Help - schooling in the field - Advice needed!!

[Beatrice5]

My mare up until this evening has never napped, bucked, planted, bitten and spun around in fact I would go so far as to say she woundn't have even known how to.....Until tonight.

I had my first lesson in 13 years last Saturnday so decided as I am home alone with the kids whilst the slept I would spend half an hour walking quietly around the field practising my position, relaxing my spine, having a gentle contact ( I normally have no contact) and a little flexion and leg yielding. All very gentle suppling and no demanding or so I thought.

I turned them all out at 4pm to give them a chance to graze for a few hours before as they are in, in the daytime. Then put filly and gelding into field next door. Still in sight so nothing to stress about.

Tacked mare up climbed on and immeditely resistant and silly. If we went away from others plant, gentle nudge threatened to rear, shaking head etc etc. So I asked for a few steps back then gentle forwards again. We had a few walking around with a contact moments but the whole time she appeared to be elsewhere in her head and not with me at all. Itermittent Cow phases . I kept cool, I stayed quiet but firm. In the end she felt like we were getting nowhere so I quietly lunged her for 5 mins each side walk and trot. Then tried again but still we were resistant.

To Hack she is PERFECT, forwards, light, responsive and easy. In my lesson at the local yard in their school she was sweet and tried hard. So why when at home in the field is she so resistant and how to overcome this as I can't always school at the livery yard due to children being at home etc.

Advice greatly appreciated.

 

[be positive]

You are trying to make some major changes if you have been riding her for a long time asking nothing, just hacking and letting her go on a loose rein to starting to ride on a contact, even if you are not asking for much, and doing this in her field with her friends grazing next to her, she is a mare and likely to have her own opinions on the matter.

I would break this down into stages, start to ask for her attention and a contact out hacking, gradually build this up, she will be using herself in a different way so don't expect too much at first. Start to ride or lunge in the field, preferably before turning out so her mind is on you not her mates, do not ask her to work any more than she is able to do out hacking, again build up slowly.
It should not take long to feel the difference but try not to think field = schooling, hack = slopping along try and mix the two up so she is working more of the time and she should become less resistant.

 

[Beatrice5]

Thank you.

I was only asking her to walk forwards but even then as you said she had strong opinions. My little Gelding is himself no matter where we are or what we do he is always very willing and biddable wether ridden by a small child in the field or an adult on a fun hack. I guess it lulled me into a false sense of security ;0)

I will try again tomorrow lunging before they get turned out. Indeed she would appear much easier to handle and ride in the mornings as she can be quite shy to catch in the evenings.

I live and learn with her ladyship.

 

[Suechoccy]

The horse is objecting to being ridden in HER eating field, in HER eating time, being taken away from HER friends. (ie she regards the field as her downtime space, NOT her human-riding-her-space).

Break it down and do 5-10 minutes every day for a week, just tack up and walk round on a loose rein, introduce some circles and trot gradually. She'll realise that the field is not her exclusive territory for eating/socialising with her equine friends, but that sometimes it's also her human-working-her territory too.

 

[yaffsimone1]

You are trying to make some major changes if you have been riding her for a long time asking nothing, just hacking and letting her go on a loose rein to starting to ride on a contact, even if you are not asking for much, and doing this in her field with her friends grazing next to her, she is a mare and likely to have her own opinions on the matter.

I would break this down into stages, start to ask for her attention and a contact out hacking, gradually build this up, she will be using herself in a different way so don't expect too much at first. Start to ride or lunge in the field, preferably before turning out so her mind is on you not her mates, do not ask her to work any more than she is able to do out hacking, again build up slowly.
It should not take long to feel the difference but try not to think field = schooling, hack = slopping along try and mix the two up so she is working more of the time and she should become less resistant.

I can agree with this.

In May I took on a mare ex racer who had been out of work (pretty much since she came off the track) for over a year due to various reasons. She is brilliant to hack on a loose rein (I guess this is what she is used to) but boy is she a ****** to school.

When she came from racing she was professionally schooled so its not as if she doesn't know what its all about but she did have a long time off so we are starting from scratch.

If she doesn't want to work (and sometimes walking in a straight line or over trotting poles with a gentle contact is the end of the world) she will plant, spin, ewe bend, lurch forwards, throw me into fence...do what ever she possibly can, not to get me off (she hasn't got a bad bone in her body), but to scare me into submission.

We either continue like this and get nowhere or compromise / trickery and let her think she made her own choice, then she goes really nicely.

Note: she has had back, teeth, saddle etc etc done... she is just being a mare