schooling issues?

[carmen329]

I bought my horse just over a month ago. she's a 16 year old welsh partbred, and she's lovely in every way, except were having a couple of issues. firstly, when im riding her in the ménage she drags me to the gate. it's actually gotten to the point where if im trotting along the long side towards the gate she'll break into canter and pull me towards it. does anyone have any ideas on exactly why she does this and how to stop it? the second issue is that in canter, she gets extremely excited down the long sides, takes a hold of the bit and just runs. it's not at the stage where she's bolting dangerously, it's just that she's going too fast and it often takes 2 or 3 laps to stop her. she doesn't listen to half halts and the second i put too much pressure on her mouth she throws her head right up and holds it there. does anyone have tips on how to slow her down and maintain control? tia xx

 

[EQUIDAE]

A good course of action might be to have a lesson on her and have your instructor ride her. That way you can see if it is a schooling issue or if she is just testing you. Once you know which it is it should be easier to tackle.