more thing. Does your tack fit her and is it adjusted properly? Another reason for balking is pain. I would eliminate that from the equation then follow the other steps.

Good call!

[royalrox]

I at least have found rearing is really common for babies lol iit seems to be their temper tantrum of choice they'll stop and you'll ask again to go forward and instead they go up haha.

But what does she know? If she doesn't know what cues mean then she reared because she was frustrated and confused

If she does know more, it was most likely more of a definant I DON"T WANNA thing

both of those situations would be addressed very differently

[AppalosaCowGirl]

My gelding did this the first time I rode him. this is how I fixed it.

I would ride him and he would stop and turn around (back to the house). and when I tried to make him keep going away from the house he would start to back up or crow hop.

I would ride him right up to the point where he would stop. I would let him turn around then I would stop him... make him stand for a few seconds. then, I would pretty much yank him around and kick him. which would make him walk a few steps. then I would stop him. it is important to make him stop before he decided to stop first. once I stopped him I would turn him around and go home. the next day I would do the same thing. and depending on his attitude, I might make him take a few steps more. it only took him a few days to understand that I was boss and he had to go where I told him to.

oh use your own discretion. I say that for Caesar that I yanked him around and kicked him. I meant that literally, the way he was acting and his attitude and would have turned dangerous if I had allowed him to continue, while asking him nicely. (which btw is how I ended up with him. his two previous owners both sold him because of this behavior... )

also he was my first horse and riding him was my first time not in a lesson, so I would say I was pretty Green.

[Lindsayanne]

Get a trainer. It's not optional. You put yourself at risk working with this horse, and if you "ruin" her with poor training you'll all but sign her sentence to end up at slaughter because she won't have any market value.

No, trainers aren't cheap, but it's part of owning a horse. You "saved" money by buying a young horse and here's the part where you learn the hard way you didn't save money at all. 2 months of training or even several months of lessons are a heck of a lot cheaper than the trip to the emergency room will be...

I won't give my advise for actually dealing with the behavior. I don't want to be liable....

[Tatooed Lady]

ER? One trip? On a Saturday night (because it can't happen during regular hours) Umm...how about roughly $3,000...been there, done that, got the bills to prove it.

[Cherokee1]

if your horse has formed any special bonds with another horse they wont like being away from each other. it also doesnt help that you are both green. Try riding with a friend until both you and the horse get more experience and confidence

[tbtrainer]

I wouldnt worry about taking this horse anywhere but an enclosed area right now!

You need to get the basics down, ground work, w/t/c with her listening to you first!

Taking a horse like this out in the open is asking for trouble... this needs to come later when both of you have more confidence, and then take her out with a more seasoned horse and rider.

[Jess!]

While I tend to agree with getting a trainer, it can be done without one. Whether or not it's done "correctly" is what will be argued.

This is what I did, when I first got Porscha. Porscha was extremely, extremely herd bound. To the point where it was dangerous to ME, and I've been dealing with pyscho horses for a long time. She would rear, kick, bite - anything to to get back to the horse she was connected with.

I started with leading her everywhere, absolutely EVERYWHERE - by herself. It was rather interesting at first, because she refused to go, and would jump on me, but a sharp tug on the lead rope usually fixed that.

Since the horse is new, the horse probably doesn't see you as her leader. My mare looked right through me, she IGNORED me. Just pretended I didn't exist. To get her listening to you, try backing up, backing up in circles, and just working with her. Before even getting on her again, I'd work on the respect issues.

Saddle her, bridle her, and walk her down the road, on trails, etc. Once she sees you as leader, then you can move on.

What I did with Porscha, once she released she had a handler, I had my friend lead her while I sat on her. It gave her reassurance that someone was there, and that made her more comfortable with leaving her yard. What you can do when she is settled down and seemingly comfortable, is slowly work your way away from the leader. You can do this two ways.

1) Ask her to move away from the person who is standing next to her, and once she goes a few feet, praise her and let the person come back up to her, or walk back to that person.

2) Do what someone else suggested above me, and ride with others for a while. I suggest ONE other pair, not any more. Ask your mare to turn and walk away for a few steps, a few feet - whatever she is comfortable with. BUT, make SURE that when you turn around it was YOUR idea, and not because she was getting mad. So if that means you only get two or three steps before she gets antsy on the fourth, only do those two or three steps then praise praise.

If you have a round pen available to you, I'd definitely use it! Even an arena, although some young horses may not be comfortable in an arena if it's too big, which might also by why she is acting up - it's too open and big for her. Work in the round pen if you can, getting her to listen to you, join up, etc.

What I also do is I'll pony the horse over trails for a while before riding them [if I have the luxury of time] to get them used to the trails, etc. However of course the trails will be different once the horse is alone. Kandee did fine on the trails with another horse, the first time she went out alone I had a pistol underneath me that would bolt and spin at the littlest thing, because she didn't have the security of another horse with her. The only thing that kept her somewhat sane was the fact I was her leader, and if things got too scary she'd shut down and look to me to save her.

[katyrides]

This is how my new horses are and I'm not planning to ride them for awhile. A LOT of trust and grooming and ground work before I'm even going to put a saddle on the youngest one. Just take it slow.