I'm fighting a losing battle here...

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Santa Clause

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it all hit me today, just how rude & stroppy solo is, today she was brought in as field mate was going for a ride, YM went in to change her rug, que solo barging out, breaking the stall chain and very possibly YM's finger :o
Then i had a lesson with YM and she would either gallop off or not move ( currently reschooling so only trying to walk)
got back to the yard, put horse in the stable - horse quickly departed stable ( twice in 5 minutes ?!?!). her 3rd attempt; she got half way out, i pulled the leadrope so she eventually backed up, then reared & hit her head on the roof,


for the past year she has been bery underweight but in a month she is now slightly over for her breed (tb x warmblood)
she is now only getting a little handfull of chaff + magnesium calmer & a banana,

i just feel like im fighting a losing battle - for every step forward, 5 back :(
anyone with nay suggestions for her barging or a little support would be greatly appreciated atm, thanks guys :)
 
Not a lot of suggestions other than keep going, and working with your RO/instructor. It can take ages! Is she young/new/big for you? Hugs of support to you..x
 
hope you can sort this problem out... does she know the command "back". one of mine was a barger once, i practised teaching him to move backwards everyway during leading, in the stable, in the field etc and eventually he got very responsive to it and would move back without a headcoller on even if he was anxious or excited.
just an idea.
good luck!

totally off the subject but you give her a banana?!!? ive never heard of horses eating bananas... is there some nutritional reason?
 
I've been thru a rough time with my boy recently; i'd only had him nearly a year and i'd got to the point where i was ready to jack it in. But with some help from friends and instructors, we're persevering and now enjoying each others company much more.
Never be afraid to ask for help from people who are capable and willing. It's what turned it around for me and my boy.
So while times feel tough now, there will be light at the end of the tunnel, don't give up just yet :)
 
I think I'd start with putting a chain across her door until she learns then it opening doesnt mean she is leaving!!
I think I would go back to basics with her groundwork, reinforcing manners and teaching her to be polite when handled. Then move on to ridden work alongside an understanding instructor who can work through the issues you have.
Lots of luck - as others have said it can feel like you are banging your head against a brick wall at times, but it will come together. :)
 
well i have had her for nearly 2 years & she is 6 in december, she has always been a bit bargey but nevber as bad as hse is now, banana's contain alot of pottasium which are used for its calming effect by lots of SJ'ers + me ;)
We did have a chain whiuch she has now broken 4 times in 2 weeks + a wooden pole, anothe rlivery is letting me try her stable tomorrow as she has used part of a metal goalpost as a barrier to keep her beast from barging - its worth a try :)

young moody (very) alpha a mare - the amount of stuff we've been through somethiung like this isn't going to defeat me :D

thanks everyone :)

hot choccy for everyone
 
when my horse was young he was very bargy im eight stone wet he was 16.1 cob no match realy i used to carry one of those short crop with a hand on the end and when leading him as soon as he got in front of me whacked him hard on the chest a baby could put him out now im not sure its the right thing to do but it worked
 
Methinks a very tempory electric "gate" accross her stable door would install some manners. MAKE her back up when you enter the stable,even if you treat reward a few times to get her compliant.I had a real "barge-arse" mare who would stomp up my heels when I led her,but a bit of bread in my pocket son had her doing good heelwork!
 
Be firm, I used to have a mare like this, unfortunately stable chains were never going to work for her, she worked out they broke easily with a little push and that was the end of them.
But she was very bargy, and when used to try and barge out of the stable I used to give her a sharp prod in the chest and say in a loud authoritive voice NO GO BACK. Once she had backed up I wouldnt let her come forward until I had stepped aside and let her. After a couple of weeks she soon got the hang of it, and although she still tried it on occasionally she was a hell of a lot better!!
Hope this helps and keep at it, dont give up, it may take a while but you will win in the end if you stay positive :)
 
Mare's - don't you just love 'em......

Groundwork. She needs some respect for you. Have you read any of Kelly Mark's books?

Totally agree with Bills, above. You need to be totally consistent, black/white, right/wrong with your requirements and what you expect. Reward what you want, and don't accept anything less.
However strong you are with the 'no' part though, needs to be equally positive with the 'Wonderful' bit. Be really clear and really consistent.

