ideas for getting old mare back into work?

[daisy_duke]

i have a 16(ish) year old connemara x mare whose been compleately out of work since before summer as before summer i was in a car accident and couldnt ride her and then during summer she got bad reactions (really bad) to fly bites and was too irritated and sore to have tack on or ride.

anyway, now that her skin is healed enough where her tack goes i'd like to get her back into work.

we used to compete together and do pony club and all that when we were both younger but gave it all up about 6/7 years ago now and have since just hacked out, i've always tried to maintain her obediance and try lungeing her occasionally too but shes always been quite naughty and grumpy and its always been so frustrating trying to school her outside of lessons. (used to take her once a week to my instrustors yard for lessons in her menage)

we don't have a menage or anywhere decent to school and its just so hopeless trying to get her to work in the field where she's usually grazing, its like she sees it as her place and theres no way we're doing anything i want.

she's also constantly looking about for her stable mate (little welsh pony) as its just the two of them at the yard

what does everyone else do to get around schooling without a menage? perhaps im just not as confident as i used to be

i tried to school her today in the field and she was threatening to bolt and was jumping about all over the place, it was hopeless, constantly napping. i don't want to give up but i'm running out of ideas

 

[Oldred]

First question: is it possible to tape off a bit of field that then becomes just your schooling area? Maybe even in sight of her little pony friend? You can then start getting her used to doing some obedience work either in hand, with lots of rewards, so it becomes enjoyable for her, moving onto ridden work but again, just giving her the idea its all okay, well rewarded and she'll be returned to her field soon. You can then slowly habituate her to a work ethic/discipline slowly but every day so she doesn't notice its happening.

 

[daisy_duke]

thats an idea, i'd be worried that she wouldnt have any respect for the tape tho, theres something about a sturdy fenced menage that feels safe. this is a horse that walks through charged electric fence when she's fed up with her own grazing !! but i suppose if it was an area that she wasnt allowed in whilst grazing she might be able to identify the area with ''work'' more easilly

 

[bordermare]

I also went through a similar sort of thing with my connemara x mare. After I moved from having her at livery to keeping her at home with one other horse. I got a bit into the doldrums with suddenly not having anywhere to school and the mare also had to have a bit of time off due to illness. When I brought her back into work she was a bit scary so it put me off riding her which just compounded the problem.
I finally sorted it out by going back to having a lesson a week and making sure she's ridden at least 5 days a week. Also variety of work seems to work with her. I think she just gets bored and then thinks up new and interesting ways of scaring her mum. I do a lot of flexion work with her just at the walk, shoulder in, 10m circles, leg yielding.

I try to give her variety and although I couldn't afford to keep up the weekly lessons I try to get 1 or 2 a month and get her out to local shows. I think the trick is to be consistent and give her plenty to think about. The separation anxiety gets better if they get used to being apart for a little while every day.

My pony never gives me any problems but the connie x needs her brain engaged daily!!