Horse won't leave field - frustrating !

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trundle

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My new loan horse is starting to find her feet with me, and as a result she's started to test me out.

The other day she pirouetted in circles for 25 minutes before i was able to get on. i only managed it in the end by getting another livery to hold her, at which point she stood nicely and let me scramble on.

The other thing she's started doing is planting herself in the field, and refusing to be led out. I'm dealing with this by turning her round and reversing her out of the field....but it gets very tiring and frustrating. She is an incredibly stubborn mare, though. She simply would NOT turn round and walk nicely with me, so i kept turning her back round and reversing her a bit further up the path, then turning her in tight circles, then reversing her a bit more, then seeing if she'd walk on normally...and then doing through the whole palaver again. She wouldnt even follow my friend with a feed bucket !

Eventually, about halfway up the path, she got tired of the whole thing, and walked nicely with me, but it was a HELL of a battle to get that far. I gave her a treat as soon as we got to her stable, and made a big fuss of her, just to show that coming in isnt always an awful experience.

I'm planning to get her back checked as soon as i can, her saddle was only fitted a month ago. Does anyone have any other suggestions i could try?
 
Just be firm with her, like you said after a while she gets fed up and then walks nicely! This needs to happen with everything. She will soon get fed up and find it more easier and quicker to do things normally. Just stick with it is all the advice i can give im affraid. Good luckx
 
Ah, the planting! I have a cob who could have won awards in planting when I first got him. As with your mare he was testing me when I first got him and in the end the only thing to make him move was a loud growl and a smack on the backside.

He also used to try to graze when I was bringing him in, but again, a growl would work and make him think twice.

Have you tried giving her a growl and a slap? By trying the turning her in circles and reversing she is still winning really isn't she, as she is making it hard work for you to bring her in.

Chad plants himself out on rides and I just sit there. I refuse to play his games and will not kick him on. This confuses him and when he starts to move of his volition I either make him stand still for a bit longer until I make the decision when we move or if he wants to walk we trot, or if he wants to trot we walk. This has worked wonders and he no longer plants at all.

I'm sure some more experienced owners will come along soon with better answers but thats what worked for me
laugh.gif
 
In hand, make sure you are back by her shoulder when leading her, have the lead rope in the hand closes to the horse, in the other hand have another lead rope which you then flick around behind you towards the quarters - make sure you allow the horse to go forward when you do this as they will often react quite strongly - then give lots of praise.

then continue with the inhand work, really encouraging her to go forward and giving lots of praise so that she steps off as soon as you ask. Then progress to a longer rope or lunge rope and move yourself further away from her until she will willing go forward or halt from your voice - it is all about building her confidence in you.
 
The spooky pony did the field-planting thing when I got him. I tried the lead-rope-flick suggested by mother_hen, to no avail: he simply ignored it.

I solved it by taking a schooling whip into the field with me. I hold it in my left hand (with the end of the lead rope), and if he plants, he gets flicked up with it (strongly at first, much less so later). Because it's the long stick, I don't have to change my own leading position.

This worked very well for me, but I'm guessing it depends on how your loaner responds to schooling whips.
 
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I solved it by taking a schooling whip into the field with me. I hold it in my left hand (with the end of the lead rope), and if he plants, he gets flicked up with it (strongly at first, much less so later). Because it's the long stick, I don't have to change my own leading position.



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I did this with Bella when she started to plant on coming out of the field. Just a gentle flick on the back of her legs had her reacting as though she had been stung with a leap forward. She was given loads of praise and every time she stopped I would move my hand in an exaggerated way so she would think I was going to flick her again. Worked wonders and I rarely need to do it now
 
I used to loan a pony who was a field planter, Nothing i could do on the ground would make her move. I tried pulling with all my might, she would just stand there, pushing, same effect! I tried using a stick but she wasn't bothered and she probably knew i wouldn't hurt her as I am too much of a softie. What worked for me was to jump on her (this was in the days i could vault on bareback) and then ride her in from the field. She knew she was meant to move when you asked her to from onboard and I never had any problems with planting once i learnt this trick! It may not work for everybody but it worked for me!
 
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What worked for me was to jump on her (this was in the days i could vault on bareback) and then ride her in from the field.

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I would LOVE to be able to do that...but I would have to take a trampoline into the field with me !
 
i had a mare who did the same thing when i first got her. i tried flicking the lead rope or using a whip. she almost kicked me once when i did this, so knew it wasnt the answer. we got over it by doing loads of groundwork, using a dually headcollar. if she wouldnt follow, i would push her away, so that her feet would move away, and then try to step forward again with a twang on the headcollar. it took many attempts to start with, but after a while, she gave up and lead in perfectly. and i never had anymore problems. she is just testing you. dont let her win by getting frustrated!
 
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