New horse not leaving home!

[Keeley123]

I have a new horse on loan she is 7 has been out of work for 12 months but is lovely..... However rides out fine with company but will not move on her own i have lead her out and ridden back she was on her toes but good. I have been out on my own but a friend walked with us last night she just would not move legs hands stick nothing .... Am I doing something wrong how long should I give her any advice great fully received.

 

[DuckToller]

It's probably a confidence thing, especially with mares. You are not doing anything wrong, but you need to have a plan to deal with it and be consistent.

My instructor always says don't pick a battle you can't win. Someone more determined may be able to get her to move, by being very firm and using voice/stick etc but if you are not that sort of person, stick to riding out with a friend for now, getting her more confident with you as an owner and do some ground work (lead her around, make her stop, back up, walk forward etc) so she starts to see you as her leader.

Stick to the same few hacks for a while so she gets to know the area, and if leading her out and riding back works, you could do that more often too, perhaps starting to get on earlier and earlier.

Mares do seem to be more nappy, and take longer to settle into a new home. Just imagine you have had to change school/job suddenly and everything is new, you might not feel very confident about finding your way around your new place, and that's how she is feeling. But equally you need to get on top of it so you can eventually hack alone with confidence.

 

[Echo Bravo]

Agree with ducktoller

 

[oldie48]

as a 7 year old that's been out of work for a year, she won't really have been very established in her work so is more likely to have confidence issues. Agree with what's been said already but when you do start to ride out alone,one thing you could try if she plants is to just sit quietly, don't let her turn round or back up. Don't put pressure on her if she is standing still but every few minutes just use your leg to ask her to move on. Be prepared to sit there for an hour if you have to but don't turn round and go home. Eventually, she will go forward if you are patient enough. she may stop again but she'll move forward more quickly next time. We cured a very nappy horse like this, he would get very difficult if you "took him on" but the sheer boredom of just standing there got him on side. Worth a try? I have a friend who started leading her horse away from home because of napping but now she's struggling to mount as the horse won't stand still, so be careful you don't replace one problem with another. Good luck, there's always something with a new horse!

 

[Keeley123]

Thank you .... Made progress today and yesterday managed to lead her out on her own no problems and today lead her out and then rode her out so fingers crossed with time and patience she will get better. Having a plan and sticking to it really helped and thank you ducktoller your advice was just what I needed

 

[florayG]

Totally agree with oldie48
This horse has confidence issues - she doesn't have any. She's happy to follow other horses or you but she doesn't have that confidence for herself. Lots of praise when she goes forward, even if it's only to the end of the road. Never get mad or stress her. Make everything she does well a huge deal, make her feel good and she will get braver. Make haste slowly, and don't let anyone with a big stick help!