How to stop naughty mare from running away!

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roz84

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I have had my mare for 8 months or so and she is great apart from occasionally deciding to clear off when I am on the ground holding her.

To put it into context, today we went for an 'adventurous' hack. We had come to a broken gate and I needed to dismount to open it. When we were on the other side, all of a sudden off she went, I had no chance of stopping her. Had to follow her to a random field where she was cantering round, neighing. Caught her and carried on. Same thing happened at same gate on way back - despite my best efforts to keep her attention and get her to stand still she cleared off again. Luckily she had no idea where she was going and soon came back!

I have done a fair bit of groundwork with her and she is much improved on the bargy front since I have had her but this is something I am struggling to crack, luckily today there was nowhere she could go but she did it the other day and another livery had to sprint to close a gate which led out onto main road - I am worried there will be an accident! She p****d off to the gate the other week when my daughter was taking her back to the field - it just seems that when she is in the mood to do this there is nothing that can stop her as she is well aware of her own strength the little madam. She is led in a dually headcollar which usually controls her when leading to and from field etc but obviously when I am out and about she is just in a bridle - she has dragged me across the yard with my full weight on the end of a dutch gag before, I had to let go!

Any advice or suggestions on the best way to tackle this gratefully received!
 
I would put a rope halter on under the bridle with a headcollar rope with a large knot in the end of it. Practice at home first and you should find that you can stop her dead when she tries it, if she can't get away with it she should give up doing it.
 
can you either have the dually on under the bridle with a rope from it or if no dually from the bit round her neck that you can untie and hold when you get off? either that or get the reins over her head fast when you dismount so that you have more chance of holding her if she tries to go. also extra work whenever you can at home so that she stops trying in the first place
 
Having had the reins over her head before when she has cleared off I would say that wouldn't stop her! However having the headcollar on under bridle seems as if it could be a thing to try :-)
 
Also a good idea to put clips on both ends of your reins so that you effectively have a lead rein which you can attach to the Dually under your bridle. Also try having your hand palm down on the lead rein as this is stronger if your horse tries to leave. It means you can grip better and take your arm to your body so that you are engaging your arm muscles AND your core muscles.
 
You have to stop her, it is beyond naughty, it is dangerous, if she tries to drag you, pull her head round so she can t go in a straight line. Re the gate, have a LONG leadrope when you ride out, clip this in her bit and loop round the gatepost assuming it is strong. Get someone more experienced to put her out in the field, never let a child handle her.
I would get someone in to instruct you in lunging and handling, make sure she is following your instructions.
Do not lift reins over head if you cant hold her, if she runs off she could trip/ possibly breaking a leg!
I would be surprised if a dually halter would stop her.
 
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Thanks all! It is the randomness of it that gets me - my daughter is 13 and easily as big as me, I would never dream of letting a small child handle her. She fetches her to and from the field with no problems, in the 8 months I have had her she has done this to my daughter once in numerous times of her bringing in and turning out. Again, I could probably say that she has done this to me less than ten times, 95% of the time she is fine. Today was a very bad day for it, but looking at it from her point of view it was a route we had never been on before so she was on her toes. I guess I need to be far more on the ball and put the dually on under the bridle and have a long lead rope - and come down like a tonne of bricks on her in general if she takes the mick!
 
I had a mare do that to me once miles from anywhere (never did it to me before, she was great in the field, arena etc). I got lucky in that she came back. But...after that I bought a bridle that was a combo bridle/halter and had a 12ft rope lead attached. Pulled her head around once and she never tried it again :) That lead was damn useful though when I had to get down to deal with downed trees or fences though.
 
roz84 said:
Thanks all! It is the randomness of it that gets me - my daughter is 13 and easily as big as me, I would never dream of letting a small child handle her. She fetches her to and from the field with no problems, in the 8 months I have had her she has done this to my daughter once in numerous times of her bringing in and turning out. Again, I could probably say that she has done this to me less than ten times, 95% of the time she is fine. Today was a very bad day for it, but looking at it from her point of view it was a route we had never been on before so she was on her toes. I guess I need to be far more on the ball and put the dually on under the bridle and have a long lead rope - and come down like a tonne of bricks on her in general if she takes the mick!
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more work.
 
nianya said:
I had a mare do that to me once miles from anywhere (never did it to me before, she was great in the field, arena etc). I got lucky in that she came back. But...after that I bought a bridle that was a combo bridle/halter and had a 12ft rope lead attached. Pulled her head around once and she never tried it again :) That lead was damn useful though when I had to get down to deal with downed trees or fences though.
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Thing is, I cannot physically pull her head around. Believe me, I've tried, she sets her neck and there is no way I am getting dragged beneath her hooves! However I shall defo be taking a long lead rope with me in future!
 
