youngster experts.....should i be worried? (bit long)

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georgiegirl2

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hey all,

this is only the second time i have managed to ride twig my 4yo tb this week as she was kicked earlier in the week and her hock blew up a bit although its all fine now.

Well, some of you may have seen my post where after having the time off she was rather full of it when i tried to do a bit of simple schooling last night. Well, tonight i rode her round our fields on my own, again, always wanting to be in a faster gear but otherwise well behaved. when i got back i thought i would just do a few trot circles with walk trot transitions just to confirm to her that am not actually a passenger. This was done fairly well and we got a consistant if slightly rushed trot in the end. Then i walked her on a long rein and i was gathering my reins up to start hewading back the the stables she simply stopped dead. Now has she has stopped dead once or twce before although that is as far as its ever gone, shes never napped or spun round or anything silly like that. Well tonight she stopped dead so i squeezed with my legs.......nothing. So i gave her a pretty biggish kick to mean in no uncertain terms that we go forward and she suddenly reared straight up in the air!
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i sort of half slipped/half got off as it was a pretty huge rear and i was scared of her going over backwards. Now, if this was your youngster would you dismiss it as a one off seeing as its suddenly become cold and windy and she hasnt been worked over the past week or would you regard it as something that could possibly turn into something a bit more sinister? i really dont like that as a reaction when she suddenly decides she doesnt want to do something!
 
My initial thoughts are, she is a mare, and mares can have a tendancy to rear/nap more than geldings. As she's young, I'd try and persuade her gently to move forwards, and if she doesn't go and you are all prepared to PC kick her, turn her. As she has only reared once, I would put it all down to experience and try to avoid her rearing again, like the Plague!! Hehe
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Maybe she was confused when you gathered up the reins again?
 
This is quite a common youngster evasion - they either seem to buck, rear or run away.... none of which are all that pleasant.
I suggest you lunge her hard to get the ping out of her...long steady trot work etc. Then if you ride her again and she stops, I'd smack her rather than kick her. I'd also take quite a lot of left or right bend in her neck and spin her if she won't go forwards without threatening to go up as well. Once you've spun them or they've stood with their neck bent round for a few minutes, they usually get the picture.
It might be worth checking her teeth as she will be teething until she has her full mouth at 5yo.
Hope she gets over her naughty moment.
S
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Forgot to say that young mares in season can stick and freeze to leg aids (think of stallion mounting and you'll get the picture re legs).
And a healthy growl into her ear (think American werewolf) will probably inspire her.
S
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umm, tbh, i think you've very brave to give a 4yr old that's short of work "a pretty biggish kick" just like that!
i would have looked to see if there was any reason why she'd planted herself (fear? it was windy tonight), then asked nicely with my legs, and with my voice, then given a tiny tap with the whip, then a bit of a rub with the whip, before trying a small kick. tbh i think you surprised her with the big kick, and she thought "f... you." if she's never reared before, she prob shocked herself as much as you.
i wouldn't worry too much about it, i'd be a little bit politer and more patient next time with a baby mare, tbh!
hope you got back on and rode her in to the stables, and that you're both fine.
 
she is teething at the moment although i am pretty much leaving her mouth alone. it was more of a "im not moving" reaction more than anything else. It was pretty hard to turn or anything as it was just so very sudden and very unexpected! She can be very stubborn when she plants herself but so far has never done anything except simply plant her feet and then ive got her moving again. i just hope it doesnt happen again or become a full blown habit which would be a disaster
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Really hard to have an opinion without seeing it/knowing more. Of course it could be pain related (always got to be the first thing you ask yourself, especially with a youngster who is regularly changing chape, teeth growing etc), but my guess is that it was behavioural.

It could have been confusion at the reins being picked up & then she reacted to what she may have considered to be too big a kick (!), could have been a 1st attempt at napping or maybe she thought she was finished & was unimpressed when she thought you were asking more of her. Youngsters can often be stuffy & not forwards thinking so if she didn't want to go forwards & got a real big kick, she went up as opposed to forwards.

I would think you need to try to be a bit more subtle as she may just be a bit more sensitive than you realise, but do be prepared for sharp reactions as if she DOES do something again, you need to sit it out/correct her, so she learns that a bad reaction doesn't get her anywhere.

Also, don't forget that younsters have a very short attention span & maybe you need to shorten your sessions a bit for a while - you need to try to do all you can to make good behaviour a 'habit', although obviously not to the point that you're avoiding all potential issues - it's just a case of finding that fine line...
 
Just seen your latest reply. The best reaction to napping (which is basically what she did), is to sit it out without putting pressure on her - when she wants to walk on, make her wait for a moment more before asking her on your terms (wait longer with mature horses, but DON'T ask a youngster to stand for too long as you WILL teach them to go up). This way, it gives the horse a chance to get their head sorted (especially if there's something they're fearful of that you've not even noticed), plus it solves the problem (horse soon learns it doesn't achieve anything) without any sort of drama - last thing you want is to have regular rows, teaching the horse lots of new evasive tricks...
 
true. Maybe she isnt quite secure enough to take a bit of pressure yet! Ive only had one other that has napped before and that was when george was a baby (although very special he was with his mum until he was 4 so had a few issues mentally) the only way to get him out of a napping fit was to be SERIOUSLY positive and i guess thats why i reacted as i did, dont you just wish they all came with an instruction manual?
 
I think you maybe ought to try the school work first, then hack round the fields as chilling/reward time afterwards.

I've only had my 4 year old 3 weeks but have tried to keep the schooling very brief, if he walks trots and canters on both reins then I call that a day and have been taking him around the field at walk and trot.

He has napped quite strongly once but just scolded him and turned him in some tight circles before giving him a boot and he went forward but he was lifting his front feet and humping as if to test me out. I always have a good thick neck strap on everything I ride as well
 
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