at my wits end

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poglet1991

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ok so my mare has always been abit funny to lunge shes fine once u get her out but she sticks to my side like glue and rears if i send her away, once she is out i have no problems unti today when she has discovered she can run in at me, ive tried making the space im in look uninviting or giving her a whip on shoulder for coming in at me but nothing works. its got so bad i cant even send her away now, she lunges nicely on the first rein whatever rein it is and i only do about ten minutes but when i go to swap sides thats when the problems start she just decides shes done. i have tried everything i can think of and nothing works. at uni we had me lungin and a rider on her to give her a tap if she started actin up or send her on with the legs if needed and we did this a few times n it really worked to the point that i could lunge fine on my own for a few months but today the problems have come back worse than ever. sorry for essay. any ideas?
 
im worried that maybe lungin with a rider is just a short term fix though. i just dont understand why she will lunge f9 on 1st rein and then start its as if shes saying right im finished now
 
Just read your reply to two reins, try long reining her first from quite a distance then slowly move to the middle and end up with her circling round you without her noticing. Our kicker had to be started like this or he kicked backwards into you.
 
PonyIAmNotFood said:
Just read your reply to two reins, try long reining her first from quite a distance then slowly move to the middle and end up with her circling round you without her noticing. Our kicker had to be started like this or he kicked backwards into you.
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i was thinking about this as its pretty much the only thing i havent tried, i'd need to get someone to teach me but it may be very well worth it. cheers
 
Its easy once you have the hang of it, it becomes an automatic reaction of which line to use when very quickly when your punishment for not moving quick enough is a near miss with back legs Haha. Good luck!
 
Two reins plus anything else to keep you safe eg. elastic side reins and even a martingale if necessary. You can win this battle, don't get disheartened, just outsmart her. Good luck!
 
Careful with introducing the lines round her quarters and when your first try you need to be in a safe enclosed space.

If she comes towards you and you are getting out of her way she is being "boss horse" as she is making you move your feet.
 
Orangehorse said:
Careful with introducing the lines round her quarters and when your first try you need to be in a safe enclosed space.

If she comes towards you and you are getting out of her way she is being "boss horse" as she is making you move your feet.
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i dont get out of her way haha this is the problem she doesnt think anythin of runnin over top of me n last time stood on my wrist
 
NH instructor/IH instructor would help you with this. This is where a stick as as opposed to a whip comes in handy.

When sending out my horse, i have him standing facing me, about 6 feet distance between us. To ask him to leave on either rein, I ask him by lifting the rein in the direction I would like him to go, so that he can feel the ask in his halter, (lets say I am lifting my left hand, and asking him to go out left), with my right hand I use the stick to ask him to go left, I wave the stick towards his shoulder. (I have taught him to move from my body language, or from waving a stick towards him, or pressure on shoulder, previously, so that at a suggestion he will step his front end around./ not come forward and over the top of me). Your energy should be directed at his shoulder/front end, to "drive " him away from you, then he will not run over the top of you - but instead go out and around on the circle.

It is hard to explain in words, but if you think about it, you need to ensure that when you ask him to go OUT on a circle, he is stepping out onto the circle with his front end, rather than trying to drive him out from behind, where it sounds like he is driving forward over the top of you.

You can start teaching this in sections, so that first you are just getting them to step the front end over, then you teach over and away around the circle.

My fellow is now so good at this, i can merely indicate with body language without a lunge rein, or halter , in an open paddock, and he understands my body language such that he will walk trot canter, change down through the gaits, stop come into me or change direction and go the other way. He also responds to voice commands for change of gait. The start to this is using a communication /body language that is common sense or logical to the horse.

Your horse is confused as to what you want. Also, i would not send him out and trot for 10 minutes in one direction. i would work on your send outs, and a few circles and then back - (once you work out how to send him out, til he really understands what you require and is comfortable with it. ) The lunging is less important, than having him understand the ask to go out.
 
Basic ground manners.

The very first taught to a horse. Back, over, stop, walk on, bladdy blah. (Whatever voice commands are chosen)

It is basically respect and the teaching of voice commands, if a horse has had none or very little then go back to basics and teach them. Before you lunge them. How the heck is she supposed to understand? By rearing she doesn't have a clue about what lunging means? Get right back to basics in her groundwork and start again.

If she is rearing and plunging at you she either has (a) no respect for you or (b) doesn't have a clue what you are asking of her. Rethink your programme.
 
Total disrespect. When she comes towards you give her a good crack with the whip across her front legs and then flick her with the whip on her back ones as she goes away.