Star is horrendous when I first start bringing her in at night for the Winter - bargy, pulling, in my space and trying to be in charge.
I use a controller headcollar on her for the bargy bit, and have a pocket full of rewards for when she figures out who the REAL Alpha Mare is LOL.
 
Basically, your mare has little or no respect for you and is making her own decisions. You think that she is an alpha mare so she will be dominant.

The trick here is to be more dominant than her. Bye this I dont mean shouting at her or hitting her, she'll have no idea what your on about.

A dominant horse expresses it's dominance towards other members of its group by moving their fore quarters away, it achieves this by putting pressure on them. First the look, then moving into the space then contact, in that order. Watch them, you'll see them doing it all the time.

You need to get her to move her fore quarters away from you on both sides with the slightest pressure. You only need her to move her feet away slightly, one small pace is enough to start, whoever moves their feet first has lost, and is perceived as the less dominant of the two. As soon as she moves release the pressure, the reward is in the release.

Good luck.

If you can get the timeing right it works well. My own bargy mare moves her fore quarters away from me now if I just point my finger at her.
 
Bills said:
Be firm, I used to have a mare like this, unfortunately stable chains were never going to work for her, she worked out they broke easily with a little push and that was the end of them.
But she was very bargy, and when used to try and barge out of the stable I used to give her a sharp prod in the chest and say in a loud authoritive voice NO GO BACK. Once she had backed up I wouldnt let her come forward until I had stepped aside and let her. After a couple of weeks she soon got the hang of it, and although she still tried it on occasionally she was a hell of a lot better!!
Hope this helps and keep at it, dont give up, it may take a while but you will win in the end if you stay positive :)
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Ditto this, I am getting there with my mare. I kept a stick by the door and although I never hit her, I did threaten her with it. She has finally learned that she has to respect me! Good luck
 
Consitency is key. I've had to go right back to basics with my mare and keep on top of them now they're there. If I give her an inch she'll take a mile. She doesn't get her tea until she backs up and waits she knows "wait" and the all clear is "ok" same for leading in or going to graze in hand. It's taken alot of hard work and pateince but it's worked. i'm afraid the good old thick leadrope round the nose has worked wonders for us.
 
There's all sorts of things to try but there's a trick for getting success that lasts. Decide on a rule to apply whenever the horse is rude or bargy and always, immediately, every single time, stick to it. When the horse sees that it's his own behaviour that makes the rule happen, he'll be 100% committed to avoiding it. You're home and dry when the horse has made the decision himself. The riding school where my horse was in livery had a hideously bargy Haffie gelding. Stables, field gates, you name it, he'd barge out of it. Very dangerous. So the rule they decided on was that whenever (and you have to mean it!) he barged out of anywhere, no-one yelled at him or smacked him they just calmly tacked him up and he worked for an hour. Even if he was being brought in for a feed, if he barged, he got tacked up and worked. That was the rule. It was applied every single time. It took said Haffie about 2 days to work the rule out and make his own decision never to barge again. That rule might not be easy to apply for the average horse owner but you could change it to if he barges, he's lunged for half an hour even if he's just been ridden, even if it's raining, even if he's due his tea, even if you'd like to strangle him. Stop everything and lunge him. I guarantee, if you're 100% consistent, he'll work it out for himself and never do it again.
 
Box_Of_Frogs said:
So the rule they decided on was that whenever (and you have to mean it!) he barged out of anywhere, no-one yelled at him or smacked him they just calmly tacked him up and he worked for an hour. Even if he was being brought in for a feed, if he barged, he got tacked up and worked. That was the rule. It was applied every single time. It took said Haffie about 2 days to work the rule out and make his own decision never to barge again.
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fantastic!!

not sure I have anything useful to contribute, aside from that I agree with what has been said before. I have to say it was terribly easy to train my boy to go back from the stable door whenever I go to see him - I just poked him in the chest with an outstretched finger and said "back" loudly - as soon as he took a step back, I stoped poking him. It's worked very well. he doesn't enjoy being poked (not that i'm surprised by this!) but has made him quite agreeable.

Of course, mega barging is more of an issue but it's something worth thinking about. My instincts say I'd be less inclined to use a whip on him but I'm not a fluffy bunny and don't exactly know why, it's just my gut feel - of course I've never been in the situation you are so maybe my thoughts aren't very relevant.
 
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