Why bother???....

[nicky_jess]

Theres a girl at my yard that has a...shall we say...difficult mare, shes just a bit on the moody side but thats just mare for you, why do people seem to forget the fact that they are as entire as a stallion??? Anyway, she cant get her to stand at the mounting block nicely, she either refuses to walk forward to the right place and when she finally gets there she either walks backward or swings her bum out. Around the yard shes generally a moody mare, sort of threatens you with her back end when you walk past and shes tied up, puts her ears back, typical arsyness but theres a nice horse in there she just needs to be taught to have respect for people. Now I know exactly how the girl feels as my mare isnt exactly an angel lol, shes as stubborn as they come BUT ive done something about it, ive gone down the natural horsemanship route, Jess isnt exactly the kind of horse you can bully, she will see red and thats it youve got no chance. But the training ive done with her has helped develop her into a more willing horse, shes not perfect and will always have that stubborn streak but shes trying for me now and has so much more respect for me than she ever did before. So after this girl ended up fighting with her horse for the umpteenth time, trying to use force, which we all know just isnt going to work especially for this type of horse i suggested doing some of the ground work stuff that i do. It all helps in the saddle too.
So despite being very sceptical she gave it a go, the horse completely changed from her defensive stance and just dropped, was so relaxed and was looking at her owner as if to say, 'what would you like me to do' she really responded to it. The owner still didnt get it even after i tried to explain why its good to do it, you know how its about communicating to them in their own language and it helps create a horse that thinks for itself and moves off the tiniest bit of pressure etc etc. Anyway she carried on. Of course it came to getting on again and the horse was still a bit awkward at the mounting block but not as bad, but the girl was getting annoyed, everyone that does the natural horsemanship stuff knows you cant get annoyed or hold grudges. Anyway other people got involved, the horse got confused, so i said, can i have a go, as you could see were it was headed, the horse was going to get smacked in the side as she normally does, so in reply i got 'wait a minute' and then before you know it, there we go, shes been cracked in the side yet again. What is the point in even trying to do the groundwork when you have just lost all respect from the horse because yet again shes just been hit for something. All i can say about helping some people is....Why bother???
Sorry just had to have a rant, i just feel sorry for this horse because shes not a bad horse but she is turning into a nasty one because shes hit for things she does wrong and at the end of the day, whats that teachin her but human contact is horrible???

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I know exactly what you mean. I don't indulge in 'Natural Horsemanship' but do believe in working with the horse, rather than being confrontational.
My newest mare has worked in a RS in a previous home. The last owner told me that she did not get on with the poor mare. Poor thing has obviously had rugs and tack just thrown at her, she threatens to bite and from her reactions, I would say that she has been 'smacked' for it. We ignore her behaviour, place an elbow strategically and carry on, taking care not to hurt her. I have replaced her bridle with a much larger size (the browband was pinching), replaced her elasticated-at-one-end girth with an Aerborne humane girth. If we feel the need to remonstrate, a sharp 'no', or at most a hand-slap on the bum (for a threatened kick), suffice.
We have only had her a short time but she is beginning to relax with us. We have had mares with similar issues before and have found this approach works well. Unfortunately some people think that causing a fuss makes them look good.