Stop being do soft.
 
Foxhunter49 said:
Total disrespect. When she comes towards you give her a good crack with the whip across her front legs and then flick her with the whip on her back ones as she goes away.

Stop being do soft.
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I really would not do this. I presume you would like to build a relationship with your horse, think on on what sort of a relationship you want.

Thrashing you horses legs will not build any respect either.

The drive line for a horse is at the shoulder for a start.

If you get some advice from a NH instructor this will be sorted without any need for a whip or straps, side reins, martingales or any other rubbish in half an hour, whats more it will be a permanent solution.

Your horse is confused about what you want, so you can either make clear what you want so that she understands, or do what this numpty advises and give her a good crack.
 
It's probably both disrespect and lack of understanding on her part, and lack of clarity on your part. I would start off by repeating ground manners as per Tormenta. Teach her to back away from you, yield hq and fh as per the various natural horsemanship exercises. Be consistent and REWARD EVERY TINY LITTLE TRY. That is most important. The cue motivates the release (stop asking when you get a try) teaches. This way you can ask her to back away from you and then ask her to circle......take the time it takes and remember the principles....
 
its definately the lack of respect thing but i am at a complete loss as to how to teach her respect, i consider myself firm but fair, i will smack if and only if she really is being rude, if its a confusion or fear issue then i am soft with her and she does come round. thing is she can lunge beautifully and every once in a while she will and ive done groundwork with a leadrope bridle n stick n taught her to step back move forward frm pressure and to be sent out and walk around me but she is very clever and the second i get the lunge line out and shes done a little bit she acts out. she is very bolshy and to the people that say whip her and use force, well who do you think will win a half a tonne horse or an 8 stone woman because although i dont back down id bet on her. i also do not want to train her based on fear. im going to try long reining today with the help of a friend and im praying that this may be the thing to fix it but just wanna go very slow and make sure we get this right, il let everyone know how it goes :)
 
poglet1991 said:
its definately the lack of respect thing but i am at a complete loss as to how to teach her respect, i consider myself firm but fair, i will smack if and only if she really is being rude, if its a confusion or fear issue then i am soft with her and she does come round. thing is she can lunge beautifully and every once in a while she will and ive done groundwork with a leadrope bridle n stick n taught her to step back move forward frm pressure and to be sent out and walk around me but she is very clever and the second i get the lunge line out and shes done a little bit she acts out. she is very bolshy and to the people that say whip her and use force, well who do you think will win a half a tonne horse or an 8 stone woman because although i dont back down id bet on her. i also do not want to train her based on fear. im going to try long reining today with the help of a friend and im praying that this may be the thing to fix it but just wanna go very slow and make sure we get this right, il let everyone know how it goes :)
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absolutely do not use force, she may or may not understand you, I would say not, but whipping her or using force will not fix it. You need to have a good send, it is communication that will fix your issue, not fear or force.
 
Foxhunter49 said:
Total disrespect. When she comes towards you give her a good crack with the whip across her front legs and then flick her with the whip on her back ones as she goes away.

Stop being do soft.
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The horse will not learn much from this approach. It gets whipped if it comes towards the handler but then gets whipped again when it goes away from the handler. Que a confused horse. What does the whip actually mean here?

This is a classic example of a whip not being used as an aid but it becomes cruel because it is being used at the wrong time with no meaning to the horse.
 
Hi
You sound to me as if you have experience and this is a difficult bossy mare. Whips do def have their place when handling horses but shouldnt be used indiscriminately, Firstly wear all your gear when handling this one, even your back protector and even when in hand always keep yourself safe and i wouldnt do any work in a confined space! You are more agile than her and remember she cant see you when your directly in front so stand up to her and think of it like a dance, hopefully when she's charged you she'll miss (!) and as she turns to kick a quick tap to send her away out of yiur space! Repeat until she knows its a futile exercise, if you're not up to this get professional help!
 
why do you lunge? do you need to and how often do you?
my mare doesn't 'do' lunging, she protests by rearing, this then escalates to rearing when being led. my solution?.............. i don't lunge!! i don't need to so i don't lol. it takes me just as long to tack her up for lunging as it does for riding so i ride instead, i may only ride for 20 mins but i make sure it's 20 mins of work rather than a pootle around the farm.
I don't see it as a victory for her either, it's a mutual agreement, ;)
i only use lunging for the youngsters to start with, as soon as they've got used to the lines i move on to long reining. I think lunging is overused and intensely boring !!
 
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