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dusty_dulciexx

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Hi so this is my first post i literally joined today! Haha. Anyway. I need to gain control of my mare. I have started by not middy coddling her and it seems to be working, however. When she is in the field she will charge at you until your out of the field. I hate this and the only way to get her is to get my friends horse out and then she will let you catch her. She also bites and kicks and charges when leading aswell which is why I can't find any advice online! Please help me. I know I need to take control but I don't know how! I'm only 12 so Im not really big enough for a 14.2 connie 5 just turned 6 mare. Thanks for any help I really appreciate it!
 
I think you really need someone to come and help you, giving advice on here is rather difficult as what works for one may be totally wrong for another, she is big for someone of your age and also very young so may just be testing you but there may be another reason such as something hurting or upsetting her, if you are in a yard is there a YM/YO who can give you a hand? otherwise you need to find an instructor who will come over to give you a few lessons in dealing with her before it gets any worse, how is she when you manage to get her in can you ride her without any problems?
 
There is a YM on our yard but she has just had a baby. She is fine to ride but can occasionally be a difficulty to handle. I live in England and there can be quite a few 'scam artists' I.e take your money and run! Is there anyone you can recommend? Thanks for the help btw xx
 
Hm, tricky one! There will be lots of ideas I'm sure. I think first of all, I would shoo her away from your space when she charges at you. This is what I had to do with my hand reared boy when he was being a brat. However, different horses require different approaches! Munchie used to threaten to kick or bite when we went into the field. If you didn't listen to him telling you to get out he would actually try to bite or kick (I later discovered he absolutely hated my (now ex) partner. However, even if we don't like people we sometimes have to tolerate them! So, eventually we made an agreement to always have a lead rope when we entered the field, and if Munchie came over in an aggressive manner we would start twirling the rope. If he still came at us, he would end up getting hit by the rope as it twirled around - please be clear, we weren't aiming at him. If he got hit it was because he walked into it. This method seemed to work as he began to respect our space. If he came to us in a respectful manner he was rewarded with equally respectful behaviour from us - maybe a scratch on his withers or something. We never, ever gave him a bum scratch as we didn't want to encourage him to turn his bum on us. Even now, if he turns his bum on me although I know we've moved passed all that aggressive behaviour I still chase him away for being disrespectful.
We used a similar approach with leading. If teeth were coming at us we'd flick out an elbow or twirl the rope. He had to learn to yield his quarters away from us if we gave him the signal too. All this was a combination of advice from a trainer that we eventually sent him to, and finding out what worked for us and Munchie.
Munchie now has lovely field and stable manners and seems a lot happier now that he knows that he can trust me to be the leader he needs.

I'm sure you will receive much better suggestions, but that's what worked for us - good luck!
 
chestnut cob my dad is. Basically if she doesn't come to me my dad goes in. However my dad can't always be there and seeing as it is a long term method I need to be able to catch her now. Especially as my dad is at work when I'm at the yard. I'm in my summer hols and mums off all hold. She hates horses though x
 
FFAQ said:
Hm, tricky one! There will be lots of ideas I'm sure. I think first of all, I would shoo her away from your space when she charges at you. This is what I had to do with my hand reared boy when he was being a brat. However, different horses require different approaches! Munchie used to threaten to kick or bite when we went into the field. If you didn't listen to him telling you to get out he would actually try to bite or kick (I later discovered he absolutely hated my (now ex) partner. However, even if we don't like people we sometimes have to tolerate them! So, eventually we made an agreement to always have a lead rope when we entered the field, and if Munchie came over in an aggressive manner we would start twirling the rope. If he still came at us, he would end up getting hit by the rope as it twirled around - please be clear, we weren't aiming at him. If he got hit it was because he walked into it. This method seemed to work as he began to respect our space. If he came to us in a respectful manner he was rewarded with equally respectful behaviour from us - maybe a scratch on his withers or something. We never, ever gave him a bum scratch as we didn't want to encourage him to turn his bum on us. Even now, if he turns his bum on me although I know we've moved passed all that aggressive behaviour I still chase him away for being disrespectful.
We used a similar approach with leading. If teeth were coming at us we'd flick out an elbow or twirl the rope. He had to learn to yield his quarters away from us if we gave him the signal too. All this was a combination of advice from a trainer that we eventually sent him to, and finding out what worked for us and Munchie.
Munchie now has lovely field and stable manners and seems a lot happier now that he knows that he can trust me to be the leader he needs.

I'm sure you will receive much better suggestions, but that's what worked for us - good luck!
Click to expand...
This sounds like a great way. I'm going to get her in to ride and about half five so I will try it and let you know x
 
I think you may need some help here to avoid you getting hurt! Is your instructor able to give you some groundwork lessons with her, or is there an experienced older/bigger person that can help you? It may be worth leading her in a bridle so you've got a bit more control.

Are your parents horsey at all? Could they help you?
 
be positive said:
I think you really need someone to come and help you, giving advice on here is rather difficult as what works for one may be totally wrong for another, she is big for someone of your age and also very young so may just be testing you but there may be another reason such as something hurting or upsetting her, if you are in a yard is there a YM/YO who can give you a hand? otherwise you need to find an instructor who will come over to give you a few lessons in dealing with her before it gets any worse, how is she when you manage to get her in can you ride her without any problems?
Click to expand...

There is a YM on our yard however she has just had a baby! She is fine to ride but an occasionally be a difficulty to handle. I live in England and there can be quite a few 'scam artists' I.e take your money and run! Is there anyone you can recommend please? Thanks for the help btw xx
 
budley95 said:
I think you may need some help here to avoid you getting hurt! Is your instructor able to give you some groundwork lessons with her, or is there an experienced older/bigger person that can help you? It may be worth leading her in a bridle so you've got a bit more control.

Are your parents horsey at all? Could they help you?
Click to expand...

My instructor has just had a baby. There are a few older people on the yard and we have tried this but now she will only come for them. I need really to let her no that under NO circumstances can she get away with it. I'm just not sure quite how to do that. I think I will lead her in a bridle but it getting to bridle on in the field thats the problem. xx
 
budley95 said:
I think you may need some help here to avoid you getting hurt! Is your instructor able to give you some groundwork lessons with her, or is there an experienced older/bigger person that can help you? It may be worth leading her in a bridle so you've got a bit more control.

Are your parents horsey at all? Could they help you?
Click to expand...

My instructor has just had a baby. There are a few older people on the yard and we have tried this but now she will only come for them. I need really to let her no that under NO circumstances can she get away with it. I'm just not sure quite how to do that. I think I will lead her in a bridle but it getting to bridle on in the field thats the problem. xx
 
Hello. How long have you had your mare? What is she like with other people apart from your dad? Well done for recognising that you need help with this situation. She's obviously very territorial about her field and this will be difficult for you to deal with on your own. Can your instructor recommend someone else that can come and help you? Do you have a local person that is experienced with problem horses?

What is she like when she is out of the field? Is she difficult to handle then? If so I would advise that you do some groundwork with her getting to respect each others spaces as it sounds like she's a bit of a bully at present.
 
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Wow sounds like a right hassle! By molly coddeling are you feeding too often/ too much? treats and tit bits? this will make her demanding and marish. If you are quite small/young she will be taking the mick. She needs to be put in her place. Take her off any heating foods that may not be helping and if you can hay maybe twice a day and a small non heating food. Bring her in for something that will enagage her? harder work? will tire her out so shes not got so much enegery out? show her who is boss before it gets any worse.
 
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