Late Broken Horse

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Henry-etta

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My Mare was untouched until she was 6
now age 10 it has taken 4 years to get to the stage where she's about ridable.
I think she's going to start rearing.
I ride her with what to amounts to extremely light contact. If she decides she doesn't want to go forward (for example when on her own, or a friend goes the other way) I can feel her deciding what to do next. On the ground she has pawed me, crushed me, rears, lies down, bucked, barged, bit, but before she does anything she has had a good think.
I feel like she's thinking about trying rearing again, as nothing else seems to work as far as getting her own way goes (I just don't react, unless I'm in physical danger) not that rearing has worked in the past.
It seems that she spent so much of her life being the boss of everything and making decisions, that there is no sense of having to comply. I have brought her to the point she is at now with her good will and spirit intact.
has anyone experienced a late broken horse, and the problems associated? Are they ever as good as a horse broken at the normal age?
Any advice on how firm to be? It's been a fascinating journey, but I want to survive it!!:o
 
Hmm. I've done quite a few horses at 5/6, at least two at 8, and one, last year, at 10, although she's a very sweet little pony and had been decently handled otherwise. The only ones that have really been extra trouble were the ones that were left for a reason, usually because someone either messed up the initial job or the horse was tricky and they bailed halfway through. One of the 8 year olds was still with her dam, who was only barely started herself. She was a bit sensitive and took some time to get used to things flapping etc, but she's also had very little handling and been in a tiny field all her life. She went on to be a decent Pony Club horse and I'd say the only real loss was that she probably could have done more if she'd started in time but not many people want a green 9 year old. One of the 5 year olds was very tricky (we didn't know her history but she came through an auction as unbacked and considering she didn't lead, I'd be inclined to say it was the truth) she took ages and was very anxious (but then so are some 3/4 year olds) but came good in the end and became a kids show horse.

I've done quite a lot of horses that had minimal handling pre backing and, as a rule, they were not aggressive - quite the opposite. They might take a poke or try to run away because they were anxious but the only ones that went out of their way to hurt were a group from the same dam and they were a bit nuts. Most of the aggressive horses I've met have been badly handled, which is not quite the same thing and much trickier to fix. Horses don't forget and even if you get them good in some situations/with some people they are likely to try again when they get stressed or things change.

One of the most aggressive horses I ever did (he was 5 or 6) seemed almost unbroken but in fact had quite a bit of work on him. The wrong work. At one point he'd been tied up and left on an arena floor to "think about" his behaviour!! He was a "strike first" kind of guy (from a family known to be tough minded). The first time I longed him he ran at me like an alligator! He wouldn't let you put tack on, he didn't steer if you did manage to get on etc etc. He also moved and jumped though so we persevered and he actually came around very quickly. He was still inclined to try his tricks with a new rider - the favourite was to canter down the rail and then, in one movement, swap leads and turn INTO the fence, dropping his shoulder and decanting the rider into the fence - but he did go on to compete well with the person who bought him.

Do you know her history? Anything about her breeding? It sounds like there may be more to it than her just being older. The only real problem I've seen is people tend to forget how green older horses are and expect them to make progress too quickly, but that doesn't sound like your situation.

As far as what to do, I'm no help as would not hazard a guess without seeing, especially if she's as potentially dangerous as you say. There are some horses that, if you get the wrong advice, will not take it well! It's all very well for people to say "always be nice" or "give it a slap" but they might say something very different if they were the one on the end of the lead rope or the reins.
 
Not sure how much help this will be, but ...
For various reasons, my TB wasn't properly backed until he was 7, although he was very well handled. Although the backing itself was smooth and uneventful, he spent quite a lot of his time as an 8 y/o either hurtling backwards or on his hind kegs, or spinning, or all 3 at once :(
However, fingers crossed, he seems to have come through it, and is showing quite a lot of potential. I really enjoy working with him.
What worked? Not really sure, TBH. Patience, perseverance. Sometimes I'd decide to sit like a sack of spuds, and not react, sometimes it would seem appropriate to get cross with him. It would depend on the situation- how safe was it to risk provoking a more violent reaction, and what I thought had caused the Lippizaner act in the first place. We did LOADS of hacking, in company and alone. Hunting- I'm convinced that helped massively. We have a smallish hunt which doesn't do much jumping, but the sheer fun of bring in a group and going forwards took his mind off going upwards.

Good luck, whatever you decide! Personally, I think they can be as good, if you can do enough so they can 'catch up' with the more experienced horses.
 
If she thinks about what to do, give her something else to think about. It has to start on the ground, don't give her the option to think of what she wants to do, if she gets a choice and makes the wrong one, this can translate to ridden work.

She has to be attentive to you. If not get her attention, if she doesn't like it, go with it and end it immediately when she listens. Move her feet, make it hard for her to do the wrong thing and when she gives the slightest submission, stop and let her stand to have a think about it for a minute.

Horses take the easy option. Just ensure that listening to you is the easy choice.
 
My last horse was broken at 7 he went through the normal stage of completely trying it on which I find a lot of 4yos do. He would spin and nap as his chosen weapons when doing something he did not want to do. He had come from a bad background but I knew how he had been broken (by a very good person) so knew it was just a normal testing the boundaries. Once we got past this stage he was a super cool horse.
 
I have a mare who is 10 she was broken at 9 as was a brood mare, I've only had her 4 months but she coming on amazing, was tense at first, but now goes like a dream

I tried to hack her alone when I got her, she got up the road , planted and refused to move and ran back wards etc

I did not get in a massive fight I took her home, then spent 3 months hacking behind other horses , the slowly started putting her in front, then started taking her out alone and she is fine.

Sorry prob don't help your situation much but my late broken girl has been relatively easy.
 
She's such a deep one, I've made the conscious choice to let her try to get round me using her brain, logic being that if she "knows" that something doesn't work (because she's tried and nothing bad happened, but also nothing happened to her advantage) that she probably she'll not try that one again. I didn't want her to throw herself around, "beside" herself. She has gone over backwards on the lead before, needing stitches. I want her to keep me safer than that!
The impression I gave was of an aggressive horse. In fact she is incredibly gentle, very affectionate and good natured. Right up to the point where she wants to return to her friends, or she's in a big field and not close enough to her friends. She has never kicked me!! The biting was a single incident, where she wasn't allowed to follow her friend, she reared up, (wobbly!!) I waited what I thought was the least amount of time (1 min) got off and she bit me as hard as she could, out of sheer temper.

7/8 Tb (ish) by Lostock Huntsman

Thanks for your support and advice!
 
She's not aggressive, more of a take no prisoners type of girl. She has a good think before squashing me, or having a good buck (on the lead) when she runs out of things to try, rearing is the last resort (on the lead) and I can easily let her do that without reacting, because it's not me who is in danger. I've spent years trying to keep her good will and gain her respect. She's fascinating, and i'm learning a lot.
she is by Lostock Huntsman. I bought her as unbroken, and I really do think that was the case. She's had a bad time with a farrier. (male)
I suppose my question is; will she turn into a lovely riding horse eventually? Am I right to persevere, and hope that nothing bad happens? I've run out of things to try, other than keep trying!!
Thanks for your advice.
 
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