Backward thinking youngster

[Hopelessly horsey]

Hello all,

I've been SO lucky so far backing my mare. However she has always been a bit sticky. I had made good progress but since she has had time off to recover from having her wolf teeth out she has come back very backward thinking.

She will either plant and do the most pathetic rear, or we will be trotting along and she will just stop in her tracks and sit on her backend.

I have tried the usual moving her backend over and trying to get her moving in a different direction but she is very stubborn when she wants to be ?

Out hacking she is pretty much the same although getting better, we tried trotting her behind another horse and despite encouragement she actually just stood and watched the other horse trot away before gingerly following after much encouragement and sweat on my part!

I am keen not to do TOO much with her as she doesn't turn 4 until July however I want to rectify this issue before it becomes a permanent problem

Any ideas greatly appreciated

 

[dixie]

The first thing that strikes me is that she might still have a tooth fragment or something behind causing some pain. I’d definitely be getting her checked out if she was mine.

 

[Hopelessly horsey]

Thank you,
The vet thoroughly checked the area and he also had a junior vet with him who also had a check ?

The backward thinking has always been there but seems worse since she has had time off

 

[LEC]

It will be a combination of physically immature and mentally immature. Tbh I would just hack for another week with another horse and then call it quits and come back to it in august.
I have had a few mares who have been very mentally backwards but got better and better with age as became more confident and stronger. I just wouldn’t sweat it too much. I think the more you try and bully them the more they try to resist.

 

[ycbm]

What breeding is she? Is she also reluctant to go forward loose schooled or unridden on the lunge?
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[lannerch]

It will be a combination of physically immature and mentally immature. Tbh I would just hack for another week with another horse and then call it quits and come back to it in august.
I have had a few mares who have been very mentally backwards but got better and better with age as became more confident and stronger. I just wouldn’t sweat it too much. I think the more you try and bully them the more they try to resist.

Totally agree with this , my mare went through an awkward stage hacking, only on the road she was still confident on the farm ride, so I only hacked her only on the farm for a while , now she has matured more and got more confident the issue just went away , she is lovely to hack anywhere now including the road by herself .

 

[Hopelessly horsey]

What breeding is she? Is she also reluctant to go forward loose schooled or unridden on the lunge?
.

She's Irish X Dutch warmblood. Yes she can be reluctant to start on the lunge but not quite to the extent she is ridden

 

[Hopelessly horsey]

Totally agree with this , my mare went through an awkward stage hacking, only on the road she was still confident on the farm ride, so I only hacked her only on the farm for a while , now she has matured more and got more confident the issue just went away , she is lovely to hack anywhere now including the road by herself .

I'm hoping to get a week hacking in her then turn her away for a while

 

[ycbm]

She's Irish X Dutch warmblood. Yes she can be reluctant to start on the lunge but not quite to the extent she is ridden

Breeding wise and being like it lunging and getting better when warmed up all raise possible alarm bells.

I think I would test her for PSSM 1 if that is not already done, and consider whether she has PSSM 2 if the test for 1 comes back negative. Try not to panic if you read up about it, many PSSM horses can be managed fairly easily.
.

 

[Red-1]

My baby is a year infront of yours. He is 4 today, 5 tomorrow LOL. He was not the strongest or most confident last year, so we did the winter doing the same hack, 40 minutes, over and over. It took until Christmas before I felt he was ready for more, and then only an hour. Until about 5 weeks ago until we upped it to an hour and a half. It has taken that long for him to feel strong and confident.

I think these Irish bred ones need maturing time. Mine is 5 this year and won't be doing anything serious this year. We are doing lessons, but finish half way through, as a rule. I tried 2 hours on a hack on Wednesday, and he was tired yesterday.

If yours is sour, I would turn away for a few months. Then pick a hack and do it again and again, even if it is just a single block. Don't increase until she is happy and confident. Drop hard work. Let her be a baby.

In balance, I have worked with other competition types who have been out doing stuff at 4 years old. Horses for courses, and I do find Irish types are slower, generally (always exceptions to the rule).

 

[GreyDot]

I'd turn her away for the summer. Probably going through another growth spurt and feeling all sorts all over the place. Has she had a recent saddle check? Maybe some fun loose schooling with poles around the arena? Make it interesting and enjoyable, she's very young still.
Have you tried long-reining her on a hack with another horse infront?

 

[paddi22]

did the vet do the tooth extraction? If so, I'd be tempted to get a good dentist to double check nothing else is going on.

 

[Hopelessly horsey]

Thank you all
I hopped back on board today and it seems I was a bit premature with my paranoid post ?

She was good as gold, off my leg and happy to be cracking on! She's now out in the field for a few months to chill