Get an instructor to help you with body language. Its not all about strength of person/ strength of bit etc. She needs to respect you more and now knowing she is stronger it's harder but can be worked on.
 
roz84 said:
Thing is, I cannot physically pull her head around. Believe me, I've tried, she sets her neck and there is no way I am getting dragged beneath her hooves! However I shall defo be taking a long lead rope with me in future!
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If she's actually dragging you then she needs ground work in a safe space before you take her out again. My mare did it on a lark and the second time only because she got away with it the first time. She never tried to drag me, that's dangerous. Sorry I must've missed that.
 
roz84 said:
Thing is, I cannot physically pull her head around. Believe me, I've tried, she sets her neck and there is no way I am getting dragged beneath her hooves! However I shall defo be taking a long lead rope with me in future!
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Whip the rope round a strong gatepost, you might be able to anticipate it, if you can t hold her you need to find someone who can or always handle her in a bridle, I have handled TB breeding stallions, and also show jumping stallions and they were not allowed to do this, otherwise we would all have been dead!
Get some help before you get injured, it is impossible for me to determine what is needed, probably a chiffney might be best, but you need to learn how to handle her, it will ony get worse!
 
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roz84 said:
Thing is, I cannot physically pull her head around. Believe me, I've tried, she sets her neck and there is no way I am getting dragged beneath her hooves! However I shall defo be taking a long lead rope with me in future!
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If you use something like a Micklem, you can attach the long leadrope on the front of the head (on the lunging ring) and that will make it easier to turn her head.
 
The last two maxi cobs I bought were the same. Why oh why do people not halter break young horses properly anymore.

The barging off can be either trained out, or even better never allowed to develop at foal stage and then maintained through young horse stage and into being broken etc.

My two are Clyde x ID/Shire, a good 750kg each with a keen mind. I used a rope halter and spent a long time working on the ground. A good thought to have in your mind is you are moving their feet not the other way round. A dually was also used. Do not give in until the horse walks with you wherever you go, at your pace without so much as a taut line. Use rein back extensively together with pressure and release.

At the risk of upsetting everyone, I am hard on my rude horses for the simple reason I will not be pulled around, I am old and damaged, why should they walk all over me or us ?

Op, whilst you are schooling it out you could put breaking tack on the horse to go from the yard to the field, she would be pulling against herself then and you should be able to manage on the long line. I would not hesitate to use the blue pipe on a mature thug's chest.
 
AdorableAlice said:
The last two maxi cobs I bought were the same. Why oh why do people not halter break young horses properly anymore.

The barging off can be either trained out, or even better never allowed to develop at foal stage and then maintained through young horse stage and into being broken etc.

My two are Clyde x ID/Shire, a good 750kg each with a keen mind. I used a rope halter and spent a long time working on the ground. A good thought to have in your mind is you are moving their feet not the other way round. A dually was also used. Do not give in until the horse walks with you wherever you go, at your pace without so much as a taut line. Use rein back extensively together with pressure and release.

At the risk of upsetting everyone, I am hard on my rude horses for the simple reason I will not be pulled around, I am old and damaged, why should they walk all over me or us ?

Op, whilst you are schooling it out you could put breaking tack on the horse to go from the yard to the field, she would be pulling against herself then and you should be able to manage on the long line. I would not hesitate to use the blue pipe on a mature thug's chest.
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So Alice, you are not of the school of fluffy bunny and polo mints? :)
OP, to demonstrate: I had a lovely yearling, but one day she jumped at me and waved her front hooves, just as she would do with her mates, next day she tried again and got the hard end of a lead rope on her neck, she never tried again...........
 
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Echo what a lot of other people have said ground work ground work and more ground work.
My cob in his younger years used to drag me all over the place, I invested in lessons with an IH instructor who was worth her weight in gold and we spent time getting him to respect my personal space, how to use the dually effectively and also how I needed to use my body language and what to do when he decided to tank off. He's now a dope on the rope but I still have to keep working on it as on the odd occasion he tries it on I have the skills to stop him and keep him in check.
I would think about having a professional out to help you as a fresh pair of eyes and ideas is always useful. Good luck :)
 
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Squished fluffy bunny if you get in the way of these pair when I first had them. Their antics reminded me of Penelope and Kipper for those of you old enough to remember the cartoon.

Both young cobs and both topside of previous handlers. The one on left took off when he saw the farrier for the first time, I had sparks off my wellies and the farrier wet himself laughing. The darker bay I still have and she is golden to handle now but was an utter cow to start with. I ended up face down, arse down and dragged when I refused to let go in the first few weeks of ownership in 2012. We are mates now and share the polo's nicely !

I laugh about it now but they were truly dangerous.

cobsrule_zpsc7a7e6ef.jpg
 
Years ago my then OH and my Sis bought a Clydie mare from a riding school, perfect in almost every way, except when the 6' 2" 15 stone rugby playing OH was bringing her in for tea, when she barged him aside and took herself in. I am 5' 6" and weigh 9 st. I took the mare off the OH and she walked in perfectly. It isn't about physical strength, it is about ensuring that you are always in charge and the horse knows that. We have a friend who turns her herd of about a dozen out, to take themselves down the lane to the field, she controls the pace they go at by calling out of her kitchen window and they all react as she wants them to.
 
