CharlotteA
New User
I just can't work my mare out at the moment so I'm putting this out there for any advice!!!
I bought a TBXID mare last February as she was going to be sent to market and I like a challenge....ha.
She wouldn't lunge, wouldn't stand still, ran away from contact on the reins and tried to bolt or had a bucking hissy fit every time I turned her round whilst riding her. She's 15 knows all the tricks and isn't scared of much while out and about. She also knows what she's doing schooling wise and has amazing paces after mucking about (you just have to ride her through some minor half buck can, can manouvers).
She has come a long way since I first got her, lunges fine now after some free lungeing and some groundwork, stands still for me to get on and whilst in the yard, is chilled out on rides (excepting the TB moments!) and doesn't try to run away from my hands and no longer tries to bolt after being turned around, even in large open fields. HOWEVER.... Her new thing is to dig her heels in and refuse to move or back away from the direction I want her to go in. For example we spent two hours standing in the pouring rain the other day before eventually getting out of the field and down to the stables to be tacked up ( I was not going to let her win) she also does this going into the stable now, she'll put her front feet in then back out then in again, etc, etc, finally going in to get her feed, whereby I shut the door behind her and there's no fuss, I couldn't believe it the other night when I'd had enough and unclipped the lead rope and got on with sorting out the other two and she was still doing it by herself!!!. She also does this while I'm riding her (only on one route so far, getting her out of the gate on to the road is a more common problem), tight circles don't work, she just backs out of them, smacking her on the bottom doesn't work (I have tried this once), having someone else walking next to her works occasionally and other times she'll be good as gold and just go out for a nice ride no problems.
She has been vetted, had her back checked,chiropractor, saddle correctly fitted, has a gel pad for more comfort, I have put her in a much softer bit than she previously had and changed from a flash noseband to a plain one (I did this when I first got her, she was previously in a hanging cheek snaffle, flash and running martingale and god knows what saddle).
I'd like some advice on how to break the cycle of her digging her heels in or ways to deal with it that I've not tried already, it's so hard not to let her get away with it if you've got an allotted amount of time to ride her in or if you just can't get her to move. I think she's probably just bloody minded, as it's not consistent behavior but don't want to confuse this with her being anxious about something. Have thought about moving her to a friends yard so she can get into a routine of coming in and going out for rides with another horse but then would that make the issue worse when taking her out on her own????
Who knows!
I bought a TBXID mare last February as she was going to be sent to market and I like a challenge....ha.
She wouldn't lunge, wouldn't stand still, ran away from contact on the reins and tried to bolt or had a bucking hissy fit every time I turned her round whilst riding her. She's 15 knows all the tricks and isn't scared of much while out and about. She also knows what she's doing schooling wise and has amazing paces after mucking about (you just have to ride her through some minor half buck can, can manouvers).
She has come a long way since I first got her, lunges fine now after some free lungeing and some groundwork, stands still for me to get on and whilst in the yard, is chilled out on rides (excepting the TB moments!) and doesn't try to run away from my hands and no longer tries to bolt after being turned around, even in large open fields. HOWEVER.... Her new thing is to dig her heels in and refuse to move or back away from the direction I want her to go in. For example we spent two hours standing in the pouring rain the other day before eventually getting out of the field and down to the stables to be tacked up ( I was not going to let her win) she also does this going into the stable now, she'll put her front feet in then back out then in again, etc, etc, finally going in to get her feed, whereby I shut the door behind her and there's no fuss, I couldn't believe it the other night when I'd had enough and unclipped the lead rope and got on with sorting out the other two and she was still doing it by herself!!!. She also does this while I'm riding her (only on one route so far, getting her out of the gate on to the road is a more common problem), tight circles don't work, she just backs out of them, smacking her on the bottom doesn't work (I have tried this once), having someone else walking next to her works occasionally and other times she'll be good as gold and just go out for a nice ride no problems.
She has been vetted, had her back checked,chiropractor, saddle correctly fitted, has a gel pad for more comfort, I have put her in a much softer bit than she previously had and changed from a flash noseband to a plain one (I did this when I first got her, she was previously in a hanging cheek snaffle, flash and running martingale and god knows what saddle).
I'd like some advice on how to break the cycle of her digging her heels in or ways to deal with it that I've not tried already, it's so hard not to let her get away with it if you've got an allotted amount of time to ride her in or if you just can't get her to move. I think she's probably just bloody minded, as it's not consistent behavior but don't want to confuse this with her being anxious about something. Have thought about moving her to a friends yard so she can get into a routine of coming in and going out for rides with another horse but then would that make the issue worse when taking her out on her own????
Who knows!
