Help Needed! Horse misbehaving when going past gates!!

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Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and feel a bit cheeky by asking for advice but I'm feeling desperate!

I rested my 5 year old mare for just over two months (November - January) due to family commitments and just brought her back into work about a month ago. As I was very busy the past month I started her off (which went well), and I sent her off for some schooling at a reputable training yard nearby.

I have had her back now just over a week and have found that she has developed a really bad habit of rearing and refusing to go past the gate of the menage both while being ridden and on the lunge. In the menage I can lunge her and she will behave herself but it seems that when she gets bored she decides she won't go past the gate and rears and spins to turn the other direction. It doesn't happen so badly in the menage when I'm on her but I am totally unable to ride her out of the menage as she rears, bucks and spins around. This also happens if I try to lunge her in the paddock.

I am able to stay on her when she does this but I don't see the point as I'll lose my confidence and I don't want to put myself in danger. I am willing to be patient with her, but I'm not sure which direction to go down! What I'm thinking now is to work with her a lot on the lunge, then ride her in the menage, and lunge her in the paddock.

The reason I want to take her out of the menage is that it is very small and not great for canter work.

Hope someone can offer me some advice! I feel a bit lost right now!

Thanks
 
Maybe she's school sick and would like a change of scenery??? And whist I don't condone her behaviour - it may be that hacking her for a few weeks (during which you can do just as much schooling) will freshen her up.
 
Have you tired long-lining her in and out of the gate as you can be behind her to encourage her forward may be get some one to help and praise her when she does it with ease! I am not an expert by any meas but that is would I would do to start.
 
Thanks for your responses guys!

Faracat,
Has she always had nappy tendancies?
Click to expand...

Yes she has had a slight tendency towards napping, particularly while being led out of the field, but nothing a flick with the end of the leadrope wouldn't solve. She is definitely a bit of a madam and if you let her get away with something she will take advantage.

I did see her being worked at the training yard twice, but that was at the start and she was being ridden the owner. I think whats happened is that he has got people working with him to exercise her by hacking out and basic schooling etc and I think one of them may have let her get away with this.

Amymay, I would love to be able to hack her for a few weeks, but right now I don't think she's safe to be on the roads. We have great hacking but to get to it you need to cross a road where cars can go pretty fast and if she started messing about there it doesn't bear thinking about.

If I can get a friend to ride with me it might give her some confidence, but its hard to know if she's genuinely scared or taking the p***. I'm thinking at the minute that its the latter!
 
I would start off by leading her in the school. Never stop by the gate but practice stopping, walking, trotting on, pole work and turning. Always say 'walk on' when she moves from halt to walk or when she slows down in walk and you want her to move with more energy. Also say 'stand' whenever you ask for halt. Do this when you bring her in from the field too.

When the in hand work is going perfectly, try her on the lunge. Start at the end away from the gate and don't forget to use your voice aids. If this goes well, try the end be the gate. If you have problems, go back to leading her.

When you are ready to ride use two schooling whips (one in each hand) and gently see how she reacts to you 'flapping' them up and down by rotating your wrists. You don't need to touch her at all, but this should send her forwards. This also means that you can tap whichever shoulder she spins towards if she tries whipping-round. Again, don't forget to use calm and clear voice aids. Try to keep her 'forwards' and learn to read the small signs that mean she is thinking about napping. Hopefully you can then correct the nap before it's really happened (voice aid, flap whips).

When you start to hack, I would probably get off and lead her across the road the first couple of times. If you ask her to stand still for you to dismount (and she does) and then she also stands nicely for you to re-mount, then she has been good and there has been no napping in a dangerous situation.
 
I wouldn't be quite so quick to blame it all on the horse. It is entirely possible that she has been overworked in the school until she's been exhausted or fed up and perhaps she has stopped by the gate. She may then have been walloped good and proper to stop her doing it with the end result that she's terrified of the gate. I wouldn't take her anywhere near the school for a few weeks. Just have some relaxed hacks. Then pick your day and at the end of your relaxing hack just walk into the school, round the track once and straight out again before she knows what's happening. Gradually build up to staying in the school longer and doing a bit more but always mix it up with NOT going in the school. After a while you should be able to read when she's had enough and you can end on a high note before she starts worrying herself (and you) sick.
 
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