FestiveG said:
Years ago my then OH and my Sis bought a Clydie mare from a riding school, perfect in almost every way, except when the 6' 2" 15 stone rugby playing OH was bringing her in for tea, when she barged him aside and took herself in. I am 5' 6" and weigh 9 st. I took the mare off the OH and she walked in perfectly. It isn't about physical strength, it is about ensuring that you are always in charge and the horse knows that. We have a friend who turns her herd of about a dozen out, to take themselves down the lane to the field, she controls the pace they go at by calling out of her kitchen window and they all react as she wants them to.
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Impressive and lovely. If I left the kitchen door open my cob would be in the fridge !
 
roz84 said:
Thing is, I cannot physically pull her head around. Believe me, I've tried, she sets her neck and there is no way I am getting dragged beneath her hooves! However I shall defo be taking a long lead rope with me in future!
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when she pulls, don't pull back but tug on the rein/rope. If you pull, the horse will lean on it and he is definitely the strongest. If you tug, the horse can't lean. By timing your release you can also teach the horse to give to pressure if she doesn't already does that.
A long lead rope helps in not letting go (and eventually gloves).
 
AdorableAlice said:
Impressive and lovely. If I left the kitchen door open my cob would be in the fridge !
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We bought her from a localish RS and hacked her home, she planted at one point and I had, unfortuantely, to 'ride strongly' to get her going again, so when she was being a pig at tea time, we already had history :D
 
Lots of good advice here but can I gently suggest that you do not dismount on hacks unless absolutely unavoidable - as you know what she is likely to do, an accident where she clears off and collides with a car/pedestrian or just injures herself is not Unforeseeable. Good luck x
 
Palindrome said:
when she pulls, don't pull back but tug on the rein/rope. If you pull, the horse will lean on it and he is definitely the strongest. If you tug, the horse can't lean. By timing your release you can also teach the horse to give to pressure if she doesn't already does that.
A long lead rope helps in not letting go (and eventually gloves).
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Seconding this. The mare I mentioned used to strong arm her way through all sorts of things. If she felt pressure she'd lean hard enough to break things (halters, ropes, sheds). I eventually trained her out of that but you never win a pulling match -- apparently nothing else does either. I think she pulled up a post doing that once too. Thankfully I got my current girl as a 2 year old and never had to untrain bad habits. She learned a one-rein stop in a hurry on the one and only time she decided to bolt while on long-lines. Being a bit of a klutz she took a spill too, but she's never tried it again :D

There's a lot of ground work you can do with a long lead and a rope halter, but if you don't know how to use one you should probably work with a trainer because they are designed to put pressure on certain points but you have to be very aware of how and when you're using it. I've seen a lot of people who just hold them on so the horse learns nothing and gets upset instead.
 
I have one that does this too - its SO frustrating! He's a little bit different, in that he only does it when being led from paddock to main field gate, and he's incredibly cunning - waits til he knows you aren't concentrating, then hes gone. I admit that I tend to just let him get on with it - he has a blast round the field, then comes back in his own time. Difference is, he's in his 20's, set in his ways, and safely contained. He's angelic as long as he has tack on, and has never even thought about it at any other time, apart from his usual routine spot for doing a runner. I can stop him, as long as I keep him close and bent round me. The moment that he gets his head pointed in the other direction - there's no chance. I suspect that your mare is similar, so keeping her with you and your attention on her at all times is vital. I wouldn't get off her out hacking either, and I wouldn't let my attention wander for a second.
 
lots of good advice.

i would work her on the ground in a be nice halter (the one with metal studs over the head piece) and then leave this on under her bridle, keep a lead rope on your person and clip it on the be nice as soon as you get off.

that should, really, stop her dead.............my 3yo stallion decided to try pulling away en route TO the field (never anywhere else,was pure excitement) and on day 1 this literally stopped him in his tracks and he's not even tried since.

he does all his ground work in it now so that every day reinforces the lesson of yielding to pressure.
 
There use to be one on the yard that would drag you everywhere and tank off when it could. It was an absolute beast at times, and I saw many people dragged through the mud, hay shed and fields after exclaiming "pass it here, I will be able to handle it"! Lots of groundwork (including in the stable), and a headcollar and long chain leadrope (using a tug/sharp pull and release approach- not leaning against her who could then drag you everywhere!) worked wonders for her manners... eventually! She was one that you certainly had to earn respect from, but she certainly learnt to listen to the rules and understand about personal space and manners. It took a lot of frustration and rope burn though!

ETA- I second hacking out with a headcollar/halter underneath so that you can use this if required. Whilst she hasn't been injured yet (or you), I would be concerned she needs to learn sharpish what is and isn't acceptable.
 
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