easm1th
New User
LOOKING FOR ADVICE
Hi all looking for helpful advice and opinions with my kwpn x ish mare.
I’ve had my mare for 4 years now (she’s 8 years old) and the last one year with her we have made tons of improvements. She’s bred for showjumping at a higher level then what we currently do but could possibly be in the future for us, but only if that is what she seems to enjoy. She was very tricky when i bought her but Ive now worked extremely hard with her, and she shows bundles of talent and love towards me! She has always been a very stubborn and herd orientated horse but I’ve worked to understand her and grow a good communication between us and it has all been going brilliantly, though she has always and always will have her moments! My issue at the moment is that she seems somewhat sour and bored. She’s in perfect health and no past injuries or health issues she has professionally fit tack etc and enjoys jumping which we do once every one or two weeks and the rest is schooling or hacking she’s roughly ridden 3-4 days a week. At the moment she is becoming spooky in our arena at things she’s seen constantly, almost as if she’s searching for it, she also often will just completely stop moving when she doesn’t want to go in the direction she’s avoiding and you cannot get her to move. If she doesn’t want to do something she likes to throw a tantrum, i always try to ignore her, stay firm and encourage her to carry on when she’s having a tantrum or spooking instead of telling her off and getting angry because that’s always been what works best for us and by the end she always is happy moving and doing what Ive asked and often excels with what we are doing. Overall i think she’s so bored and i just don’t know what to do to help fix that and keep it interesting for her. She’s turned out all day comes in in the evenings and we have 24 hour turnout in the summertime. She’s happiest in a routine, though when i feel like she needs it i like to give her breaks and some time to just relax but even then she ends up becoming bored again, so I'm stuck in quite the middle ground with what to do as I hate the idea of making her do things she’s bored of, but she only seems to perk up when we jump which obviously cannot be the only thing we do!! I'm aware she’s a mare and most things come with an opinion but wanted to hear what others have done with their mares who may be similar!
I’d be so grateful to hear people’s personal experiences and even any exercises groundwork or ridden that helped them and their horses create a better environment and bond.
Hi all looking for helpful advice and opinions with my kwpn x ish mare.
I’ve had my mare for 4 years now (she’s 8 years old) and the last one year with her we have made tons of improvements. She’s bred for showjumping at a higher level then what we currently do but could possibly be in the future for us, but only if that is what she seems to enjoy. She was very tricky when i bought her but Ive now worked extremely hard with her, and she shows bundles of talent and love towards me! She has always been a very stubborn and herd orientated horse but I’ve worked to understand her and grow a good communication between us and it has all been going brilliantly, though she has always and always will have her moments! My issue at the moment is that she seems somewhat sour and bored. She’s in perfect health and no past injuries or health issues she has professionally fit tack etc and enjoys jumping which we do once every one or two weeks and the rest is schooling or hacking she’s roughly ridden 3-4 days a week. At the moment she is becoming spooky in our arena at things she’s seen constantly, almost as if she’s searching for it, she also often will just completely stop moving when she doesn’t want to go in the direction she’s avoiding and you cannot get her to move. If she doesn’t want to do something she likes to throw a tantrum, i always try to ignore her, stay firm and encourage her to carry on when she’s having a tantrum or spooking instead of telling her off and getting angry because that’s always been what works best for us and by the end she always is happy moving and doing what Ive asked and often excels with what we are doing. Overall i think she’s so bored and i just don’t know what to do to help fix that and keep it interesting for her. She’s turned out all day comes in in the evenings and we have 24 hour turnout in the summertime. She’s happiest in a routine, though when i feel like she needs it i like to give her breaks and some time to just relax but even then she ends up becoming bored again, so I'm stuck in quite the middle ground with what to do as I hate the idea of making her do things she’s bored of, but she only seems to perk up when we jump which obviously cannot be the only thing we do!! I'm aware she’s a mare and most things come with an opinion but wanted to hear what others have done with their mares who may be similar!
I’d be so grateful to hear people’s personal experiences and even any exercises groundwork or ridden that helped them and their horses create a better environment and bond.
