Seeking Advice: Bossy mare won't do her stretches

[JessTheYank]

Dear Horse & Hound readers, greetings from the US. I wanted to seek the advice of the readers as I'm having some trouble with one of the horses I ride. She scared the owner so I got the ride, and it's been a lot of fun, I adore her and take her everywhere. She's a dominant chestnut, old school tank of a Hanoverian. She's a spooky and bossy type to ride, has her own ideas about life - the problem this creates is that she won't stretch down and forward to the bit unless we're in her home court arena. Any other arena if you get her solidly in the outside rein and slowly give that rein to allow her to stretch her nuchal ligament down and forward, she just takes it as an opportunity to look around for danger. It's maddening. I don't feel it's right to warm up a horse without thorough down and forward stretching, and being able to let the horse go a bit in the rein is essential. I've tried carefully driving her into a very solid rein, being ever so careful not to let any little "holes" come through the contact, and she will literally take that half inch and raise her head a little to have a look around. I've tried giving her a pop with a whip behind my leg and a "no!" but she's very hell bent on having her look round. I think she genuinely believes she's helping both of us by checking for danger, she's very caring and nurturing. Her owner said she stopped riding her when she could literally no longer steer, and Ginger would just leave the arena if she noticed something in a corner. This is not a mean mare at all, she's just very alpha and I'm struggling to get her to surrender to my leadership enough to give a stretch. Anyone dealt with a boss hoss like this? I'd love to hear your success stories.

 

[nato]

Stretches arent always the right choice for the start of a session, namely when you have a horse that can't focus for long enough to stretch or is that bit stiffer/weaker and can't stretch from the off.

If she's not on the job there's no way you'll get productive stretching from her at the start. You'd be better off taking up a contact, giving her a job, lots of transitions/changes of rein/circles and shapes etc. Keep her busy, lots of walk breaks and she will stretch when she has settled.

This advice came from Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin, so if it's good enough for them...!

 

[Welshie95]

Stretches arent always the right choice for the start of a session, namely when you have a horse that can't focus for long enough to stretch or is that bit stiffer/weaker and can't stretch from the off.

If she's not on the job there's no way you'll get productive stretching from her at the start. You'd be better off taking up a contact, giving her a job, lots of transitions/changes of rein/circles and shapes etc. Keep her busy, lots of walk breaks and she will stretch when she has settled.

This advice came from Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin, so if it's good enough for them...!

THIS!!
I've felt so guilty for not starting our sessions with stretching like every other rider I see at shows, but I am still teaching my horse that it's ok to take a contact and should he come unbalanced as he hollows a lot while I have a long rein he will end up getting socked in the mouth and ruin his confidence. I start with lots of gentle trotting, spirals, serpentines etc getting smaller as the muscles warm up, adding in transitions to sharpen them up and opening up on the long side to get the hind leg underneath them. Only once I've done this for about 20 mins do I canter and start to slip my reins to a half stretch (still needs help with balance), shorten again and do some more trot and then can I confidently ask for the stretch but keep doing all the movements, knowing he will take the bit forward and down without hollowing.

 

[milliepops]

Stretches arent always the right choice for the start of a session, namely when you have a horse that can't focus for long enough to stretch or is that bit stiffer/weaker and can't stretch from the off.

If she's not on the job there's no way you'll get productive stretching from her at the start. You'd be better off taking up a contact, giving her a job, lots of transitions/changes of rein/circles and shapes etc. Keep her busy, lots of walk breaks and she will stretch when she has settled.

This advice came from Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin, so if it's good enough for them...!

chiming in to agree with this. My oldie is well educated and understands that she needs to reach to the contact all the time so I can stretch her from the start gently and then ride her more up together.
My younger one needs to be put to work immediately and she'll be in the right frame of mind to seek a stretch later on. At a show I wouldn't bother even trying to stretch her until she felt ready and if she's particularly uptight she might not get to that stage at all. That doesn't mean we go straight into an advanced frame, but she definitely starts out in working paces and then we move towards adding some collection/extension etc.
I usually find that she is receptive to some stretching work when she has relaxed into her work and started to feel a little weary.